Pilot of the and Top Alcohol Funny Car, Phillips is part of the furniture of the Australian Drag Racing scene.

And as Christmas approaches, so does the busy season for Phillips who has already begun his pursuit of both Group One crowns currently sitting in fourth on both rosters.

“We haven’t had the start we’d like in either division but the season is only young,” said an untroubled Phillips from his Hillcrest home-base in Brisbane’s south. “We’re still qualifying in the top half of the field whenever we run both cars. We made the semi finals in Doorslammer in Perth before we shook the tyres around 250 feet, and in the funny car we ran a personal best 255mph in qualifying at the Springnationals before losing by 4 thousandths in the semi with a 5.60. So we’re still in the hunt in both divisions for sure.”

The next challenge for the family based team is with the funny car at the Top Alcohol round in Sydney on Boxing Day before running both the doorslammer and the funny car the following weekend at Willowbank’s New Year Series.

“Running two different divisions at the same event certainly presents us with challenges but we wouldn’t have it any other way and that’s thanks to the great relationship we have with Lucas Oil Products and our small but brilliant crew.”

With effectively 12 events remaining for the season between the two divisions, drag racing fans on both sides of the nation will have multiple opportunities to see the Lucas Oil Products race cars in action, and healthy data from the opening rounds would suggest that come June 2009, both the ‘53 Studebaker Doorslammer and Chevy Monte Carlo Funny Car will be at the pointy end of the field.