Winter Nationals Are Go

Winter Nationals Are Go

By Mark Humphrey

Willowbank, QLD/Aus. 3^rd June 2015. The greatest drag racing event outside of the USA is about to rock the foundations of the Willowbank Raceway with the running of the 48^th Winter Nationals starting 4^th of June and going through to the 7^th where finals will be contested in all divisions.

Classes from Junior Dragster right through to the prestigious Top Fuel bracket will duke it out for a shot at one of the famous gold ANDRA Xmas trees. Unlike the national championship where some have been decided, a Winters win is reachable for almost all competitors especially in the dial your own brackets. You can have the slowest car in a dial your own bracket and be as much a chance of winning your bracket as the fastest car. The trick in these brackets is consistency and being able to run as close to your nominated time.

The 2^nd tier of competition being the Summit Equipment Sportsman Series has seen some incredible racing in this year’s shortened season with virtually all categories undecided. It’s possible that the winner of the ANDRA bracket (division) will not be the national champion of the bracket (division). Hard to pick a winner but a couple stand out on form. In the Junior Dragsters Toby Austin has been very consistent making the finals in most of the rounds he contested. A couple of red light starts have halted his domination slightly. Plenty of others to pick from with 4 or 5 still in contention so it should be enthralling to see who comes out on top. ANDRA’s marquee bracket in the Summit Sportsman Series is the Top Sportsman bracket with Stuart McBain having a clean sheet with wins in all rounds contested. As this season was a shortened season to re-align the competition to the financial year, points were capped in all divisions at 160. For competitors like McBain there was no point contesting further rounds as he had already reached the cap with consecutive wins. Steve Fowler and Paul Russo are also genuine chances to take out the bracket. There’s a story to tell in virtually every bracket of the Summit Series, a series that has provided the perfect back drop for ANDRA’s group 1 racers.

With 4 days of drag racing there is something for everyone. If you have never been to an event throw caution into the wind and get along to watch the Top Fuel guys do their thing. But a word of warning, these cars are like nothing you have experienced in life. They are incredibly loud and virtually shake your body as they go past at somewhere around 500kph. The nitro fuel makes your eyes sting and you find it hard to breathe. Sounds awful but what an experience even if you only do it once and it’s not just for the boys either. Lots of women get along to the drags in heels and jeans looking the part in what is the most powerful motorsport on the planet. With an ever increasing female racer population the sport is primed to have a resurgence in popularity in Australia and it starts this weekend with one of the world’s best drag racing events, the 2015 Winter Nationals. For more information on the event go to http://www.willowbankraceway.com.au/events/detail.aspx?EventGroupID=93

Below is a short clip featuring the Pro Stock boys with Willowbank CEO Tony Manson sharing some thoughts on the 2015 Winter Nationals.

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