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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
DIAMOND T PROUDLY BACKING PRO STOCK AT 51st WINTERNATIONALS
FRIDAY 8TH JUNE, 2018
Diamond T Custom Tool Boxes have thrown their support behind the cut-throat Pro Stock Eliminator category for the 51st edition of the Gulf Western Oil Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway this weekend, June 7-10.
The Browns Plains, QLD based custom tool box manufacturers are thrilled to be naming rights sponsors for the first time at the Ipswich mega-event.
“Key to our growth at Diamond T Custom Tool Boxes has been an obsession with fine detail, high quality craftsmanship, custom design and functionality in our end product”, Diamond T Products GM, Wayne Daley said.
“When you look at all these stunning Pro Stock cars, that same work ethic from the teams, the attention to detail, presentation and performance is what it takes to be competitive. We share those common values, which makes this partnership with the Pro Stock category such an ideal fit for this incredible event”.
Diamond T Custom Tool Boxes have seen an increase in demand throughout Australia over the past 5 years, with many leading Auto chains and hardware stores stocking more of the Diamond T range, while custom orders have continued to grow.
“We’re proud to be Australian owned and deliver ready-made and custom Toolboxes that exceed the expectations of our customers”, Daley said.
“We can’t wait to be a part of the drama, the excitement and spectacle of Pro Stock at the Winternationals. A win at this event is a milestone in any racer’s career”.
Qualifying for Diamond T Custom Tool Boxes Pro Stock gets under way on Friday 8th June. Qualifying continues on Saturday 9th and Final Eliminations will decide who is crowned the Winternationals champion on Sunday 10th.
Visit www.diamondtproducts.com to learn more about the range of custom toolbox options for your workshop or race team. If you’re in the Brisbane area, call in to their showroom at 15 Enterprise Way, Browns Plains and meet Wayne and the team.
The 51st Annual Gulf Western Oil Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway in Ipswich, Queensland, is the largest Drag Racing event held outside North America, attracting 35,000 race fans over 4 action-packed days.
For ticket and event info, visit www.willowbankraceway.com.au
Media Release: Diamond T Custom Tool Boxes
PORTERS RACING READY FOR WINTERS GOLD
The Porters Racing team from Mackay Qld has had some time away from the race track in the past season or so, but the Family team is happy to tell that they are making the trip to Willowbank Raceway for the 51st Gulf Western Oils Winternationals, and they aren’t coming just to make numbers.
Team Owner Paul Porter said “ This is the 18th Winternationals event we competed in, with 11 of these years in the very competitive Pro Stock category. Unfortunately we weren’t in a position to do all rounds throughout the season, but will be treating this round very seriously with the aim of a 400 Thunder Gold Christmas Tree “.
“ Since the January round at Willowbank, the car has been totally pulled apart from top to tail. The engine has been fully refreshed and John Barbagallo has worked around the clock extracting every little bit of horsepower out of this engine . We originally intended to debut our new JB engine at this meeting , but with fuel changes on the horizon, decided to work with our number 2 engine, but with many changes” commented Team Driver Scott Porter.
A huge effort has gone into the clutch, transmission and chassis so the team is looking to find a baseline early at the Winters Warm up (June 2-3) with the refreshed set up and extra horsepower.
Paul and Scott would like to thank John Barbagallo of JB Automotive Nth Qld for his continued support , expertise and dedication with our engine program.
Thanks also to Paul Drady of Plucka’s Race Craft for his chassis assistance .
To our crew of Jason & Terry Hethorn, John McIntosh and newbie Kellie Aislabie. We thank you for the hard work that keeps our car out on the track .
We invite all fans and supporters to drop in and see us in the pits and share this experience.
https://www.facebook.com/portersdragracing/
https://www.facebook.com/ProStockAustralia/
BILL PERDIKARIS GEARED UP FOR WINTERNATIONALS
Bill Perdikaris is a quiet spoken, and always a somewhat dark horse in Pro Stock.
Perdikaris hasn't contested any of the previous rounds this year, But assures us that the car and team are ready, and they are excited to go testing at Sydney Dragway in preparation for the 400 Thunder Gulf Western Oils 51st Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway.
"We have been spending a lot of time on the dyno chasing horsepower with these new fuels, and feel now we should have a engine that is making good power. With Championship points irrelevant to us, The weekend will be about getting win lights and Proving the Perdikaris Ford Power" said Perdikaris.
"We are confident that if the conditions are there, we look to improve on our personal best Et 6.983 196 mph And are hoping to get into that elusive 6.8 second zone that all the teams seem to be heading for. Testing in Sydney will hopefully get the Team and Myself settled back behind the wheel, and some gearing changes to be made for the new horsepower - But overall we are quite excited about just getting back out in front of the fans", smiled Bill.
Ford Fans will be happy to see there is 3 cars representing the "Blue Oval" out the 14 cars entered for the Winternationals, and Bill Perdikaris is leading the charge as the Fastest Ford Pro Stocker in the country.
For more information about the 51st Annual Gulf Western Oil Winternationals, head to www.willowbankraceway.com.au
For all your Pro Stock Australia news, Make sure you are following us on facebook
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Beauchamp ready for challenge
Posted on May 21, 2018 by prostockaustralia
Paul Beauchamp and the Beauchamp Motorsport team are heading to the 2018 Gulf Western Oils Winternationals with the intentions of getting back on track, and getting in some solid passes with a refreshed setup.
“For qualifying we will be just trying to find a baseline tune to get the car from A to B along with trying to qualify in such a quality field. We’ve taken a good break from the class of Pro Stock, but we’re glad to be making a “comeback” if you would call it that” Laughs Paul.
“For us It’s all about just working as a team to ensure everything is right on the day and making the most of lining up and dropping the clutch. It is going to be tough especially with so many 6 second capable cars in the class, but that won’t stop us!! At the end of the day we are here just like everyone else to go and run for a 400 Thunder Gold Christmas Tree, although just making it to Raceday will be a bonus on our first meeting back.”
If you’re coming out to the track from June 7-10 make sure you drop in and see the crew and say hi, check the car out and ask some questions. Schedule is to be on track Friday, Saturday and if the stars align Sundayalong with the rest of the Group 1 categories.
Be sure to follow Beauchamp Motorsport;
https://www.instagram.com/beauchamp_motorsport/
https://www.facebook.com/BeauchampMotorsport/
Pro Stock Australia
https://prostockaustralia.wordpress.com
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Why We Need To Move Away From 400 Thunder
By Mark Humphrey
Well, where do we start with 400 Thunder? Plenty of fronts we could question including the recent series round reversal at Calder Park Raceway, but we won’t.
From my point of view and it is exactly that, I would like to demonstrate why we don’t need 400Thunder at any of our ANDRA sanctioned tracks and just so everybody is clear on the subject, I don’t care if 400 Thunder are still around in 10 years’ time, just not on our tracks.
Personally, I don’t think the emergence of 400 Thunder has improved the sport in any shape or form outside of normal progression. Yes, Top Fuel has gone 4.40 and the Top Doorslammer bracket is as tough as ever, but this surely is just a progression of the sport and race teams. You can’t tell me that Top Fuel hasn’t been trying to develop their tune-ups to go 4.40 and please don’t tell me that Zappia dipped into the 60’s as a result of 400 Thunder. Not on your life. They are race drivers and race teams that just want to go faster regardless of who is the sanctioning body.
After 2 ½ years, the organisation still does not have a “Naming Rights Sponsor” or even a major sponsor. Where is all this support and sponsorship that 400 Thunder boasted about in their initial video promo? They even said they recruited the best PR media people in the land to get the message out. Well, it has only been in recent times that the media has got on par with what’s expected of a major sporting organisation/competition. Quite frankly, the media coverage was a joke for the first year or so.
One thing they have got right is the live streaming provided by OVO. Fantastic product that is showcasing the sport now entirely free of charge. So OVO provides some sort of sponsorship by providing the live stream but that’s it. We have seen stars like Victor Bray secure good sponsorship deals through Gulf Western Oils which has flowed on to other racers and to naming rights of individual events but still no naming rights partner for the series or the organisation.
On the other side of the coin, ANDRA has just secured a sponsorship extension for its sportsman series with Summit Racing Equipment inking a multiyear extension. I have it on good authority that there are some US sponsors that may be interested in becoming a naming rights sponsor for ANDRA if and when all this rubbish is put to bed over here.
So, when we run a championship round we have the ANDRA and Summit branding strategically placed all around the venue which all contributes towards branding the product and organisation. When we allow 400 Thunder to run a round on an ANDRA sanctioned track we lose that identity which is like 2 steps forward and 1 step back although in this case we are also giving 400 Thunder full access to further brand their product.
When it’s a 400 Thunder round what do ANDRA sportsman get out of it? Initially, a lot higher entry fee to cover the cost of the GP1 circus, a race schedule that is usually altered several times on the day to accommodate GP1 and a complete ignorance of sportsman racers in general by the 400 Thunder officials. I think we have gone past the presentation scenario where ANDRA was banished to the pits, but not by much. On a positive, 400 Thunder attract a crowd which could be argued that an ANDRA GP1 Series would do the same. And of course, 400 Thunder has the OVO live stream.
I made a comment today with regards to product branding. As mentioned above, when we allow 400 Thunder to run on an ANDRA sanctioned track, we are effectively supporting the branding of that organisation. To give an example of how absurd it is, it would be like Coca-Cola letting Pepsi run events on Coca-Cola land with all branding/advertising/promotion going Pepsi’s way. It just sounds too unrealistic to be true and in the example given, it would never eventuate, but for some reason our, as in ANDRA representatives deem this to be ok. What sort of decision makers have we got if this is anything to go on. I dare anyone to nominate 2 rival organisations and play out this scenario. I can tell you now, I don’t think it would happen anywhere in the world so why is it happening with ANDRA?
The next issue I see is with the 7Mate deal that 400 Thunder has paid for. That’s right, they have to pay for it. No big deal, ANDRA could do exactly the same for our sportsman racers and put them up on nearly prime time tv. Gee, I could even organise a 7Mate deal in conjunction with the Sporting Scribe Muscle live stream but where would I recoup the cost from. The way 400 Thunder recoup the cost of providing 7Mate vision is to slug the promoter or track. I believe Nitro Up North had to shell out more than 50k and I do know first hand that Alice Springs Inland Dragway had to cough up $40,000 if they wanted a 400 Thunder event. Calder, Perth and the AIR will also be required to pay the tv levy if they want 400 Thunder at their events. So where does the promoter recoup the tv levy? (starting to sound familiar). Either he/they slug the fans coming through the gate as part of the entry fee although that could be a bit hard considering the Nationals was $40 to get in on finals day last year, or they slug the sportsman racer with a fee absorbed within their entry fee. No way would the GP1 teams be slugged the tv levy which brings me to the next issue. The recent East Coast Nationals had the 7Mate coverage and although weather intervened they only aired GP1. There was plenty of qualifying done by the sportsman classes and some of the brackets got to the 2nd round of eliminations but still no vision. So, the scenario could look like this, sportsman racers may subsidise vision that covered GP 1 racing without a single second of sportsman vision. How’s that for having 400 Thunder at our tracks?
ANDRA ran a GP1 Series for years with lots of success. The Winternationals had their highest ever competitor entry lists in roughly 2013 & 2015 and I believe record crowds at the time whilst still under ANDRA. The Nitro Up North shattered all records the first time out under an ANDRA banner and I’m quite sure that if ANDRA was still running GP1 that we may have seen a stack of special moments and landmarks in the sport.
There are plenty of other issues with hosting 400Thunder at our tracks but for me, the main issues are the ones listed above.
We don’t want to stop 400 Thunder or any GP1 racers who want to support the organisation, we just want exclusive access to the tracks we have sanctioned and assisted over years and years of blood, sweat and tears. Right now, there are people lined up to take a cheap shot at ANDRA for the most minuscule of issues. What about we put it to the ANDRA board and management, that we the members want to take back control of our organisation and sport and make the changes necessary to rebuild the culture around ANDRA Championship Drag Racing and an organisation that is prepared to sit down and listen to its members. We don't want to re-invent the wheel, we just want our own identity again, one that we can nurtcher and build with our own resources and time.
It starts right now with our Divisional Councils representing the members and instructing the DD’s to take the message to the board that we want our identity back so we can start over again without any form of alliance or partnership with 400 Thunder. Come on DC’s, it all starts at ground level.
Live Streaming Campaign
https://www.gofundme.com/andra-drag-racing-live-streaming
How cool is this entertainment!!
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
Click here to support my campaign.
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LUCAS OIL’S GARY PHILLIPS WRAPS UP 19 TH AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP WHILE BREAKING THE 270MPH BARRIER
Gary Phillips has claimed his 19 th Australian Championship in his Lucas Oils Alcohol Funny Car en-route to his 13 th Winternationals win, in front of a huge crowd last weekend at Willowbank Raceway.
In what was the quickest Alcohol field in Australian history, that saw the bump spot set at 5.65 secs., Gary qualified #2 with a 5.406 at 268.81mph.
“It’s really exciting to see how much the performance level of the Alcohol class has stepped up in recent times.
There’s no easy match ups, and you have to go out there and try cut a light, and run as fast as the track allows each and every run”, said Gary.
In round 1 of eliminations, Gary used a 5.415 at 267.06mph to take the win. The semi-final match up, would be the defining moment of the 2016 Championship for the 400 Thunder Series. After turning on the win-light, Gary would become the inaugural Pro Alcohol Champion, lighting up the scoreboard with a 5.361 at a history making 270.43mph (435.21kph). This would be the very first Alcohol run in excess of 270mph that Australia has seen, and would also be the new National Speed Record, after it was backed up by the earlier 268.81mph run in qualifying.
“We have been chasing that 270 for some time now, and when that semi-final run could decide the championship, we went up there with a very aggressive setup, knowing that the Willowbank track prep crew would have the surface in outstanding shape, which it was". The final promised to be an exciting match up, and certainly was for all the wrong reasons. After getting loose early in the run, Gary's opponent would cross the centreline making contact with the headers on the Lucas Oils funny car which then exploded his right hand tyre. This caused substantial damage to the Lucas Oil Monte Carlo body and actually cut the left hand tyre. Fortunately, it held air long enough to get to the finish line. Gary took the win and extended his final championship win margin to 68 points, after being forced off the throttle early, and coasted through for a winning time of 5.699 at only 204.98mph.
“It was an eventful season, but we came away with the Australian Championship, new speed record, as well as the
event win. A sincere thank you goes to our major sponsor Lucas Oil, along with our associates, Speedflow, Leanders Clutches, J Payne Race Engineering”."This was a history making season filled with many firsts, and we are proud to have our name attached to each and every one of these achievements. The first to the 5.30's, the first over 270mph, and the first IHRA 400 Thunder Champion. I'm hoping that next season can be even bigger and better".
Gary made his weekend even more action packed, by also competing in his 1953 Studebaker Pro Slammer. After a lot of small changes to the car, Gary qualified #4 with an off the trailer 5.915 at 246.21mph, proving that all the homework done in the workshop had paid off.
Gary recorded his personal best ET of 5.872 at 247.61mph, to claim the win in round 1. Unfortunately, the progress was stopped in round 2, after tyre shake plagued the Lucas Oils car, forcing Gary to wisely get off the throttle.
“Despite losing in the 2 nd round, we’re very pleased with the progress we made last weekend. To come away with a personal best at this prestigious event is just great. To end the season on a high with both cars, is the best way to head into our break. We can’t wait for our next event which is only three weeks away". Gary also would like to thank his dedicated crew for all the hard work and support throughout this season.
For more information, and to keep up to date with the team's results, check out their Facebook page at, www.facebook.com/GaryPhillipsRacing.