What a pleasure it
has been to work at this amazing drag racing event, there is
a reason they say this is the biggest race meeting out of
North America, quite simply because it is…we have had the
toughest racing ever seen outside of the USA.
Just a few of
my highlights
Bump spot in Pro
Stock 7.15
Top Doorslammer –
had a bump spot of 6.10, with the first five in the
qualifying order in the five second zone.
You had to run .399
under your index to make it into Super Stock
Comp was just as
Tough, Anthony Buckley ran eight tenths under his index on
the first qualifying session throwing down the gauntlet to
all the other Competition Competitors
Phil Lamattina ran
six, consecutive four second passes in Top Fuel to win the
event and tie up his Australian Championship.
Damien Harris and
Ash Bailey proved why we should have Nitro Funny Cars back
as an Andra bracket.
Damien Harris 4.98
at just short of three hundred mile an hour…Credit goes to
Shacks and the team.
John Zappia who has
spent the better part of his life chasing a Championship in
his respective bracket, won back to back Doorslammer titles,
giving him 23 consecutive victories in a run…one more and he
will equal Ben Brays Record.
Debbie Reed had tied
up the Australian Top Alcohol Championship on the leave of
the start line but lost it within a hundred foot when she
hit the side wall coming down from a massive wheel stand and
then was disqualified – probably the most heart breaking end
to a championship I have ever seen.
Gary Phillips tied
up his 13th Australian Championship.
87 Junior Dragsters
competed, they came from all over the country and these kids
all represented their sponsors so professionally.
Super Compact made a
whole new legion of fans who witnessed some amazing racing
from all of these relatively new brackets competitors.
Yes rain affected
play, but it didn’t affect the spectacle that is the
Winternationals.
Hundreds of catering
staff served tens of thousands of bread rolls, buckets of
chips and dagwood dogs.
Hundreds of
thousands cups of coffee were served.
80+ track staff put
in 50+ hours over the last four days not to mention the
hundreds of hours that went into organising the meeting by
office staff and the track preparation team.
All the racing was
tight, it was entertaining and most importantly this meeting
had far less accidents than any other Winternationals.
More Western
Australian Competitors than ever before on the East Coast
and many of them featuring in the finals.
It is what
Queensland, the City of Ipswich and Willowbank Raceway are
famous for – the friendly, awe inspiring, tyre torturing,
jaw dropping, Spectacular Castrol Winternationals, don’t
miss your seat next year, join us on the 11th, 12th,
13th and 14th June.
Thankyou to all of
our Competitors, our Officials, Our Andra Staff and more
importantly you our Spectators!
.jpg){kind=small}
