Lamattina Top Fuel Racing endured a challenging weekend at the Haltech East Coast Nationals, with a series of setbacks ultimately bringing the event to a difficult close, but the team remains firmly in control of the Top Fuel championship standings.
Supported by long-standing partners FUCHS Lubricants Australia, Muirs and R&J Batteries, LTFR showed strong pace throughout the event, with Phil Lamattina recording a 3.948-second pass at 285mph in the opening round.
Lamattina was awarded the win light in Round One after receiving a bye in the opposite lane, but the run was overshadowed by a fireball at the end of the track which caused significant damage to the FUCHS LTFR Top Fuel Dragster.
Despite the damage, the team worked hard to get the car back on track for Round Two, where Lamattina lined up against Damien Harris. Starting issues before staging made for a difficult pass, with Harris ultimately taking the win after Lamattina recorded a 4.141-second pass at 289km/h.
The team fought on into the B-Final, where Lamattina faced Wayne Newby. Newby would claim the win, with Lamattina recording a 3.925-second pass at 288mph before further engine damage brought the weekend to an end.
While the result wasn’t what the team had hoped for, the three passes demonstrated the underlying pace of the FUCHS LTFR Top Fuel Dragster and gave the crew plenty to work through ahead of the next event.
Phil Lamattina said the team wasn’t going to let a difficult weekend change its approach.
“We know there is still a lot of work to do, but we aren’t just going to give up because of that,” Lamattina said. “It’s racing, it’s why we do it, and we don’t show up every show just to make numbers. We show up because we want to win.”
Despite the setbacks, LTFR remains in a strong position in the championship, sitting on top of the points standings with 74 points, 10 points clear of second place.
With the team now turning its attention to Dragway at The Bend from October 22–25, the focus is firmly on repairing, regrouping and returning stronger.
“It’s time to regroup,” Lamattina said. “We know what we’ve got to do. There’s a lot of work ahead, but we’re still in a good position in the championship and we’ll be ready to go again at The Bend.”
LTFR thanks its crew, partners and supporters for their continued commitment as the team prepares for the next round of the championship.
