The penultimate season round for NDRC’s 2024/25 season XPRO Funny Car division included both victory and record setting status for class standout driver Morice McMillin.

McMillin prevailed to win Australian drag racing’s ultimate season event prize — the Gulf Western Oil Winternationals.  That happened in front of  another packed crowd enthralled with the action for NDRC drag racing at Queensland’s Willowbank Raceway.

McMillin truly did have a Winternationals experience to write home (to New Zealand) about this weekend: top qualifying and resetting the Australian Funny Car records for both ET (3.929) and Speed (524.15kph).

That was capped by winning the event final round in an incredibly close race against team-mate Josh Leahy with a margin between the two contenders at the finish line of just .0005 of a second. 

The A-Final victory wrapped up a wonderful weekend for the Kiwi who now calls Sydney home.

“Ah that’s awesome! This thing was flying,” McMillin said. “We banged the blower out at three-quarter track and then we were just sitting there. I saw Josh come past and I thought we lost it — but I thought we’d be on the number with the way it as tracking. We really wanted to get these things side by side, and Josh deserves everything he achieved this weekend.”

Earlier in the day, Leahy was the first to drop into the threes, recording a 3.931/519.01kph in his match up against Justin Walshe in round one, making it the second quickest Nitro Funny Car ET in the country behind McMillin’s earlier effort.

In the B-Final, last year’s NDRC champion Justin Walshe got to the line first with a 4.904 second run at 254.63kph to Paton’s 4.948 at 254.63kph — but was disqualified for scraping the wall before the finish line, handing the win to the newcomer.

There is thus one more race to come on the wrap around 2024/25 NDRC event calendar for XPRO Nitro Funny Car racers who will do battle in an epic finale at the Nitro Nationals scheduled for Sydney Dragway (August 23).

Posted with files by Amanda Cobb (Jigsaw Communications) & Bruce Biegler

Photos by Bruce Biegler

To view more XPRO Funny Car photos from NDRC Willowbank – link to LMLC Media gallery:  HERE