A blazing hot Boxing Day at Perth Motorplex saw four Nitro Funny Cars and about 200 sportsman racers turn up to compete.
Nitro Funny Cars
Anthony Begley took on Matt Treasure in the first race of the night. Begley’s car dropped the parachute out on the start line which meant Treasure would take a solo.
Treasure had a new billet block onboard but car owner Allan Greene said they were having a little trouble toughening it up…
…the car smoked the tyres at quarter track, dumping the chutes and the run was over.
Damien Harris faced Mark Sheehan next.
Sheehan had the tuning assistance of John Smith aboard for this race and will reportedly also be getting his help for the Top Fuel round coming up in January.
Sheehan moved out of the groove early and smoked the tyres, turning right and hitting the wall. Harris also went up in smoke, pedalling though for the win.
Harris and Treasure would race in the second round. Both racers had fairly similar stories in this race as they struggled for traction.
Begley was out on a solo as Sheehan needed to replace a diff. Tyre smoke was again the result.
The final race round saw Harris and Treasure line up first. Treasure red lit off the line but the two were evenly matched until they smoked the tyres shortly before half track…
…Harris stabbed the throttle again but got perilously close to the wall.
Begley and Sheehan finished out the night. Both recorded quick 3.5 second times to half track but Sheehan dropped a valve and Begley felt the car going away, evidenced by some green header flames, and shut down.
Video|Phil Blondel (dragsvideos)
Top Comp
George Separovich was trying something new out, this Torana running in CC/GA.
Daniel Gregorini was impressive in AA/AP trim, running a 6.15 to be only just off the national record in difficult conditions.
Marty Dack had a decent shimmy happening on this qualifying run but came back later to record a 6.27, a new personal best for the Auto One Top Doorslammer team.
Maurice Brennan gets a bit loose early in qualifying.
John Zappia takes on the compulsory qualifying round in front of the strong crowd.
Shane Weston would go through to take the event win and shift himself up in the points, closer to leader Rob Pilkington. Consistency is proving to be the name of the game here with a 5.81 on a 6.06 index defeating a 5.86 on a 6.11 index.
Super Comp
Andrew Kostecki was back racing for the first time in a few years and made it to the semi finals in the G/GA Mustang.
Also returning, but after repairing from a crash, was Robert Gaikhorst, and like Kostecki he made it a positive return also with a semis appearance. His 8.42 put him close to the national record of 8.37.
Moreno Gullotto kept the boot in on a few squiggly passes and it paid off with a runner up.
Making his last appearance in WA for this season a good one, Allen Puglia took the win for Nuford. He is now off to tour the East Coast and do some Pro Stock rounds.
Competition Bike
Reg McCallum was pulling some nice wheelstands. A slightly too big one in the finals cost him some ET and he had to settle for a runner up.
Although the results don’t show it, we’re pretty sure we saw Ross Smith run an 8.79 in A/SB, putting him within striking range of the national record.
The story of the night in Competition Bike had to be the end of the winning streak for Neil Anderson. Some 50 race victories in a row had gone Anderson’s way but in the semi finals it came to a close.
And this was the man to do the job. Gordon Crawford used a small holeshot and a sub record 7.82 in CC/CB to defeat a 9.07 in B/SB by Anderson. He would also go on to take the win.
Supercharged Outlaws
Perhaps the luckiest racer of the event was Tony Argentino. He red lit in the elimination round but was reinstated to racing when his opponent was disqualified for having the car touched while in stage. He would go on to win the A Final.
Murray O’Connor was doing some licensing in this Funny Car.
A breakout in the final saw Wayne Batson miss out on taking a second win for this season.
Steve Yozzi slows down after a qualifying pass, he would go on later to make the B Final.
Modified
Taking the win in Modified was the LS2 powered dragster of Bobby Brown. This rail must be one of the easiest cars to run in the category, driving back from the braking area on every pass and behaving pretty much like a big, skinny Commodore.
Ian Forrest took his very quick inline six rail to the runner up spot with some good reaction times and consistency.
Matt Adamos had a scary moment in his family’s dragster, with the throttle sticking after a burnout. Adamos was able to switch the car off and recover control.
Is there a monkey Kristy Cunningham needs to get off the back?
Simon Lekias gives the peace sign in the braking area.
Ron Crosby made it to the semi finals, his best ever appearance in Modified.
Super Sedan
A .029 light and an 8.43 on an 8.42 dial in was a winning package for Troy Gasperi and his Camaro in the Super Sedan final.
Brett Connelly’s bonnet lifts up at speed on his Mustang. He would break out in round one.
Norbert Claite’s Camaro is looking great and he has finally made some quick passes, besting with an 8.42 in licensing.
Modified Bike
Mark Old took what we think is his first win in Modified Bike, defeating Paul McNamara. A holeshot pushed McNamara to a big break out.
Rob Green lost his pointscore lead to Paul McNamara.
Super Street
Blake Jeffreys reached the final of Super Street and took the win with a tight 11.22 on an 11.21 dial in.
The always tough Darren Bakranich took a narrow loss with an 11.44 on an 11.38.
The Bionic Falcon turned on a good burnout show.
Junior Dragster
Sam Butler has established himself as the main man in the championship for Junior Dragster this season, extending his points lead with another win at this event.
Alicia Naylor runner upped in Junior Dragster. Here she is helped out by brother Rhys who had a bit of an accident with his hand. It hasn’t stopped him racing his street car at Fast Fridays though.
Our congratulations also go to Jaymii Karapetkov for winning in Junior Dragster Rookie with Kane Higgins getting runner up.
