The Gulf Western Oil Nitro Champs at Sydney Dragway this Friday, Saturday and Sunday will offer nothing short of an absolute nitro extravaganza.
Race fans at the May 17-19 event will be treated to no end of insane nitro action, with two rounds of the Top Fuel plus racing for the XPRO Nitro Funny Car, Top Doorslammer, Pro Stock and FuelTech Pro Mod championships and two rounds of the Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship.
And that’s not all – there will also be plenty of entertainment off the track, as well as above – with aerial acrobatics from Australia’s own Red Bull Air Race world champion and former Royal Australian Air Force top gun fighter pilot, Matt Hall.
“This is the first time we have ‘doubled the nitro’ as part of the NDRC and we couldn’t be more excited to have Top Fuel and XPRO Nitro Funny Car racing at the Gulf Western Oil Nitro Champs as part of a packed entertainment line-up,” NDRC Co-Founder, Andy Lopez, said.
“The Gulf Western Oil Nitro Champs has always been an iconic event, and we’re so proud to really push the envelope with what we can offer.
“No matter where you look, on the track, off the track, and even in the skies, there’s no shortage of amazing high-powered machines and spectacular action.
“We fully expect the event to be pumping from start to finish, so make sure you grab your tickets as soon as possible so you don’t miss out on a trackside seat to the best show in town.”
With two of the three rounds left to run in the 2023/2024 NDRC Top Fuel title chase to be held this weekend, the stakes could not be higher for the pilots of these fire-breathing 11,000hp dragsters.
Wayne Newby currently leads the title standings on 431 points over last round winner Phil Lamattina (397), while defending champion Damien Harris is currently in third place on 386 points. Phil Read (300) and Peter Xiberras (222) round out the top five.
The Top Fuel field heads to the Nitro Champs fresh from what many have called the best Top Fuel event in history, the Riverbend Nationals at Dragway at The Bend, which saw Harris break the Australian ET and MPH Top Fuel record on his way to a runner-up result against Lamattina, who won on a holeshot in an incredibly intense A-Final.
Harris wasn’t the only one lighting up the timing boards either, with 19 of the 24 individual completed passes over the two days being three second passes, with five side-by-side threes, and 11 set at more than 310mph/500kph.
For XPRO Nitro Funny Car, things are certainly tight at the top, with the points lead shared equally at 321 points between Morice McMillin and Justin Walshe. The pair head the ladder over third-placed Brandon Gosbell (234) and Anthony Begley (208), while Adam Murrihy rounds out the top five.
Home to 11,000hp flame-throwing, nitro-burning machines, the XPRO Nitro Funny Cars were last on-track for January’s Festival State Nationals at Dragway at The Bend, with Walshe taking his second win of the season to equal the points score heading into this weekend’s penultimate round of the season.
Top Doorslammer is another where the championship is much too close to call with two rounds left to run, with 11-time champ John Zappia leading break-out newcomer Russell Taylor, 573 points to 538, following the veteran’s win at the Riverbend Nationals in April. Rookies Ronnie Palumbo (472) and Lisa Gregorini (391) are third and fourth on the standings, with defending champion Daniel Gregorini (357) rounding out the top five.
In Pro Stock, Rob Dekert sits atop the points standings thanks to two A-Final wins and a A-Final runner-up, leading the way on 413 points over Rick Chilton (301), Chris Soldatos (258), Omar Sedmak (166) and last-round winner, Tyronne Tremayne (141). Dekert lost a potential hat-track with a red light in the A-Final at The Bend and so will be looking to make up for that, while brothers Tyronne and Aaron Tremayne are a late addition to the championship picture and will be looking to make the most of their Nitro Champs weekend.
In FuelTech Pro Mod, Craig Burns (258 points) currently leads the title chase over Joe Gauci (169), Rob Campisi (156), last-round winner Zoran Gojic (146) and Greg Tsakiridis (128) in his ‘The Villian’ Ford Mustang, thanks to his absolutely dominating first round at the Sydney Nationals last year, followed up by a runner-up appearance at the Australia Day Nationals to Gajic.
The Gulf Western Oil Nitro Champs across May 17-19 will feature Top Fuel, the XPRO Nitro Funny Cars, Top Doorslammer, Pro Stock and FuelTech Pro Mod as well as two rounds of the Eastern Conference for the Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship.
Tickets for the Gulf Western Oil Nitro Champs at Sydney Dragway are available now at www.bit.ly/NITROCHAMPS with kids aged 10 and under gaining free access with a paying adult.
