Willowbank Raceway regrets to announce the cancellation of next week’s round two of the New Year Series, scheduled for Friday the 14th and Saturday the 15th of January.

Following hugely successful inaugural events at Mildura’s Sunraysia Raceway and Melbourne’s Calder Park in 2010, the Slamfest style of eighth mile Top Doorslammer drag racing is now set to explode across the nation this year. Five events are now confirmed with at least another three expected to be announced in the near future when negotiations with venues are completed. The Slamfest Series has been organised by Pro Modified Australia whose principals, Victor Bray, Maurice Fabietti and Peter Kapiris have been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm shown for the concept by competitors, fans and track promoters alike.  “We got together and decided if eighth mile racing was taking over in the USA we should give it a go here. As soon as we talked to Doorslammer racers they were all for it so we thought we’d start  low key with the Mildura event but it proved to be huge and set the track attendance record. Then in November over 16,000 came to our race at Calder Park in Melbourne which was fantastic. Since then it has just taken off and we’ve been flat out keeping up with the enquiries we’re receiving about running events all over the place,” commented Victor Bray. All Slamfest events will receive extensive television coverage with one hour shows on Speedweek on SBS and Inside Speed on Foxsports plus stand alone one hours self titled Doorslammer shows on FuelTV, Foxsports HD and for international distribution. An additional 30 minute Full Noise show will also appear on Foxsports. Maurice Fabietti was keen to point out the Slamfest Series is not intended to replace traditional quarter mile drag racing. “What we’re doing is providing additional opportunities for Doorslammer racers over the eighth mile distance and in a different format to normal elimination racing. We’ve been careful to arrange our calendar so there are no clashes with Pro Series rounds and in fact have geared dates so it’s as easy as possible for Doorslammer racers to compete in both series. We’re all about taking Doorslammer racing to new areas and more people, putting on a great show for the fans and creating an improved financial return for the racers themselves.” The 2011 Slamfest Series will kick off on January 22-23 with the Australian Eighth Mile Doorslammer Championships at Calder Park Raceway in Melbourne. Round 2 is set for February 5 with the South Coast Slamfest for Wishes at Portland Victoria in support of the Make a Wish Foundation. The Doorslammers then return to Mildura on April 2-3 for Round 3. The next confirmed event on the calendar is at North Queensland’s Palmyra Dragway in Mackay on June 25 before the Slammers head back to Melbourne’s Calder Park Raceway for the Grand Final in November.

The ever-popular fire-throwing Nitro Funny Cars will return to Willowbank Raceway next Friday and Saturday (14/15 January) for Round Two of the New Year Series, and one racer the fans should keep their eye on is Damien Harris.

Heading into the Willowbank Pro Series round with just three points separating them from the series lead, team Newby are looking for some solid track performances this weekend.

Robin Judd is hopeful a new partnership will help him regain the (Australian National Drag Racing Association) ANDRA Pro Series Top Doorslammer championship lead at Willowbank Raceway, Ipswich, on January 14-15. 

 Welcome to Drag News Australia’s event coverage of the first round of the New Years Series at Queensland’s Willowbank Raceway.

Fresh from their United States drag racing excursion, Mark Mariani and the Rapisarda Racing Top Fuel team will be ones to watch this weekend as they seek to convert the lessons learned in the States into a New Year Series event win at Willowbank Raceway.

Forty years, 33 ‘Gold Christmas Trees’, 15 National Championships, countless records and a lot of hard work from the whole family – these are the elements that make up the remarkable career of Hillcrest professional drag racer Gary Phillips.

Mark Mariani will start a journey this weekend (January 2-3) at Willowbank Raceway (Ipswich) that will see him race against the best Top Fuel drag racers in Australia and America over the next four months. 

More than 150 drag racers from around the country will ring in the New Year with high-octane action this Sunday and Monday at Willowbank Raceway for round one of the New Year Series.