As the saying goes, you have to crawl before you can walk. For Emilio and Adamo Spinozzi and the Speedmaster Chevelle Pro Slammer, crawling comes at Australia’s biggest drag racing event.
The Spinozzi brothers will be entering their second event in the Pro Slammer class as part of the 2018 Gulf Western Oil Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway, Queensland, following Emilio’s competition debut at Nitro Thunder in Sydney last month.
With the off-season ahead, Emilio said it was important for the team to keep up the momentum as they learn to give the 3000 horsepower sedan what it wants.
“This weekend is 100% about gaining experience,” he explained. “There are 19 cars qualifying and only the top eight go through to race day so we are realistic that even qualifying for a Winternationals eliminations field in our second event would be a huge challenge.
“For us we want to keep the wheels in motion. We feel like the team is making some gains and the more racing we do, the more we all learn.
“We have always made the trek to the Winternationals and for us we really enjoy getting away, camping at the track and taking in the atmosphere. Racing is serious but it can also be a lot of fun.”
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After running more 6.0 second passes in testing at Sydney Dragway, Spinozzi would dearly love to clock his first five second run at Willowbank in front of sponsors Hitachi Construction Machinery Australia, who will be attending in a corporate box during the event.
“We are taking the baby steps but if we can go sub-sixes we would be very happy,” he said.
Speedmaster Chevelle crew chief Michael Marriott said the decision to attend the 51st running of the Winternationals was a strategic one.
“For one you get experience, mixing it with some very smart people and helping the team to gel even further,” he said. “Second there is the exposure for the team’s great sponsors at Australia’s largest drag racing event.
“We think we would be very lucky just to make it into the field and we are are realistic about what a big ask that is.”
Marriott is confident that the team might have made some big steps towards better times, discovering a component issue in the suspension of the Speedmaster Chevelle.
“Once this car turns the performance corner, it will do so very quickly. Recent testing clarified our thoughts on the suspension and we have also changed the fuel system which saw us run well in the back half of the passes in testing.
“Our goal is definitely the first ‘five’ and obviously we would like to qualify. It’s going to be an incredible event with world class times. Some of the best tuners in the world are here right now and the results will show that. We will continue taking our Pro Stock-style approach and see if we can make some great inroads for the Speedmaster team.”
The Gulf Western Oil Winternationals runs from June 7 to 10 at Willowbank Raceway. Fans can watch the live stream on facebook.com/OvoPlay across the weekend and follow SpinozziRacing at facebook.com/spinozziracing.
Spinozzi thanked team sponsors Speedmaster, Hitachi Construction Machinery, Nicsons Concrete, Torco Oils, Terra Civil, LJ Hooker Commercial Campbelltown, Soligo Concrete, Sloanebuilt Trailers, Pasta Italia, Optimum Fire, Al’s Race Glides, Smithfield Diff and Gearbox, Race Teknix, VP Racing Fuels, Corfield Media Solutions, Planned Signs, Kemps Creek Mitre 10, Leanders Clutch, Western Filters, Alky Pro and Speedflow for all their continued support.
– Media release courtesy Spinozzi Racing.
