The Santo’s Cranes Super 3 Extreme Drag Race may mark a crucial part of the championship for Top Fuel however the points battles and rivalries will take a back seat to the memory of Louie Rapisarda this weekend.
The son of team owner Santo Rapisarda passed away in a racing accident at Willowbank Raceway in 1990 and it is to preserve and honour Louie’s memory that Santo has continued operating one of Australia’s longest-lived Top Fuel outfits.
The Top Fuel racer earning the most points across the event will be presented with the Louie Rapisarda Top Fuel Trophy.
The current Top Fuel national champion, Darren Morgan (pictured above), said that the event would not have come together without Santo’s involvement. Morgan is a winner of a previous memorial, the Louie Rapisarda Tribute, at the 2010 Nitro Champs.
“It’s the main reason we are going, to look after Santo, because he is the one who has put the money up and made it all happen,” he said. “It is about remembering a fellow Top Fuel racer who has passed. I was too young at the time to really have known him, but losing any racer is a tragedy.”
With top speeds now over 500kmh, Top Fuel drag racing is one of the planet’s most extreme forms of motorsport but the safety levels have followed suit and accidents involving any kind of serious injury are now rare.
Willowbank Raceway managing director Steve Bettes shares Morgan’s outlook on honouring the memory of Louie Rapisarda.
“Louie has never been forgotten by Australia’s drag racing community and so we are honoured to be able to host this special challenge as part of our Easter festivities here at Willowbank Raceway,” he said. “While all eyes are on the new format, there will also be a keen following across the weekend on the Louie Rapisarda Top Fuel Trophy.”
By importing three times world Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon and legendary crew chief Lee Beard for the Santo’s Cranes Super 3 Extreme Drag Race, Rapisarda Autosport International have ensured they will be a tough operation to beat.
Morgan says the standard of performances will be high as the weather begins to cool.
“We’re finally making the switch from the hot summer tracks to cool weather, it’s good at this time of year at Willowbank,” he said. “We’ve had some of our quickest passes off the trailer at Willowbank and that is what you need under the three round format because you don’t get qualifying runs to try things out.
“Getting from A to B has to be a focus and if you haven’t got time to find consistency then you’re going to need to muscle it down there. We’ll go with the data we had before on the car, even though we’ve changed a lot of things, and see if it performs.”
The Santo’s Cranes Super 3 Extreme Drag Race at Willowbank Raceway takes place this Friday and Saturday, with qualifying beginning from 5pm on both days.
The below video was put together by Dean Neal in 2010 and remains a powerful tribute to Top Fuel’s lost son.