IN a game of slender margins, Mount Gambier drag racer Jason Arbery is in the box seat to claim back-to-back success in his chosen sport.
Arbery competes in the Australian National Drag Racing Association (ANDRA) Top Sportsman class and leads the series as it heads towards the grand final round at the Perth Motorplex in the first week of April.
Arbery has enjoyed a solid season as he looks to defend his title, but also has another opportunity for back-to-back success.
Last year he claimed the double, with the series win and the John Storm Memorial honours for the best driver in the ANDRA season against all other categories.
At the time Arbery said he could not believe he claimed that award and when speaking to The Border Watch this week said he was still struggling with the reality of it.
“That is pretty crazy,” he said.
“I thought it would take some time to sink in for that one, but honestly, I do not think it has.
“You think it is that far away from being possible, it is impossible.”
Arbery shot to his 300-point maximum after three rounds this season, which qualified him for the grand final in Perth.
Since then he has continued to compete in all-but one round, but made the decision to head over to Perth last week for the penultimate round.
It was a decision he said was important to his success in the season decider.
“I did not have to go, but I have never raced in Perth, so I wanted to have a look at the track and the venue,” he said.
“Everybody talks about the ‘Fremantle Doctor’ coming through in the afternoon and how much that effects your ET.
“In the heats we went from 8.35 seconds down to 8.25 seconds.
“That is a 10th of a second and when we talk 1000th of seconds, that is huge.
“If you go to Perth with a good chance to regain the championship without having a look at it first, you are not really giving yourself the best shot.
“We learned a lot on the weekend and gained a lot of information we will certainly use in the grand final.”
But as is the case in motor racing, it certainly did not come easy.
Arbery faced car repairs leading up to the event after breaking a flex plate at the previous round in Mildura.
He then had to fix the car and prepare for the drive across the Nullarbor Plain to the west.
Once there he faced yet another issue as he raced for the round semi-final.
“When I was doing my burnout I noticed there was something wrong,” Arbery said.
“You do not say anything, because the other driver might red-light and hand you the win.
“You just hope you do not do too much damage to the engine.
“It did not make the power and did not run the number I had dialled.
“I ran three 10ths off – which is huge – and we lost the semi-final.
“We found the issue which was not too drastic, fixed it and put that in the learning basket.”
Arbery kicked off his title defence this season in the best possible way at Darwin with a win in the opening round.
He followed up with a second place in round two, then another win in round three.
By that stage he had reached his maximum points, with further bonus points on offer to build his lead.
But it was anything but an easy ride, with the pressure showing from the opening bout.
“There was more pressure in the first round in Darwin this year than I have ever felt, because we are now number one,” Arbery said.
“Everybody is hunting for number one.
“It does not matter what class you race, when you come up against number one you try your best.
“Every race I have done this year I have had to give it my best shot, so to win that one in Darwin was a big confidence boost for us.”
The way it sits, Arbery holds a 30-point lead over Darren Saliba thanks to the bonus-point system.
That provides the advantage of not having to actually win the final in Perth to claim the season honours for the class.
Arbery said now it was time to do all the little things and tick all the boxes to ensure a solid final round.
“This is what we fight for all year, this is the one that counts,” he said.
“We have a good package, there is no question there.
“But drag racing is like any motorsport – you are only as good as your last race and hopefully you do not peak too early.
“You want your best race to be the grand final.”
Arbery thanked his crew, family and sponsors for the support to make the trip across to Perth and to be ready to do it all again in just a few weeks.
