Top Alcohol Tops The Show

Top Alcohol Tops The Show

By Mark Humphrey.

Willowbank, Qld/Aus. 13^th June 2015. Talk about a championship with a twist. For spectators and teams alike, nothing could have prepared them for what was about to unfold at the 2015 Fuchs Winter Nationals Top Alcohol bracket.

Going into the 2015 Fuchs Winter Nationals at Willowbank Raceway the Top Alcohol bracket was virtually decided with long time champ Gary Phillips holding a massive lead and needing to go a round to pick up national title #17. What transpired next over 3 days in the Top Alcohol bracket was to say the least unbelievable. Rolling out for his first pass of the weekend was current Aussie champ Gary Phillips. After completing a strong burnout Phillips had the car staged and ready to take national title #17. It was that easy or so it seemed. Barely 20 metres from the start Phillips car hooked hard left and crashed into the wall sending the car a further 100 metres up the track hugging the wall and losing the body spectacularly along the journey. What a massive blow for Phillips but now the opportunity was there for the taking for John Cannuli. Cannuli was the only other driver in the field who could take the crown away from Phillips but needed to make the final to be crowned the 2015 Australian Top Alcohol champion.

Phillips after a short stint in the hospital was back trackside hinting at running another car. This didn’t eventuate leaving the remaining competitors in the bracket to duke it out for the famous Winter Nationals ANDRA gold Xmas tree. Phillips round 1 pass was recorded at 28.05 seconds and was naturally well down on the best pass by Steven Reed with a 5.541 @ 257.48mph. Sting, Noonan and Ambruosi put in solid runs as well to round out the first round of qualifying.

Round 2 of qualifying had Steven Reed on top of the table once again with a 5.541 ET @ 257.48mph. Amazingly John Sting and Cannuli posted 5.541 ET’s as well with Cannuli going 259.65mph. Noonan and Fry looked to be on the ball as well posting 5.654 and 5.663 passes respectively. Victorian Rob Ambruosi dropped a 5.764 @243.90mph to be well in amongst it with Peter Zelow also dropping into the 5’s with a 5.967 @ 246.17mph.

Cannuli topped the charts in round 3 and looked to be on the way to a national crown with a pass of 5.422 @ 265.80mph. Cannuli’s speed would be the quickest across the bracket over the event with his ET of 5.422 also proving to be the best for the weekend. Noonan and Fry had continued on with their battle with Noonan posting a 5.654 @257.09mph to Fry’s 5.663 @ 254.42mph. Ambruosi was once again in the mix with a 5.764 @243.90mph.

Into eliminations with Cannuli first up against Wayne Price. Price had been struggling over the weekend and was up against Cannuli who was in white hot form. Although it was Price’s best run of the weekend Cannuli got the job done with a 5.437 @265.38mph to Price’s creditable 5.728 @ 255.97mph. Noonan accounted for Fry in heat 2 with a 5.504 @261.32mph to Fry’s 5.579 @ 256.21mph. It was amazing at how close these two guys were matched up over the event. Heat 3 had Reed comfortably taking the win over Zelow with a 5.549 @ 255.43mph to Zelow’s much improved 5.839 @ 249.30mph. Heat 4 went the way of Sting over Ambruosi initially with a 5.575 ET @ 254.81mph to Ambruosi’s 5.703 @ 246.03mph. A foul run by Sting handed the win to Ambruosi.

Semi-final match ups had Cannuli against the dangerous Noonan with Reed up against Ambruosi. After a lengthy wait for track prep Cannuli fired up the funny car knowing that a win in the semi-final would be enough to give him the 2015 Australian Top Alcohol Championship. Noonan had the slightly better reaction time and opened up a small lead. Cannuli looked to carry his form into the race and was alongside Noonan when disaster struck. A fuel line give way on the Cannuli car igniting a fire on-board the funny car. The race was over as was the 2015 championship. Gary Phillips deservedly so had just picked up his 17^th Top Alcohol Championship.

With flames engulfing the cabin, Cannuli after veering into Noonan’s lane managed to pull up the car where Willowbank safety officials managed to get the small fire under control. What a shame for Cannuli but in the end it was just rewards for Phillips who once again had dominated the class. In all the commotion Noonan managed to pick up the win and advance to the final with a 5.519 @ 260.91mph over a slowing Cannuli at 5.586 @ 220.98mph. Semi-final 2 saw Reed take the win over Ambruosi with a 5.568 pass @ 251.20mph to Ambruosi’s 5.805 @ 214.93mph. What a wonderful weekend for the Ambruosi team with consistency now a formality for the team.

Finals time and what a race we had. Jamie Noonan had been strong all week including the test days leading up to the event and looked to be in a good position to take home the win. Having said that, Steven Reed had posted 5.54’s all weekend and definitely had equal claims on the prize. Both guys got away around the same time with Noonan hauling a higher mph to get the win with a 5.522 @ 260.97mph to Reed’s 5.656 @ 226.43 mph. It was Reed’s slowest time for the whole weekend with his mph also suffering.

So after 3 unbelievable action packed days of Top Alcohol racing Gary Phillips was declared the 2015 champ with Jamie Noonan the 2015 Winter National Top Alcohol champ. John Cannuli finished the season as runner-up and must be wondering when his luck is going to change for if it wasn’t for a burst fuel line the story may have been different. Cannuli also struck bad luck at the Adelaide round when his car wouldn’t start for the final against Phillips. Having said all of that the reason Phillips is champion is due largely to his consistency. I’m sure he could win an event with his eyes closed as the drill must now be firmly entrenched in his memory after the countless passes in his Lucas Oils Funny Car..

On a final note the bracket has to go down as the premium form of drag racing at this year's Winters given the poor showing by the Top Fuel bracket. These guys consistently run in the mid 5’s with side by side racing the norm. Next time the ANDRA truck rolls into your city go and check out the Top Alcohol bracket, you will never be disappointed.

For images on the event go to:http://www.dragphotos.com.au/

For more articles on the event go to:http://www.dragnews.com.au/

To check the ANDRA race calendar go to:  http://andra.com.au/

To check out the Willowbank Raceway site go to:http://www.willowbankraceway.com.au/

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