Gary Phillips

Team Name: Gary & Debbie Phillips Racing

Driver Name: Gary Phillips + Owner, Crew Chief & Engine Assembly

Crew Name & Position: Debbie Phillips - Driver PA, General Maintenance & Parachutes

Crew Name & Position: Cheyne Phillips - Co-Crew Chief, Data Analysis, Bottom End, Clutches

Crew Name & Position: Damien Butcher - General Maintenance

Crew Name & Position: Des Butcher - General Pit Duties

Sponsors - Lucas Oil Products, Champion Spark Plugs, NSANE Developments

1953 Studebaker Commander Top Doorslammer
Personal Bests: 1/8 Mile: 3.922 @ 196.34mph (315.98kmh), 1/4 Mile: 5.939 @ 249.86mph (402.11kmh)

Australian Top Alcohol Champion - 14 Times, 2007 Australian Top Doorslammer Champion, First drag racer, anywhere in the world, to run over 400kph in a doorslammer (249.86mph/402.11kph) (June 7, 2008).

GARY PHILLIPS' HISTORY

Between 1970 and 1977 Gary drove an assortment of race cars being an EH Holden, a 292 Y Block Ford Altered and then a 6 cylinder front engine Dragster.

1978 - During 1978 Gary won the Winternationals, the Grand Finals and was Runner-Up at the Nationals. At the Winternationals, running in Modified Eliminator, he set a new national record for D/Dragster of 10.16 seconds. He reset the D/Dragster record 5 times during the period that he raced it. At the Victorian Champs, Gary ran the country's first D/Dragster 9 second pass, and reset both ends of the record. He was runner up at that meeting.

1979 - Runner-Up at the Nationals in D/Dragster.

1980 - Drove a direct drive 392 Chrysler Iron Block in BB/Dragster with times of 7.8 seconds, 191 mph using a 6-71 blower. At the end of 1980, at the New Year Series at Surfers Paradise, Gary got the attention of US Top Fuel owner, Marc Danekas. He was so impressed with Gary's performances that Danekas offered Gary a crew job on his Top Fuel operation in America.

1981 - Gary spent the whole of the 1981 season doing thee NHRA and IHRA national event circuit with Danekas and driver Marvin Graham. They finished 3rd in the NHRA points series.

1982 - Gary was only briefly back in Australia when Australian Top Fuel driver, Jim Read, asked Gary to return to the States to crew for him. They contested the 1982 Winternationals where Jim qualified number one.
On arrival back in Australia, Gary used Read's second Winfield car. With his own engine Gary ran in AA/Dragster under the banner of Winfield 25's from 1982 to mid 1983.
This car set records everywhere it ran. It was Australia's first 6 seconds Alcohol Dragster. Gary ran 6.93 seconds at Surfers Paradise in July 1982. He reset the national record 4 times in AA/Dragster.
Gary won the Winternationals and Grand Finals.

1983 - Gary purchased Neale Randall's Plymouth Arrow Funny Car minus driveline and put the engine from the Dragster into it.

From 1983 to 1985 Gary alternated between using a Funny Car body and an Altered body. He set the AA/FC record twice with a best of 6.89 seconds at 205.10 mph.

With the Altered body on he ran AA/FA and AA/A in which he set various records. As well as being the first to run a six second pass [6.95] at Surfers Paradise in August 1985.

Between 1982 and 1985 Gary held 7 national records at one time.

He won the 1983, 1984 and 1985 Winternationals and the 1984 Nationals.

1986 - Gary spent the year in the U.S.A. initially crewing for Tim Grose where they won the 1986 Winternationals at Pomona and the IHRA Springnationals at Bristol, Tennessee. This in turn led to Gary driving and wrenching on Bill Dunlap's nitro Funny Car, racing in all three U.S. sanctioning bodies (NHRA, IHRA and AHRA). Gary's best performance was 5.76 seconds, 256 mph. His best result was runner-up to Dale Pulde at Spokane, Washington.

1987 - Gary returned to Australia with a Chev Cavalier Funny Car running AA/FC. He matched raced throughout Australia and New Zealand setting records at all tracks.

1988 - Won the Winternationals.

1989/1990 - Set AA/FC national record 3 times with a best 6.18 seconds, 229 mph. Won the Winternationals. In April of 1990, Gary teamed up with Adrian Pozzebon using his newly built Dragster and Gary's engine. He set the TA/D records at 6.19 seconds and 224.89 mph.

1991/1992 - This time Gary teamed up with Colin Bond using his small block Chev in Gary's Altered running in BB/Altered and CC/Altered. He set the national records at Townsville, Palmyra and Gladstone with a 100% win rate.

Gary was the Top Alcohol Champion in 1991 and 1992. He also won the 1991 Grand Finals and in 1992 he was in the finals when they were cancelled due to the weather.

1992 - At the Winternationals at Willowbank, Gary crashed the Funny Car and totally destroyed it. In October he returned to racing with a new Dave Uyehara Dragster.

1992 - 1999 - This Dragster is Australia's first 5 second Top Alcohol Dragster. Gary ran 5.98 seconds at Calder in April 1994. He was also the first TA/D in Australia to run 5.8 seconds which was at Calder in February 1996 [5.88 seconds].

During this period, Gary won the 1995 and 1998 Winternationals, the 1996 Grand Finals, also the Nationals in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 and was the Australian Top Alcohol Champion in 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999.

1999 - 2010 - In 1999, Gary started construction on his 1953 Studebaker Commander Top Doorslammer. It ran its first event in February 2000 at Adelaide. Since then, the car has run a best of 5.939 during the 2010/2011 season and a speed of 249.86 mph, run during the 2007/2008 season. With this speed, Gary became the first doorslammer driver anywhere in the world to exceed 400 km/h. Gary won the championship in the 2006/2007 season.

In his Top Alcohol Dragster, Gary has continued to win the Australian Championship in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005.

At the start of the 2007/2008 season, Gary retired his faithful dragster and debuted his 2006 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Top Alcohol Funny Car. A move which saw Gary in the seat of a funny car for the first time in more than 15 years. Gary then went on to win the 2008/2009 Top Alcohol Championship. During the following season, the Funny Car set the national ET record of 5.524.

Gary then went on to win the 2009/2010 Top Alcohol Championship, claiming his second consecutive title in the Funny Car.

In the 2011/2012 season Gary, with his Mustang bodied Alcohol Funny Car, etched his name into the history books once again by becoming the first Australian TA/FC driver into the 5.4s. With the run of 5.469 at 263.92mph (424.74kmh), Gary is the quickest and fastest Top Alcohol driver in Australia. At this event at the Perth Motorplex, Gary also re-set his own National Speed Record to 260.86mph.