Australian Top Doorslammer Champion John Zappia added another accolade to his racing resume this weekend by running the first ever eighth mile three second pass in Australia, at the Slamfest event in country town Mildura, Victoria.
The Fuchs Lubricants / Procomp Electronics Monaro won the final, and took over the lead in the Slamfest Top Doorslammer Series run by Pro Modified Australia.
“An excellent days racing with the car performing well” said an upbeat Zappia, “We are on a roll now with our wins – momentum is building, and the team is really positive”.
“We carried on from our Tasmania tune-up, as we are still learning eighth mile racing, and the first pass blew the tyres off at sixty feet. The air was good, so we took a little out for the second qualifier and ran a 4.04 @ 186mph. Sixty foot times were our lowest ever – so the track was holding our power”.
“The 4.04 got us Top Qualifier position, and a solo in Round 1. Gerry tweaked the clutch a little and a 4.00 @ 186 showed a nice incremental improvement on the previous run”.
“I had people coming up asking if a three second run was possible – and of course it was provided all went well. In the Semi-final against Victor Bray the air got better and history was made as a 3.98 @ 187mph came up on the board, over Victor’s 4.20. Phillips 4.18 defeated Kapiris 4.23 in the other Semi”.
“Another great record for Craig Pedley’s “Crusher”Monaro. He is away overseas on Striker Crushing and Screening business, but was pretty excited with the result. Fuchs and Procomp Electronics deserve the win for their continued sponsorship of the team”.
Phillips gave Zap a great battle in the final with a 4.18 on the cold track but Zap was too good running a 4.05 @ 187mph.
A quick look at Doorslammer history:
John Zappia recorded the first Doorslammer 7 second run in Australia, and the World’s first Super Stock car in the sevens, with a 7.98 second pass at 174.40 mph, on December 26, 1988 at Ravenswood International Raceway, Perth, Western Australia, in his AA/Gas HQ Holden Monaro “Zap’s Rat”.
He recorded the first legal Doorslammer 6 second run in Australia with a 6.912 pass at 209.79 mph, on December 26, 1991, in his AA/Gas HQ Holden Monaro “Zap’s Rat”, at Ravenswood International Raceway, Perth, Western Australia. At the time it was the fastest pass by a doorslammer in the world.
Zap recorded the first legal Doorslammer 5 second run in Australia with a 5.967 pass at 241.97 mph, on 17th Sept 2005, in his new Rentco Monaro Top Doorslammer at Western Sydney International Raceway, NSW.
This new record of 3.98 @ 187mph makes Zap the first member of the Promod Australia Three Second Club.
“I am sure there will be many members of this three second club – we are all learning this eighth mile racing, and plenty of racers have what it takes to run three’s”.
The Zappia racing team head back to Sydney for the Nitro Champs, where Round 5 of the ANDRA Pro Series Top Doorslammer Championship will be run at Sydney Dragway.
Co-Naming Rights Sponsors
Fuchs Lubricants, and Procomp Electronics
Major Sponsors
Striker Crushing and Screening, K-Trans Racing, Elora – German Tools, Beta Spuds, Southside Engine Centre, Noonan Race Engineering, and PPG Automotive Refinish.
Supporting Sponsors
All Tools, Santhuff, Victory1, B & J Racing Transmissions, Mi Camcorders, Current Trendz, Crow Cams, Aero Group – Avtrac Maintenance Tracking, Legend Boatbuilders, Taylor Tyres, Kounis Metal Industries, Bravo Resources, CIC High Performance Coatings, Aurora Bearings, Soltoggio Bros, and Track-Meter.
