Australian Pro Stock’s newest racer, Mario Polito made his long-awaited debut at the uber-successful Gulf Western Oil Nitro Thunder round on Saturday, May 8 at Sydney Dragway. While the Sydneysider didn’t score any round wins, the game-plan for the weekend was simply about taking the JD Concrete-sponsored Chevy Cobalt to half track.
“Obviously, you’re not going to win any races getting off the throttle at half track, but it’s all part of our engine development plan,” said Polito.
“Dad (Pro Stock legend, Joe Polito) gave me strict instructions to take the car to half track only this weekend, the aim is to creep up on the setup before the Gulf Western Winternationals at Willowbank next month.”
If time permits we’ll go back out to test at Sydney Dragway – from there will decide on the trip up North.
The ex-Top Sportsman star started off his Pro Stock campaign with an 0.34 reaction time against Jason Hedges in Round 1 before a shut-off 10.93 second run.
In the second round, the JD Concrete Chevy Cobalt ran into some electrical issues after further inspection into the data. Polito wisely decided to abort the run.
In the third round, Mario Polito was on a solo pass.
“I had time to stop and reflect and look out at the huge Sydney Dragway crowd before I fired the car up – it was awesome to see such a huge crowd here again!”
A planned 9.71 second shut-off run left Polito feeling optimistic and ready for more.
“There’s a lot to learn for me as a driver, coming out here at a major event running Pro Stock against the best in the business in Australia, but we needed to use this event to get some seat time and data – I’m very optimistic after our first event,” Polito said.
“Overall, there’s a lot of positives to take away from the weekend and hope we can get up to Willowbank for the Gulf Western Winternationals (June 10-13, 2021).”
Polito was sure to thank his sponsors, family, friends and race fans.
“I’d like to thank my partners – JD Concrete, Penetron Australia, Advanced Readymix, MPS, CC Royal, UCBC, Competition Solutions, VP Race Fuels, and Wesco. My team – thanks for putting in a great effort this weekend. My Dad (Joe Polito) for the hours he put in to ensure my engine was in the car, plus the support on and off the track. My family, friends, and race fans – thank you for all the support! 400 Thunder Pro Stock is a tough category and I’m so excited we’re finally here.”
