MOUNT Gambier drag racer Jason Arbery is on a high after a weekend he will not forget in a hurry.
Arbery headed to Adelaide International Raceway for the final round of the Australian National Drag Racing Association Top Sportsman championship, well in contention for the overall honours.
Arbery was chasing back-to-back success and achieved that feat late in the round, claiming his first gold “Christmas tree” for the weekend.
After achieving that goal it would have been easy to sit back and enjoy the accolades, but Arbery continued on, winning the final and claiming the round honours as well for another gold trophy.
And if that was not enough, at the presentations he was announced as the John Storm Memorial trophy winner, which goes to the best driver from all classes in the ANDRA season.
Arbery said he was still coming to terms with the weekend.
“I won the championship in a race against my good friend Glenn Henley (also from Mount Gambier),” he said.
“Then I won the round in a very tight final against Paul Russo from Adelaide.
“After that I was also awarded the John Storm Memorial and the magnitude of that is still sinking in.
“The perpetual trophy has been sitting in the board room at ANDRA headquarters for the last 40-odd years.
“The best racer for the whole season gets their name on there and it gets put back in the cabinet.
“It has blown my mind to achieve that.”
Arbery said it was tough to define which award is more important to him.
“I have had a lot of other people message me – other previous Australian champions, multiple champions,” he said.
“Only one of them has got this accolade and he said by far his greatest achievement was the John Storm.
“I am starting to think like that now.
“Before I received it, I did not know that much about it.
“I did not know just how prestigious it is.
“It is incredible.”
But it was a tough weekend for Arbery, with the weather playing havoc, seeing racing postponed at one stage, with strong wind and a dusty surface making for treacherous conditions.
That saw another competitor come unstuck in dramatic fashion just before Arbery’s race to seal the championship.
That scenario, plus the usual pressure of drag racing, which often sees races decided by the smallest of margins, certainly made it tough to remain focused.
“It is very hard to stay calm while you are out in the 30-degree heat, getting blown away and watching your friend crash,” Arbery said.
“The competition is so tight it is ridiculous.
“Every pass you do has to be your best.
“If you do not quite get it right, you go home.
“In the final against Paul Russo, my reaction time was .004 of a second.
“I beat him to the line by .001.
“It does not get any tighter than that.”
In the Top Sportsman class drivers must have a “dial in” time, which they can not break heading to the finish line.
If they go faster, they go home.
That means concentrating not just your own race, but the competitor in the next lane, all at break-neck speeds.
“It is a real numbers game,” Arbery said.
“You have to run as close to your dial in as possible.
“You have to be aware of where the other driver is as far as track position goes.
“There is no point breaking out if they have no chance of catching you.
“There is a lot of pressure that comes from a lot of different areas.”
Heading into the final round Arbery said he was quietly confident he could do the job, but knew too well there were many others with the same chance, with five drivers in total at the final round – including Arbery – all on maximum season points.
“I knew we had a great package, but so did four other people,” he said.
“Although you are confident, you cannot be too confident because there are people just as good.
“You can be the best all season, but it all comes down to the last day – if you get it wrong, that’s it, there are no second chances.”
Arbery said he had to thank those involved, who he said were instrumental in the final results.
“I would firstly like to thank all my sponsors who have helped me get around the country,” he said.
“My family of course, who unfortunately could not come – my eldest son had his baseball grand final on Saturday and he won that, so it was a pretty good day for the Arbery family.
“My crew – Josh Gosden, Phil Busbridge and Ken Moore – anything you do you cannot be successful without good support and those guys nailed it.”
