Both the Top Fuel and Pro Alcohol Championship points tables closed right up after an exciting night of 400 Thunder Drag Racing at Willowbank Raceway on Good Friday.
In Top Fuel Kelly Bettes won her second straight event at the wheel of the Lamattina Family’s Fuchs Dragster. In winning the event Bettes scored maximum points and setting the quickest time in the first two rounds of racing with a best of 3.892 seconds at 501.6KPH before defeating Peter Xiberras in the final. Both drivers suffered traction problems being forced to lift off the throttle with severe tyre shake in the final but it was Kelly Bettes who recovered first and lead the PremiAir Dragster across the finish line by just seventeen hundredths of a second.
The win moves Bettes to just two points adrift of current 400 Thunder Championship leader, Damien Harris in his Rapisarda Autosport International car who managed two wins from his three starts at the event. Peter Xibereas is in third just twenty points behind Harris setting up a gripping battle over the final two rounds of the series.
The Pro Alcohol category was no less dramatic with Russell Mills using a superior start line reaction to defeat Gary Phillips in the final with his 5.622 elapsed time holding out Phillips 5.515 by just twenty two thousandths of a second across the finish line. Championship leader Steven Reed won two of his three races but has seen his points advantage over second placed Mills shrink to just 13 points heading into the penultimate round of the series.
The next round of the 400 Thunder Professional Drag Racing Series in the Gulf Western Oils Nitro Thunder at Sydney Dragway on Friday 4th and Saturday 5th May 2018.
The event was also a split round for half the brackets in the 400 Thunder Sportsman Series.
Tony Bellert won Competition in his A/DA over Roxanne Thomas’ Eco-boost FF/DA.
In the Competition Bike final, Peter Puznik grabbed the win over Blair Pennington.
Jason Vanderlinde with a wild ride hung on for the win against Kellie Kidd in Modified.
Michael Beaton rode around Matt Halpin to take home a Gold Christman Tree in Modified Bike.
And Oscar Isherwood defeated NSW traveler Nicholas Polito in the Junior Dragster final.
The remaining 400 Thunder Sportsman Series brackets will complete the split round at Jet Car Thunder on April 14 at Willowbank Raceway.
