Read Encouraged by Mid-Season Test
- Steve Read Racing
- 5 minutes ago
- 2 min read
After an underwhelming result at the 2026 Winternationals, Steve Read Racing opted for a crucial Test Session at Willowbank Raceway on August 15 at the track QDRC (Queensland Drag Racing Championship) round. The two planned shut-off passes netted the team exactly what they set out to do. A launch to 200ft to assess early clutch and fuel system settings, and a second pass to 660ft (half track). The 660ft half-track pass delivered Read a strong 4.214-second pass at 220.26mph.
"This test session was critical to us," Read said. "We've got a race car that is about 90% there, but that last 10% is bringing it all together to give us the race car we need. It's (the dragster) talking to us, we just need to give it what it wants."
Prior to the Test Session, it was decided to make some necessary changes to the fuel delivery and clutch, then tune to the conditions to give the team a baseline for Sydney.
"We've got the East Coast Nationals coming up in Sydney on 26th-27th September, and we didn't want to go into the weekend wondering what these changes would do under race conditions. We want to go down there confident and not in problem-solving mode," Read said.
On hand with Read and his fast-developing 'Team Orange' crew was Crew Chief, Ray Ward, who flew up from Melbourne for the test. Funny Car team owner, Rod Bailey, Funny Car crew chief Bret Ehmer, and former clutch assistant on Read's team from his previous campaign, Dan Green, was on hand to offer advice.
"Overall, we're very pleased with the data gathered from this test," Read said. "I'm thrilled that we had a large brains trust here today, giving up their time to help us get this Top Fuel Dragster sorted for our next event. We can now go into Sydney with data and confidence."
WATCH THE TEST DAY REVIEW:
NEXT EVENT:
East Coast Nationals, Sydney Dragway - 26-27 September, 2026
