John Zappia is the man to beat in Top Doorslammer, and his Zappia Racing Team are in Sydney Australia for the Karcher Nitro Champs for three days of full on drag racing including Top Fuel, Top Bike, Top Alcohol, Pro Stock and Round 7 of the ANDRA Top Doorslammer Championship.
“We love coming to Sydney” said Zappia while setting up for the event, “We have always had good results here, and the track is good and safe. It’s a huge event over three days, and with Doorslammer having nineteen competitors, the pressure will be high on teams performing well”.
“We are coming off one of our best events at the Tin Tops last meeting, where the Striker Monaro was super consistent with five runs in the 5.8’s, an event win, and a new National Record. Hopefully the weather will be cooler here in Sydney so we can go even quicker. One HD Television has a repeat of the Tin Tops event on Friday 1st May at 2.45 Eastern Standard Time, and 12.45 for those in Western Australia”.
Zappia leads the ANDRA Top Doorslammer Championship after six rounds, on 553 points with four event wins. Fellow Western Australian Robin Judd is the only close contender, 153 points behind on 400 points.
“We will race as per our usual plan this weekend, with the only changes being new Mickey Thompson tyres on the rear. The Striker Monaro can handle the extra power we are delivering, with most runs straight down the middle of the track. A testimony to the crew, and our dedication to constantly improving our set up and the pursuit of those one percent advantages”.
First Qualifier for the event is on Friday night 1st May at 7pm Eastern Standard Time. Day two 2nd May sees the remaining three qualifiers at 3pm, 5pm, and 7pm. Live audio of the event can be heard at www.speedfm.com.au
“We have a history of top qualifying in these events, probably due to the fact that we race a lot at our home track in a very competitive Top Comp bracket, and have extensive data in our electronic systems. The car is well set up, so there is no experimentation or guessing in competition for us – it’s all known set-ups and known tune-ups and the repeatability is there for us”.
“I think a few guys in Top Doorslammer have hot tune ups at the moment, and are making plenty of power, but it’s the repeatability and consistency of quick ET’s that gives us the advantage over a whole event”.
“I believe there is more to extract from these cars, and the Striker Monaro may go even quicker. I remember when a 5.9 second run was a dream for us, then a 5.8 became a distinct possibility, and now 5.7’s are not unreasonable if the weather and track conditions are spot on. That’s pretty exciting!”.
“We still have to be on our game though, it takes a lot of work to get these cars race ready, and free from unforced errors. We have some modifications that are available for these TFX engines, and some of our own that give us more power and reliability. The crew do a fantastic job, and are all professionals at their individual tasks”.
Eliminations get underway on day three 3rd May, with Round 1 at 12pm, Round 2 at 2pm, and the Final is at 3.30pm.
“It’s a long event with plenty of time, so make sure you come down to the Zappia Racing pit area and watch the crew working on the Monaro. We have our merchandise trailer loaded with goodies, and I spend a lot of time with fans individually signing items and having a chat”.
