John Zappia’s season launches today at Perth Motorplex as he takes part in match racing at the Shannons Insurance Power Palooza.
John Zappia’s season launches this Saturday at Perth Motorplex as he takes part in match racing at the Shannons Insurance Power Palooza.
Zappia would ordinarily be contesting rounds of the 400 Thunder Pro Slammer Championship at this time of year, but the series is on hold due to COVID-19, allowing Zappia to concentrate on his home track where he is targeting the Summer Slam Series.
“I’m excited to be finally able to race at the Power Palooza, as every other year we have been on the road,” he said. “It’s going to be part shakedown and part show for us. We have some brand new Hoosier tyres on the back we need to get scrubbed in and a lot of new fans to reach.”
The Dananni Hotshots-Tony’s Auto Wreckers Monaro will carry a new look into the event, with some fresh paint applied thanks to Shacks Automotive Paints and a new wrap.
“The longer than expected off-season was a good opportunity for us to go over the whole car and give some attention to the details,” Zappia said. “It’s really just like new, and it gives us a lot of confidence heading into the season knowing that it is all in good shape.
“We are proud to have our co-naming rights sponsors Dananni Hotshots and Tony’s Auto Wreckers back on board. Tony’s Auto Wreckers was meant to be with us just for one event last season, but with our new focus being on the local Summer Slam Series they want to be a part of the journey all season long.”
Mechanically, Applied Automotive have freshened the Noonan cylinder heads as well as a new Crow’s Cam and all that is left to do is fill the car with Fuchs lubricants and add the last of the vinyl stickers made by All Signs.
Zappia set the Top Doorslammer track record at Perth Motorplex last season with a stunning 5.585 second run in January, and while he doesn’t expect to be resetting that mark straight away, anything can happen in the cool spring weather. After Power Palooza, the team will have a rapid turnaround to be ready for the opening round of the Summer Slam Series on November 7.
“We aren’t looking to change our tune-up much at all, so hopefully we can roll off the trailer and be straight back into the fives and then look for regular 5.6s when we start the Summer Slam next weekend.
“We are going to be match racing against Wayne Keys, who has no trouble belting out five second runs in his beautiful Camaro, so I think the Power Palooza crowd are going to get a great show.”
The Shannons Insurance Power Palooza begins from 3.30pm on Saturday, with drag racing starting the show and running until 6.30pm, before a burnout show and then speedway kicking off from 7pm.
“We are looking forward to seeing many sponsors and supporters at this event after the long layoff, and make sure to check out our merchandise and model cars which will be available in our merchandise tent,” Zappia said.
