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Damian Harris and Morice McMillin took the respective #1 spots in Top Fuel and Nitro Funny car, with a 3.79 and 3.97 respectively over the 1000ft distance.
Harris’ run came in the final pass of the final qualifying session, pipping Peter Xiberras’ 3.80 in the process.
Wayne Newby sits third with a 3.81 and Phi Read did not make a representative run on his one and only shot at the racetrack.
McMillin had the perfect qualifying session to lead into race day where he is trying to rein in championship leader and team-mate Justin Walshe.
The Aeroflow/Rocket Team occupied the first four positions on the qualifying list, with McMillin Leading from Brandon Gosbell (4.02), Josh Leahy (4.06) and Justin Walshe (4.07).
“I didn’t see Brandon at all, it was a bit slow early but then it just started ripping, it moved over to the right and then I brought it back over to the left, and I was a bit late on the chutes,” McMillin explained after the run.
“That is what we were trying to do, to run a three for the crowd. The surface is just so good, and we just saw Walshey run a 4.0 – nitro is just awesome.”
Northern Territorian Adam Murrihy holds down fifth (4.24) with Anthony Begley and Chris Stipanovich rounding out one of the tightest Nitro Funny Car fields in Australian history.
There was drama aplenty in Pro Alcohol with the overnight leader Jake Donnelly improving to a 5.48 but dropping to third behind Dan Reed (5.41) and Russell Mills (5.43).
Luke Marsden was the surprise packet of the day, coming from deep in the field to log a 5.50 to take a place in the top half of the field.
Wayne Price also improved to a 5.54, but the story of the final qualifying session was Gary Phillips who was on the outside of the qualified field going into Q3.
After clouting the wall earlier in the day with his revamped altered, the car continued its wheel-standing antics but the experience of Phillips shone through as he wrestled the car to a 5.549, only a few thousandths of a second off the world record for Altereds.
“The thing has been a jet; it’s an absolute handful,” Phillips said after the run.
“I knew that if it was going straight and it had the wheels up, to go a ’54 now we have something to work with.”
The entire Pro Alcohol was covered by 0.18s, with the final ‘bump spot’ (number eight and final qualifier) was one of the quickest in Australian History.
The Top Doorslammer battle will go down to the wire with Russell Taylor (5.612) snatching the top spot from John Zappia (5.694) on a last gasp effort.
Ronnie Palumbo bounced back from a tough first session on Friday to clock a 5.709, with Rob Harrington making an exceptional start to his Top Doorslammer career with a 5.89 to take fourth.
Pro Stock was again a highlight, with Tyronne Tremayne again stamping his dominance on the field with a 6.908 to lead the class with the tightest margin of any professional category with only .14s covering first to eighth.
Aaro Tremayne will start from number two, with Rob Dekert and Rick Chilton going down to the wire in Pro Stock for the title race in positions three and four.
Other Top qualifiers were Damian Muscat in Top Fuel Motorcycle, Luke Crowley in Pro Stock Motorcycle and Craig Burns in Pro Mod.
The final day and conclusion to the inaugural NDRC season takes place at Willowbank Raceway on Sunday.
