In Darwin in June, Damien Harris and the Atlantic Oils/Rapisarda Autosport International team were awarded the prestigious Stan Sainty Cup as the winners of the 2022/2023 Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship.
The 2023 title is Harris’ third national Top Fuel win, joining his 2005 ANDRA Pro Series Top Fuel Championship and 2016 400 Thunder Top Fuel Championship wins.
“It has been just great to win the championship,” Harris said.
“To win the Stan Sainty Cup for the Rapisarda family is very special indeed, and it was great to be able to reward the guys for all of their efforts throughout the year.
“I really just want to thank the whole Rapisarda team, across both cars, as they all worked together to help us achieve our championship goals.
“This really is about the guys on the team – I obviously don’t live in Sydney where the team is based, so I don’t do all the work they do, and it is just great to be able to reward the guys in the team and the Rapisarda family for all of their support over the last 11 years with this win.”
Harris started out in drag racing more than 20 years ago, and is showing no signs of letting up anytime soon.
“It was a very long time ago that I got started. I was around 15 or 16 years old when I was first taken to the track by a family member. We went to Ravenswood and that really got my interest going,” he explains.
“Then I got an opportunity to work on a car, and then another opportunity to drive one. After that, I was hooked, and it all grew from there.
“This year marks 23 years of being involved in drag racing and driving. In the 2009/2010 season I started racing Nitro Funny Car, and then jumped into Top Fuel.
“After 13 or so years in Top Fuel, the thrill of driving the car and the speed and all of that obviously keeps me coming back, but it is also the relationships that I have with the Rapisardas and all the crew guys that keep me involved.
“They are a great bunch of people, and we have a great time on the road. So, spending time with them and enjoying their company is definitely a big factor of why I love doing what we do.
“After all, the driving part is over and done in four seconds, so to be able to spend the weekend with those guys and have the sort of relationship I have with Santo Jnr and Santino really just means the world to me. I really do feel like part of the family now.”
Harris headed to the 2022/2023 season-finale Nitro Up North event 65 points ahead of title rivals Phil Read and Peter Xiberras, who were tied for second place.
The West Aussie got the final stand for the season off to a great start with a round one victory over Read, before locking the title down completely with an impressive drive job in round two over fellow ‘Sand Groper,’ Kyle Putland.
“That race against Read in round one at Nitro Up North was probably my favourite race of the season. I needed to win that first round to make it hard for everyone else, so there was a lot of pressure on that one, and we got through,” Harris explains.
That left the champion elect to face off against then-defending champ, Peter Xiberras, in what ended up being a straight reversal of the last season’s finale at which Harris took the event win, but Xiberras took the title.
On his way to lifting the Stan Sainty Cup, Harris and Rapisarda Autosport International – supported on-track by Atlantic Oil – took home two A-Final wins and one A-Final runner-up, including an incredibly successful weekend in Perth in November when he claimed two event victories in two days.
“That Perth round where we were able to go back to back, winning the completion of the Alice Springs racing on Friday and then going on to win the Goldenstates A-Final the next day was really great – that would have to be my favourite event of the season overall I think,” Harris reflects.
With the conclusion of this 2022/2023 season, Australia’s group one and sportsman racers now look ahead to a new era for Australian drag racing, with the new National Drag Racing Championship (NDRC) set to kick-off in July for the sportsman competitors and October for group one, including the Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship.
“I am looking forward to what I believe should be a really great year under the new set-up,” Harris said.
“I am also keen as well to see the new Tailem Bend track coming into the mix.
“We are definitely looking forward to defending the championship and hopefully we can hit the ground running hard at the season opener in October at The Bend and get a jump on the other guys.”
Round one for the 2023/2024 Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship will be held across October 21 and 22 at The Dragway at The Bend. For more details, please visit www.ndrc.tv.
