Summit Set To Go Out With A Bang.

By Mark Humphrey

Adelaide, South Australia, 23rd march 2018. After a Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series that has taken racers from the top end of Australia, across to the west and southern Australia, we have finally reached the pinnacle of the sport with the Summit Racing Equipment Grand Final at Adelaide International Raceway.

Over a ten round series, the title of Australian Champion will be contested through 10 individual brackets of sportsman racing. Every bracket has multiple entrants going for the title with Junior Dragster, Top Sportsman, Super Sedan, Modified Bike and Supercharged Outlaws packed with possible scenarios adding to the intrigue and excitement. To say there’s a buzz around the complex would be understating the fact. As I’m writing this the familiar sound of a blown outlaw warming up in the pits echoes around the complex. Drivers and crew are putting the final touches on their package in readiness for 2 qualifying runs today and a further run tomorrow morning before eliminations start to shape our next batch of Australian champions.

The standout in Junior Dragster has been Brad Bishop who reached the 300 points cap early in the season. All brackets have a points cap of 300 to even out the competition and prevent wealthy teams who can afford to travel of having a distinct advantage. Bishop leads a pack of 7 racers who have a mathematical chance of winning the series. Just tucked in behind Bishop on 270 points is Tommy Turic who has had a standout season. Turic is in a unique position to be part of a father son combination with dad Vlado in the mix in Top Sportsman. Ballie Ponton sits back on 260 with West Aussie Brodie Zappia on 240. The Perri boys follow with Jackson on 230 and Samuel on 200. Young Jakey Berias also sits on 200 points and is in the mix with 100 points on offer for a win this weekend. There is no doubt Bishop is in the box seat and has been outstanding all season and will be hard to beat this weekend based on past performances.

Super Gas has 2 guys in the running with Graeme Spencer capped on 300 points with a challenge coming from Warren Bull who sits on 220 points. Spencer was runner up in the championship last season and is in good shape to go one better this year. With a limited field this weekend Spencer just needs to go rounds to wrap up the title and snuff out any chance Bull has of becoming the new champ.

Super Street has 3 guys in the mix with the ever consistent Harry Harris sitting on 250 points. Harris has been at the pointy end of the championship for the past 3 years and this may well be his year. 2 obstacles stand in his way with one of the most decorated sportsman racers in Graeme Cooper sitting 30 points back on 220. Champion Super Sedan racer John Kapiris rolled out a Super Street machine for this series and sits back on 190 points. Kapiris has done an unbelievable job this season running 2 cars with a very limited crew making his feat even more remarkable. A John Storm trophy (most points over the season) is definitely in the mix for this celebrated racer. Personally I think it’s a race between 2 with the outcome too hard to pick.

Super Sedan has 6 racers in the mix with Peter Tzokas sitting on 300 points. Tzokas reached the points cap very early in the season and has had an unbelievable year and is in a perfect position to become the new champ. Sitting behind Tzokas is that man John Kapiris on 290 points. Kapiris has won 4 Australian titles and a runner-up in the past 5 years and will be there at the pointy end come tomorrow night. With massive fields every round, the winner of Super Sedan has to earn his or her win so Kapiris’ effort over the last 5 years has been simply outstanding. 10 points further back on 280 points is the current Australian champion in George Tipoukidis who has worked hard to get to this point in the championship. Alex Gkriodis has had a wonderful year and finds himself right in the mix sitting on 260. Ned Karanovic sits on 210 points with another crow eater in Leon Davies sitting on 200 points. Both Ned and Leon are in the mix mathematically but the brackets heavy hitters sit above them and it would be unusual to see the heavy hitters falter early. Based on the season consistency, it would be hard to tip against the top 2.

In Modified Bike, the moving man Gordon Crawford leads the way sitting on 300 points along with Johnny Ireland and current Australian champ Bryan Finn. Both Crawford and Ireland reached the points cap early in the season with Finn having to win the last round in Perth to reach the cap. Sitting just behind the trio on 270 is new comer Dan Dycer and Danny Rickard. Dycer has come over from the sand drag scene and has provided plenty of highlights throughout the season. His acceptance speech in Mildura was memorable. Rickard is on the ex-Nicky Zac Harley and is more than capable of taking out the series. Just behind the pair is another Harley charger in Shane Walker. Walker sits on 220 points and is a chance but like other brackets, will need everything to stack up in his favour. Gav Dohnt was also in contention but has nominated in Comp bike to help make the field for that bracket. Dohnt made the decision to enter Comp Bike to help out mate Tony Frost who is in line for the series. This bracket is way too hard to call, but if you go on the last round then Bryan Finn is looking good to make it 3 National titles in a row.

Modified has a couple of options with Matt Czerny the standout on 300 points. Czerny, like Finn, picked up the win in Perth last round and is in prime form to take out the series. Sitting back on 270 points is Serge Bonetti. Bonetti picked up 230 of those points in the NT swing and needs to find that form again to be a chance. Jess Turner is back on 220 points which normally would be a hard task for any racer to take out the title but Jess is more than capable of winning the round and becoming the Aussie champ. For me the title will be a show down between Czerny and Turner.

Comp Bike has a number of scenarios but with the top 2 point scorers not entering the round Warrnambool racer Tony Frost has the only other chance of becoming the new Australian Champion. Sitting on 110 points and 75 back from Phill Paton, Frost needs to make the final to become the new champ. As noted, Gav Dohnt and a couple of others have entered the bracket to make sure the round counts ultimately giving Frost the opportunity of becoming the champ. A fantastic gesture by the racers to support Frost. Rob Cassar will debut his new Suzuki in race trim which promises to be exciting. I would love to see Tony win the whole show and if he’s good enough on the day that will happen.

Competition is the same as Comp Bike with the leader not contesting the event. That leaves Shane Baxter leading the charge on 125 points with Craig Geddes back on 100 points. Under normal circumstances this would be a shootout between the pair but due to a lack of numbers in the bracket, comp is mixed in with Super Stock. There are plenty of hard chargers in Super Stock so both Geddes and Baxter will have to navigate some hot Super Stock guys. Geddes is capable and has beaten them all before but with a limited racing season in comp this season will find it that much tougher this weekend. I still have to go with Geddes on this one.

Super Stock is led by Jim Ioannidis who has taken all before him this season and although he has picked his rounds, is a standout in the bracket. He still has a bit up his sleeve with the index and will be tough to roll. Sitting 40 points back on 260 is big Tommy Dimitropoulos who is capable of taking out the series. The only other contender is Alex Panagiotidis who sits back on 210 points and will find it tough to overtake Ioannidis. Ioannidis is my pick for this bracket.

Top Sportsman presents up with a number of options with Jason Arbery leading the charge capped on 300 points. Arbery has had a fantastic year with consistency both in the series and club rounds at South Coast Raceway his trademark.  Arbery shares the 300 points cap with no less than 4 other racers making this outcome unbelievable. Vlado Turic, like Arbery has recently stepped up from Super Sedan and has had an amazing debut season. Both Arbery and Turic tasted success early in the season with the top end swing and have continued on with that form. Another consistent runner for the entire season has been Greg Damiani who will be right in the mix come finals time. Chris Theo took the gamble and travelled over to Perth last round searching for points. Theo, who was sitting on 200 points going into Perth, won the round to join the leaders on 300 points. A massive gamble that paid off for the Camaro runner. The 5^th racer on 300 points is Darren Nichele who picked up enough points in Perth to cap out on 300. Nichele normally top qualifies and when he’s on is very hard to beat. I would love to see my mate Vlado Turic pick up the championship but I think the race will come down to Arbery and Nichele. Too hard to pick on paper but I have a hunch on Nichele.

The last bracket to be decided this weekend is my favourite in Supercharged Outlaws. Once again Justin Russell has had an outstanding year and like last year comes into the final round as red hot favourite. Joining Russell on 300 points are Tim Stewart, Alan Mahnkoph and Jason Keily with 2 times and defending Australian champ Adam Murrihy 10 points back on 290. Shane Kramer sits a further 10 points back on 280 with last year’s series runner up in Mark Hunt still a mathematical chance on 200 points. Not sure about my good mate Mark Hunt as he needs to win the whole show but it’s definitely not beyond him. Hunt made the remark that he’s putting Russell on the trailer first and then working through the field. What an unbelievable championship ending that awaits us. Working from the lower end of the table we have Shane Kramer who is running on his home track. Shane has won on this track previously and has had a very consistent season without the massive highlights although a runner up in the top end swing was a highlight. Adam Murrihy can win at any track and is always on the money. That’s why he is the current back to back Australian Champion. I think he can definitely win the show. Alan Mahnkoph like Murrihy is a very hard charger and can win on his day.  Jason Keily has had an excellent season and stepped up big time in the 34 Ford. I can still remember his first ever win back in the day at South Coast Raceway. The car is hooked up these days which is testament to his season performances and the reason why he is in the mix to become champ. Justin Russell as noted has had another stellar season winning both Summit and club titles this season. Russell came into last year’s final as the outstanding competitor of the bracket and faltered at the last hurdle to walk away with nothing. I honestly think he is the better for that and will be the one to beat this weekend. Tim Stewart has stepped up into Supercharged Outlaws this year and taken all before him with numerous wins also. The team had to do an engine change at the start of the year giving him only one chance to test before this weekend’s finale. The test was down at South Coast Raceway and that consistency that Stewart has shown throughout the series was once again there. Stewart is a big chance to knock off Russell this weekend and become the Australian Supercharged Outlaw Champion. So my pick for the final is Russell v Stewart but anything goes in this bracket and the more you look at it the more it gets confusing.

So by 10pm Saturday night we will crown our latest Australian Champions some quite possibly for the first time. What a fantastic season it has been starting with the Top End Track way back in July of last year. The season has been full of highlights with no doubt more to play out this weekend. Good luck to all race teams and stay safe,

Adelaide DragRace Promotions Street Meet Gallery

A small collection of images from Adelaide DragRace Promotions Street Meet conducted at AIR Friday 2nd of February 2018. 

Over 140 entries with a good crowd on hand to watch the racing backs up the last Street Meet held at Adelaide. The Friday night format looks to be a winner judging by the turnout and looks favourable to a massive turnout next month when the 400T hits town along with the ANDRA Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series for their series ending Grand Final. Lots of people in contention in all brackets waiting to be crowned the new 2017/18 ANDRA Australian Champions. 

Judging by Friday nights turnout, the upcoming Grand Final should be huge.

Live Streaming Campaign

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Watch this type of action and more in the comfort of your home 20 kms away or 20,000 kms away. Drag Racing, Hot Rodding, Boats, Speedway and more. Sportingscribe.com travels the width and breadth of Australia filming drag racing events with the occasional hot rodding and speedway event thrown in, all packaged up in video edits usually within a week of the event finishing.  Scheduling and growth of the industry has made it difficult to find the editing time to process all the action in a reasonable time frame. My quest here at sportingscribe.com is to set up a live streaming service that will deliver the same content to my viewers, live as it happens. All the action from the Australian National Drag Racing Association Summit Sportsman Series plus selected marquee events including hot-rodding from around Australia delivered live right onto your device. Get us close and personal with drivers, pit action and all the drama that go hand in hand with competition. Be there to celebrate the highs of motorsport achievement with victory speeches, interviews and pit parties. Catch all the cool guys and gals in the ever growing hot-rod scene with live vision of the coolest rides on the road, the girls in their rock a billy gear and the finest featured hot-rodding live music.
Sounds entertaining you say! I agree and want to bring it to you live free of charge onto your device, yes free of charge, no pay per view charges, but I need your help.
To give you all this supercharged cool action I have set up a fund to help raise capital for the purchase of live streaming equipment. I have a regular job and currently cover drag racing and motorsport events free of charge and not for profit. Your support and assistance with this campaign will kickstart my journey into live streaming, bringing all the men and women of motorsport right onto your device. Let's get this campaign rolling and see what we can do with a little bit of support. I thank you in advance. 
Mark Humphrey

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Norman Goes European With The R/T Marine Prepared BMW

By Mark Humphrey

Adelaide, SA/Aus. 16^th June 2017. 2015 Australian Super Stock champion Steve Norman will debut his new ride this weekend at the Adelaide Drag Race Promotion’s Sunday Funday at Adelaide International Raceway. Having been out of the racing seat for the past 15 months, Norman is itching to get some seat time in the R/T Marine built BMW coupe which had been in the pipeline for about 5 years.

I dropped a line to Steve to find out a bit more on the vision he had with the BMW, “Well I noticed the BMW sitting in the Perth Motorplex pits at a Westernationals 5 years ago and straight away thought about debuting a Super Stock version” he said. Norman went on to say “I got the boys (Ryan & Reg Lee) to measure it up and here we are 5 years later with an unbelievable version of European motoring”.  Norman added, “we embarked on the project less than 2 years ago with Ryan Lee from R/T Marine responsible for making it happen. Along with his father Reg and the help of others, the team has put together a race car that is as good as anything I’ve had in the past” he said. Norman went on to say “the attention to detail is simply unbelievable and I cannot fault any part of the build at all. I had enormous trust in the boys to get the job done and they certainly haven’t let me down” he said.

The history of the car is quite chequered with the car originally part of a divorce settlement in the USA. Legend has it that the ex-wife snatched the BMW, poured acid over the boot and then proceeded to drive the car into a dam. The Norman camp found the car at a salvage yard via a friend in the USA and the rest is history.

The guy responsible for the unique transformation was Ryan Lee who owns and operates R/T Marine SA, a business that had its roots in boat repairs but has now expanded into fibreglass auto products, vehicle modifications and of course complete race car builds. I caught up with Ryan and his father Reg to find out more on this simply stunning build and started by asking Ryan his thoughts on the BMW build “absolutely over the moon. The team has done a fantastic job on the car with the end result being an amazing BMW Super Stock car”. Ryan added “ we took possession of the car from the US and completely gutted the car in order to get it ready for the build. Originally, we looked at a Jaguar but because it had an aluminium body it was going to be too expensive to put chrome moly bar work through the car. It then come down to transforming either a Mercedes or BMW car into a MP Super Stock car. We measured up a BMW in the pits at the Perth Motorplex and found that everything would fit and the rest is history” he said.

After being stripped back to a bare shell the car was sent to interstate chassis builder John Lang to get the bar work installed along with some tin work. Ben Seal was then called in to complete the tin work which included all the necessary bracketry, front end and 4 link suspension points. Ben worked solid for 3 straight weeks and then dropped in after hours on more than half a dozen occasions to complete any alterations that were required. Also helping out on the tin and aluminium work was Doug Elsworthy from Elsworthy’s Chassis Shop.

The running gear was fitted up to see what alterations if any were required. The running gear for this project come out of the championship winning Chevy Cobalt and consists of a 312ci Bob Book small block coupled to a 3 speed Pro Flight transmission. Power is transferred down to the JRI sprung titanium housed diff via a carbo fibre tail shaft. Lamb front struts work nicely with Lamb carbon fibre disc brakes to provide plenty of stopping power.

Next it was the job of brother Bryce with help from good friend Matt to prep the body and bar work for paint. Bryce spent a solid 3 weeks straightening the panels alone before prepping the car for paint which in the end was coated with Electric Orange. I asked Ryan what the most difficult part of the build was and he mentioned choosing the paint color. “I first suggested orange to Steve but that was rejected with a pearl white looking like the color. I liked black but in the end, it was Steve’s decision and after some deliberation Steve decided that it would be Electric Orange” he said. Ryan added “I think the color choice was spot on as it certainly showcases the car”.

Once the car was painted it was time to fit out the car and that’s when Reg took over. The car was completely re-wired starting from a bare shell and color coded to MSD color codes. Every wire was color matched to components with all original hinges used. The boot retains its electric opening operation keeping some originality with the car.

The interior was completely re-trimmed by Vicki in the color of their choice still incorporating the woodgrain in the dash and door trims. The attention to detail with the trim is unsurpassed with Steve Norman noting how the interior trim was altered to incorporate bar work encroaching into the door armrests. The choice of trim color certainly adds to the build and compliments the vision the boys had when they first set out to build the car. Asked what the most pleasing part of the build was, they both responded simultaneous with “today”. “Having the car 100% finished with nothing to do but turn the key is definitely the most pleasing part of the build” said Ryan. The car is built to 25.5 C SFI specification as a MP car and will initially be running in Gas.

Now that the car is 100% completed the next thing to do is get some laps into the car. As noted, the team will head out this weekend to Adelaide International Raceway to put down an installation pass testing out things like brakes, tracking, parachute and the like. They hope to get at least a second pass in which with all things being equal will be under full noise. The fact that they are using the running gear out of the Cobalt, takes away the uncertainty of how the drivetrain will go and leaves the team with one less thing to worry about. The team hope to run a private test next weekend and provided they meet all parameters will debut the car for competition in round 3 of the ANDRA Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series at Sunset Strip Mildura in late September.

Obviously to put together this masterpiece the team relied on some outstanding help with Steve Norman thanking Ryan and Reg for their commitment with this build. With regards to the workshop activities Ryan and Reg would like to thank Bryce and Matt for the paint, Ben Seal for the fabrication, Doug Elsworthy for additional fabrication, John Lang for bar work, Vicky from Vicki’s Trimming Shop, Motorsport Connections, Craig at RCE, BMW Adelaide and Brett Henley from Henley Chassis for all his advice.

For race fans, keep an eye on the ANDRA website for details on the 2017/18 Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series dates which will feature the likes of Steve Norman, Competition champ Craig Geddes, Super Stock champ Jamie Chaisty among others duking it out in Super Stock/Comp.

Click on the link for more details http://andra.com.au/

All images supplied by Reg Lee

Geddes Closes Out A Fantastic Summit Sportsman Series

By Mark Humphrey

Virginia, South Australia/Australia. March 2^nd 2017. Competition Eliminator Craig Geddes capped off another championship winning season for the team taking the win over newly crowned Australian Super Stock Champion Jamie Chaisty in the final pass for the 2016/17 ANDRA Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series at Adelaide International Raceway. For Geddes, it was back to back Australian Championships in a class he has dominated for the past two years while for Chaisty the runners up placing clinched his first Australian Championship Super Stock title in a car his brother Jake had used to win the 2014 Super Stock Australian Championship.

After a hotly contested round of qualifying on Friday night the scene was set for a massive day of drag racing on Saturday with 2 rounds of qualifying followed by eliminations pencilled in to see out the 2016/17 series. Unfortunately, due to a bit of weather and some technical issues with the timing system race day was delayed by several hours leaving organisers with no option but to cancel the remaining two rounds of qualifying on race day. By the time the technical issues had been sorted the racers were greeted with perfect racing conditions and a racing surface that would produce a stack of PB’s and entertain the huge crowd that had assembled to watch the action.

Rapisarda Autosport International had 2 top fuel cars leading the way for the Group 1 guys and put down 3 sensational match races over the weekend that was only bettered by the king of Top Doorslammer in John Zappia. Zappia rounded out his 10th consecutive National Championship with an unforgettable win against the legend of Top Doorslammer in Victor Bray in the final. To have these two guys going head to head in an ANDRA Grand Final was a promoters dream and hopefully with the highly speculated combined Group 1 series that is gathering some substance, the future of more Zappia v Bray battles around the country will become a reality. With only 5 door cars making the trip to Adelaide, the sport is crying out for some common sense and hopefully an announcement will be made in the next couple of weeks about a combined series with 400 Thunder that will include Sydney. Although we only had 5 door cars on the weekend we did have the best of the best with both the Brays, Paul Cannuli, John Zappia and Rob Taylor all laying down spectacular passes over the weekend. Rob Taylor had his Camaro door car over here as well as the Chevy Corvette which was wrapped in the familiar “Mad Professor” livery. The late model Corvette was a standout amongst the tough machinery on display and no doubt will become a favourite of race fans all around the country. The sport is indebted to guys like Taylor, Zappia and the Brays who have invested mega money to go racing.  I bit early to pop the champagne but the new series is just about over the line and for the record ANDRA is on record as far back as December 2015 saying that they would sanction a 400 Thunder series.

Top Alcohol and Pro Stock were also on the card for the Grand Final with John Cannuli beating Wayne Talbot in the Alcohol final and Lee Bektash dominating the Pro Stock final against Chris Soldatas.

The Sportsman Series finished on a high and capped off what was an emotional series that had 4 meetings unfinished due to varying circumstances which included the tragic loss of Chris Stewart at the Portland round. Many tributes were paid to the Stewart family over the past couple of months with Adelaide no exception. Craig Geddes backed up his two wins from the Western Australia swing with another win on the weekend and reinforced once again why he is the golden boy of sportsman racing in Australia. There is never a bad word spoken about the champ who does nothing but support the sport of drag racing in a positive and professional way. His outlook on the sport along with the entire Geddes Racing team typifies what this great sport is all about.

Geoff Chaisty was absolutely over the moon when son Jamie took out big Tommy Dimitropoulous in the semi-final to clinch the Super Stock championship, one which he has won twice before along with his other son Jake. Upcoming vision will show just how happy the team was with the win and although Jamie red lit the final against Geddes it was yet another stellar round by the West Aussie outfit. Well done Jamie who like Geddes is a credit to Australian index racing.

Supercharged Outlaws had many twist and turns throughout the weekend with early favourite Justin Russell having a weekend that wasn’t up to par for the team. Spud just couldn’t get in the groove over the weekend and was bundled out by Customline runner Mark Hunt in round 1. It was an amazing year for the Spud Racing Team which no doubt has increased their fan base with some spectacular racing that took in most of the rounds around the country. Thanks Spud for the year. Doina Day was another who supported the ANDRA series and although leaving Adelaide without the glory she was hoping for will remember the season for plenty of highs.  For Mark Hunt from Huntsman Racing what a turn of events over the weekend. After an excellent qualifying effort, Hunt was tested early with the round 1 clash against Russell. Hunt marched all the way to the semis and looked like booking a final with Adam Murrihy after putting Mick Mahoney away in the semi only to break out down the bottom end handing the win over to Mahoney. It run was a PB to Hunt and enough to be crowned runner-up for the national crown. For Mahoney, it was a chance to have a shot at Murrihy who had advanced to the final with a solo pass in the semi after Jason Keily struck mechanical trouble on the line. Mahoney said in his acceptance speech that he has been battling the Mustang for near on 3 years to finally get it right. The black and gold Pro Mod look alike is a fine example of drag racing machinery and a credit to the money invested into the project. For Murrihy it was another Top Qualifier medal, a weekend that had the altered runner blazing the drag strip culminating in a round win that secured his second Supercharge Outlaws Australian Championship. Fantastic effort by Murrihy and his support team along with all the other Supercharged Outlaw teams that provided so much entertainment for fans across Australia.

Top Sportsman was another bracket that had multiple entries going into the round with a chance of being crowned Australian Champion. I bet the recipients didn’t count on West Aussie Amanda Martin wrecking their chances for glory. Martin basically disposed of the heavy hitters one by one on her way to the final against Victorian Jason Arbery. What a weekend for Arbery who after being in contention for the championship last season has had an indifferent 2016/17 series finishing well back on the front runners going into the final round. All that is just a memory now as the Henley Chassis built Capri tasted victory in the final with a win against Martin. Like the Outlaws, the Top Sportsman bracket entertained plenty of fans across Australia with hard fought racing that included series leaders like Paul Russo, Matt Forbes, Darren Saliba and Jason Stares. Stares was in Adelaide defending his 2015/16 series win and made it all the way to the quarters where he watched his rival Darren Saliba go down to Martin handing him the 2016/17 championship to make it two years running. Stares who was sitting in his car waiting to complete a solo pass was trembling with emotion after learning of his series win. Fantastic effort for Stares who had been laid up for several months after a workplace accident. For Saliba it was a tragic end to his 2016/17 campaign with the car resting on its roof in the deep end after the loss to Martin. The loss was enough for Saliba to be crowned runner-up behind Stares. Thanks to Amanda Martin for trekking across the Nullarbor to make this field the strongest yet for Top Sportsman. Not that long ago the newly sanctioned bracket struggled with 6 or 7 entries which is a far cry from the 20 plus machines that rolled out for the Grand Finals.

Modified like most of the other brackets had plenty of drama with likable character Stewie Johnson taking the win over Paul Utting in the final. Newly crowned national champ Craig Baker struck mechanical trouble in the semi to end his 2016/17 campaign which included the prized Nationals win. Speaking of campaign ends, Leanne Braggs finished her racing career with a solid days racing which netted enough points to be crowned Australian Modified Runner Up behind Baker. Although it wasn’t the Gold version of the Xmas tree she has been striving for during her racing career she can now look back on her career with pride every time she looks at that big shinny Xmas tree on her mantel piece. What a fantastic career she has had which included some amazing consistency and that awful crash as Mildura. Well done Leanne and good luck in the future as a “grey nomad”.

Super Sedan had George Tipouikidis going up against 4 x champ in John Kapiris for the national crown prior to the event. The big battle come before the final where the two GMH runners faced off with the spoils going to the winner. Tipo got the job done along with the badge of Super Sedan Australian Champion. His work was not finished there as young gun Dylan Argent was waiting for him in the final. Argent who is a product of ANDRA’s Junior Dragster program is the future of Australian drag racing and definitely a pin up boy for the sport. Well done to Dave, Dylan and all the team who have guided this future star along the way. Congats to John Kapiris for another fine year of bracket racing and although not on the top rung this series has to be considered as the best bracket racer of the past 5 years.

Modified bike witnessed the champ Bryan Finn backing up his 2016 Australian Championship series with another Australian Championship for Modified Bike after winner the Grand Final round against Daniel Natalotto. Finn had to work hard to clinch the title win Grand Final wins against every contender for this year’s series. He dispatched Gordon Crawford, Gavin Dohnt and Matt Lisle on the way to the round win and the Australian title. Well done to Matt Lisle who finished runner up in the series.

Super Street was taken out by local Harry Harris who beat long time racer Graeme “The Bricklayer” Cooper in the final. For Harris, it was a welcome return to the podium after an indifferent season which had the Commodore runner mid pack coming into the round. Harris finished runner up to Kylie Tanner in last year’s series but hasn’t had things go his way this season so to round out the series with a win was a fine effort. For Cooper the meeting was to be his last ever at Adelaide citing a scale back of racing commitments going forward. Costs have played a big part of his decision to base his racing around his home town of Melbourne going forward. Cooper on accepting his runner up tree thanked all the good people of South Australia and the friendships he has made over the last 35 years competing at AIR and now looks forward to semi-retirement with regards to drag racing. Thanks Graeme for all the years of EH Holden Station Wagon racing. Good luck for the future. Chris Tatchell was awarded with the Super Street National Champion Gold Tree which was well deserved.

Junior Dragster was taken out by Kelly Donnelly with a win over Josh Baker in the final and Colin Griffin picked up the win over Graeme Spencer in the Super Gas final. A more in depth look at Super Gas and Junior Dragster will follow complete with bracket videos and Australian Champion tributes over the coming weeks.

Thanks to ANDRA, Summit Racing Equipment, the series tracks and support staff and of course the fantastic sportsman racers who have all been part of an amazing Summit Sportsman Series for 2016/17. Time for a well-earned break.

PRESS RELEASE, 27/03/2017
For Immediate Release

Rapisarda Autosport International versus Rapisarda Autosport at Adelaide.

PRESS RELEASE, 20/03/2017
For Immediate Release

Puglia Hints at Super Stock Super Shock!