13 September 2010
Newby Top Alcohol Wrap-up
The opening round of the season is now all run and done, and what a round it was. After a slow start on Friday due to rain, the rest of the weekend was what has been described as the Upset Nationals and Top Alcohol was no exception. With top qualifier Gary Phillips going out in the first round due to massive tyre shake, it left the field wide open for the Newby Team.
In the first round of eliminations Wayne ran a personal best of 5.57 to take out Rick Gauci in the City Finance Funny Car. Rick was disappointed to have his weekend come to an early finish but could be seen on the track supporting the Newby Team in their remaining runs.
The semi final matched Newby against Steven Ham in the ECL Funny Car. Ham had an issue from the start paving the way for Newby to take the run with a 5.916 at 203mph. Unfortunately the car was running lean and the heads were torched, leaving the crew with the huge job of changing the entire engine before the finals.
They put in a massive effort and were able to get the car turned around in time for the final against Aaron Hambridge. “Wayne cut a good light”, said crew chief Anthony Lavorato. “Unfortunately the car banged the blower off” and the rest is history. Despite the damage to the engine Newby ran a 5.68 at 226mph to Aaron’s 5.60 at 251mph for a close finish.
Whilst a win in the opening round would have been great, the Newby Team will settle for second…..this time. “It has been a terrific weekend and the car seems to be running consistently, and looks great. A big thank you to the staff at Sydney Dragway, they have done a great job this weekend and deserve to be acknowledged” said Anthony. So watch out at the Sydney Dragway for Round 2 of the Andra Pro Series on 30th and 31st October.
Get better soon Mick, falling off the back of the truck and hurting your arm on setup day is not a good way to enjoy the event.
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 and Newby Engineering for their continued support, without whom racing would not be possible.