2002 Index
Select another 2002 event

Nostalgia Nationals June 29 - 30

Nostalgia Nationals and Mini Weekend29th - 30th June 2002 13th - 14th July 2002Points awarded for The Wild Bunch, Roy Wilding Nostalgia Racecars & Real Steel Championships

This was a two-part round of Wild Bunch Series Round 4, Real Steel Series Round 6 and Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series Round 2, with the first half taking place at the Nostalgia Nationals on June 29th/30th and the second part taking place at the Mini Weekend on July 13th/14th. There was a total combined field of 26 Wild Bunch cars taking part, including 12 Slingshots, 8 Altereds, 5 Rear-engine dragsters and 1 Radical as follows

Event Results
Pos WB Driver Car Points
1 86 Dick Sharp Dorset Horn 8
2 110 Nick Connor Barking Mad 6
3 33 Tom Coe Psycho 5
4 2 Chris Hartnell Backdraft 4
5 1 Dogs Bollocks Racing RamRaider 3
- 3 Paul Croston B-Sting 3
- 4 Floyd Codpiece Racing Back in Black 3
- 9 Dogs Bollocks Racing Nutcracker 3
- 11 Clive Bush Good Fun Dragster 3
- 20 Mark Coulsell Limited Funz 3
- 40 Dennis Hawkins Wicked Lady 3
- 42 Colin Stevens GoldDigger 3
- 43 Martin Holgate Paranoia 3
- 67 Darryl Howells Wheels of Fortune 3
- 71 Andy Solley Repeat Offender 3
- 73 Johnny Hall The Happening 3
- 74 Ian Ryans   3
- 96 Tony Smith The Cunning Plan 3
- 146 NRS Racing Yellow Dragster 3
- 243 Derek Annable Thunder & Lightening 3 3
21 24 Mark Turton Growler 2
- 94 John Byng & John Attridge Oddball 2
- 131 Paul Harvey Goin' Loco 2
24 29 Tony Wynne-Jones Welsh Raider II 1
- 34 Alec Coe Shy Torque 1
- 108 Andrew Wiilcox Firefighter 1
Spot Prizes
WBTeam/DriverCarDetail
Best Reaction20Mark CoulsellLimited Funz.417
Closest to dial-in2Chris HartnellBackdraft-.005 off
Fastest m.p.h.73Johnny HallThe Happening150.50 mph
Quickest e.t.73Johnny HallThe Happening8.806
Best Burnout96Tony Smith / Dave WilliamsThe Cunning Plan
Best Engineered86Dick SharpDorset Horn
Best Altered86Dick SharpDorset Horn
Best Slingshot1Sarah HowellsRamRaider
Best Appearing Team24 & 110The Dog SquadGrowler & Barking Mad
Driver's Choice24Mark TurtonGrowler
Nostalgia Nationals
Saturday was a practice day, and most drivers got in 3 runs. Sunday was Series Points day and the weather did play a part. There was a delay with an oil down, and about half of the racers got a third run in before rain stopped play for the day. So, as the majority of teams only got two runs in, the results will be based on two rounds, with the rear-engined dragsters to run their two rounds at the Mini Nationals in a fortnight.
WB 1Sarah Howells was in the hotseat of the "Ram Raider" slingshot and ran a solid 10.3 to start with on Saturday morning. She then ran an off-pace 19 second pass, followed by a better 10.21. She dialled in at 10.16 for Sunday, and ran a great 10.075 @ 129 mph in the first round. She then went quicker and recorded a Personal Best E.T. of 10.041 @ 133.14 mph in the second round, also taking "Best Slingshot" Spot Prize for her efforts.
WB 2Chris Hartnell was running in the "Backdraft" slingshot, and ran 9.422 @ 136.78 mph, followed by passes of 9.372 and 9.341 on the Saturday. He dialled in at 9.35 Sunday and ran a great 9.345 at 137.20 mph in the first round, taking the "Closest to Dial-in" Spot Prize, just 5 thousandths off! He followed this with an improving 9.328 for the second round (and a 9.393 for the third run, which didn't count as a round). Chris gained 4th place overall for this half of the round, so will wait to see the results from the Mini weekend to find out if he remains in the top four for the event.
WB 3Barry Bohannon was back in the driver's seat of the "B-Sting" altered with a much reduced crew, due to holidays and other commitments. He ran a couple of 13-second passes on Saturday, followed by a 12.331 @ 104.65 mph, trying to get near the team record. On Sunday, he dialled in at 12.35 and ran progressively better with a 12.416, 12.367 (and a Personal Best E.T. of 12.208 @ 106.38 mph for the non-counting third run, also a team best!).
WB 4Joe Stevens was running in his "Back in Black" altered, and made passes of 11.921, 12.171 and 11.889 @ 112.78 mph on Saturday, dialling in at 11.90 for Sunday. He ran well with an 11.926 and an 11.988 in the two rounds and, luckily for him the third round did not count, as he stalled off the line resulting in a 29-second pass.
WB 9Ray Ford was having a go in the "Nutcracker" slingshot and made three steady 13-second passes on Saturday. For Sunday's rounds, he dialled in at 13.40, running a good 13.252 in the first round, but experiencing some problems in the second round with a 14.462 pass.
WB 11Shane & Clive Bush were running the renamed "Dire Straits" slingshot and ran a 10.510, another 10.5 and a 10.3 pass on Saturday. They dialled in at 10.50 Sunday and ran a disappointing 24-second pass in the first round, but followed this with a strong 10.312 @ 126 mph.
WB 20Mark Coulsell was back in the "Limited Funz" slingshot and put in some good passes of 10.6, 10.555 and 10.558 @ 124.65, becoming consistent on Saturday. He dialled in with a 10.50 Sunday and ran a 10.517 and a 10.583 for the two rounds (followed by a great 10.473 on his third run, getting near his P.B.). He put in a strong .417 RT in the second round to take the "Best Reaction" Spot Prize for the weekend.
WB 24Mark Turton and the Dog Squad, and a cast of many friends, had thrashed for 8 weeks to rebuild the "Growler" altered which had unfortunately crashed at Super Series 1. They borrowed a chassis, had a body made and rebuilt an engine, and put together the "Growler, Once Bitten Twice Smitten" altered in time for the Nostalgias!! They spent all of Saturday and part of Sunday putting some finishing touches on the car and firing it up to get it to the track. Mark appeared for the second round, cheered on by everyone, and although the engine was coughing and spluttering a bit, managed to get in a test launch, and stopped about the 1/8th mile, with some serious wheel wobble. Back to the drawing board, but at least Mark has now made his first run, so many congratulations to him on making the first step back, well done to him and all the crew for their hard work and best of luck for the rest of the season!! To top it all, the whole crew won the "Best Appearing Team" Spot Prize and Mark won the "Driver's Choice" award for his efforts.
WB 29Tony Wynne-Jones brought the beautiful "Welsh Raider 2" radical Corvette to the track, and did some more work on it in the pits, in the hope of getting in some passes over the weekend. He dialled in at 11.75, but unfortunately did not make a pass this event. Better luck for next time Tony!
WB 33Tom Coe was running his "Psycho" slingshot and made a good start to the weekend with an 11.29, followed by an 11.216 Personal Best E.T., and an 11.3 on Saturday. He dialled in at 11.23 Sunday and ran a good 11.244 in round one, followed by another P.B. of 11.194 in round two. (On the third run he put in yet another P.B. with an 11.155 @ 119.36 mph!). Tom was third overall for the event, so he will also have to wait and see if this result stands after part two of the meeting.
WB 34Alec Coe was on his third outing in the "Shy Torque" slingshot, and spent the day in the pits Saturday trying to get a handle on the tuning. He ended up not making any passes on the weekend, but hopefully he will get the car sorted soon.
WB 42Colin Stevens was on his second outing for Wild Bunch in the "Golddigger" slingshot. He was still starting to get used to the car and every run he made on Saturday was a P.B., with a 16.726, 16.144 and 14.626 @ 94.34 mph, taking some time off from his C&P Hot Rod T's stall to do his runs! He dialled in at 14.50 on Sunday and had problems in the first round, carding an 18.878, but followed this with another Personal Best E.T. of 13.970 @ 99.78 mph, really starting to enjoy his racing.
WB 43Martin Holgate was running his "Paranoia" altered and made a couple of passes on Saturday, dialling in at 9.80 Sunday. In the first round, he put in his best run for ages, with a great 9.494 @ 141.51 mph, followed by another good 9.513, also at 141.51 mph!
WB 67Darryl Howells made a couple of low 12-second passes in his "Wheels Of Fortune" slingshot on Saturday, and then dialled in a 12.05 for Sunday. He had a gearbox problem in the first round and posted an 18.878 run, but ran a much better 12.222 @ 112.78 mph in the second round.
WB 71Andy Solley made his usual Nostalgia Nationals appearance in the "Repeat Offender" altered and put in three passes of 11.596, 11.604 and 11.472 on the Saturday, dialling in at 10.54 for Sunday, hoping to use the nitrous. He ran an 11.623 and an 11.598 in the two rounds.
WB 73Johnny Hall was running "The Happening" slingshot and started off well Saturday with an 8.906 @ 150.50 mph. He then had a hairy run with a 9.767 @ 147 mph, followed by a brilliant Personal Best E.T. of 8.778 @ 151.52 mph. He dialled in at 8.85 for Saturday, and ran under this with an 8.806 and an 8.829. The first run took the "Quickest E.T." Spot Prize and the "Fastest MPH" Spot Prize with a 150.50 mph speed.
WB 74Simon Williams was joining in with the "Spirit" slingshot and ran two 12-second passes with a best of and 11.9 on Saturday. He then dialled in at 12.30 for Sunday and ran 12.353, 12.028 for the two rounds (and a 12.170 @ 108.96 mph for his third run).
WB 86Dick Sharp was driving the "Dorset Horn" altered and ran a good 9.8 for starters on Saturday. He followed this by a P.B. 9.661 @ 141.96 mph and the team were over the moon. He dialled in 9.60 for Sunday, and ran another P.B. in the first round with a 9.630. He wasn't finished there, as he ran another Personal Best E.T. of 9.571 @ 142.86 mph for the second round, and incredibly ended up only one thousandth off the perfect total for the two rounds, so has established a solid 1st place (which may not be beaten at the Mini weekend). Co-owner and crewchief Bunt Willcox and the whole team were thrilled with this, and the 'return to form' of 'the Horn' is even noted in magazines! The team also took "Best Altered" and "Best Engineered" Spot Prizes for the weekend for their well turned out machine and performance.
WB 94John Byng & John Attridge were having a ball again running their "Oddball" slingshot, running in the 11's on Saturday before letting Kev Elliott of "Custom Car" magazine have a couple of turns in the dragster. He ran a 14-second debut pass, followed by a good 13.417 @ 106.13 mph. [You can read about this in his editorial!!] Fair play to him for having a go and enjoying it!! On Sunday, John and John dialled in at 11.50 and only made the first round with a 12.115 pass.
WB 96Tony Smith and Dave Williams were running "The Cunning Plan" altered and made a few passes on Saturday, dialling in at 11.85 Sunday (without the body on). They ran 11.963 and 11.987 for the two rounds (followed by an 11.744 @ 116.58 mph for the third non-eligible run). They took the "Best Burnout" Spot Prize for their smoky efforts.
WB 110Nick Connor was out in the "Barking Mad" altered and was running well on Saturday, posting runs of 10.469, 10.384 and 10.277 @ 130.06 mph, very pleased with the performance. Nick dialled in at 10.35 Sunday and ran 10.365 in the first round and 10.316 @ 131.58 mph in the second round, his best speed ever. (He ran a 10.273 on his third run). The two rounds put Nick in temporary 2nd place for now.
All in all, another good event, with more close competition! So we will have to wait and see the overall results in a couple of weeks' time after the Rear-engine dragsters run at the Mini weekend!!
Mini Nationals
The event was quite quiet on the Saturday and the weather was fine. Most drivers had a practice run before declaring a 'provisional' Dial-in for the day, and most were then able to make two runs. Sunday was a lot busier, and the weather was fine again. Most drivers had a practice run in the morning, but only two out of five drivers were able to make one run late in the afternoon, due to pressures of track time. Therefore the results will be based on the two runs on Saturday made by the majority of teams, to match the two rounds run by the majority of teams at the Nostalgia Nationals.
WB 40Dennis Hawkins was running in the "Wicked Lady" dragster and put in a practice run on Saturday morning, before Dialling in at 9.50. He ran a 9.665 at 139.32 mph and took "Best Reaction" on this run with a great .446 time. In the second round he ran a good 9.610, also at 139.32 mph.
WB 108Andrew Wilcox had trouble all weekend with the "Firefighter" dragster, and although Dialling in at 11.90, was unfortunately not able to make a pass.
WB 131Paul Harvey was back in the "Goin' Loco" dragster and had a practice run on Saturday, then Dialled in at 8.90. He ran a solid 9.125 at 146.10 mph in the first round. He didn't make another pass that day, but ran a great 8.909 at 147.54 mph on Sunday, taking the "Closest to Dial-in" Spot Prize for the weekend.
WB 146Ian Roddy was running the Ex-"Chariot Of Fire" yellow dragster and had a practice run before giving his Dial-in at 10.40. In the first round he ran a good 10.384 at 125 mph even, and a 10.254 at 126.05 mph in the second round. He had one run on the Sunday, a great Personal Best E.T. of 10.126 at 129.31 mph, and took "Best Rear-engine dragster" for his efforts, and was top of the five Rear-engine dragsters for the weekend, at 99.221% of his perfect total.
WB 243Derek Annable returned in the "Thunder & Lightning" Top Methanol dragster and made a checkout pass in round one on Saturday after Dialling in at 8.50. In the second round he ran a brilliant 7.732 at 172.41 mph, but unfortunately popped the blower on the line on the practice run on Sunday.
Many thanks to Angi for collecting and collating all the results from the Mini Weekend!