Hi folks,
Here is the news from the Wild Bunch ‘Summer Showdown’ at the ‘Mopar Nationals’ on 30th July – 1st August. Many thanks to the Mopar organisers for agreeing for us to run at this event again! The Wild Bunch had 15 teams participating at the weekend. It was a really good event even though the weather curtailed half of it!! Friday, a test day, had sadly been a complete washout! Saturday went well though with almost entirely dry weather, until around 4:30 when there was rain that meant an early finish for the day. Many of our teams got 2 or 3 runs in. Although Sunday’s forecast had been good, we were surprised to wake up to drizzle, and thick cloud! This came and went during the morning, and as usual, the track crew made early efforts and the track was very nearly ready to go at around 10am, before more drizzle alternating with light rain! Things had not looked too promising then! But massive thanks to all the Santa Pod track crew, who once again worked tirelessly from around 1pm to get the racing going on Sunday! This did not start until 3:20pm, but by shortly after 6pm, all class eliminations were completed, RWYBers got plenty of runs, and we got two great rounds of racing in!! Well done to all the hard working track crew and marshals and officials!! Unfortunately several of the Bunch had to leave early, so there were only 7 participants left by the time we got our first round in, at about 4pm, and then the second just before 6pm, and it was a hotly contested competition!! Our winners were:
1st Place: Phil James in ‘Rampage’ .044 average (another fantastic win!)
2nd Place: Pete & Rob Brown in ‘Rebel’ .078 average (great performance for another Top 2 place!)
3rd Place: James Auld in ‘Little Fauss’ .093 average (first Top 4 result this year!)
4th Place: Steve Heaven in ‘Tight Fit’ .117 average (another great Top 4 result!)
Spot Prize winners were:
Closest to Dial-in: Pete Brown in ‘Rebel’ .014 off!
Best Reaction: James Auld in ‘Little Fauss’ .123
Best Burnout: Jim Tanner in ‘Shindigger’
Best Altered: Bob Morgan in ‘B-Sting’
Best Slingshot: Steve Heaven in ‘Tight Fit’
Best Appearing Team: James Auld and team in ‘Little Fauss’
Fastest MPH: Steve Heaven in ‘Tight Fit’ 160.21 mph
Driver's Choice: Steve Field in ‘Black Pig Too’
And well done to all those who set PB’s. They were:
Gary Atkinson in ‘Time Lock’ 9.647
Steve Heaven in ‘Tight Fit’ 8.247
Tim Roy in ‘Boston Straggler II’ 9.207 / 145.22
The full field was:
- Phil James in ‘Rampage’ (Phil ran three 9.5’s on Saturday, then another great win Sunday with a 9.471 and 9.439 on a 9.50 Dial-in!)
- Rob & Pete Brown in ‘Rebel’ (Great result! The lads made a pair of 8.7 second runs Saturday and then Rob ran 8.557 and Pete 8.714 on an 8.70 Dial-in to earn a great runner-up spot)
- Antony Colliver in ‘From Hell’ (Antony and team encountered a few issues whilst tuning the car in the pits, and though they solved most of them, they were still prevented from making a run; hopefully we will see them out at the Hot Rod Drags!)
- Pete & Rob Brown in ‘Wrathchild’ (the boys started with a good 11.8 second pass on Saturday but unfortunately broke a half shaft on their second launch that day; Dad George & Pete went home for a spare and installed it ready for the rounds; unfortunately a slight problem on the first run Sunday sidelined the car; Rob bounced back with a lively burnout and an 11.391/123!)
- Gary Atkinson in ‘Time Lock’ (Gary had some great runs Saturday including the PB 9.6, and was keen to make all the rounds Sunday, though eventually had to leave before they started)
- Steve Heaven in ‘Tight Fit’ (Steve and Dave installed new gears in the rear axle on Saturday and had problems when towing down for a run, and sorted them, only to be prevented from running by the late rain; dialling in blind at 8.42, Steve ran the car out the back door to 8.356, had to work on problems between rounds and then ran the PB 8.247/160.21 to gain the Top 4 placing! Well done guys!)
- Steve Field in ‘Black Pig Too’ (the car was sporting the Mondrian bodywork this weekend and looked resplendent as usual! Steve ran a great 8.606/155.28 Saturday, but could not stay late for the rounds Sunday)
- Jim Tanner in ‘Shindigger’ (Jim ‘the Fish’ began with a wayward 10.6 on Saturday but improved to a 9.563/143 later on; he dialled in 9.40 Sunday and went close in round one with a 9.351, though redlit on the second round; his burnouts were great throughout!! Great to see Andy & Cathrine Stones crewing for him this weekend!)
- Tim Roy in ‘Boston Straggler II’ (Tim and the team began well Saturday with a 9.451/139; he dialled in at 9.00 even Sunday and ran the great PB 9.207 for starters and 9.265 in round 2 to finish in 5th place overall, a great showing!!)
- Rob White in ‘Happy Daze’ (Many commiserations to the team, who discovered a couple of cracks in their chassis near the front end, after unloading the car from the trailer! What a shame! Rob is on the case now and the team hope to make the Hot Rod Drags! Best of luck!)
- Bob Morgan in ‘B-Sting’ (Bob ran very consistently on the Saturday with a 10.308/128 & 10.288/129 and the car was well turned out as always, though the team had to leave before the rounds took place)
- Paul Tarry in ‘Trigger’s Broom’ (Paul made 3 good passes on Saturday including an 11.977/114 and was going to turn up the nitrous, though later discovered a drop in oil pressure so could not run Sunday; best of luck getting the spare engine ready for the Hot Rod Drags Paul!)
- Dan Boone in ‘American Pie’ (the team had cured their issues with oil pressure from the last event, and made good strong passes of 8.839/149 and 8.721/151 on Saturday; though had to leave before the rounds)
- James Auld in ‘Little Fauss’ (Great new crew shirts debut! James started with a checkout pass Saturday and improved by half a second; he dialled 12.80 Sunday and ran 12.883 and 12.696 improving even further! Great to see him back in the Top 4!)
- Steve Garlant in ‘Sonic Attack’ (Steve and Vinnie and Poppy were thoroughly enjoying their racing again, and Steve’s Dad Richard had come along to watch! Steve ran 14.213 and 14.153 Saturday, with some tuning assistance from Jamie Faulkner, who used to own the car! More tuning was made for Sunday but the team were not able to stay late for the rounds)
Congratulations to all those who took part, and commiserations to all those with breakages and problems which we hope can be fixed soon!! Highlight of the weekend was indeed getting the 2 late rounds completed after all the rain!! Well done to all of the Bunch! Huge thanks to everyone at Santa Pod & the Mopar guys for all their hard work during the weekend! Another sterling effort!! It was a really good event overall!
All the best,
Claire
