Graham Slapp has always had a passion for the unique and for variety, but it’s fair to say he has never quite found a comfortable place in a sport where variety is never short.

Six new national records were set, all in the Aeroflow Sportsman Drag Racing Championship, at Perth over the weekend despite maximum temperatures well into the forties.

Australia has a new Top Fuel pilot commencing licensing with Peter Xiberras recently beginning the process at Willowbank Raceway.

Reece Fish was testing at New Zealand’s Fram Autolite Dragway in Meremere last week when things got very hot for the man who was, at least until this weekend, the New Zealand record holder with a personal best of 5.22 seconds. Earl Edwards of Popeye Pics captured this firey sequence. Cool, things look alright so far. Image by Earl Edwards. Uh oh, beginning to spin the tyres pretty hard, will it hold? Image by Earl Edwards. We have ignition. Image by Earl Edwards. Where there’s fuel, there’s fire! Image by Earl Edwards. If you look closely you can see the bank manager wincing in the background. Image by Earl Edwards. Well, at least the fire’s out… Image by Earl Edwards. …and there are some cool souvenirs. Image by Earl Edwards. And here’s a video recorded from the stands. The good news for Reece Fish is that he managed to get it all back together for the Nitro Shootout held on Saturday at Meremere. We’ll be bringing you a mini report from the event soon! {fcomment}

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It was the Phil Lamattina show once again with the Fuchs dragster powering to an impressive win for his second ANDRA Silver Christmas Tree in as many nights in round two of the ANDRA Top Fuel championship.

Phil Lamattina turned in a bracket-car like performance to win the opening round of the ANDRA Top Fuel championship while Mark Drew dropped some quick passes on the Top Fuel Motorcycle field to also earn victory.

The ANDRA Drag Racing Series fires up for 2014 at the Nitro Max event at Perth Motorplex this weekend, with double header championship rounds of Top Fuel and Top Bike plus the second round of the Aeroflow Sportsman Drag Racing Championship.

After a promising last event was brought to an early end with a mechanical issue, Nieuwhof Family Racing is ready to go again for the second round of the Aeroflow Sportsman Drag Racing Championship this weekend at Perth Motorplex.

The Aeroflow Sportsman Drag Racing Championship will see a new format used this weekend at Perth Motorplex for the four-wheeled Group Two categories.

Glenn Everitt, host of popular television show Man and Machine, is going to take to the wheel of an Aeroflow Outlaw Nitro Funny Car as the TV star completes his ANDRA licencing procedure.

After several seasons spent racing in the NHRA, Rapisarda Autosport International (RAI) say they are turning their focus back to the ANDRA Drag Racing Series for the coming season.

Western Australian Terry Burnett’s lead up to the opening round of the ANDRA Drag Racing Series in Top Fuel Motorcycle has been anything but smooth and we’ve got the pics to prove it.

Phil Lamattina enjoyed a positive day of testing along with a few dozen Western Australians on Wednesday at Perth Motorplex ahead of the weekend’s ANDRA pro season opener at the venue. Conditions stayed in the high twenties and with clouds shielding the track from the sun for much of the day the surface stayed in tact, a rare feat in the summer months of Perth. The Fuchs team were not the only Top Fuel team on the premises with Mark Sheehan also intending to test, however dramas in the pits meant they were unable to make a pass. Lamattina was testing with the intention of finding a way to keep cylinders alive on tricky race tracks. Crew chief Aaron Hambridge, right, was hoping for some positive results in their two passes. The first run launched strongly before buzzing the tyres about 100 feet out with Lamattina quickly off the throttle. The second pass was the home run for the day, with a 3.19 recorded to half track after which Lamattina was out of the pedal as part of a planned shut off, rolling through for a 5.05 on the quarter. Hambridge was very happy with the team’s efforts for the day, saying it was rare for testing to go exactly as planned. But that is what transpired, giving the Fuchs team a boost before Friday’s season opener. The team also had Phil’s son Rocky’s Junior Dragster out for some testing of its own. Kevin Gummow is planning to kill them with consistency this weekend in Top Fuel Motorcycle. He said the blown Kawasaki is pretty much unchanged from when it last ran in Competition Bike, bar a new tyre. He ran some mid sevens during the day. Brian Hotker ensured he got his money’s worth with the most runs of any competitor, but had a nagging shifter problem causing him some headaches. Jake Lane’s Supercharged Outlaws Torana made some wild early ventures on the track, hiking the wheels up and then wanting to turn right, but later passes were straight and in the mid sevens. Lachlan Slamar has plenty of room to grow into his Junior Dragster. Ethan Hort got a steer of father Kevin’s Monaro. With the family’s immaculate Holden ute that Ethan normally drives out of action, Kevin decided he wanted to see his own car go down the track with him outside it. Low eights saw ANDRA officials happy with the licensing efforts. Mark Drew found some big speed with a 213mph clocking during the day but was often having to ‘pedal’ the nitro Harley mid track. Brett Allen was pursuing clutch set up aboard his stretched Katana. Alanah Cope was one of many Junior Dragsters getting in some testing time. David Dequen will be out in E/AA trim on the weekend and had chassis set up guru Mick Marriott helping out on the day. Ross Smith was running near personal bests on his Suzuki Hayabusa, which has been upgraded to a stretched wheelbase this season to fit into the altered bike classes of Competition Bike. Moreno Gullotto’s Toyota Soarer continues to be a handful with plenty of wheelstands and tyre shake, even with power taken out of the car. That said, the team continues to get closer to the sweet spot. Troy Slamar surprised all with a Pontiac GTO Super Sedan rolling on out, a swap from his usual Ford FG Falcon. Ian Ashelford is back with the Attitude Racing team and his nitro Harley looks a lot like his early 2000s version which took him to three championships is the bike that took him to his three championships (thanks Mike!). Speaking of nitro Harleys, Peter Vanderaa was out and testing again in the search for his ANDRA Top Fuel Motorcycle licence. After a wild early pass that saw the Chevy Nova up on two wheels, Ben Hoar managed to get down the track strongly later in the day on a half track shut off. Looks like a definite six second car once sorted. And just because we can’t resist a good power wheelstand, another one of Moreno Gullotto to close us out. Check out the full gallery below! Images by Luke Nieuwhof. {fcomment}

Sam Treasure is praying that his hot form in Modified will continue into this weekend’s second round of the Aeroflow Sportsman Drag Racing Championship at Perth Motorplex.

2010 ANDRA Top Fuel champion Martin Stamatis will be back in action at Perth Motorplex this Friday and Saturday when the venue plays host to the opening round of the 2014 ANDRA Drag Racing Series.

Video has been released of a plane crashing into an Iceland drag strip in August last year, while an event was underway. The plane, an air ambulance, sweeps in low over the track but comes down in the braking area with race officials rushing to the scene to assist. The investigation into the accident is still underway, but reports are that the plane was fully functional and this was not an emergency landing and may have been a fly-by gone wrong. The captain of the plane reportedly had close connections to the drag racing club. Two people aboard were sadly killed in the accident, but amazingly the co-pilot survived and has assisted with investigations into the crash. Link to video embedded below – http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=0c6_1389025127 {fcomment}

Kyle Putland continues to be on a roll in Western Australia’s domestic Super Comp series after two wins in a row with his A/Altered.

Former ANDRA Top Fuel Champion, Phil Lamattina, has vowed 2014 will be the year he reclaims the Top Fuel title as the Fuchs-powered team prepare for the season-opening Nitro Max at Perth Motorplex on January 10-11.

After fighting constant rain showers the opening round of the Aeroflow Sportsman Drag Racing Championship has been cancelled due to weather at Fuchs South Coast Raceway.

Craig Hewitt finally has unveiled his Pro Street Blown-destined VZ Holden Monaro at the famed Summernats car show.

When the opportunity came up to tour New Zealand and race Nitro Funny Cars, both Anthony Begley and Christine Steffens could not have been more excited.Both teams took the opportunity to not only see some of New Zealand’s famous scenery but also show race fans at Taupo Thunder Dragway what big show nitro cars are all about.

Portland, Victoria plays host to the opening round of the Aeroflow Sportsman Drag Racing Championship this weekend and coming into the event with an expanded family team is Modified national champion Craig Baker.

2013 ANDRA Top Fuel champion Darren Morgan has made the shock announcement that he will miss the season opening round in Perth on January 10 and 11, 2014.

Western Australian Competition Bike veteran Kevin Gummow will be making a move into Top Fuel Motorcycle for the opening round of the series at Perth Motorplex on January 10 and 11.

Australian Nitro Funny Car drivers Christine Steffens and Anthony Begley raced in Taupo on Saturday in a rare appearance for big show nitro cars in the land of the long white cloud.

Perth Motorplex played host to jet dragster match racing for the third event in a row on Saturday with the fourth round of the state championship going down alongside.

Modified Bike will see the return of the Nieuwhof family this weekend with Luke Nieuwhof back aboard the family’s 8.2 second 60foot Kawasaki.