After a dramatic crash just four weeks ago, Jeremy Callaghan returned to the National Drag Racing Championship (NDRC) in stunning style at the weekend —claiming his first-ever Gold NDRC Christmas Tree with an A-Final win during round five of the NDRC Top Doorslammer championship chase at the Riverbend Nationals.
The victory marks a triumphant comeback for Callaghan, who rolled his Lucci Civil Camaro onto its roof during the opening round of racing at the Westernationals (March 1-2) at the Perth Motorplex in March, sliding to a halt near the finish.
“Look, I couldn’t be happier. It’s been an amazing three days,” Callaghan said in the week following the Riverbend Nationals. “I don’t know if it’s really sunk in yet, but yeah—it’s awesome.”
The Westernationals incident was a major setback for the family-run operation, which had already faced a challenging season of engine troubles and travel logistics. “We’re not a global corporate conglomerate—we’re just regular Joes,” Callaghan explained. “I run a busy workshop in Canberra, so getting to Perth for Westerns was a big commitment from everyone.”
A suspension failure triggered the Westernationals crash, Callaghan explained.
“The four-link bar, which is a suspension component, tore through some brackets on the diff. We did some serious investigation afterwards to understand what went wrong and how we can help others avoid the same thing.”
For Callaghan, the emotional toll was even heavier than the physical impact. “The scariest thing was my youngest son Charlie was there. He was standing on the start line and came running down, bawling his eyes out,” Callaghan recalled. “Straight away, I went to tears myself. That was the hardest part.”
But even amid the chaos, Charlie – 11 years old – was already thinking about the next round. “Half an hour after the crash, he asked our crew chief, Skip (Glenn Davies), ‘Will this be ready for Adelaide?’ That’s how much he lives and breathes this.”
The answer turned out to be yes—but not without a herculean effort from a close-knit support network. After returning home to Canberra, Callaghan’s team worked around the clock to rebuild the Camaro, including fabricating a brand new composite roof and other critical components.
“I can’t thank Terry Jackson and the Hypertune team, and Skip and the Moits Racing guys enough for their help. The Saturday before we left to head to The Bend, we rebuilt the diff in Sydney, got back to Canberra at 3am, then back into the workshop at 7am,” Callaghan said. “By Sunday afternoon, the car was running again. We loaded it up Wednesday and hit the road.”
Nerves were high heading into the Riverbend Nationals.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. Charlie came up to me and said, ‘Dad, my legs are shaking,’ and I said, ‘Mine too, mate,’” Callaghan laughed. “But as soon as we went 200 feet out on the first hit, I knew we were good again.”
That “good” turned into great, with Callaghan and his team pushing through to the A-Final and clinching their first NDRC round win.
“The Riverbend Nationals win is for the crew, for all the companies that helped us out. Everyone pulled together. It was unbelievable,” Callaghan said. “We’ve had a rough run the last few meetings, but the boys kept their chins up and kept going.”
Sponsors including Luci Civil, the Espresso Room, Capital Cranes, and Prohibition Bottle Shop are also pivotal to keeping Callaghan on track. “Everyone went out of their way to help,” Callaghan said. “This is a community sport. All the racers—they’re a bunch of good people. When things go wrong, they band together. It’s really special.”
With the Riverbend Nationals win under his belt, Callaghan now looks ahead to the next round of the Top Doorslammer championship at the Gulf Western Oil Nitro Champs at Sydney Dragway across 2-4 May with fresh momentum and high hopes.
“It’s a bit of a home track for us, so we’re super excited,” he said. “And yes, we’ll be at the Winters (Gulf Western Oil Winternationals 5-8 June) too. The aim is to finish the series strong and keep charging forward.”
The Gulf Western Oil Nitro Champs at Sydney on May 2-4 will feature not only Top Doorslammer but also Top Fuel and XPRO Nitro Funny Car alongside the full range of group one categories plus the Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship.
For the full listing of upcoming events, please visit https://nationaldragracing.com.au/calendar/
To learn more about the NDRC, visit www.ndrc.tv
