Kelly Bettes with her Lamattina Racing Top Fuel Dragster.
This weekend drag racer Kelly Bettes will be competing in the Gulf Western Oil Nitro Thunder event at the Sydney Dragway in a Top Fuel Dragster run by Lamattina Top Fuel Racing.
Kelly is currently running second in the 400 Thunder Championship Series, just two points behind the leader, after winning the last two championship events. Kelly is aiming to win the Sydney event as well and to score some more valuable championship points before the last race of the season in June.
Kelly has been around motorsport her entire life because her dad was involved in the management of several race tracks even before she was born and she has pretty much grown up there. Kelly has been drag racing since she was ten years old when she first started competing in a Junior Dragster.
When Kelly was 22 she bought her own Modified Dragster that ran low seven second times for the 1,000 foot (304.8 metres) drag strip. She ran this car for five years at events around Australia racing with her family. From there the opportunity to drive the Jett Racing Datsun Ute presented itself and Kelly still drives the JR Datsun Ute to this day.
Kelly’s break into the Top Fuel Dragsters came in early 2017 when she got the call from the Lamattina Family offering her a chance to drive their Top Fuel Dragster. She obtained her license for it in July 2017 and has been driving the car since competing in the 2017/18 400 Thunder Championship series.
The Lamattina Family have a long history in the Australian drag racing scene. Phil won many championships in Top Fuel and his brother John also used to race. Sarah (Phil’s wife), Angelo and Tina (Phil’s other brother and his wife) offer great support to Kelly at the race track.
“They are very down to Earth people who also have a huge competitive drive like me. We all work pretty well together”, said Kelly before practice for the Sydney event.
Kelly admits she has had some great career highlights in each category she has raced in, but winning the Modified Australian Championship was a big achievement and a huge highlight for her racing career so far.
The Top Fuel Dragster that Kelly now gets to blast down the drag strip in was built by Morgan Lucas Racing in USA. It has 10,000 horsepower, runs a 500 cubic inch purpose built engine for Top Fuel applications and is it 300 inches (7.6 metres) long.
Kelly doesn’t just compete she breaks records as well in both her JR Datsun Ute and the Lamattina Top Fuel dragster. Kelly has run the quickest and fastest time in Australian history over 1,000 feet. I asked Kelly what it feels like driving at that kind of speed.
It’s a snug fit in the Top Fuel dragster cockpit.
“It’s mind blowing! You have never felt anything like, the acceleration these cars have is amazing. While you may be going very fast and the risks are high, you feel very safe in the car. The force on your body it quite unbelievable in the acceleration and also the deceleration when the parachutes blossom”, said Kelly.
Kelly’s biggest goal for 2018 is to win the 400 Thunder Championship for herself and the Lamattina team, being it’s the first season running a new car and a new driver. After that Kelly has big end of year event racing the JR Datsun Ute in the USA.
Kelly is focused on the current job at hand driving for the Lamattina and JR teams, but admits racing in the USA is the ultimate goal for any drag racer.
“You never know what could happen in the future, but for now my progression is to continue learning and driving at the best of my abilities to win some championships!” said Kelly.
Sydney Dragway staging area.
There are many up and coming young women in drag racing, both in the adult ranks and also in Junior Dragster and girls are filling more and more of the classes these days, which is great to see.
Kelly said “We don’t consider ourselves different to anyone when you’re in the other lane; it really is just about keeping things safe, running fast and learning to show sportsmanship in winning and losing. I think the sport has a bright future with young women coming through the ranks”
Kelly believes general encouragement to give drag racing a go is a great way to get more women and girls into drag racing with the many street meetings and race for real events, which participants can just run their everyday street car down the strip.
“Husbands, boyfriends, brothers and dads should encourage the girls and women in their life to have a shot and see if they like it! It might also allow them to be able to relate to the racing better while watching it from the grandstands,” said Kelly.
The Gulf Western Oil Nitro Thunder event at Sydney Dragway is on today and tomorrow, with the Top Fuel dragsters competing late afternoon/early evening on both days. If you are going be sure to cheer Kelly on as she blasts down the strip!