When the Aeroflow Spring Nationals descends on Dragway at The Bend this weekend (October 18-20), what is expected to be a packed crowd will be treated to no-end of on and off-track fireworks as the opening rounds of the 2024/2025 Top Fuel, XPRO Nitro Funny Car and Top Doorslammer NDRC Championships get underway.
The defending champions for all three elite-level brackets will be at the state-of-the-art Tailem Bend facility looking to get their title defences off to the best possible start, but there will also be plenty of their rivals ready to knock them down a peg or two as they attempt to put themselves in the championship picture early.
In Top Fuel, Rapisarda Autosport International locked out the top two spots in the fight for the Stan Sainty Cup last season, with Damien Harris ultimately taking out the victory by a slim margin over his team-mate, Wayne Newby. Both RAI pilots will be back on-track this weekend, with Phil Read and Kyle Putland also lining up as part of a field ready to deliver a third instalment of record-breaking Top Fuel action at the new facility.
“There is always a certain amount of excitement around the opening round of any season,” Harris said.
“Racing at the Bend this weekend is still going to be a relatively new experience because we’ve only raced there twice before.
“In the opening round of last season, we were fortunate enough to take the win in the A-final over our team-mate Wayne Newby. On the second occasion we finished runner up to Phil Lamattina.
“A win this weekend would be the perfect way to get our title defence off to a flying start!”
In XPRO Nitro Funny Car, Justin Walshe and the HARTS Paint Supplies team were locked in an intense battle with Morice McMillin all season long, with Walshe emerging as the ultimate victor at the 2023/2024 season finale at Willowbank Raceway back in June.
With five A-final appearances, including four wins, Walshe heads into the new season with plenty of form behind him, and will take to the track this weekend alongside McMillin, Adam Murrihy and rookie Josh Leahy.
“My crew was absolutely on-point all season long and we couldn’t be more excited to head into the new season as the defending championship following a 2023/2024 season which was just beyond our wildest dreams,” Walshe said.
“With the support of the Aeroflow Nitro Funny Car team also behind us, we are feeling very confident and we can’t wait to get to The Bend – it really is an incredible place to race and there is no where we would rather be as we look to get those early runs on the board in our pursuit of another XPRO Nitro Funny Car title!
“During the short off-season we have completed an entire overhaul and refurbishment of the team transporter led by crew member, Cameron Gibbs. The transporter has come up pretty damn awesome and whilst it isn’t 100 percent finished, we are very confident the sponsors and fans will love it!”
In Top Doorslammer, defending champion Russell Taylor was the talk of the town across the inaugural NDRC championship season of 2023/2024, taking out the title as a rookie over drag racing legend and 11-time champ, John Zappia.
The ‘Ice Man’ will have no shortage of rivals to face off against at Dragway at The Bend this weekend, with a field of 12 Top Doorslammers lining up for the season-opening event including not only Zappia, but also Ronnie Palumbo, Mick Mahoney, Matt Abel, Jeremy Callaghan, Adam Tassone, Andrew Sutton, Peter Kapiris, Daniel Gregorini, Lisa Gregorini and Pat Cabone.
“At the end of the day, I am not feeling any pressure. For me, I want to go as fast as I can, and at the end of the day I am still learning, so hopefully I can keep improving this season and go a bit faster than we have previously,” Taylor said.
“Don’t get me wrong, winning the championship was mint and it was an awesome achievement by the team. To win it again would be a huge bonus – we are planning on doing all the events and we have a couple of new sponsors on board as well which is great.
“The car is ready to go now as we have completed the repairs we needed to after the last round, so we are just getting ready to get out there and have fun doing it!”
The Aeroflow Spring Nationals will be held at Dragway at The Bend across October 18-20. Alongside the season-openers for Top Fuel, XPRO Nitro Funny Cars, and Top Doorslammers on Saturday and Sunday, the event will also host two epic sportsman shows – the Street Machine Spring Nationals on Friday which will see racers compete for Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship points and $25k in prize money, plus a special Street Machine Spring Nationals trophy; while Saturday and Sunday will see racers who qualified through their performance across the Eastern and Western conferences competing to be crowned the outright Aeroflow National Sportsman Champions for the 2023/2024 season, as well as for an NDRC Grand Final Christmas Tree trophy and their share of an additional $25,000 prize purse.
To learn more about the National Drag Racing Championship (NDRC) and its Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship, visit www.nationaldragracing.com.au
