Santo’s Cranes Super 3 Extreme event at Willowbank Raceway featuring Top Fuel and Top Alcohol certainly had tongues wagging over the format being implemented. But whether you are for or against the three round format deal, the event was always going to live or die on crowd numbers, and after the vast majority of Good Friday’s massive crowd returned for Saturday then you would have to say it was an undoubted success.
What drew the spectators whether it was Top Fuel, Larry Dixon or the entertainment format is left for discussion but they did come and general feedback among fans was very positive. Die hards and many racers may have been very critical of the format but different event programs have to be trialled and maybe with some tweaking can work for all concerned.
The event held over two days featured back to back rounds of Top Fuel and Top Alcohol in a tight package only supported by a limited number of sportsman racer running fixed index brackets. The three round format which would construct the championship event each day consists of a seeding qualifying round followed by a all in elimination round, the 4 quickest winners would advance to a A & B final based on their winning ET’s. The all or nothing nature of the event with no chance to dial a car into the track raised the concerns of the Top Fuel guys particularly and potentially could affect the show along with the need to pedal what may have been an aborted run before to chase a ET risks oil downs. All in all lots of food for thought for all proponents involved in progressing the sport.
In bringing with the new format Willowbank dressed up the raceway with disco lights, pumping music, flame throwers and video screen to create a rock concert atmosphere and keep the crowd entertained during any down time, many features I am sure we will see at future events.
So racing kicked off on Good Friday with the Top Fuel qualifying round as Steve Read took on Darren Morgan, Read lays down a shut off 4.90 and troubles for Morgan.
The time had arrived for multiple time NHRA Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon to turn a wheel on Australia soil. Mirroring the Rapisarda Autosports International operation in the NHRA, Dixon would be steering with Lee Beard as Operations Managers and overseeing the tuning styles of Santino Rapisarda. Dixon was on a serious number before a rear axle snapped shearing off the wheel and sending the dragster into a wild 360 degree spin in front of Damien Harris, who fortunately in this case suffered a engine boom and was decelerating preventing what could have been a very ugly accident.
Dixon was unharmed and miraculously the dragster missed making contact with anything solid and the team was confident of repairing it before the night end.
Lamattina smoked the tyre and banged the blower at half track rounding out the qualifying round.
Dixon was unable to make the call for eliminations after sourcing a rear end from the Baileys were still reconstructing the RAI fueler, Read went on to bury Lamattina with a 4.95.
Darren Morgan in the other pairing took the win with a 4.87 over Harris who suffered a monumental engine explosion which vaporised most of the aluminium block.
Neither Lamattina nor Harris showed for the B final and in the A final it would be Read and Morgan. The candles went out for Morgan not far off the line letting Read power on to a 4.80 and take the round win.
Top Alcohol was a mixed bag in their qualifying round, Debbie O’Rourke debuted a new funny car body but could not get down the track.
Opposite her Darren Fry in his first Top Alcohol event fired the first serious shot with a off the trailer 5.75
In the next pairings it was Wayne Price 5.89, Rick Gauci 6.00, Gary Phillips 8.30, Wayne Newby 9.84, John Cannuli 6.57 and Steve Reed 5.81.
The final pairing though saw Steve Ham in a brand new Mustang funny car take control with a 5.66 against Jon Stings aborted run.
The elimination round would be a test on who could repeat and who had learnt from their qualifying lap. Fry with Jamie Noonan and Mark Brew in his corner was consistent with a 5.80 win against Newby. Ham won his battle over O’Rourke but with a less than impressive 6.40 would mean the Mobil 1 funny car would struggle to make either final.
Jon sting rolled the beams and wasted what looked like a final making run against Reed who improved on Ham’s winning time with a 6.35. A 5.95 from Price would assure a final birth of some kind downing Phillips.
In the final pairing Canulli’s 5.97 fell short of matching Gauci 5.81 sending the Aeroflow funny car to the A Final.
The B Final had dramatic effect, Reed reached the finish line first with a 5.89 but crossed the centreline and Price was disqualified for crew touching the car when in stage, Reed is declared the winner.
Either way the A final would produce a first time winner and it was all the debutant Fry, a 5.67 blistered Gauci’s 6.21.
So everyone returned Easter Saturday to do it all over again. Dixon made a test pass late the night before proving no ill effects from the crash and was ready to rumble again. First pairing though in the qualifying round was Read and Morgan, they produced a great side by side run 4.76 to a 4.77 respectively
Harris had another boomer and the team decided that was it for weekend until they could source the problem of the engine fatalities, while Lamattina’s struggle continued.
Dixon’s presence in Australia was known worldwide after his miracle non-accident went viral during the night and the team wasn’t done with the headline making just yet. This time though it was for the better, Dixon on a solo stopped the timers at 4.503/332.02MPH recording the quickest pass ever is Australia, surpassing the late Scott Kalitta’s 4.51record from 2006.
A stunned Santino Rapisarda could not believe what he was seeing on the boards.
Lamattina’s event didn’t improve in the elimination round again being stopped by the consistent RSR team who clocked another 4.87 to the Fuchs dragsters 5.57.
Morgan would have a solo but still had to go for ET managed a 5.96, leaving Dixon needing to better that to make the A Final. The RAI dragster zinged the tyres hard on the hit after a lane change, even though Dixon’s skill caught it quick and recovered, a 7.02 would not be good enough.
Lamattina again did not front for the B Final and Dixon cranked it up for a 4.54 to reset the national mark.
In repeat of the previous night final Read again delivered his sixth straight four second pass with a 4.76 to double up over a out of shape Morgan.
The Louie Rapisarda Memorial Trophy would head home with the RSR Team.
The track time certainly produced better numbers in this qualifying round for Top Alcohol, Phillips bounced back with a top qualifying 5.59, ahead of Fry’s 5.67 and Ham’s 5.68.
After the Fry team experienced the highest of highs they were grounded with a oil leak in the elimination round against Steve Reed who laid down a 5.74. Phillips went quicker again with a 5.57 win over Newby.
Also rebounding from sub standard previous day, Ham dumped a 5.63 on Gauci’s 6.19 and Canulli’s valiant 5.88 to 5.91 win over Price would see him miss the A Final.
A big cherry from Canulli ended the B Final early against Reed.
The A Final was never meant to be for Ham, pushing the car to the fire up area the fire bottles discharged, fortunately a oil down allowed them to be swapped over in time and a 5.59 pass would have been victorious over Phillips had there been no -0.134 red light left on the tree.
Chris Matheson used the event for some testing and was determined to crack into the five second range. A oh-so close 6.04 at a slamming 241MPH is the quickest and fastest anyone has gone on two wheels in the land, look out Nitro Champs!.
There were a number of fixed index brackets to pad out the show with a limited number of entries allowed in each.
Jason Donnelly picked up a win in the 6.90 class with his Outlaws Corvette after Bryan Marsden went red at the tree in the dragster.
7.90 was a dragster versus sedan tussle, both Kelly Corbett and Neil Maxwell were virtually identical off the line, the Probe of Maxwell just edged in front at the stripe with a 7.93 to the dragsters 7.95.
The little Sprite of Darren Veal overcame a big holeshot against Dave Gauldies Cutlass to win 8.97 to 9.21 in the 8.90 class.
In the 9.50 index class it was Super Gasser Dale O’Dwyer showing his skills defeating Kerry Siebuhr’s Torana 9.56 to 9.53 courtesy of a holeshot.
