Gary Phillips also extended his Top Alcohol Championship lead going down to Steven Ham who proved to be a thorn in Phillips side by upsetting the apple cart and taking his second win in a row at Hidden Valley.

Ham defeated a tyre shaking Debbie O’Rourke in round one on a 6.308 at 259.96 mph before taking out Fuchs Winternationals winner Jon Sting in a close contest with a 5.555 at 262.08 mph from Sting’s 5.609 at 250.18 mph.

Phillips played it safe in round one on a solo but got out of jail in the semi finals when both he and Steve Reed smoked the tyres. He would experience a violent tyre shake in the final but he still chased the East Coast Lubes Funny Car all the way, however Ham’s 5.567 at 261.52 mph was too good for Phillips’ 5.681 at 260.46 mph.

“We struggled on that first qualifier, it completely blew the tyres off and we were lost,” said Ham.

“We just tried to back it down enough, we didn’t know where enough was going to be. We had a hunch and luckily it went on down there and we could start building from that.

“The same thing happened in the first round but we just had to stick to our guns and run with what we know. Usually we go mid 5.50s and then try to shoot for mid 5.40s and we don’t get down the track.

“This weekend was more about making the car go A to B, try cut a light, get down the track and try take a win. That’s what happened.”