Written by Luke Nieuwhof
Monday, 26 February 2007
John Zappia is one of the most renowned names in drag racing, yet he still has a monkey to shake off his back in Top Doorslammer racing at the Westernationals, to be held this Saturday and Sunday at Perth Motorplex.
The 45 year old Spearwood man is driving the world's quickest Top Doorslammer, holding the record at 5.92seconds for the quarter-mile but his speeds of 380kmh do not come easy.
"We've never had good luck and have always had the stupid things go wrong at the Westernationals, he said.
"It is time to shake the monkey off the back; we really need the points to gain the lead in the championship and put the pressure back on the other racers for the remaining rounds."
The Australian Top Doorslammer Championship is up to its fifth round and Zappia is sitting third, behind Queensland racers Gary Phillips and Victor Bray.
Perth Motorplex has attracted a record field of 15 cars from across the nation to compete and Zappia sees himself with a big advantage at the Kwinana track.
"We do nine events a year in Perth and always in different race conditions," he said.
"No other team has near that amount of runs."
In an aggressive tactic, Zappia has slotted his world-record, 3500 horsepower supercharged V8 back into his Monaro Top Doorslammer.
"The field is pretty good but I need to concentrate on not beating myself," he said.
"A few others have stepped up and if they get the good track conditions then they’ll be right there."
Zappia will be challenged by his championship rivals Phillips and Bray, as well as Victoria's Peter Kapiris, New South Wales' Steve Stanic, Queensland's husband and wife team of Brett and Kath Stevens, Victor and Ben Bray and fellow West Australian contenders Robin Judd, Gary Stevens and Adam Croker.
The event will also feature round five of the Australian Top Bike Championship.
The big guns hit the track from 6pm on both Saturday and Sunday.
