At the ANDRA Grand Finals / Westernationals, Adrian Vella not only claimed his maiden Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series Australian Championship in Super Stock, but he also clean swept the event, with the event win coming at the expense of last season’s winner (to who Vella was the runner-up), Steve Norman.

How did you get into drag racing?

I have always been a car guy and a few buddies took me to Calder Park many years ago. I started tinkering with cars and running street meets and it just evolved from there.

Now that some time has passed, has it sunk in that you are the 2022/2023 National Champion?

It still hasn’t sunk in as I am still doing a bit of racing here and there, but I think when we are freshening the car in the off season and the crew are around, we will reflect on what we have been able to do. I am really lucky to be working with some great people and the car I have now is just awesome.

What does it mean to you to have achieved the championship?

There have been three things I wanted to cross off my list and we ticked off two of those in Perth at the Westernationals. It is a big deal for us and our sponsors to win the event and to get the championship as well.

How long have you been pursuing the championship, and how does it feel now to have achieved it?

I haven’t been chasing the championship for that long if we look back at it, as I started racing in Super stock in 2016 and have tried different cars and combos. Chatting with Paul my Crew Chief we figured if we wanted to chase this championship seriously, we needed a car that could run multiple classes. We have had the new car since 2018 and we have been testing our backsides off to get this car to run on any track. This year was our first serious crack at it due to COVID lockdowns in the seasons prior, and we are so proud of what we have achieved but also acknowledge we have more to do in the next few seasons.

What are your plans for the upcoming season?

We picked up a new sponsor at the end of the new season in WA Fuel so we are working out what races we want to do but we love running at Portland and Mildura as we get looked after really well there, and Perth is definitely something we would like to do again, and of course we are keen to go to Tailem Bend when they come online.

Are you planning on defending the title in the new season, and how confident are you of being able to go back-to-back?

We would love to attempt to become back-to-back champions, but as we all know there is a lot of good competition out there. We will be doing our best!

Why do you choose to compete in the Super Stock category?

I have never really been much of a bracket racer and our friend Rob Dekert was running Super Stock before he took a small break. When Nino Cavallo’s Stratus came up for sale I was able to pick up a small block Chev for the right price it came together for us to give Super Stock a run and I just loved it.

What was your favourite event of the 2022/2023 season and why?

The ANDRA Grand Finals / Westernationals at the Perth Motorplex – what a great event and race track. Also winning both the event and the Championship at the same time was unbelievable!

What was the highlight of your season aside from taking out the title?

Honestly racing with my friends and family at some cool race tracks is a highlight every time we go out. Winning means a lot, but just putting on a show with my little wheel standing Super Stock Cobalt is loads of fun.

Who would you like to thank for the roles they have played in your title season?

I would like to thank my sponsors: Plucka’s Race Craft, Outlaw Images, WA Fuel, ETS Racing Fuels Australia, JC Race Stuff, RPM Race Parts Melbourne, ProTrans Performance Automatics, Comp Engines, Ridgeway Motorsport, Lucas Oil Australia, Outlaw Slot Cars, and TM line Boring and Engineering.

I also want to thank my family – my wife, Christine and my son, Mason – and my crew: Paul for his knowledge on being able to set up my car, Hayley for all her media work and transport driving she does for me, Sean for his IT knowledge, and my stand in crew, Rob, Simon, and Jordy.

For the complete listing of ANDRA champions, please click here