John Zappia won his first event at Calder Park since the iconic 1995 Nationals final when he “mowed the grass” and took the first ever Top Doorslammer victory at the Australian Nationals.

John Zappia

In a heavyweight battle, Peter Kapiris got the start line advantage in front of his home crowd but Zappia reeled him in to win with a 5.762 ET at 248.29 mph to a 6.605 second pass at 231.36 mph.

“After last night running a 6.10, running all over the track and a 6.07 it was pretty scary stuff,” said Zappia.

“They prepped the track a bit more today and we went away, did our homework, detuned the car a little bit, and we just got the Fuchs Monaro to go down the track without having to pedal.”

Zappia defeated Mark Belleri in Round 1 on a 5.749, the quickest ever Top Doorslammer pass at Calder Park, before a victory over rival Grant O’Rourke in the semifinals.

The 11-car field in Pro Stock put on a show all weekend and although the ET’s weren’t as quick as elsewhere the racing was tight and close.

Bill Perdikaris walked away from a wild flip in Round 1 against Lee Bektash that drew gasps from the large crowd on hand but he was cleared by medical staff on site and given the okay.

Nino Cavallo

In the final Nino Cavallo defeated Aaron Tremayne who experienced clutch problems at the start line resulting in a -.163 red light handing the win to the Victorian on a 7.116 ET at 177.35 mph.

“It’s the best win ever,” said Cavallo.

“Home track, fans, family, they’ve all come to watch and it’s the best feeling ever, I couldn’t be more happy. I think everyone is going to be pretty happy, for sure.”

Cavallo accounted for Jason Grima in the first round and then Tyronne Tremayne who also red lit in the semifinals.