Well it's been a crazy few months for Mariani Family Motorsport. We picked up the race car from Darren Morgan Racing (DMR) in April. Since DMR didn't have the spare parts they needed, we agreed to let them use some of the parts off our car for the next few months until their shipment arrived and both ours and their teams were able to be self sufficient.

May 2013 - The car has colour! I decided to colour it in the old school style of my dads car and to put it lightly, he was awesomely surprised. A huge thank you to my friends at "Pro Signs Wetherill Park" for making this Beast look the part. I think it represents a new age feel with an old Skool touch.

Queensland's Gary Phillips set a new track record en route to number one qualifying position in Top Alcohol on day one of the ANDRA Drag Racing Series at Darwin's Hidden Valley Drag Strip.

Phillips' pass of 5.650 eclipsed the previous track record of 5.685 that was held by Darwin local Scott Maclean.

With 11 cars battling to make it into an eight car race day field, Phillips said he was just glad that he was in the show for Saturday with his Lucas Oils Funny Car.

"As long as we weren't in those ninth, tenth or eleventh spots I didn't care," he said. "We elected to roll the dice and sit out the final session and the time managed to stay number one.

Australia's quickest current female racer Debbie O'Rourke is hoping her first trip to race at Darwin's Hidden Valley Drag Strip in the ANDRA Drag Racing Series goes off without a 'bang'.

O'Rourke is one of the most experienced racers in the Top Alcohol category and knows the highs of 400kmh passes down the drag strip as well as the lows when things go wrong.

Like most of the other teams attending the historic event, the O'Rourke Motorsport outfit, supported by KTrans WA and 1320 Race Cars, says they will be taking a softer approach to initial runs to get to learn the Hidden Valley track's intricacies.

Darwin drag racer Scott Maclean may not have the vast experience of more seasoned drivers in the ANDRA Drag Racing Series, but when it comes to his home track of Hidden Valley Drag Strip, Maclean is going to be the man to beat.

On Saturday night Maclean beat his own track record again with a run of 5.685 at 251.95mph (405.46kph) over the quarter mile, which plays host to its first ever ANDRA championship rounds of Top Alcohol and Top Bike next Friday and Saturday, August 16 and 17.

In a warning shot to the nine other teams who are travelling to the event, Maclean said there is more to come yet from the AllTools Ford Mustang.

Steven Ham took his second career win as Gary Phillips wrapped up his 17th ANDRA championship title on a pivotal night of the ANDRA Drag Racing Series at Hidden Valley Drag Strip in Darwin.

Ham's 5.645 second pass in the final defeated a close but losing 5.732 from John Cannuli and in the process moved to second in the championship, albeit out of reach of Phillips' points lead.

The win did not come without its share of drama for Ham, with the team enduring a run of gremlins interfering with the 3500 horsepower East Coast Lubes Funny Car.

"A lot of hard work went into it just to get us to the last round here tonight," he said. "We had no working data logger, no tachometer, oil pressure problems, it was just drama central and we had to put it all out of our minds and just go for it."

Gary Phillips has a stranglehold on the Top Alcohol championship with just two rounds remaining and this weekend at Hidden Valley Drag Strip could see the Lucas Oils Funny Car driver wrap up his 16th title in the category.

Phillips has a 93 point lead over second placed Steve Reed. If he can leave with anything greater than a 118 point lead over his nearest rival then it's game, set, match for the cagey Queenslander.

But Phillips says the last thing on his mind is championship hunting when there is a wildcard track like Darwin to tackle first.

"It's not my game to look that far ahead. We will go up there with an open mind and do the best we can do. But I'd rather be the target than the arrow," he said.

Alice Springs drag racer Mark Probst will get a chance to compete in the ANDRA Drag Racing Series for the first time in his home state at next weekend's Top Alcohol championship round at Darwin's Hidden Valley Drag Strip.

The historic occasion, the first time championship drag racing has been to the top end, will see Probst not only trying to defeat some of the country's quickest teams but also trying to break his own personal best and see his unique Altered-chassis race car into the five second zone for the first time over the quarter mile race distance.

"The fives are what we are chasing, we are running in Alice Springs this weekend to get some more data," he said. "We are going to have to be on our toes because people like national champion Gary Phillips and track record holder Scott Maclean are going to be in Darwin and we want to be amongst it."

JP Racing Eighth Mile Drag Racing Series Results - Round 3 Willowbank Raceway Sat 03 August 2013

FG Loy & Sons Earthmoving Old School

• Wiinner: Lyn Stewart
• Runner Up: Peter Baczynski

RD Williams Excavator Parts Modified

• Winner: Phil Bellert
• Runner Up: Lockie Boyde

Ice Slushee Super Sedan

• Winner: Mandy Pukis
• Runner Up: Tom Parry