(Sydney, NSW) Record setting performances, sensational weather and one of the biggest spectator attendances in the short history of the Western Sydney International Dragway venue. Yep - the 2006 Snap-on Nitro Champs had it all and what's more, it sets up an awesome conclusion to the 05/06 Australian Championship decider at Queensland's Willowbank Raceway on June 9-11.

The cool, dry May Sydney air proved perfect conditions for all competitors to really step-up their racing intensity over the two days.

The real ace in the hole was undoubtedly the tightest racetrack ever produced so far at WSID, that had all competitors licking their lips in anticipation.

In Skips Fire Service Top Fuel eliminator, Phil Read was able to secure Top Qualifier peg in his Auto One, Snap-on Tools rocket with a 4.65 at 320mph on Qualifying night Friday, and then lock up the High Speed/Quick ET bonus points in the Championship chase for the round.

However the man who kept the 'clean sweep' well and truly at bay was the timely return to form of Darren Morgan with a solid 4.70 pass in his Fuchs Lubricants machine, over a tyre shaking Read in the final to lock the ANDRA Australian Top Fuel points dead even between the two protagonists heading into Willowbank in June.

"I know that the Top Fuel cars may not be quick every time, these care are always on the edge, but if you stick around and stick with us you'll see some numbers laid down and that's what happened here," beamed Morgan at the trophy presentations.

It's fair to say Morgan and the Lamattina team have had a dog of a year in trying to get a grip on the Western Sydney track this season. That was until they were able to finally produce a 4.85 in the first round of eliminations here.

"All we needed was to finally get some data from a full pass here and then we would finally have that vital baseline and we got that and thank goodness we did," breathed Morgan upon reflection.

Phil Read was far from a disgraced runner-up, with the 7,000 horsepower machine dubbed the 'black mamba' from their Santos Cranes rivals - showing awesome consistency throughout.

"I have always said - add Nitro and yo u add chaos in these awesome cars. I would have loved to have won again but at the mid point of the season, we were fourth in the Championship points. To be able to head to the Winternationals locked-even with the Lamattina team is a great result for us and we know this car is proven up there, Grubnic has run 4.60s in it at Willowbank and of course we know Morgan can run those numbers up there too. We will go up there fully chasing the win," recalled Read.

The drive of the day in Top Fuel by many observers was the semi-final pass by Phil Read, when he lost flames out of all 8 cylinders to about 60-feet into the run against Steve Read, and was amazingly able to peddle the car back up and re-gather things to run an amazing 4.90 pass in excess of 300 miles per hour that had the massive WSID crowd in raptures!

Nulon Engine Oils Top Alcohol has been one of Drag Racing's glamour brackets this season and once again it did not disappoint at the 'Nitros.

Brett St evens continues to turn the wick up in his Kitten Car Care Products Funny Car, pinching the national ET Record off Ben Bray with a sequence of stunning low 5.6-second passes at well over 250 miles per hour!

However, it was Bray who smiled hardest, with click-on-off-on-off 6.01 final round win in a hectic final against tyre-shaking American Autos driver Dean Oakey.

"The final was messy I know but we wanted the Speed and ET points to lock up the championship here before heading into Willowbank and that meant trying to beat Brett's performances. This WSID track was awesome and I might have to tell the track staff here to make it more greasy because we seem to run the Mack Trucks, Castrol car better here when it's like that," grinned Bray cheekily.

Harley Davidson & Buell of Blacktown Top Bike eliminator provided more drama than a soap opera!

Brett Stevens missed his first qualifying hit in his impressive Jack Daniels Nitro Harley due to some motor pr oblems.

West Aussie Jay Upton has endeared himself well to the Sydney fraternity and he had them all on a knife's edge during Friday night qualifying, when he triple-peddled his Sprintex Superchargers Triumph and still managed to run an astonishing 6.20 run at a 'lazy' 207 miles per hour!

It was Upton and Stevens in the final, with a common trait again of numbers 1 and 2 in the ANDRA Championship chase in the final - something that occurred in all Group 1 finals on the weekend.

Upton again ran strongly in defeating Stevens and it was his surprising 222mph blast that exceeded his current speed record of 219mph that astonished many.

"The track here was very good and in the past I have actually struggled on good tracks like this, I think we have learnt some good data here in preparation for the Winternationals," remarked Upton.

Even outside all the group 1 action, their were head turning and attention grabbing action everywhere!

Andrew Stavroulakis slotted his new Pro Stock car into a tough Dragster Australia Magazine Super Stock field and proceeded to run under the current national record with an incredible 7.21 pass and was able to consitently eke out 7.20s throughout the event.

Plenty of the impressive Gatorz Precision Eyewear sponsored Supercharged Outlaws competitors set personal bests, including Andrew Hodgson's 6.84 at over 205 miles per hour.

Rainbow Supa IGA Competition Eliminator highlights came thick and fast, however Peter Lovering's 6.21 ET run in his Shoebox Motorsport Top Doorslammer would take some beating!

In fact that best sums up the 2006 Snap-on Nitro Champs, an event that will take some beating!

PLEASE CLICK HERE for Official 2006 Snap-on Nitro Champs Event Results in PDF Format