The latest round of the ANDRA Summit Series is in the books with more than 150 teams taking part in the event at South Coast Raceway, in Portland, Victoria. 

Joe Kurtovic’s dragster is a literal dream come to life. From the drawings of a 15 year old to one of the most beautiful front engine dragsters in the country, Kurtovic has created a masterpiece. A supercharged Holden six up front breathes life into the beast, one destined for the seven second zone. We speak with Joe about the build process and photographer John Bosher takes us on a tour in issue 37 of Drag News Magazine, now available as a single issue (scroll down to order) or subscription (save $20.19 on subscriptions right now). Fox Cullen has created perhaps an unintentional homage to the days of the Wild Bunch. This Valiant ute brings supercharged aggression to the Pro Radial ranks with a look and sound that would not have been out of place in the NSW vs Qld State of Origin match races of old. But don’t be fooled, this is a plenty modern race car. Racing on the other side of the world is not an easy endeavour. Jett Racing decided to take on the challenge by sending their race cars along with a host of other Australian and New Zealand teams to compete in Orlando. Go behind the scenes and find out what it takes. The recent Performance Racing Industry show in Indianapolis was full of new tech. One of the most fascinating was a carbon fibre Top Fuel rod. Could this material replace aluminium? Find out what the creators and scientists behind the rods have to say. Street Machine Drag Challenge is one of the toughest drag racing events in Australia. Competitors had to travel some 1400kmh in four separate road trips between three different tracks for five days of racing. Records were broken in the best Drag Challenge yet. Plus we take in East Coast Thunder at Sydney Dragway, the first three events of the Perth Motorplex season, Willowbank Raceway’s season finale, Palmyra Dragway’s re-opening, Ballarat’s No Excuses no-prep race and Portland’s Summit round. Drag News Magazine’s print edition is not available in newsagents and must be ordered online. To order press ‘Buy Now’ below, on Australian or international postage. Ordering is secure via PayPal. Postage is via Australia Post and may take 3-5 days. Please ensure your delivery address is correct. Buy Issue 37 – Australian Postage Buy Issue 37 – International Postage E-MAG Don’t forget our e-mag subscription special – just $20.19 for 12 issues but you must use this link. Here is a preview of the current issue (we recommend clicking the full screen icon in the top left):

For quietly spoken Michelle Davies, setting records is not what racing is about.

Australian championship winning team Lamattina Top Fuel Racing have confirmed young American racer Cameron Ferré will be the driver of the YBI Creative dragster for Santo’s Summer Thunder in Sydney this weekend.

After getting its year off to a hot start at Willowbank Raceway, Team Bray Racing now has its sights set on Sydney Dragway’s Santo’s Summer Thunder event.

Under another day of beautiful blue skies at South Coast Raceway, the 2019 South Coast 660 and round six of the 18/19 Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series drew to a spectacular close.

More than 150 racers descended on South Coast Raceway for the first Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series outing of 2019, which was held under beautiful blue skies.

Of all the strange drag racing related things we have seen on the Internet, this jet powered Junior Dragster might take the cake.

It’s time Australian drag racers got recognised. We are now inviting nominations for the Drag News Magazine Best of 2018 Awards. 

A mixed weekend at Queensland’s Willowbank Raceway has seen John Zappia predicting a Pro Slammer championship that may well come down to the wire later this 400 Thunder season. Zappia took two wins from three rounds as part of the New Years Thunder event on Saturday, but a wild run in round two saw the Fuchs/Dananni Hotshots Holden Monaro cross the centre line and give up a potential final round place against eventual winner Paul Mouhayet. Changing track conditions proved a challenge for the team, who tested positively before the event before taking on race day. “We started off a bit too stout in testing, taking some timing blocks out on out first run after going 3.76 to half track,” Zappia explained. “We came back for another shot and blew the tyres off early, then backed off the clutch to get down for a 5.64/254mph late in the night. We were pretty happy with that, so we decided to sit out the hot 2.30pm sighting run on race day and come out ready for the first round.” Zappia took on Paul Cannuli for round one and made it through for his first win light of the day. “We backed it off a bit more for the first round of racing but not enough. I had to pedal and it shook, so I punched second and it kept shaking. We went 5.89/252mph and got the win fortunately.” Zappia next took on relatively new Pro Slammer racer Emilio Spinozzi, whose consistency has been paying dividends. The track conditions were tricky as Zappia searched for the right path down the famous Willowbank Raceway quarter mile. “We did all our testing in the left lane but on race day we found there were a lot of bald spots (areas of thin or no rubber) near the start line so lane choice for most teams seemed to be the right lane. We had to stage the car carefully to make sure we had the optimum path of rubber. “We kept the car staged slightly left against Emilio and when we launched it ended up going more and more left and before I knew it I saw a timing block coming. I crossed the centreline and that was the end of the second round and our finals chances.” Disappointed to give up the win, Zappia had to regroup for the third round against old nemesis Ben Bray. “We didn’t touch the car’s set up and came back the next round against Ben Bray. As I went into stage I looked up and I had double bulbed myself (gone into full stage immediately). I had no startline revs up, so I tried to reverse and back up a little but that didn’t work. In fact it got worse because the car went forward a little and now I was in very deep stage. Ben’s staging lights came on and I got on the revs, I took a guess and dropped the clutch and got near to our launch RPM. The time card shows a 1.08 60 foot because of the deep stage but fortunately our 5.80 was enough to scrape by.” With a 39 point deficit to Mouhayet, Zappia knows there is much work to do in the final three rounds of the 400 Thunder Pro Slammer Championship. “Two of the meetings to come are all run formats where it is hard to claw back points. For us to chase down Paul we will need to be perfect and it may be one of those championships that all comes down to the final round at the Winternationals.” The Fuchs/Dananni Hotshots team next head to Sydney Dragway for Santo’s Summer Thunder on January 18 and 19. Zappia commended Sydney Dragway’s track preparation at recent events and says even in the heat, the times will likely be quick. “We would love nothing more than a race track where we can run a string of 5.60s. It’s only a matter of getting this car to go down the track without needing a pedal. “We have to claw some points back so we need superior performance and consistency to be able to do that.” Zappia also wished to pass on his best wishes to fellow Pro Slammer racer Kelvin Lyle, who had a nasty accident during racing. “We’ve had a close relationship with Kelvin and his team over the years, supplying the ZR1 horsepower in his awesome Ford Mustang,” Zappia said. “It was a rough accident and we wish Kelvin all the best in his recovery and we know he will be back quicker than ever once he is up and about.” – Zappia Racing Media Release

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Years ago, drivers fearlessly climbed into their race cars wearing only cotton t-shirts and jeans. These days, most motorsport participants are more informed about driver safety and the importance of being protected from head-to-toe in any racing event. The ability of someone to emerge from a burning car virtually unscathed is a direct result of the increase in personal safety awareness. Of course, drag racing or motorsport of any kind is inherently risky but the chance of injury can be reduced if you take the time to protect yourself properly. Personal safety is a system of the driver suit, accessories, and helmet. The hub of this system is the driver suit. There are many things that influence what kind of suit you need. Sanctioning body rules, track requirements, the type and speed of your car and so. How do you put these factors together to ensure you buy the suit that is right for you? Some drivers look for a manufacturer’s name they know or trust. Other people may be new to the sport and not as familiar with the products available. No matter how much you already know (or don’t know) about driver suits, there is a standard that will guide you in your choice of a well-made garment. That standard is the SFI Foundation Specification 3.2A for Driver Suits. You have probably noticed the black and white SFI patch on many drivers’ left shoulders at various tracks, from drag strips to dirt ovals. The patch demonstrates that the manufacturer certifies the suit to meet or exceed the SFI specification. What does this mean to the consumer? It means that there is a way to differentiate quality-assured products from untested products. A driver suit that is certified to meet the SFI spec has been laboratory tested and has passed the requirements of that test. Before getting into the details of the testing procedures, it is necessary to understand what the SFI Foundation is and what it does. SFI is a non-profit organisation established to issue and administer standards for specialty/performance automotive and racing equipment. This includes parts like clutch assemblies and fuel cells as well as personal driver safety items. The standards/specifications are created via a committee process. The technical committees are comprised of individuals from all facets of the industry. Through their expertise and research, a spec is drafted and then offered to all interested parties in the form of a public hearing. Once revised to the committee’s satisfaction, the spec is presented to the SFI Board of Directors for approval. If approved, the spec is published and made available to the public. Sanctioning bodies all over the world include SFI specs in their rulebooks and use them as minimum requirements. The driver suit spec 3.2A tests a garment’s fire retardant capabilities. The spec contains a rating system based on the garment’s capability to provide Thermal Protective Performance (TPP) in the presence of both direct flame and radiant heat. The purpose of the TPP is to measure the length of time the person wearing the garment can be exposed to a heat source before incurring a second degree, or skin blistering, burn. A Nitro Funny Car fire is one of the harshest tests for fire suit safety. The SFI 3.2A/20 fire suit for nitro drivers will buy the driver 40 seconds of time before second degree burns if the suit is cared for and fitted properly. The TPP rating is the product of exposure heat flux and exposure time. The TPP results can be converted to the time before a second degree burn occurs. The higher the garment rating, the more time before a second degree burn. Here are the SFI ratings with the corresponding TPP values and times to a second degree burn: SFI Rating – TPP Value – Time to 2nd Degree Burn 3.2A/1 – 6 – 3 Seconds 3.2A/3 – 14 – 7 Seconds 3.2A/5 – 19 – 10 Seconds 3.2A/10 – 38 – 19 Seconds 3.2A/15 – 60 – 30 Seconds 3.2A/20 – 80 – 40 Seconds Another test included in the spec is the after-flame test. A direct flame is applied to the fabric and then removed, and the time it takes the material to self-extinguish is measured. This is called after-flame time and it must be 2.0 seconds or less for the layer of fabric to pass. Cuff material is also subjected to this test. The flammability test evaluates single layers of fabric only. The individual layers of a multiple-layer suit are tested for after-flame time separately. The TPP test can be used to evaluate multiple-layer configurations as well as single-layer fabrics. The samples used in testing are assembled with the identical fabrics and layer order as an actual driver suit. Other tests required by Spec 3.2A include thread heat resistance, zipper heat resistance, and multiple layer thermal shrinkage resistance. A common misunderstanding about SFI ratings is that they represent the number of fabric layers in the garment. It is actually possible for driver suits with various numbers of layers to have the same performance rating. This is due to the wide range of materials used by manufacturers today. The radiant heat portion of the spec is significant because the majority of racer burns are caused by heat transfer rather than direct flame. Insulation is the best way to prevent this kind of burn. Using multiple layers of fabric helps keep the heat source away from the skin longer because each layer creates air gaps that have to heat up. The extra seconds gained with each layer are precious to a driver trying to escape from a burning car. Another way to obtain extra air gaps is to wear racing underwear. Fire resistant underwear should be worn with every type of driver suit, especially single layer suits because it will double the minimum protection time (+3 seconds). The 3.2A rating does not include underwear. It is certified through SFI Spec 3.3 for Driver Accessories and undergoes the same TPP and flammability tests as

Emilio and Adamo Spinozzi have moved to fifth place in the 400 Thunder Pro Slammer Championship following two wins from three rounds at Willowbank Raceway on Saturday. While Emilio is the first to admit luck has played a part in being in the top five after three championship rounds, he said the team has been making sure the Speedmaster Chevelle is prepared to make the start line for every round. “There’s the old saying ‘to finish first, first you must finish’ and the hard work of the Speedmaster team allows us to be out there for every round,” he said. “We’ve had our fair share of luck on side this season, but we’ve also been reasonably consistent and made sure we are on that start line without fail. You can’t take advantage of opponents slipping up if you aren’t there.” The Speedmaster Chevelle’s first challenge at Willowbank’s New Years Thunder event was Queensland’s Russell Pavey, but the team caught an early break when Pavey left a red light on the tree, while Spinozzi had to battle tyre shake. “I didn’t see Russell’s red light at first, so I was on and off the throttle thinking I had to chase him down,” Spinozzi said. The next round delivered more fortune against legendary driver John Zappia. Zappia crossed the centre line which saw an automatic win for Spinozzi. “I saw John coming over so I got off the throttle for a bit, and then back into it once I saw he had his car under control.” Two wins up, Spinozzi made it to the B Final for the event, taking on Sam Fenech. There the Speedmaster Chevelle made one of its best launches yet, but got loose shortly after half track. “Sam was out in front and it didn’t look like we could chase him down, so with the car getting skatey it was the right choice to take my foot off the throttle and live to fight another day,” Spinozzi said. “We weren’t disappointed at all though. Two win lights and we moved to fifth place in the points. We know that’s a position we are going to have to defend vigorously for the remaining half of the season.” While there were highlights for Spinozzi, there were some lowlights for the class with racers Andrew Searle and Kelvin Lyle having some big accidents. “We never like to see our fellow racers damaging their cars or themselves. We’d like to pass on our best wishes to both Andrew and Kelvin and hope to see them back on the track soon,” Spinozzi said. Spinozzi Racing crew chief Mick Marriott said the team tested a more aggressive set up in the pursuit of quick times, but had to give full credit for the team for learning an entirely new race car. “The racing is almost the last part of it,” he said. “The engine preparation, car preparation and turn around is all done at our workshop, and the fact we are doing that all in-house has been just as big a learning curve.” The team now heads for Sydney Dragway for the next round of the championship, Santo’s Summer Thunder on January 18 and 19. Spinozzi thanked team sponsors Speedmaster, Hitachi Construction Machinery, Nicsons Concrete, Torco Oils, LJ Hooker Commercial Macarthur, Soligo Concrete, Sloanebuilt Trailers, Pasta Italia, Optimum Fire, Planned Signs, Kemps Creek Mitre 10, Western Filters, Speedflow, Al’s Race Glides, Smithfield Diff and Gearbox, Race Teknix and Corfield Media Solutions for their continued support. – Spinozzi Racing Media Release

The Australian National Drag Racing Association would like to confirm that the Grand Final for the 18/19 Summit Racing Equipment Junior Dragster championship chase will be held across February 15 and 16 at the Sunraysia Drag Racing Association’s Twilight Nationals event.