Shane Olive claimed victory among the Aeroflow Nitro Hot Rods as part of the Nitro Heaven event at Perth Motorplex on Saturday night.
Olive, driving the hot rod nicknamed ‘Psycho’, only just missed achieving the car’s first 5sec. pass with a best of 6.01sec.
“It was a great day of racing for ‘Psycho’ and we were very consistent all day,” he said. “We did have a crack at running its first five but wasn’t meant be in Perth.
“Our team were all very happy with how the car performed. We ran 6.05sec. on the first pass and then for our second pass we had a crack at running that five but gave it a little too much and ran a 6.12sec. We came back for the last run and ran a awesome 6.01sec. – so very close to that five.”
Olive believes it will only be some minor adjustments to the car that see it take those precious few hundredths of a second off a pass.
“I think it will happen. This car will run a five with a little more fine tuning and I really hope it happens at our next event in Sydney for the whole team.
“And most of all for my god parents and car owners Graeme and Wendy Cowin. Back in the day this car was their life; it has so much history and meaning to them.”
In other divisions, the Summer Slam Series continued to deliver excellent Top Doorslammer racing, with a new winner emerging at the conclusion of the event.
Mark Chapman drove his Penrite Racing Plymouth Fury to a close 5.94sec. to 5.97sec. win against John Zappia, seizing the opportunity when Zappia’s supercharger backfired off the motor.
“(The final) was very close, I could see (John) right next to me,” Chapman said. “I knew I had him on the start line and knew our car would perform, so when I saw his supercharged pop off I was pretty confident we got the win.”
Chapman’s win was spectacular with a broken wheelie bar dragging through the braking area, causing a trail of sparks behind.
“Besides that and some new tyres which gave us some trouble in the first round everything went smoothly,” he said.
“We were stoked to get our first win in the Fury. With running consistent 5sec. passes we can only see the future being bright.”
In Modified, Nicholas Wroe was able to achieve redemption following a crash earlier in the season, taking out the win from Erin Healy.
Wroe said the team had much work to do following the accident and were glad to put it back into the winner’s circle.
“There was a bit of damage to both the car and my confidence,” he said.
“The car was stripped over the following few days after the crash and we assessed it from then, figuring out what was straight, what needed fixing and what needed replacing.
“A lot of work was done by Dad and I along with help from Geoff and Lauren from Black Magic Race Cars.
“My key to success over the weekend was just to trust in my car and my crew to do what they do best. And there’s always a little bit of luck that helps you along the way.”
It was an emotionally charged first ever win for Luke Seaton in Modified Bike. Luke’s grandmother lost her battle with cancer a few days before the race and he was able to take the trophy in tribute.
Other winners for the night included Russell Ladbrook in Top Comp, Errol Quartermaine in Super Comp, Ross Smith in Competition Bike, Alan Mahnkoph in Supercharged Outlaws, Chris Roe in Top Sportsman, Simon Travaglini in Outlaw Radial, Mick Fenton in Super Sedan and Craig Caton in Super Street.
The final event for the WA drag racing season takes place on April 6 and 7 with the running of the ANDRA Summit Sportsman Series Grand Final.
