Three Wins Running

Reigning Top Doorslammer Champion John Zappia took Round 7 of the ANDRA Pro Series at Hidden Valley Drag Strip in Darwin. The win followed consecutive victories at the X Champs in Sydney and the Winternationals at Willowbank, placing the team in a strong championship position.

"The Striker Crushing/Fuchs Lubricants Monaro is really on form at the moment, running very sweet and predictable and the crew and I have a handle on the car at this level of performance." - John Zappia

The weekend produced top qualifier, lowest ET, quickest speed, the event win, and the track record - all from the one car. The only mechanical issue was a broken valve spring.

Qualifying

Ten competitors lined up for Friday night qualifying - two local Darwin-based teams and the remainder travelling from across Australia. Zappia was the only driver to break the five-second barrier, posting a 5.978 at 246.89 mph and a 5.917 at 251.96 mph. The third qualifying session was cancelled due to an oil-down in the braking area.

Local driver Mathew Able qualified second in his 57 Chev with a 6.08 at 250.83 mph, followed by Bishop and Gregorini.

"I pedaled on both those passes as the car was moving around a lot and rattling the tyres. The track was much better than we thought - our sixty-foot times were slow, so we stepped the car up for eliminations." - John Zappia

Eliminations

Round 1 saw Zappia run a 5.845 to defeat Grant O'Rourke's 6.686. The 254.14 mph terminal speed was a personal best for the team. Other results: Kapiris 5.976 def. Gregorini 6.021; Bishop 5.980 def. Priolo 6.125; Abel 5.977 def. Dack 7.070.

The semi-finals matched the quickest cars in the country. Stuart Bishop's auto Camaro ran a 5.950 to defeat Abel's 6.219. Zappia posted a 5.901 to take out Kapiris' 6.005.

The Final

The final paired the top two championship contenders. The team added more clutch for the run, targeting another 5.8-second pass on a track surface that continued to improve through the day.

Bishop encountered difficulties on the start line - his trans brake failed to hold, pulling him through for a red light. Zappia completed the pass with a 5.877 to take the win.

"The Crusher ran clean in the final. I was not sure what was going on in the other lane while staging. In the end I just ran my own race off my tree and came up with the win." - John Zappia

Championship Position

The win extended Zappia's championship lead with three rounds remaining: the Spring Nationals in Adelaide and Australian Nationals in Sydney (both October), and the Nationals at Calder in December.

Reliability improved significantly compared to the early season, when the team was pushing for consistent 5.7- and 5.8-second passes. That development work took time to refine, and the results are now showing in both performance and consistency.

Zappia Double in Junior Dragster

John's nephew Brodie added to the weekend by winning the Junior Dragster event - his first meeting outside the Perth Motorplex. The Chicago Shootout format gave every racer three qualifiers and three eliminations, with the top performers advancing to the final. Brodie faced current number-one Junior Dragster driver Brayden Naylor and won with a 0.032 reaction time against Naylor's 0.123. The result marked the first Zappia double at a national event. Brodie heads next to Alice Springs for the Sportsman Series round.