The first event of the new NDRC season raced out of the blocks this weekend with the biggest entry list in Australian drag racing for 2026 so far seeing 170 racers – including almost 150 sportsman racers – hitting Willowbank Raceway for the opening rounds of the new NDRC XPRO Nitro Funny Car, Pro Alcohol, and Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship title chases.
After Saturday’s program saw qualifying completed for the 11,000hp flame-throwing XPRO Nitro Funny Cars and powerful Pro Alcohol Funny Cars and Dragsters – including runs at more than 500kph+ and one searing three second pass – three rounds of ‘all run format’ racing laid ahead of them Sunday as they looked to snag the early championship points and an NDRC Christmas Tree trophy. The Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship meanwhile had a fourth and final qualifier to allow those who competed in Sydney yesterday to qualify, before heading into racing themselves.
A hot yet fantastic day began at 1.00pm, with Top Qualifiers first awarded in the sportsman ranks and racing beginning, before the opening round of XPRO Nitro Funny Car and Pro Alcohol then rolled out in the late afternoon to the delight of the enthusiastic crowd.
In both Pro level brackets, round one saw the drivers and crews really demonstrate their skill and tenacity as they tackled track temperatures of close to 140 degrees – a big ask for the high-powered cars.
In the XPRO Nitro Funny Cars, the NT’s Adam Murrihy – making his comeback after last February’s season-ending motorcross accident – and Damon Paton in his new-look funny car, were the first to face off, with the pair side-by-side at the half-track before both buttoned off, although Murrihy did have another quick stab towards the finish line. Even so, Paton had enough to roll across for the win by seven hundredths of a second (4.796/168.99kph to 4.860/277.78kph).
Next up was Top Qualifier Josh Leahy, who was off after the 60-foot with tyre shake, turning on the win light regardless (8.912/123.95kph) thanks to him tackling the track solo. Then it was time for reigning champion Morice McMillin to roll-out alongside 2024 champ, Justin Walshe. This was a head-turning side-by-side, tyre-spinning run, with Walshe chasing down McMillin in the second half of the track after having earlier been side-by-side. Unfortunately for the Gold Coaster, he would run out of race track before he could get back in front. McMillin took the win, with his 4.308/382.83kph result triumphing over Walshe’s 4.555/389.34kph pass.
Like the XPRO Nitro Funny Cars, the Pro Alcohol teams were up to the task presented by the heat wave conditions, with every member of the field bar one – Stewart Prior, who overpowered the track in his Australian first injected nitro Alcohol dragster after impressing on Saturday evening – getting down the track with staunch passes.
Darren Fry in his move to a Funny Car was the one to face off against Prior in the first Pro Alcohol match up of the day, laying down a 5.666 second pass at 413.19kph. Andrew Searle and Luke Marsden – making a comeback after 18 months away – were next up, with Searle turning on the win light (5.645/257.63mph v 5.675/407.38kph) before Top Qualifier and reigning champ Daniel Reed took on Wayne Price, with Reed continuing his strong form of the weekend to take the win with the quickest and fastest Pro Alcohol pass of the round – 5.607/422.83kph to Price’s 5.656/385.75kph.
The fourth and last Pro Alcohol pairing for round one was exceptionally popular with the fans, with the surnames Phillips and Bray – monikers synonymous with group one drag racing in Australia – lining up against each other. In the right lane was last year’s Winters winner Cheyne Phillips, while in the left was multi-time champ Ben Bray, who was in the seat of an Alcohol Funny Car for the first time in 18 years. It was a brilliant side-by-side run for the sons of drag racing royalty Gary Phillips and Victor Bray, but in the end, it was Philips who triumphed with a winning margin of nine hundredths of a second with his 5.563/425.05kph run to Bray’s 5.648/401.80kph.
When it came time for XPRO Nitro Funny Car to roll out for round two, they did so after a short delay necessitated by a brief shower in the braking area. This saw the track temperature having dropped around 30-40 degrees since round one was held, seeing the anticipation for big numbers high as Leahy took to the left lane while Paton lined up in the right.
The pair left with full candles on both sides of the strip, before Leahy lifted off early while Paton ran through for an impressive early shut-off 4.09 second pass – this saw Paton go two from two, putting him in the box seat at that point for an A-Final berth.
Alas, this is where things would go awry for the Pro Alcohol Nationals. Not to be outdone by the performances on track, Mother Nature decided to put on her own show mid-way as McMillin and Walshe waited to approach the burnout box for their XPRO Nitro Funny Car round two and Pro Alcohol sat in the staging lanes, bringing what were unprecedented winds for a major meeting at the Ipswich venue.
The sheer force of the gusts quickly saw gazebos destroyed, banners ripped from fences, and fans ducking for cover. When the wind finally died down, the rains had set in and lightning cracked overhead, forcing organisers to call this competition in favour of the weather gods much to the disappointment of all involved.
With the event declared ‘incomplete’ the XPRO Nitro Funny Car and Pro Alcohol racers will each receive six points towards their championship tally, while the Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship racers will be awarded points up to where their racing was completed. Having completed their qualifying earlier in the day, the Top Qualifiers – Dale Samuelsen (Real Street), Eden Abela (Super Street), Karl Schulz (Junior Dragster), Mark Harding (Super Sedan), Marcus Macdonald (Junior Drag Bike), Daniel Carranza (Modified), Dale Marshall (Modified Bike), Simon Isherwood (Top Sportsman), Aaveen Autar (Performance Bike), Steve Sloan (Super Comp), and Peter Leahy (Supercharged Outlaws) – will also receive their number one qualifier medals.
While disappointed with the ultimate outcome, McMillin was quick to point out how great the event had been up to that point.
“The Pro Alcohol Nationals – wind and rain aside – has been a great way to open the books for 2026,” McMillin said.
“The atmosphere here at Willowbank Raceway has been brilliant. Despite the heat, the fans came out and got themselves trackside – it was great to see them on the hill, in the stands, and around the venue.
“There were plenty of smiles as we all enjoyed some amazing racing not only from our XPRO Nitro Funny Cars and the Pro Alcohol racers, but also from a really great field of Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship competitors – some of which even drove up from Sydney overnight to be here and put on a show.
“The quality of the qualifying and racing shown here yesterday and today just goes to show how good all of the teams and their crews are – they took on the challenge, and they performed to the delight of everyone here watching. I couldn’t be more proud of the effort of my Rocket/Aeroflow team of course – Josh took the Top Qualifying honours, and all three of us (McMillin, Leahy, Paton) turned on the win light in the first round of racing. Who knows what could have been if we had been able to race through to the end, but it certainly gives us confidence heading into the next round of the championship.”
The NDRC now looks ahead to the Twilight Nationals, which will bring Top Fuel back to Mildura’s Sunset Strip across February 27-28 alongside the next round for the Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship. For the latest on that event, please click here. For event information and tickets, visit https://nationaldragracing.com.au/event/twilight-nationals/
To learn more about the NDRC, visit www.ndrc.tv
