Australian Apex! « DragRaceCanada.com

Australian Apex!

by editor on Jun.08, 2026, under International Dateline

Close to 500 race entries grace 58th edition of Australia’s largest & most iconic drag racing event…..

Another capacity crowd at Queensland’s Willowbank Raceway were treated to a slew of impressive performances from the National Drag Racing Championship (NDRC) racers in attendance for the 2026 Gulf Western Oil Winternationals – the largest championship drag racing event held outside of North America.

As part of an action packed weekend, the huge crowd paid witness to not only winning performances – but also a “barrel full” of record setting.

That impressive listing included: Australia’s quickest ever run by Wayne Newby — 3.681 secs — and fastest Top Fuel speed (540.45kph) 335.82 mph by his teammate Damien Harris.

**Australia’s quickest ever Top Doorslammer ET was set by 2X and defending series champion Russell Taylor at 5.551 seconds as was Australia’s fastest Top Doorslammer speed (429.35kph) 266.78 mph by event winner Emilio Spinozzi.

The event also included some stunning performance marks for Pro Alcohol — not the least of which was the world’s all time quickest runs in TAFC configuration – a 5.330 secs — by Cheyne Phillips, son to Australian icon racer Gary Phillips.

Australia’s unique Pro Stock class (which features 400 CID maximum engine programs and unleaded fuel only) saw defending NDRC champion Rob Deckert clock the first ever 200+ mph recording — topping that barrier finally with a 200.05 mph.

Harris takes back the Australian speed record on way to BLAHST Top Fuel win

In BLAHST Top Fuel, it was a morale boosting A-Final for Damien Harris, who took an ugly yet spectacular A-Final win over RAI team-mate Shane Olive after having broken the Australian Top Fuel Speed record in round two – resetting the marker his team-mate and reigning champ Wayne Newby had broken just the day before from 536.44kph to 540.45kph, while also taking the round two win from him in a blazing side by side, three second/500kph+ display (3.712/540.45kph to Newby’s 3.758/526.45kph).

In the A-Final, Harris and Olive had delivered an absolutely heart-stopping pedal fest, with neither prepared to give up all the way to the line. Harris (6.554/372.47kph) ultimately found the necessary extra momentum to turn on the win light and disrupt what would have been a fairytale result for Olive – making his Winternationals debut in Top Fuel machinery this weekend, including a breakthrough 3.76 PB earlier in the day in round one.

Damien Harris collected the season’s top event prize for BLAHST Top Fuel racing and set an all-time Australia TF speed record.

Harris was calm, cool, and collected in the deep end after his winning run in what was a triumphant return to form after a rough end to last month’s Nitro Champs event in Sydney.

“That is definitely a win, and a good morale booster for the team. It wasn’t the prettiest thing in the world, like its driver. But it’s a win,” Harris said. “Thank you to Santo Sr, Atlantic Oils, Santo Jr, Gianna, Santino, and the whole Rapisarda family and my crew.” On the record setting pass, he had earlier said, “it definitely had me pinned, but it doesn’t surprise me too much!

Wayne Newby ran the quickest ET in Australian history – an astonishing 3.681 secs.

Santo Rapisarda

”The B and C Finals were also less than pleasant for the competitors in question, with Phil Lamattina (B Final win – 5.369/219.39kph following an earlier PB of 3.749 in round one) and Kyle Putland (C Final win – 4.053/406.84kph) both enduring fireballs in their dragsters on their ways to victory, while their opponents, Steve Read (B Final – threw a belt) and Wayne Newby (C Final – tyre shake) both caught trouble early.

Blazing XPRO Nitro Funny Car finale has packed house on its feet

Adam Murrihy and Josh Leahy well and truly delivered an A-Final worth waiting for in XPRO Nitro Funny Car, putting on a true flame-throwing show down the Willowbank Raceway quarter-mile with a brilliant side-by-side run.

All the way from the NT, Murrihy was in the box seat to take his first ever NFC win after having been on a charge all weekend long, but it was Leahy who would ultimately lift the NDRC Gold Christmas Tree thanks to his 4.030/439.71kph effort over Murrihy’s 4.248/456.81kph result.

Josh Leahy qualified #1 and won the A-Final for the NDRC XPRO Funny Car division.

“I can’t thank the team enough,” Leahy said. “All the race shop boys putting in the hard effort, GC, Wendy, Morice; they’ve given me this opportunity. And my mum, dad, and family for supporting me in doing this. Never in a million years did I think I would be holding this Gold Christmas tree at the Winters in an XPRO Nitro Funny Car. It is more than a dream come true.”

The B-Final win went the way of Damon Paton (6.354/171.06kph) after a full-track pedal fest for both he and his opponent, Justin Walshe (8.010). The C-Final saw Morice McMillin take on the newest XPRO Nitro Funny Car racer Luke Shepherd, with what had already been a challenging weekend for the reigning champ (round one shutdown on the line due to oil leak, round two hit a timing block) continuing in his final pass. What started out as a staunch run ended with him crossing the centre line and mowing down a few timing blocks, handing the win to Shepherd who was off the throttle early.

Defending Champ Triumphant

Pro Alcohol was a stand-out bracket at the Winternationals this weekend, playing host to two World Record ETs by Cheyne Phillips, plenty of personal bests, and some great match-ups.

When all was said and done, it was the defending champ Daniel Reed who took out the ultimate prize, facing off against Andrew Searle in the final.

Reed had no easy ride to the final match-up, taking on Chris Hargrave in round one (5.410 v 5.502) before lining up against Phillips in round two for a highly anticipated showdown which was a replay of last year’s Winternats final – where Phillips took the win and Reed took the championship. It was a pass to remember, with Reed taking the victory with a holeshot of just 12 one-thousandths of a second, to cross the line first with his 5.385 second pass to Phillips’ 5.378 effort.

Daniel Reed collected in Pro Alcohol over an extremely fast/competitive field.

Searle meanwhile had taken on John Cannuli (5.418/415.00kph to 5.833/296.09kph) in round one and Darren Fry (5.393/424.54kph to 5.846/420.31kph) to earn his spot in the finale.

“I feel fantastic. The car was on rails Sunday after we were a little behind the eight ball on Saturday, but it all came together on Sunday. The crew worked tirelessly to make sure everything was perfect for race day,” Reed said. “It is good to beat a world record holder, without a doubt, but Cheyne should hold his head high – it was an incredible race, and they are a family we respect a lot. We know they are always going to put a good run on the board, so we had to do something special to beat them.

Gary and Cheyne Phillips recorded the quickest ET’s ever for Alcohol Funny Cars – for our particular planet.

“It was so great too to see the whole Pro Alcohol field really put on a good show. It was a really tough field with a good mix of the dragsters and funny cars running really good times with really close racing – it was great for the spectators, great for the sport, and great for the class of Pro Alcohol.”

Pro Stock, Pro Stock Bike, Top Fuel Motorcycle Recap

Sibling rivalry was the name of the game in Pro Stock, with brothers Aaron Tremayne and Tyronne Tremayne doing battle for the final, with younger brother Aaron ultimately taking the spoils with a 7.286/246.11kph effort over Tyronne’s red-lighting 7.348/234.78kph run. Earlier in the day, they had each enjoyed a solo run win in round one (6.857/320.19kph for Aaron and 6.865/320.48kph for Tyronne), before respectively dispatching Tony Polito (6.884/320.01kph v 7.057/310.45kph) and Omar Sedmak (6.926/318.74kph v 6.997/308.81kph) in the semi-final to set up the family feud.

Pro Stock winner – Aaron Tremayne

In Pro Stock Bike, consistency was the name of the game for Ryan Learmonth, taking the win over Paul Andrews with a 7.430 second pass at 289.63kph to Andrews’ 8.590/179.76kph effort. Learmonth had earlier dispatched Sam Scerri (7.360/294.89kph v 7.439/297.11kph) in round one and points leader Callam Godeassi in round two (7.401/291.14kph); while Andrews had a round one solo before defeating Locky Ireland in the semis (7.639/291.77kph v 8.005/283.77kph).

Pro Stock Bike, winner – Ryan Learmonth

In Top Fuel Motorcycle, Neville Smith took the win over John Zahra, with the issues that had plagued Zahra all weekend long continuing in the finale while Smith blazed across the line with flames coming from his bike (7.321). Smith had enjoyed two bye runs in round one and two, while Zahra had defeated a red-lighting Corey Buttigieg in round one before a semis solo.

Neville Smith rode his Nitro Harley to a first ever NDRC Top Fuel Bike title.

Also on-track this weekend was a massive contingent of Aeroflow Sportsman Championship racers from all across the country. When all was said and done after four big days of racing, it was Brian Alvisio (Modified Bike, over Johnny Lewis), Zayne Condello (Aeroflow Junior Dragster, over Karl Schulz), Lawrence Raschella (Aeroflow Junior Drag Bike, over Jetayah Chalk), Matt Francis (Super Street, over Ace Edwards), Tony Whyatt (Top Sportsman, over Shaun Doeblien), Mitchell Bauer (Super Sedan, over Alan Hutchen), Daniel ‘BatDan’ Carranza (Modified, over Phil Bellert), Craig Edwards (Performance Bike, over Edge Mallis), Sally Watts (Supercharged Outlaws, over Garry Cameron – who thankfully walked away from a heavy crash in the final), and John Parisi (SuperComp, over Steve Sloan).

Aeroflow Sportsman Top Sportsman winner – Tony Whyatt

The Winternationals bonus FX eliminator title went to Eddy Hawach’s unreal RX7.

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**Editors Note – For results & highlights from Australia’s fantastic attending Top Doorslammer & “multiple class” Pro Mod racing at this event – link to our separate “Pro Mod Portal” subsection report summary : HERE (coming soon!)