GOLD
TREES
25 fastlane
ALL ROUND!
At the upcoming
Westernationals it won’t
just be the Summit Racing
Equipment Sportsman
Series competitors
racing for ‘gold.’
ANDRA and the Perth Motorplex recently
announced the West Coast Challenge which
will take place during the Westernationals
and allow Top Doorslammer and Top Fuel
Motorcycle competitors to compete for a
prestigious ANDRA Gold Christmas Tree
trophy.
The Westernationals will be held at the
Perth Motorplex across March 2-3 and will
also mark the penultimate round of the
18/19 Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman
Series. All of the action will be live-streamed
across both days.
“We are very excited to announce the West
Coast Challenge for these great Group One
categories as part of what is already shaping
up to be a fantastic event at our facility,”
Perth Motorplex Drag Racing Manager, Ray
Treasure, said.
“A Gold ANDRA Christmas Tree is a prestigious
prize indeed, and all at the Perth Motorplex
can’t wait to see the show put on by the
Top Doorslammer and Top Fuel Motorcycle
competitors at the Westernationals as they
look to get their hands on it.”
For Top Doorslammer legend John Zappia,
the announcement is welcome news.
“The Westernationals have been going for
years and it is always a great event; I hope
that as many cars a possible turn up for the
West Coast Challenge,” Zappia said.
“ANDRA Gold Christmas Trees are definitely
very important and appealing even when
you have a lot of them,” Zappia said.
“Some people haven’t got one and so it is
really important to them to get one; and I
have lots of them but I collect them and I
like to get as many as I can, while I can – it
is always a great challenge to be able to do
that.
“I think it is very important that an ANDRA
Gold Christmas Tree is on offer for the
winner of one of the most high profile
racing brackets of what will be a great
event. I am looking forward to getting the
Fuchs/Dananni Monaro back together –
we have a couple of meetings prior to the
Westernationals to get the car running up
to speed and hopefully we can set a new
track record and get a Gold Christmas Tree
too!”
Top Fuel Motorcycle veteran Jay Upton says
the value of an ANDRA Gold Christmas Tree
is indisputable.
“I think over time we have all grown to
respect the ANDRA Gold Christmas Tree
trophy more than anything else in drag
racing – they are pretty hard to get and they
are worth a lot! I always say they are worth
about $100k as they take a lot to get,”
Upton said.
“They are coveted more than most other
things – to this day we proudly have our
ANDRA Gold Christmas Trees on display
at the office, at the workshop and in the
house. We have all sorts of other trophies
from all around the world and none of them
are out on display, but the Gold Christmas
Trees are.
“I really think it is the pinnacle, they
are very well respected and so it is very
important for us to race for one at the
Westernationals with the West Coast
Challenge – I know plenty of people that
only run at events where they can get a
Gold Tree, it is certainly very important and
a real drawcard for lots of racers.”
ANDRA General Manager Brett Stevens
said he was looking forward to some fierce
competition at the March event.
“Across both the Summit Racing Equipment
Sportsman Series and West Coast
Challenge fields there is going to be plenty
to fight for at the Westernationals, and we
have no doubt that all racers will be giving
everything they’ve got at this great event in
pursuit of victory,” Stevens said.
“An ANDRA Gold Christmas tree is the
ultimate trophy in Australian drag racing
so you can expect that our racers won’t be
leaving anything on the table across March
2 and 3. For both those watching trackside
and those watching online thanks to the
free live-stream, we expect plenty of thrills
across both days.”
For more information, visit www.andra.
com.au or www.motorplex.com.au
Images: John Zappia image by Outlaw
Images. Jay Upton image above by High
Octane Photos.