Gary Phillips is Australian drag racing royalty. If it burns alcohol, he has won in it. From dragsters to funny cars, and top door slammer machines, Phillips has amassed an incredible 17 Australian national championships during his career and with Lucas Oil on the sides of his alky flopper, he shows no signs of slowing down. Ok, SHOWED no signs of slowing down until he dropped the hammer last weekend at the Winternationals being held at Willowbank in Australia.

An oil line failure put plenty of that slippery Lucas sauce under his tires and Phillips was a helpless passenger as his car turned into the wall and climbed it. Because of the side impact, cables and linkage were crushed that hampered Phillips’ ability to shut the car down hence the second whomp of the throttle and second impact. The amazing thing is that the car didn’t get over the wall because it sure seemed to be trying on that initial shot. Heck, it is equally as wild that it did not go completely turtle either.

Apparently there were earlier reports that Phillips had been knocked out on the first hit but that was untrue. He was checked by track medical staff and deemed OK. We’re not sure how long Phillips will be down because of the crash but the Australian National Drag Racing Association’s season rounds out with this race so he has until January before he’s needing to be back at the track. Because of the crash, Phillips was an interested spectator because his championship hopes were pinned on other drivers winning/losing at the right times for Phillips to earn the crown. It all worked out and that 17th championship was his at the close of the event.

One thing to note here that is interesting. The ANDRA top alcohol class is not like the American version is today. The class is a lot more like the old pro comp eliminator because there are dragsters, funny cars, and altereds all in competition at the same time. This guy is like Babe Ruth, John Force, Frank Manzo, and American Pharaoh all rolled up together when it comes to alcohol racing in Australia.