2002 Index
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American Car Club Nationals Spring Shootout May 18 - 19
American Car Nationals18 May - 19 MayPoints awarded for The Wild Bunch & Real Steel Championships
| Event Results | ||||
| Pos | WB | Driver | Car | Points |
| 1 | 4 | Joe Stevens | Red Topolino Altered | 10 |
| 2 | 9 | Dogs Bollocks Racing | Nutcracker | 8 |
| 3 | 110 | Nick Connor | Barking Mad | 7 |
| 4 | 73 | Johnny Hall | The Happening | 6 |
| 5 | 2 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | 5 |
| - | 3 | Paul Croston | B-Sting | 5 |
| - | 28 | Pete Loveridge | Herr X | 5 |
| - | 33 | Tom Coe | Psycho | 5 |
| - | 67 | Darryl Howells | Wheels of Fortune | 5 |
| - | 86 | Dick Sharp | Dorset Horn | 5 |
| - | 96 | Tony Smith | The Cunning Plan | 5 |
| - | 108 | Andrew Wiilcox | Firefighter | 5 |
| - | 146 | Ian Roddy/Lee Brearley | ex-Chariot of Fire | 5 |
| 14 | 1 | Dogs Bollocks Racing | RamRaider | 4 |
| - | 7 | Roy Wilding | Hemi Hunter | 4 |
| - | 74 | Ian Ryans | 4 | |
| - | 91 | Ian Hanson | Red Blown Altered | 4 |
| 18 | 29 | Tony Wynne-Jones | Welsh Raider II | 2 |
| 19 | 15 | Keith Charman | Alkymist | 1 |
| - | 43 | Martin Holgate | Paranoia | 1 |
| - | 44 | Chev Charman-Osbourne | Odditee | 1 |
| Spot Prizes | ||||
| WB | Team/Driver | Car | Detail | |
| Best Reaction | 73 | Johnny Hall | The Happening | .468 |
| Closest To Dial-In | 9 | Sarah Howells | Nutcracker | .003 off |
| Fastest M.P.H. | 73 | Johnny Hall | The Happening | 149.50 mph |
| Quickest E.T. | 73 | Johnny Hall | The Happening | 8.814 |
| Best Altered | 3 | Barry Bohannon | B-Sting | |
| Best Dragster/Radical | 108 | Andrew Wilcox | Firefighter | |
| Best Slingshot | 73 | Johnny Hall | The Happening | |
| Best Appearing Team | 3 | Croston Racing | B-Sting | |
| This weekend was Wild Bunch Series Round 2 and Real Steel Series Round 3. We had a field of 21 Wild Bunch cars taking part: 9 Slingshots, 8 Altereds and 3 Rear-engine dragsters and 1 Radical | |
| Chris & Clayton Round, "Rebellious" (WB 50), and Steve Goode, "Wobble" (WB 102) were also at the track, but did not race with the Wild Bunch, as they were just Testing and Tuning! [Sadly Chris & Clayton suffered major engine damage, after having run an 8.9 @ 163 mph at Pennine Raceway the week before.] Mark Coulsell was also at the track, still recovering from a knee operation. He hopes to be back with the "Limited Funz" slingshot at Super Series 2 in four weeks' time. Mark Turton arrived Sunday, and is progressing with the rebuild of the "Growler", so good luck to all of them! | |
| Saturday was a practice day and the weather was wet during the morning, and just as the track was nearly ready, there was another light shower. Racing did start eventually before 4:00 pm, and cars with slick tyres started running at around 4:30 ish. The track stayed open til 6:30, and this allowed most drivers to put in a couple of runs. A new member joined in for this event, WB 74, Simon Williams with the ex-Mike Tomlin/Ian Ryans "Spirit" slingshot. Sunday was Series Points Day, and the weather turned out really good in the end, warmish and sunny and a "real good air" day for drag racing! Despite threatening clouds later in the day, it stayed alright and we were able to run 4 full rounds of Wild Bunch format, and the queues were fairly short! The track was good, and many drivers had some quick runs, in fact, 8 racers ran their personal best E.T.'s during the weekend! | |
| WB 1 | Ray Ford was having his first turn for 2002 in the "Ram Raider" slingshot. Ray put in a couple of passes on Saturday, including a team best of 10.091 @ 132.35. He Dialled-in at 10.10 on Sunday and ran a 10.763 in Round 1, but unfortunately had to skip the second round with starter motor problems. He made up for this in Round 3 by running an amazing Personal (and Team) Best E.T. in the car of 10.000!!! How close can you get?!! This run was at a strong 133.53 mph, and he put in a 10.572 for Round 4. |
| WB 2 | "Crazy" Chris Hartnell was having another great weekend in the "Backdraft" slingshot. He started off Saturday with a twitch after landing a wheelie, producing a 9.451, and followed this with a 9.296 later in the day. Sunday he Dialled in at 9.32 and ran a good 9.343 in the first round. In the second round he ran a brilliant Personal Best E.T. of 9.236, just one thousandth quicker than his previous best E.T.! He ran a pair of strong 9.2's in Rounds 3 and 4 (9.267 and 9.292) and finished just outside the points in fifth place, by a mere one tenth of a percent! Chris was one of several teams who were filmed by a tv crew over the weekend, for a programme called "Motor Maniacs", a series to be shown in August on the "Men and Motors" cable channel. |
| WB 3 | Barry Bohannon was back out in the "B-Sting" altered for his first turn of the season, after the team's sponsor had put in a good performance at Super Series 1. Barry had something to prove, and after putting in a good 12.451 pass on Saturday, he put in a Personal (and Team) Best E.T. of 12.260 @ 105.39 mph! The next day he Dialled-in at 12.30. He ran a 12.522, another strong run of 12.269, a 12.566 and a 12.415 and finished 7th overall on the day. He won the "Best Altered" Spot Prize for his efforts and the Team also won the "Best Appearing Team" Spot Prize for their usual well-turned out smart appearance. |
| WB 4 | Joe Stevens had put a new body on his altered, taking off the Red Topolino body and replacing it with a black 23 T turtle-decked body. He ran a 12.320 on Saturday, and Dialled-in at 11.90 for Sunday. He ran a good 11.970 in the first round, a better 11.886 in the second, a 11.953 in the third round and a weekend best of 11.845 in Round 4. This consistency earnt him his first win in Wild Bunch competition, so congratulations Joe!! |
| WB 7 | Roy Wilding was running for the first time this year in his supercharged slingshot "Hemi Hunter". He had put in an 11-second checkout pass on Saturday and Dialled in at 8.50 for Sunday. His first pass was a 10.397 and on the second, he was forced to pull over at half track. He later ran a 10.445 in Round 3, but has diagnosed that he needs a new fuel pump to keep up with the demand that the boost of the new supercharger requires. That should do the trick and he will be back out at the June Jubilee. On Saturday night, there was a bit of a surprise for Roy. As he has just retired as Chairman of the Wild Bunch, we held a presentation for him and Angi for all their years of hard work and dedication. This took place in the clubhouse - it was a secret and the only way to get Roy over there was to tell him that it was a driver's meeting!! He arrived on time and Jerry introduced the presentation of a box containing a helium balloon with 2 vouchers for him and Angi to have a hot air balloon flight, something that he has always dreamed of doing, and he was gobsmacked. He would like to thank everyone who contributed to this presentation and was really moved by the surprise! Many thanks from all of us to both of them as well!! |
| WB 9 | Sarah Howells was having a second turn in the "Nutcracker" slingshot, which had just had a new engine installed after damage sustained at Super Series 1. She ran a 14.6 and a 14.5 on the Saturday and Dialled-in at 14.40 for Sunday. She ran a great 14.405 in the first round, followed by a 14.313 and a 14.556 in rounds 2 and 3, ending with a fantastic "Closest to Dial-in" of 14.403 in Round 4, just three thousandths off her Dial-in. With this consistency she finished in 2nd place overall for the day. |
| WB 15 | Keith Charman and Chevone Charman-Osborne were back for the first time this year in the "Alkymist" Rear-engine dragster. Keith put in a checkout pass of 11.370 on Saturday and Dialled in at 9.50 for Sunday. He ran a slower pass on Sunday, and the team believes a head gasket has blown, but they hope there is not much damage, as the car was still running at the top end. A 'simple' job to fix and the team will be back out soon!! |
| WB 28 | Pete Loveridge was having a ball in the "Herr X" fluorescent-flamed slingshot. He ran a strong 10.600 @ 125.35 mph on Saturday, followed by a 10.622, and Dialled-in at 10.60 for Sunday. He ran a 10.728 in the first round, followed by a 11.438 and a 10.668 and finished with a great 10.609 in Round 4, just 9 thousandths off. |
| WB 29 | Tony Wynne-Jones had brought the "Welsh Raider 2" roadster-style Corvette to the track and it looked beautiful in its burgundy paint. Tony Dialled in at 12.00 and had some further problems with a 14.640 in Round 1. Hopefully he will get the car sorted soon and be back out racing again! |
| WB 33 | saw another driver change in the "Psycho" slingshot on Saturday with faithful crewman Kev 'Closet' Mortimer taking his first ever turn in the hotseat. Amazingly he jumped in the car and ran a Team Best E.T. of 11.280!! Back at the pits he was heard to say words to the effect of "I want one!"! Alec also had a run in the car, an 11.330, which was also quicker than Tom had been in the slingshot. Tom got back in the driver's seat on Sunday and Dialled in at 11.30. He ran an 11.441 in Round 1 and was really chuffed to run his Personal (and Team) Best E.T. of 11.272 in Round 2, but had unfortunately red-lit, with just a .313 RT. For the third round he put in a good 11.309, 9 thousandths off [He was the third driver to get within one hundredth of his Dial-in!]. And for the fourth round he ran another good 11.314. |
| WB 43 | Martin Holgate was at the track for the first time this year with his "Paranoia" altered. He was busy in the pits on Saturday, changing the piston rings in the Jag engine. He did made a checkout pass on Sunday, so hope to see him back at the track again soon. |
| WB 44 | Chevone Charman-Osborne took a turn in the "Odditee" altered, the first after the engine rebuild from last season. She ran a very strong 9.542 @ 146.10 mph on Saturday and Tarzy Nicholas then did her debut checkout pass in the altered. The car went well with both drivers, but unfortunately, the team were only able to stay for one day, so hope to see the girls back out in that soon!! |
| WB 67 | Darryl Howells was running his slingshot "Wheels of fortune" and on Saturday he did not record a time on his first pass, but set a good Personal Best E.T. OF 12.053 @ 111.66 mph. He Dialled-in on Sunday at 12.05, and ran well with a 12.210 and a 12.296 in the first two rounds, before recording his first 11-second passes, 11.966 and 11.968 in the third and fourth rounds. Darryl was really pleased with the car's performance this weekend and chuffed to be in the 11's! He finished 6th overall for the event. |
| WB 73 | Johnny Hall had altered the ignition, put weight in the front end and made other adjustments to "The Happening" slingshot after his two "Wild Rides" at qualifying for Super Series 1. He came storming out on Saturday and ran his first ever 8-second pass, of 8.962 @ 144.69 mph! So on Sunday he Dialled in at 8.95. He went under this three times, as he ran a 8.829 in Round 1, 8.838 @ 149.50 mph in Round 2 ("Fastest MPH" Spot Prize, and this was with a .468 RT for "Best Reaction" Spot Prize!) and a Personal Best E.T. again of 8.814 in Round 3, which was "Quickest E.T." Spot Prize!! In Round 4, he had a slightly squirrely run, using up a fair bit of his racing lane, and he put in a 9.216. These 4 runs earnt him 4th place overall for the weekend, and he also took "Best Slingshot" Spot Prize for his efforts! [In addition he won a Quickest E.T. prize (quicker than any car at the track except the Super Mods for the whole event) which came from the organisers]. The crew looked great as well in their black and flamed shirts! |
| WB 74 | Simon Williams was joining us for the first time with the "Spirit" slingshot. He put in some practice runs on Saturday and Dialled in at 12.20 for Sunday. He put in a solid 12.480 for the first round with a good .501 reaction time. He also ran a 13.003 and a 12.985 for rounds 2 and 3, but sat out the fourth round. |
| WB 86 | Dick Sharp was back in the "Dorset Horn" altered after having had repairs done to the gearbox. He put in a checkout pass of 10.583 on Saturday and Dialled in at 10.20 for the Sunday. He ran a 10.812 for the first round, and then went ultra-consistent with a 10.368, a 10.366 @ 140.19 mph and a 10.363 for the next three rounds (all within 5 thousandths!!). |
| WB 91 | Ian Hanson was having his first turn of the season in the Hanson Racing red blown altered. He ran a 9.785 on Saturday, Dialling in 9.50 for the Sunday rounds. He ran in the first 3 rounds with a 9.901, 9.588 @ 140.62 mph and 9.682, improving throughout the weekend. |
| WB 96 | Tony Smith arrived mid-afternoon Saturday, and made three progressively better runs of 12.498, 12.445 and a Personal Best E.T. of 12.080 @ 113.92 mph with the body on "The Cunning Plan" altered. Sunday he Dialled-in at 12.20 and ran a close 12.278 in the first round and 12.222 in the second round. In Rounds 3 and 4 he posted a 12.571 and a 12.542 and finished 8th for the weekend. After the four rounds were completed, there was just enough track time for Tony to take the body off the altered and run its Best ever E.T. of 11.67 which Tony was very pleased with! |
| WB 108 | Andrew Willcox was running the "Firefighter" Rear-engine dragster, and ran a good 12.1 on Saturday. He Dialled-in at 11.90 Sunday and ran a great 11.758 in the first round, followed by a 13.042, 12.462 and 13.914 in the other rounds on Sunday. He also won "Best Dragster/Radical" Spot Prize for his efforts. |
| WB 110 | Nick Connor was making his first appearance for the season in the "Barking Mad" altered, and promptly posted a Personal Best E.T. of 10.247, straight off the trailer on Saturday, followed by another good 10.344 @ 131.20 mph (best terminal for the car!). He Dialled in at 10.35 and ran a strong 10.385 to start off with and another Personal Best of 10.238 in Round 2. He followed this with another good 10.331 and a 10.369 (one under his Dial-in by .019 and one over by .019!!). This consistency resulted in Nick taking 3rd place for the weekend. |
| WB 146 | Ian Roddy was back in the Yellow Rear-engine dragster and ran a 10.966 on Saturday, testing out his new transbrake. He Dialled-in at 10.30 Sunday and ran a 10.629 in the first round. He followed this with a 10.445 in Round 2 and a solid 10.339 in Round 3 and finished with a 10.701 in the fourth round. |
| Already some teams are developing great consistency with their runs, notably Dick Sharp with his last 3 runs all within 5 thousandths of each other; Joe Stevens and Chris Hartnell who were never more than a tenth away from their Dial-ins; Sarah Howells, Tom Coe and Nick Connor, all consistently within two tenths of their Dial-ins, [Sarah being within 5 thousandths on two of her runs!]. And it's starting to get close racing again with six teams finishing within 1% of their perfect total Dial-ins!
So it was another great event for the Wild Bunch. Next event is the June Jubilee on the Sunday and Monday of the Bank Holiday. Looking forward to that already!! | |