Rookie driver Mark Mariani in Santo Rapisarda’s Titan Cranes Attac dragster (near lane) faced multi-time Australian Top Fuel champion, Phil Read in the Auto One dragster for the Top Fuel final. Going into the nitro stoush Read had run a series of 4.60s including Low ET of the meet (4.65) compared to a string of 4.80s for Mariani. Read took the lead off the line and as they closed on the finish-line both were ablaze as Mariani remembers: “I knew it was on fire but it was still pulling so I kept on it. Once it went across the line I had some trouble stopping as the fire had burned up the chutes so I had to really stand on the brakes to have it pull up before the sand”, he recalled. In the end he took his first Top Fuel win (a 4.97 outdid a 5.05) and “it was great to win it for Santo”, he concluded.

Top Fuel finalist, Phil Read had gone through a bit of a drought over the past year however at the previous round at Willowbank two weeks before he took the win. Going into his second final in as many weeks the former Australian Top Fuel champion was certainly the favourite however despite leading off the line he fell short when his car exploded into flames in the deep end and he wound on the wrong end of a close 5.05 to 4.97 result.