3 May 2011
Wayne Newby secured a place in his seventh final in a row at Sydney Dragway's Nitro Champs on the weekend, making him almost unbeatable for the 2010/2011 Top Alcohol Championship title.
The weather gods tried their hardest to bring an early end to the Nitro Champs but persistence paid dividends in the end. Teams and track officials all persevered through showers on Friday which put paid to Top Alcohol’s first qualifying round due to run on Friday night.
Top qualifying, straight off the trailer, with a first round run of 5.647 at 250.51mph, Newby set the standard for the field. With only minor changes made between championship rounds it seems the team have found the right combination that has put them in first place in the championship season.
The sun was out for eliminations on Sunday much to the relief of all participants. First round saw Wayne line up against Steven Ham in the Pontiac Funnycar. Wayne took the round with a solid run of 5.72 at 240.55mph against Ham’s red light and 5.755 run.
Steven Reed in the Camaro Funnycar cut a bad light in round two to run a 5.982 at 224.85mph against Wayne’s winning run of 5.676 at 250.09mph, setting Wayne up to meet John Cannuli in the final. Cannuli ran consistently all day and was always going to be a tough beat.
The final was delayed due to track incidents and the colder night air saw the Newby car overstep the mark giving Cannuli the win. Second place, however, gave the Newby Team 88 points for the event, putting them in first place in the championship with 328 points.
The entire Newby team has done a magnificent job this season, with the car running consistently well, earning them first place in the series points.
With such a strong lead going into the final round at the Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway in June, Wayne will certainly be a tough one to beat. All in all a great weekend of racing without major incidents for the team and a good stage for the launch of major sponsor, JBS, who debuted their new Master Series Tool Range.
Wayne Newby would like to thank the entire team and our valued sponsors JBS Tools, Fabre Australia, Smithfield Diff and Gear, Coldy’s Tow & Bullbars, Redline Oils, VP Racing Fuels, Mick’s Metal Craft, CRC Industries and Newby Engineering for their continued support, without whom racing would not be possible.