One of Australian drag racing’s most exciting events is back on the calendar with Sydney Dragway promising to make the 2015 Nitro Champs one of the best ever held at the Sydney venue.

It has be 50 years since the New South Wales Hot Rod Association ran their first drag race and milestone will be celebrated at “The Ultimate Bench Race” in March.

Sydney Dragway closed out January with a kind of sedate Test and Tune on a mildly hot day which fortunately saw no incidents and not too much foreign matter deposited on the racing surface.

The second round of the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series saw Western Australia’s best drag racers taking on more than a few interstate rivals for ANDRA Gold Christmas trees and valuable national points, with the action coming thick and fast.

John Zappia is two from two in the ANDRA Drag Racing Series Top Doorslammer Championship following victory in the 44th annual Westernationals at Perth Motorplex, while Gary Phillips returned to the winner’s circle of Top Alcohol but not without a serious challenge.

The Holden versus Ford battle may be on it’s way out in V8 Supercars but it is alive and well in ANDRA Drag Racing as Marty Dack flies the blue oval flag in the face of Holden stalwarts John Zappia and Maurice Fabietti.

Local drag racers will fire their first shots of anger for 2015 at Willowbank Raceway this weekend when the first round of the Street Series hits the track on Saturday (31 January).

Young gun Shane Weston stunned everyone at Perth Motorplex almost 12 months ago when he shot to the top of the Top Alcohol field to secure the number one qualifier ahead of 16-time champion Gary Phillips in the 2014 Pro Showdown.