Victor Bray wins Goldenstates over old sparring partner ZappiaOld sparring partners Victor Bray and John Zappia matched up again at Perth Motorplex on Saturday night with Bray emerging as the upset winner in round two of the ANDRA Top Doorslammer championship.

It was a night to remember for Bray, with the Queensland-based tomato farmer also running his first ever five second passes, a 5.96 in the semi finals backed up with a 5.95 in the final.

The finals match up of Bray, a six times champion, and Zappia, a five times champion, had the crowd salivating. When Zappia got loose early in his run Bray was able to stretch the legs of the Sidchrome 57 Chev through to the finish line and his first win since September 2006.

"It is great to win again, it feels terrific, it gives everyone an uplift," he said. "It's been tough with the way John Zappia and all the boys have stepped up over the years."

Less than two weeks after an action-packed outing at Sydney Dragway, Team Bray Racing's Victor and Ben Bray are set to head across the country for the Perth Motorplex's 41st annual Goldenstates this Friday and Saturday (16-17 November).

With a 19 car field battling for just eight spots on race day as the 'Fremantle Doctor' ensures unpredictable conditions, the father and son team will be looking to repeat the achievements of days past at the revered Western Australian facility.

At this same event in 2003, Victor set a world record terminal speed of 245.23 miles per hour (394.57kmh) while in 2004 Ben reset the national elapsed time record of the day at 6.02 seconds before taking victory in an all-Bray final.

Since taking the win at the season ending Winternationals, the off season was productive but time consuming and before Reed knew it, the nationals were fast approaching and time had run out to do some much needed testing prior to last weekend at Sydney Dragway.

11 Top Alcohol funnycar & dragsters fronted to compete for the prestigious gold Christmas tree win. All 3 qualifying sessions were scheduled for Saturday and fortunately rain only delayed qualifying for very brief moments and all 3 sessions for group 1 were able to be completed.

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."

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.

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."