Australia’s 2nd season round for the NDRC series (Riverbend Nationals) included the 2nd race for it’s XPRO Nitro Funny Car category.

That final round delivered a re-match of the 2025 Riverbend Nationals A-Final, with Josh Leahy (4.144s/409.04kph) turning the tables to defeat his team boss and reigning champ, Morice McMillin (6.650/167.14kph).

The B-Final went the way of Damon Paton courtesy of a new Personal Best ET of 4.043 at 516.33kph – earning him the low ET and top speed points – over Adam Murrihy (4.226/489.85kph) in a crowd-pleasing side-by-side battle down the track.

Justin Walshe meanwhile ran down the track solo in the C-Final, with a problematic 6.566/161.96kph that saw his machine violently ‘chattering’ as he tried to pull it up.

In round one, Walshe had taken the win over Paton with a 4.587/325.38kph pass complete with a mid-track lift, after Paton shut off early on a 6.474/160.69kph; while Leahy took the win over Murrihy with a 4.133/413.47kph pass before the blower belt let go around the 900ft mark. Murrihy (5.485/210.37kph), meanwhile, looked promising early before getting off the throttle. McMillin closed out the round on a bye, taking three stabs at it before settling for a 7.953/128.715kph effort.

Round two delivered back-to-back side-by-side runs with Murrihy first running a strong 4.166/424.16kph solo with header flames ablaze, setting the scene before Leahy and Paton produced an absolute thriller with both cars lighting the candles and charging side-by-side to the finish line, separated by just .007 of a second, with Paton’s 4.078/452.99kph edging out Leahy’s 4.077/422.08kph on a hole shot. McMillin (4.532/313.08kph) and Walshe (4.601/297.13kph) then served up more of the same with another side-by-side drag race which brought the crowd to its feet for the second time in as many runs, with McMillin taking the win after Walshe cut it close to the centreline.

“This is pretty special. I tell you what, we were pretty down in the dumps and feeling pretty sorry for ourselves 24 hours ago. When you think about battling weather conditions yesterday and the fact that we didn’t even get to take the first qualifier properly, to now come out with the event win, we are all ecstatic and just buzzing,” Leahy said.

“I really couldn’t do this without GC (Graeme Cowin), Wendy (Cowin), Maurice (McMillin), Rocket Industries and Aeroflow Performance, they are just the backbone behind all this racing, and Geezers Wholesale for supporting me personally. It is just an awesome opportunity to be able to come out and do this.”

Posted by Amanda Salmon (Jigsaw Communications)
Photos by Grant Stephens (Cackling Pipes)