Greg Clayton - 2012 NationalsThe QLD tyre and retreading team of Greg and Kim Clayton, reaped the rewards for all the hard work put in over the past four seasons , claiming their first Gold Christmas Tree and taking maximum points for the first round in the Aero Flow Sportsman, Australian drag racing championship.

While the week started off somewhat in chaos, with Greg badly twisting an ankle while loading the car for the Sydney road trip. The team put that behind them during qualifying, where the car recorded another number one qualifying position with a stout 6.13 second run, in the Competition eliminator bracket." We knew we had the power with the new PSI supercharger and Ken Lowe fuel system on board, plus Fuchs Lubricants now protecting the internals of the engine, we only needed to stay consistent and drive well to be in with a chance of winning the event" , explained Clayton.

Phil Lamattina - Top Fuel (Photo courtesy Fred Dwyer)The Australian Nationals saw the LTFR team take its FUCHS dragster to the final for the second consecutive ANDRA championship round and although the team made some valuable gains in the performance of the car, the runner-up result was not what the team were looking for.

Team driver Phil Lamattina smiled, "I wasn't looking to come second, that's for sure."

"We went to Sydney to win and of course I'm a little but disappointed with the result. Hats off to Darren Morgan and his team, they have done a good job and deserve the win."

Lamattina did hint at improved performances in his own car.

"We did make some great gains - the car recorded at .84 60-foot time, which was very strong. Very strong," Lamattina said with a knowing grin.

Peter Kapiris takes the win in Top Doorslammer (Photo courtesy Fred Dwyer)Sixteen new Australian Nationals winners were handed their ANDRA gold Christmas tree trophies at Sydney Dragway today as near perfect conditions produced records and tight racing in spades.

Reigning Australian Top Fuel champion Darren Morgan took his second win in a row, backing up his victory in Adelaide two weeks ago. Renewed consistency saw Morgan able to drive to a 4.78 win in the final, also recording top speed of the event at 513kmh, defeating Phil Lamattina's valiant 5.00 in the second finals confrontation in a row for the pair.

A subdued Morgan said some mechanical changes had made the impact they were looking for.

"Last year tested the hell out of us consistency wise so we changed some things in it," he said. "It's all worked and we're starting to get happy with it."

Father and son duo Victor and Ben Bray will be looking to make history repeat at Sydney Dragway this weekend as the 2012/2013 Top Doorslammer championship chase begins with the Australian Nationals (2-3-4 November 2012).

The Australian Nationals has been a happy hunting ground for Sidchrome's Team Bray in the past, with Ben breaking through as the youngest ever event winner in 2002 at just 17 years and 2 months of age.

The youngster then went on to win three of the next four outings of the event and claim the 2003 season title - making him the youngest-ever winner of a professional drag racing championship anywhere in the world at the time.

Sydney Dragway was the place to be last weekend with the running of the 2012 ANDRA Drag Racing Nationals. Coming off a win in the 1st round of the championship, Darren Morgan Racing was in town to solidify their number 1 position in the point standings.

After a forgettable Saturday where they qualified 4th in a 7 car field, the team came out on Sunday and blasted through 3 rounds of racing to take the win and top mile-an-hour points for the event, collecting their second ANDRA Gold Christmas Tree for the season and extending the lead in the Top Fuel Championship.

"It was a great win," said Darren, "particularly after the troubles we had on Saturday. The boys did a magnificent job of servicing the car every run. I'm really proud of the crew - to take it up to and beat the best Australia has to offer."

As the final preparations are made for this weekend's final round of the 2012 JP Racing Eighth Mile Drag Racing Series at Warwick Dragway (November 10), series organisers have confirmed they will be back to do it all again in 2013.

Full details of the fourth running of the Eighth Mile Drag Racing Series will be announced later this year, with rounds expected to take in this weekend's host track Warwick Dragway as well as Willowbank Raceway, Benarby Dragway and Ironbark Raceway.

JP Racing Eighth Mile Series organiser John Winterburn said he was excited to be able to confirm the series will again take a place amongst the Australian drag racing calendar for a fourth time in 2013.

Darren Morgan looking to solidify number 1 position (Photo courtesy Fred Dwyer)This weekend will see Darren Morgan Racing take to Sydney Dragway for the Australian Nationals, with the aim of solidifying their number 1 position in the ANDRA Top Fuel Championship.

"The Nationals is a very special event in Drag Racing circles", said Darren Morgan. "If you're going to win a race, the Nationals is definitely at the top of many racer's wish list. It's Australian drag racing's version of the 'big go'."Coming off a win at the 1st round of the ANDRA Top Fuel Championship in Adelaide a few weeks ago, Darren is confident they have the tune and team that will see them go rounds and hopefully come away with a healthy lead in the championship.

"Sydney Dragway has been good to us," explains Darren. "We have been very successful here. At our last meeting at the track, back in May at the Nitro Champs, we top qualified and were runner-up to Damian Harris in the final."

No less than four home-town racers are in the running for 2012 JP Racing Eighth Mile Drag Racing Series glory as the countdown continues to its final round, to be held at Warwick Dragway on Saturday November 10.

Boosting their competiveness is the fact that the penultimate round of the popular grassroots series was also held at their home track, with track upgrades at the original scheduled venue seeing that event moved to Warwick, creating a series double-header for the facility.

Super Streeter Nathan Jannusch, cousins Matthew and Andrew Loy and drag racing patriarch Ian Ham will all be flying the flag for Warwick amongst an expected field of 110 racers in the final stand for the 2012 championship.