Rumors Of Aussie Top Fuel’s 1/4-Mile Demise Greatly Exaggerated

In the midst of the media frenzy surrounding the most prestigious drag race in Australia, the 47th annual Fuchs Winternationals held at the Willowbank Raceway, it was reported that the Australian National Drag Racing Association would be following the NHRA’s move to a 1,000-foot race distance for Top Fuel in 2015, bringing to an end a six-year holdout with full quarter-mile racing. That news was met with much criticism on both sides of the pond by those championing the cause for nitro racing over the traditional 1,320-foot distance. But now, with the move seemingly concrete based on various reports, comes word from ANDRA officials, most notably series CEO Malcolm Bulley, that no such decision has ever been made.

The official statement from ANDRA reads:

In a recent report concerning Top Fuel racing in Australia, it was suggested the racing distance would be cut to 1000 feet from the current 1320 feet / quarter mile in 2015.

Since ANDRA became aware of the article a little over 24 hours ago there have been a number of enquires regarding the source and validation.

This afternoon ANDRA CEO Malcolm Bulley issued the following statement:

“It’s news to us. I’ve contacted Top Fuel Australia’s representatives Bruce Read and Phil Lamattina who also don’t know anything about it.

“We have a process for changing rules and looking at proposals from teams and category bodies which included relevant stakeholder engagement.

“The subject of racing distances has been discussed informally a number of times, however ANDRA and TFA have never formally tabled anything of the sort and therefore it is not currently being considered.”

When contacted by ANDRA, Top Fuel Australia representative and Jim Read Racing Crew Chief Bruce Read confirmed the following:

“At no time has Top Fuel Australia (as a group) discussed formally the move to 1000ft racing,” he said.

“Whilst there has been the odd informal mention of this form of racing it is NOT something that TFA has discussed nor is considering.”

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httpv://youtu.be/0nY8IbLauak

To celebrate this interesting turn of events that would seem to indicate quarter-mile racing is here to stay — at least a little bit longer anyway — in Australia, we bring you a little slice of badassery in the form of a full pull by a nitro car, something we haven’t seen in the states since 2008. Here, Phil Lamattina resets the track speed record with this lap of 4.560-seconds at 327.27, backing up an earlier 327.98 MPH blast. You’ll have to crank up the audio and enjoy the sound of 1,320-feet of nitro captured with a level of crispness that puts ESPN to shame.

Cheers to the full pull!