After a rain-affected finish robbed the 2025 NSW Championship of its thrilling closing rounds, the 2026 season kicked off in scorching conditions at Sydney Dragway in February. Despite delays for track maintenance due to the extreme heat into the high 30s, racing was completed and the early points battles began as competitors set their sights on this year’s Track Championship titles.
In the Boosted Outlaws ranks, Chris Manks continued testing the potent MSCN turbo altered and came away with the event win, defeating Jeff Sargent’s blown Camaro. Manks nailed a 6.906 pass on a 6.90 dial-in to seal the victory.
The always wild Extreme Bike bracket saw Ryan Franks wrangle his Hayabusa to the stripe first, taking the win over Darren Foley with a 7.57 to 7.83 result.
Chrysler LeBarons are certainly a rare sight on Australian drag strips, but Michael Redding proved the combo works, hauling the unusual machine to a Top Sportsman victory. Redding ran 7.814 on a 7.80 dial-in and used a holeshot to drive around Nathan Cooper’s blown Gemini, which ran 8.477 on an 8.46 in the final.
A razor-sharp .006 reaction time backed up by a 7.616 on a 7.60 dial-in from Paul Linnett in his altered proved too strong for Peter Brown in the Modified final.
The Super Sedan final had to be restarted following a timing malfunction, but Naomi Dyson kept her cool to claim an emotional first win in the fiercely competitive bracket after eight years of trying, holding off Adam Hunter.
It was a new bike and a fresh look for Jessy Barnes, but the same winning form. The young gun and reigning Modified Bike champion powered to victory in round one, defeating Angela Phipps in the final.
Super Street once again attracted the largest field of the meeting and is never an easy bracket to win. However, the final result looked familiar, with reigning champion Richard Matosevic claiming the event victory after opponent Adam Ziolkowski red-lit by just .002 seconds.
Only four racers contested Super Gas for round one, and the final was decided at the tree when Joe Catanzariti broke hearts with a -.001 red light against Roy Romeo.
Junior Dragster once again turned out in strong numbers, with Riley Eaton making the perfect start to his title defence by winning the round one final over Jake McNamara. In Junior Drag Bike, Adam Jordan claimed the win and early bragging rights over defending champion Lincoln Bonwick.
Real Street joins the program as an official Track Championship bracket this season. While fields are still building, the class is expected to grow as the year progresses. Rodney Balgowan claimed the first official final win in his Commodore, defeating fellow Commodore racer Con Iranios.
Size certainly wasn’t an issue in Street Fighter, where Jaydan Melhem’s pocket rocket Fiat Abarth took the victory after Shane McGregor red-lit in his XW Wagon — not a combination often seen in Australian drag racing winner’s circles.
Closing out the results, Colin Northcott rode to victory in Street Bike, defeating defending champion Robert Gielb in the final showdown.
Round two of the NSW Championship Series heads back to Sydney Dragway on March 14.
