Westralian, John Zappia took top spot in his HQ Holden Monaro in the Pro Slammer bracket vying with fourteen other cars to get into the field. A 5.643 did the trick with seven other cars all getting under the incredible 5.902 bump spot. As you have exclusively read in DRO first, Zappia is looking at running in America this season and left after the race to make it happen.

Mark Belleri held a slim 38-point lead over Gary Phillips’ Studebaker going into the event and ended up as seventh qualifier with a 5.889. Belleri, driving the AC Delco-sponsored Holden Monaro (Pontiac GTO – Ed.) of Maurice Fabietti, had won the first two rounds of the championship. With race day washed out he jubilantly thanked his team at the presentation ceremony. “It was great to win the championship for AC Delco, for Maurice and our family,” he concluded.

Like Newby above, Aaron Tremayne had already locked up the title going into the event, however, having won the previous three championship rounds no one could foresee that the wily veteran wouldn’t even qualify for the event. His best of a 7.33 was only good enough for last or thirteenth place. At the Championship presentations he was shaking his head at his qualifying performance. “We were out here for the warm ups (the weekend before) and that engine ran a 6.8 but we just couldn’t take a trick with it this weekend,” he freely admitted.

In stark contrast to brother Aaron’s efforts, Tyronne Tremayne actually top qualified in the Pro Stock bracket with a 6.980 time. At the presentations for the Nitro Champs (the previous round) Tyronne was runner up and stated at the presentations that he wanted Aaron’s engine and, indeed, the bullet went from the white Tremaniac Pontiac to the black one and the 6.980 was the result. In the championship stakes Tyronne Tremayne finished second to Aaron 247 to 448.

It was no surprise to see Chris Matheson go to the top of the heap straight off the trailer with a 6.180 at only 196 mph in the Top Bike bracket. While the race was rained out, as far as the championship was concerned, Matheson went into the event with an unassailable lead over second placed Harley rider Chris Porter 412 to 346 points. At the Nitro Thunder event Matheson watched the prize slip from his grasp but stated at these presentations that he had come there to win and despite the rainout they had taken yet another championship.

This wasn’t the only 4.4 second pass to be run at the race as teammate Wayne Newby recorded a 4.481 qualifying time the following evening. After getting a 4.5-second handle on the cars at the Nitro Thunder event last month, one of the crew told me it was the first time that the team has had the traction to run their new Stage 7 Alan Johnson racing heads and that was the difference.

Wayne Newby (left) and Santino Rapasarda.

Newby had the IHRA Top Fuel championship title sewn up before he went into the Winternationals and emotionally told the crowd at the presentations, “I have always dreamed of driving a Top Fuel car and ultimately winning the Australian Top Fuel championship. This sport has always been about family - my family and the Rapisarda family. I have to thank Santo (Rapisarda) for giving me the chance to drive his car and win this trophy – every time we go down the track we do so in the memory of Louie Rapisarda” (who was tragically killed at Willowbank in – Ed). Thank you all.”

Gary Phillips

A stellar 5.401/260 mph blast by Gary Phillips straight off the trailer put the nineteen-time champ into top position. Despite the number, he actually shut the car off early.

“I had a slight wheelstand off the line and unloaded the wheelie bars but as I went down the track my helmet started to fog up,” he revealed. “I actually shut the car off 5.1 seconds into the run because I couldn’t see, so it was well on its way to a 5.3-second time.”

Maurice Allen, managing director of the IHRA in Australia, with racer Gary Phillips.

With a 31-point lead going into the final round of the championship and not a wheel being turned on race day, Phillips annexed his twentieth championship, despite admitting at the presentations that Lucas Oils will be pulling out of the Australian market.