In less than three weeks, the fire-throwing Top Fuelers will head to Willowbank Raceway for round one of the New Year Series on January 2-3.
Leading the charge will be comeback kid Andrew Cowin and likeable larrikin Darren Morgan.
When Top Fuel joins Top Alcohol at Willowbank Raceway for round three of the ANDRA Championship, it will be the first time in a long time that Cowin has taken to the Ipswich track.
With his comeback season already off to a fantastic start, all eyes will be on the Sydneysider who secured his Top Fuel licence at just 17.
In 1999, Cowin became the world’s quickest and fastest teenager at the time. He was the youngest US Nationals finalist in history at age 19, going on to appear in multiple NHRA finals.
After a hiatus from drag racing, Andrew and his father Graeme are making a full-on assault on Top Fuel this season. After a shock first round loss at the opening round, they went on to take the event win in October.
“We tested before the start of the season and ran a 4.59 second time which was great,” Cowin said.
“Then with the event win in October, we moved up to second in the points, and we hope to keep progressing forward.
“Top Fuel racing in Australia is the toughest it has ever been at the moment, the level of competition and the cars is massive and you have got to be on your game.
“We are really looking forward to getting up to Willowbank Raceway for the New Year Series, the fans are the best, the place is full of really good people, the weather is normally really good and the track is stellar.
“The last time I raced there was in 2002 and I ran the first 4.7 second pass, and it was the first ever 500 kilometre per hour Top Fuel run as well and my first ever win.
“To top it off, my win came from beating Jim Read in the final which was great.”
Where Cowin faltered at the Nationals, Victorian Morgan shined, taking the event win.
That result, combined with his October semi-final appearance, has him positioned on the top of the points table heading into the New Year.
“We had the best possible start to the season in September with the Nationals win, and then in October for round two we went to the semi-finals for a close run with Terry Sainty, who went on to claim runner-up for that event,” Morgan said.
“All in all, its been a strong start and we now sit at the top of the championship heading to Willowbank, which is always a nice place to be.”