Every so often, a racetrack comes along that resets the bar. Right now, that place is The Bend Dragway in South Australia. Still the newest facility in Australian drag racing, it’s fast earning a reputation as the country’s ultimate benchmark — smooth, quick, and record-breaking.
During the Spry Spring Nationals (October 3–5), eleven-time Top Doorslammer champion John Zappia rolled his FUCHS Lubricants Australasia/Summit Racing Equipment Monaro into Tailem Bend to take on a new challenge: Pro Mod 5.85 Index Racing.
For most racers, trying to slow down a 3,600-horsepower car sounds like torture. For Zappia, it was a science experiment.
“Normally we’re trying to go as quick as possible and then work out how to make it go quicker for the next one,” he said. “This time we turned the lock-up clutch off, ran it on the converter, knocked the timing down, shifted earlier, and put a bit more wing on it to make the car stable.”
On Saturday, the plan looked solid on paper. Then came Q1.
“It was idling a bit fast, and as I staged and went to get on the trans brake, the car pulled through and broke the beam, so I just hit the throttle and drove off. So that was a wasted run,” Zappia laughed.
Back in the pits, the crew traced the issue, fixed what they could, and lined up for Q2.
Burnout, backup — then no first gear.
“It turned out it was a broken terminal on a switch,” he explained. “The switch had vibrated and snapped the terminal, no first gear. So I thought, “Oh, I’m gonna have to put it in fifth gear so I can stage.” So he did. Fifth-gear button pressed, trans-brake set, throttle down.
The Monaro cruised down The Bend quarter mile to a lazy 6.310/234.95 mph.
With the switch replaced, Round 1 on Saturday night finally saw some normality — until the scoreboard flashed a number too good. Zappia cut a six-hundredths holeshot and wrestled to a 5.826 / 242 mph, but it was .024 under the 5.85 index. Steve Carlsen’s 5.855 took the win.
“We were close, so close,” Zappia said. “If I’d have backed off a bit earlier or just taken more power out, it would have been perfect.”
Sunday morning brought cool air — 24 water grains, roughly 1,600 feet density altitude — and a clean slate.
“We just lost by two hundredths and got zero ET points,” Zappia said. “So we decided to step on the tune-up and go run a number.”
Facing Kiwi Steve Carlsen again, Carlsen rolled the beams and red-lit, while Zappia stayed in it for data. The Monaro thundered down the left lane for a 5.674/250.53 mph run that sounded every bit Top Doorslammer.
“The conditions weren’t ideal,” he said. “The track wasn’t as good as we’ve seen there before. But nevertheless, we took off, stayed in it the whole way and got the win….lost the ET points because we went flat-out, but we learned from that run.”
The C-Final lined up Zappia against local rookie Zack Knezevic, and it turned messy fast.
“I hopped the car up in a few places, off the line and cleaned up the cylinders, getting it to leave on eight cylinders instead of six,” he said. “But it was too much, had too much wheel speed, started to rattle, and then made an instant left for the centre line. I pedaled it, got back on it, and thought ‘nope, there’s not much point.’ So I put it in fifth gear and gave up the fight.”
Good call. Ahead of him, Knezevic’s red Camaro darted across the centreline, mowed down the timing blocks, and nearly joined Zappia in his lane. “Luckily I didn’t get back on it,” Zappia said. “We got the win for the C-Final.”
“The Bend were happy to have us racing there, running amongst the Pro Mods,” Zappia noted. “A lot of the other drivers were excited — especially Steve Carlsen, who won the meeting and got to run me twice. One win, one loss. A challenging weekend, but we enjoyed it.”
The race fans also showed out in force to support Zappia Racing.
“The race fans in South Australia are as passionate about drag racing as anywhere else. We had a great time meeting new and old fans, selling t-shirts and giving everyone a closer look at the Monaro. Thanks to everyone for coming out and supporting a great event.”
Zappia pointed out the crew on deck: Neil and Cameron from Western Australia, Frank and Gary from South Australia, and Sam from New South Wales. “Some of our regular crew couldn’t make this event. A huge thanks to these guys for jumping in and assisting over the weekend.”
As for that faulty switch?
“It was brand new in January, and it broke nine months later,” Zappia said. “We’ll change to a better anti-vibration switch. Those little gremlins just make Team Zappia stronger over time.”
With the C-Final trophy boxed and data downloaded, the team heads straight into this weekend’s Adelaide Jamboree. The Monaro will swap index discipline for all-out mayhem in Extreme Pro Mod.
“We’ll be in Extreme Pro Mod, no rules,” Zappia said. “We’re a little bit heavy – 2750 pounds – some of the other cars are down at 2625 (pounds). We’re just going out there to try and run a Personal Best. To win it – other people have to make mistakes or have reliability issues. We just want to have a good time, run the car, and try to beat our 5.58. That’s the goal for this weekend. And if we can end up in the final, fantastic.”
The Adelaide Jamboree will close out Zappia’s 2025 season — a year that stretched all across Australia, saw a two-car operation at times, and launched a new partnership with Summit Racing. A memorable way to cap off his 45th anniversary racing season.
“None of this is possible without my crew and our incredible sponsors who give us the budget and support to do what we do. Thank you to FUCHS Lubricants Australasia, Summit Racing Equipment, Striker Australia Pty Ltd, JP Pallets, Crow Cams Australia Pty Ltd, Tony’s Auto Wreckers, CP-Carrillo, and Callies Performance Products and all our other sponsors and supporters who contribute to making this Zappia Racing team a reality. We couldn’t do it without you,” Zappia concluded.
RESULTS
Saturday Q1: Left early, NTR
Saturday Q2: 6.310 / 234.95 mph
Saturday R1: 5.826 / 242 mph (breakout loss to Carlsen 5.855)
Sunday R1: 5.674 / 250.53 mph Win (over Carlsen 6.805, Carlsen red-lit)
Sunday C-Final: Win (NTR – Knezevic crossed centreline, hit timing blocks)
