Near perfect weather welcomed racers to the opening round of the Aeroflow Sportsman Drag Racing Championship at Sydney Dragway on Friday as the 48th annual Australian Nationals began in classy fashion.
Many runs underneath national time records were made as racers took advantage of cool and clear conditions at the Western Sydney venue.
Competition veteran Craig Geddes showed just why his career has been so successful with a .57 under 7.47 in his E/AA. Scott Porter meanwhile improved his own world record for the quickest Nissan anywhere on the planet as he recorded a 6.34 to be .62 under the index in AA/SC with his Nissan Infiniti. It was AA/SC cars that in fact held the top four spots with the top three underneath the national record.
Daniel Camilleri (pictured above) kept the turbocharged cars in the headlines with a 7.82 to be .53 under the index for DD/GA in Super Stock and hold the number one position.
Corey Buttigieg meanwhile went the furthest under the index of anyone in Group Two with a .76 under 8.66 in the V/CB class to top qualify in Competition Bike.
Other top qualifiers included Andrew Hodgson in Supercharged Outlaws, Rob Harrington in Modified, Greg Fowler in Super Sedan, Michael Mitchell in Modified Bike, John Kerr in Super Street, Emma Hazzard in Junior Dragster and Warren Smith in Super Gas.
The action continues at the Australian Nationals on Saturday and Sunday.
Day one images thanks to Fred Dwyer.