Managed to chat to Cory on Sunday morning before eliminations. Despite the Lamattina accident casting a shadow from Saturday afternoon onwards, Cory was having a great time and enjoyed working with Lee again. Lee mentioned on Facebook that he 'came out of retirement' to do this race with Santo. It's no secret the Rapisarda's and Lee are great friends - I wouldn't be surprised to see him down under again next year as a once a year deal. Bobby Bennett did a great job as usual, too. Pretty cool to have some NHRA representation at this race. Phil Lamattina is in hospital just down the road from me - they are operating on his shattered vertebra on Monday. I really hope they don't give it away after this.....they bring so much to Top Fuel in Australia.
Top Fuel wasn't exactly a clean show all weekend - even for Lee Beard, who has tuned more fuel cars down a track than most combined - more carnage and tyre shake than normal. This event can be a crapshoot sometimes - the excellent air and ultra-sticky surface....it's almost too good, and it often takes quite a few runs before teams really get a handle on it. If this event isn't on your bucket list, I highly recommend it. the atmosphere at this event is electric. Having attended NHRA events, you guys do a slick job of getting things done in a quick timeframe. We still have a few things to learn in that department. Other than that, an NHRA fan would thoroughly enjoy our Winternationals.
