Zappia King Of The Kings As Spud Goes Gold.

Zappia King Of The Kings As Spud Goes Gold.

By Mark Humphrey

Keilor/Vic, Aus. 30^th January 2017. The 51^st Australian Nationals have been done and dusted with some memorable moments coming out of the 2 day event. Super Comp provided the platform for record setting with a number of new national marks over the 2 days. We should know in a few days what marks were reached once ANDRA have formerly verify the claims.

The Super Comp bracket was just one of the highlights over the weekend that gave us the battle royale of Top Doorslammer with the Gulf Western Oils double team of Victor and Ben Bray rolling into Calder Park Drag Racing to take on the king of Top Doorslammer in John Zappia. What a drag racing feast  fans were dealt up over the weekend with the undisputed king of Top Doorslammer John Zappia despatching both Brays on the way to taking home yet another gold xmas tree but more on that later.The world’s fastest Top Alcohol Funny Car driven by John Cannuli took all before him to win the Top Alcohol bracket with visiting American Top Fuel pilot Dom Lagana picking up the gold in Top Fuel. Lee Bektash had a solo run in the Pro Stock final after Joe Polito tipped his car over just after the finish line in semi-final 1 and after years of trying, Supercharged Outlaws runner Justin “SPUD” Russell picked up a gold in the grass roots category much to the delight of his team and competitors alike. Also, lots of highlights scattered throughout the sportsman brackets which included some outstanding feats like Gordon Crawford’s 120^th & 121^st return trip across the Nullarbor to compete at yet another ANDRA sportsman event. The trip back home will be even sweeter as he will have some gold to keep him company.

Before we touch on Zapp’s day a special thanks once again has to go out to Rapisarda Autosport International for their commitment to Australian drag racing with no less than three Top Fuel cars rolling out to take on the AEG team of Darren Morgan. American hotshot Dom Lagana driving for Rapisarda picked up the win with a 4.08 pass @ 286.38mph to Morgan’s 4.24 pass @ 243.20mph. These machines are definitely crowd pleasers every time they fire up and are mostly responsible for generating the big crowds over the weekend. Saturday’s crowd was one of the biggest seen at Calder Park Drag Racing in recent times so hats off to RAI and Calder Park Drag Racing promoter Peter Pisalidis for going out on a limb to get these guys here.

Top Alcohol honours went the way of John Cannuli with a 4.801 pass @ 229.90mph beating home a red lighting Brian Lockman in the Bantam Altered who strangely enough found himself in the final after having mechanical trouble in the semi. Running up against the powerful team of Jason Maggs in semi-final #1, Lockman experienced trouble with his gear selector leaving him with first and reverse only. Although the team tried to keep the mechanical issue low key a team member from the Maggs outfit overheard the conversation and swiftly informed his team of the ensuing outcome much to the hushed delight of the Maggs team. After a bit of a staging duel to fire up their respective cars Lockman was first to fire up and proceeded to lay down a strong burnout. Maggs followed shortly after with both reversing back at the same time. Lockman went into pre-stage and then stage waiting for Maggs to do the same. Somebody forgot to get Jason to stage which seemed unbelievable as Maggs was timed out leaving Lockman to launch in first gear then simply roll through the finish beams to book his spot in the final. That was a golden chance that went begging for the Maggs Racing Team. Maggs best over the weekend of 5.431 @ 200.68mph was clearly the 2^nd best time for the bracket.

Lee Bektash got the job done in Pro Stock taking the win in the final with a solo pass of 5.958 @ 175.68. Joe Polito was the other finalist after beating home Chris Soldatos in semi-final 1 with a 6.148 pass @ 154.58mph. Unfortunately for Joe his Ford Escort was upside down as he crossed the line to take the win with the car sustaining considerable damage preventing him from starting the final. Bektash announced at the presentation ceremony that this would be his last year racing and that every trophy he wins along the way this year will be donated to crew members. Great move by the Mopar man and one that was well received by the audience. Make sure you get along to the next Pro Stock event in your town to say thanks to Lee Bektash.

The final GP1 bracket was Top Doorslammer where the Brays went toe to toe with Zappia. The pre-event script would have looked something like this. Zappia beats all, Benny beats all and the 2 face off in the final. Funny thing is Paul Cannuli had other ideas and started eliminations day with a 5.079 pass that was only eclipsed by that man Zappia who just so happened to be the only driver to dip into the 4’s with a 4.890 @ 224.28 to dispose of Victor Bray (5.405 @ 199) in round 1, a solo pass in round 2 (4.919 @ 223.69) and the winning pass of 4.903 @ 225.33 mph in the final against Paul Cannuli who returned a 5.118 pass @ 219mph. Cannuli got past Mark Belleri in round 1 and then took out Ben Bray in round 2 with a 5.164 @ 218.34mph to Bray’s 5.340 @ 194mph. There has been a bit going on between the Brays and Zappia over the past number of years which come to a head on the weekend. Accusations of using traction control electronics were put to bed in the semis with both John Zappia and Ben Bray removing their electronics from the car before their runs. For the record Zappia’s car ran straighter than it had all weekend and Bray’s car was not quite as tight on his run as it had been over the weekend dropping the round to Cannuli. The fact is that John Zappia is the best Top Doorslammer driver the sport has ever seen and partly the reason he has won 10 consecutive National Championships. There is no doubt Ben Bray has enormous talent and in my eyes, has the meanest looking hot-rod on the circuit but Zappia is the king just like Victor used to be in the early years of the bracket only Zappia is now surely the greatest of all time in Top Doorslammer. The hype was definitely there pre-event and the very first round of qualifying had Zappia up against Benny culminating in a Zappia win. From there it just built until it all boiled over. What a fantastic action packed weekend of Top Doorslammer racing and it’s all set to continue the very next weekend when the circus hits the Motorplex. No Brays in Perth but O’Rourke, Gregorini and MacLean are just some of the 12-car field that will take it up to the champ. And just so you know this bloke is human, he was getting emotional at the presentation ceremony when he was thanking his crew. He lives and breathes Top Doorslammer and obviously shares that passion with some very dedicated and special support staff.

The Summit Sportsman Series went to another level on the weekend with super strong fields in the elite brackets with Super Comp, Supercharged Outlaws and Top Sportsman all boasting the country’s biggest heavy hitters. In what was a tough ride in Super Comp West Aussie Jamie Chaisty driving a Commodore took the Gold beating home Darren Parker in his GTO Pontiac. This is certainly a tough bracket and Chaisty had to do it the hard way knocking off the current Australian Super Stock champ in Kim Fardella in round 1 then the current Rowe Memorial champ in Tom Dimitropoulous in round 2 and then Michael Caroscio in the semi. Parker had wins against Peter Deguara in round 1 followed by current Australian Comp champ in Craig Geddes in round 2 with a semi win against the 2015 Rowe Memorial winner in Les Heintz. The corresponding round last year had Geddes taking his 5^th win from 6 starts which just goes to show how cut throat this bracket can be. For Chaisty it was a welcome win with both his dad Geoff and brother Jake coming close at the Nationals in past appearances. Actually, father Geoff was walking around with a constant smile on his face right from the outset. Maybe he had a gut feeling that this was going to be the weekend. I’ve seen Geoff in the past walking around with anything but a smile on his face. Well done to the West Aussie family who are fantastic supporters of the Summit Sportsman Series.

Supercharged Outlaws had a fairy tale ending with Colac boy Justin “SPUD” Russell picking up the gold tree with a win over local boy Ryan Van Dyk. Russell posted a 5.860 on a 5.78 dial in @ 169.76mph to Van Dyk’s 5.920 on a 5.58 dial in. Russell who has been trying for years to win an ANDRA tree was at the Nationals protecting his series lead. Russell openly admits that his focus is squarely on the championship series and the weekend’s appearance was to simply protect his lead in the championship. Picking up the Gold Xmas tree was a pleasant surprise. Sportingscribe.com caught up with Justin after presentations to record an interview with the Outlaw which will be used to promote the Grand Finals in April. Keep an eye out for this. For Van Dyk is was a solid hit out with wins against Doina Day, a solo and current Australian champion in Adam Murrihy in the semi.

Top Sportsman was once again a fantastic bracket with all the regulars going toe to toe in the 14-car field. After numerous top qualifier awards over the past couple of years Darren Saliba finally turned a top qualifier win into a round win with the biggest of them all the Australian Nationals. Saliba posted a 7.348 pass on a 7.29 dial in to take the win over a slowing Darren Nichele who posted a 9.788 on a 7.45 dial in. For Nichele it was a welcome return to the track after an altercation with an emergency vehicle on the cars debut late last year. Saliba had wins over Stu McBain, Matt Forbes and Glen Henley. Talk about a tough line up. 3 of the best!  Nichele’s task was just as tough with wins over Carafa, Romeo and Braggs.

Modified Eliminator had another good news win with all round good guy Craig Baker picking up the win over Derek Wills with an 8.656 ET @ 153.96mph on an 8.65 dial in to Wills red lighting 8.057 on an 8.00 dial in. This is Baker’s second win of the 2016/17 series and puts him at the top of the Modified tree and in a good position to pick up another National Series win. Baker had a huge win against Jess Turner in round 1 and followed that up with big wins over Shane Wynd and Kenny Stewart. A solo in the semi sent Baker directly to the final. Wills opened his Nationals with a win against Bonetti and followed that up with 3 massive wins against Cory Dyson, Simon Barlow and Matthew Stone in the semi.

Super Sedan had 39 drivers rolling out for eliminations with all the regulars going for gold. This was a tough bracket that had some heavy hitters dropping early. 4-time champ Johnny Kapiris was out courtesy of top qualifier Scotty Cohen. Other heavies to join him were Steve Hunt courtesy Ashley Smith, Peter Tokas courtesy Alex Groldis, George Tipouikidis courtesy Andrew Johnstone and Vlado Turic courtesy Nick Presti. Turic, like Darren Saliba in Top Sportsman has numerous Top Qualifier marks on his car but is yet to turn that into a win. Maybe he needs to have a chat to Darren to find out the secret. Not often you see the champ Kapiris rolling out of the venue at midday all packed up and on the way home. After some monumental efforts, the final come down to Victorian Pat Caruso up against the well-travelled Ned Karanovic in his immaculate 57 Chevy. Karanovic cherried the start handing the win over to Caruso who cruised in at 10.730 on a 9.20 dial in. Caruso had wins against Dominik Diviak, Pasquale Micelotta, Joe Martino, Michael Jennings and a solo run in the semi. Karanovic had wins against Rocco Molluso, Stephen Griffin, Michael Vlasakakis, Tony Miskelly and also a solo pass in the semi. The hard luck line has to go to Danny Buccella who red lit a solo pass in round 4 to miss out on a semi-final run.

Modified Bike as mentioned previously was taken out by West Aussie Gordon Crawford beating home local boy Brendan Sanders. Crawford posted a 9.903 @ 130.85 on a 9.95 dial in which in the end didn’t matter as Sanders cherried the start with a 0.020 foul. Crawford who is a strong ANDRA supporter has travelled over the Nullarbor more than 120 times in his life with 95% of the journeys to go racing. Fantastic effort and a well-deserved Gold Xmas tree. Crawford picked up wins over Top Qualifier Rob Cassar in round 1, a solo in 2 and Gavin Dohnt in the semi. Sanders had wins against Colin Sainsbury in round 1, Shane Walker in 2 and Danny Rickard in the semi. Current Aussie champ Bryan Finn was out in 1 losing to Shane Walker. Nathan Stone looked strong in round 1 getting past a red lighting Lochy Ireland but failed to put in a pass for round 2. Tony Frost picked up a win in round 1 against Edge Mallis but was bundled out by Rickard in 2.

Super Street had 24 racers lining up for a shot at Gold and when the dust finally settled it was the veteran “Brickie” Graeme Cooper in the Bricklayer EH Holden Station Wagon getting the win over Chris Naughton driving a 78 Cortina. Cooper posted a 10.511 on a 10.50 dial in @ 122.36mph to Naughton’s 11.017 on a 10.99 dial in. Cooper had wins against John Kerr, Brian Symes, Chris King and Lisa Sherry in the semi. Naughton got past Andrew Francis, a solo pass, Samuel Franze and Anton Krajina in the semi.

Super Gas had National Champion Darryl Stephen getting the win over Adrian McGrotty with a 9.915 to McGrotty’s 9.938 on the 9.90 capped index. In a bracket that has seen increased numbers in recent times Stephen had wins against Michael Derose, a big win against Matt Forbes and followed that up with a win against Frank Fontanelli in the semi. McGrotty had wins against Jeff Romeo, Warren Bull and a solo in the semi. The bracket is gaining some momentum and hopefully is a sign of more to come for the bracket.

Junior Dragster was well represented as it usually is with 26 cars having a shot at gold. Jasmine Slamar won the bracket with a win over Jake Berias in the final. Slamar posted an 8.18 pass on an 8.12 dial in to Berias red lighting 8.089 on an 8.11 dial in. Slamar had wins over Allirah Kardum, Jordan Spencer, James Sarkis and a fellow West Aussie in Mikey Naylor in the semi-final. Berias had a solo in round 1 with wins over Joel Burns, Baillie Ponton and Kelly Donnelly in the semi.

Well that’s a wrap on what was an awesome 51st Australian Nationals. Next stop is the Goldenstates at the Perth Motorplex next weekend. Already packed and ready to go. To say I’m looking forward to this round is an understatement.

For more info on the round go to:http://www.motorplex.com.au/

For more info on the ANDRA Series go to:http://andra.com.au/series/calendar/2016-17-calendar.html

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