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UK Northern Nationals August 9 - 10
2003 UK Northern Nationals9 August - 10 AugustPoints awarded for The Wild Bunch, Real Steel and Roy Wilding Nostalgia Racecars Championships
This weekend was Wild Bunch Series Round 4, Real Steel Series Round 6 as well as Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series Round 3 (Final). We had our biggest ever York field of 17 Wild Bunch cars taking part, including 8 Slingshots, 4 Altereds, 4 Rear-engine dragster and 1 Radical
| Event Results | ||||
| Pos | WB | Driver/Team | Car | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Floyd Codpiece Racing | Back in Black | 9 |
| 2 | 2 | Tony Smith | The Cunning Plan | 7 |
| 3 | 3 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | 6 |
| 4 | 33 | Tom Coe | Psycho | 5 |
| 5 | 20 | Mark Coulsell | Limited Funz | 4 |
| - | 82 | Gary Kay | Dream Machine | 4 |
| 6 | 44 | Tara Nicholas | Destiny's Angel | 3 |
| 7 | 56 | Dogs Bollocks Racing | RamRaider | 3 |
| - | 72 | Dave Southworth | Daddy Cool | 3 |
| - | 134 | Matt/Dave | Thing 3 | 3 |
| - | 147 | Sid Slattery | Destiny | 3 |
| - | 243 | Derek Annable | Brenda's Life Force | 3 |
| 12 | 4 | Darryl Howells | Wheels of Fortune | 2 |
| - | 34 | Alec Coe | Shy Torque | 2 |
| 14 | 29 | Tony Wynne-Jones | Welsh Raider II | 1 |
| - | 50 | Clayton Round | ex-Dire Straits | 1 |
| - | 61 | Ron Roper | High Fever | 1 |
| Spot Prizes | ||||
| WB | Team/Driver | Car | Detail | |
| Best Reaction | 20 | Mark Coulsell | Limited Funz | .543 (.500 Tree) |
| Closest To Dial-In | 1 | Joe Stevens | Back In Black | .009 Off |
| Fastest M.P.H. | 3 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | 136.98 Mph |
| Quickest E.T. | 243 | Derek Annable | Brenda's Life Force | 8.453 |
| Best Altered | 1 | Joe Stevens | Back In Black | |
| Best Dragster/Radical | 29 | Tony Wynne-Jones | Welsh Raider Ii | |
| Best Slingshot | 147 | Sid Slattery | Destiny | |
| Best Appearing Team | 3 | C&C Drag Racing Team | Backdraft | |
| Other Wild Bunch members were also at York, tuning. Chris Round, WB 48, ran a great pass of 8.33 off the trailer in the Rebellious Rear-engine dragster; Ian Roddy,WB146, ran a 9.948 on his 1st pass with a supercharged Pontiac in his Rear-engine dragster; and Tony Smith, WB 111, was also tuning his Faster Pussycat altered. Saturday was a practice day and the weather was good, sunny and very hot! Most drivers managed to put in 3 or 4 testing and tuning runs. Sunday was Series Points Day, and the weather turned out pretty good overall, although the wind got up late morning and the third round was initially postponed by drizzle. We were able to run 3 rounds of Wild Bunch format, but the possibility of further rain curtailed another round. It was a really good weekend again at York, and the track crew worked very hard as usual, even contending with impromptu track repair! In all, 5 drivers ran their Personal Best E.T.'s, with a further 8 running their best ever York E.T.'s!! | |
| WB 1 | Joe Stevens, was running in his Back in Black altered. He made ever improving runs all day Saturday, including subsequent new Personal Best E.T.'s of: 10.772, 10.668 and 10.515, and a top speed of 127.35 mph. He dialled-in at 10.70 for Sunday, running 10.712 in the first round, an even closer 10.709 in the second (Closest to Dial-in by .009 off) and picked up the pace for a 10.677 in the third round, winning the event with a total time of just 2 thousandths off his Dial-in over the 3 rounds! Joe also won Best Altered and an extra trophy from PDRC for being the winner of Wild Bunch! |
| WB 2 | Tony Smith was raring to go on his 4th trip to York in The Cunning Plan altered (with its body on)! He started off tentatively with a 13.210 and posted a 12.3 and 12.5, as well as a York Personal Best of 12.209 on the Saturday. He Dialled-in at 12.40 and ran a solid 12.388 in the first round, exactly equalling the margin that Joe Stevens had set that round (.012 off!). He followed this with a 12.616 in the second and brought it back round with a good 12.252 @ 107.01 mph in the third round, to finish in 2nd place for the event. |
| WB 3 | Crazy Chris Hartnell was also on his 4th trip to York in the Backdraft slingshot. He posted a 9.727 for his first run on Saturday, and never went slower. He adjusted the advance and then ran his York Personal Best of 9.493 @ 136.71 mph, wheelying and breaking the front torsion bar, but fixing it again with the help of the scrutineer's welder. He then ran a 9.561 and Dialled in at 9.55 Sunday. In the first round he posted a 9.534 @136.98 mph (Fastest MPH) at just .016 off, right behind Joe and Tony! He ran a 9.581 in the second round, and finished with a 9.613 in the third to take 3rd place for the weekend. This weekend Chris and the team again won Best Appearing Team at York, with their red & flamed crew shirts sported by Chris, Lee, Claire, Mark & Josh (of the Dorset Horn team - who joined in with the crew for the weekend). |
| WB 4 | Darryl Howells had replaced the Pinto engine which had expired at the Thorney Island drags, with a new Pinto engine in the Wheels of fortune slingshot. He ran 4 passes Saturday ranging from 13.698 @ 94.22 mph to 16.831, and Dialled in at 12.90 for the next day. He made one run of 14.348, before having to park the car. Hopefully he will be back out again at the next event! |
| WB 20 | Mark Coulsell had brought his Limited Funz slingshot on its first 260-mile trip to York, and started off with a solid 10.761 pass on the Saturday. He also put in an 11.0 pass before recording his York Personal Best of 10.628 @ 123.56 mph. He Dialled in at 10.60 Sunday, and ran 10.731 (with a Best Reaction of .543) and 10.975 in the first 2 rounds, but posted a 17-second pass when his shifter broke on the third round. He still finished in 6th place overall for the weekend, and did some strong burnouts. |
| WB 29 | Tony Wynne-Jones brought his beautiful Corvette radical Welsh Raider II in search of that elusive 11-second run. His first run was getting close on Saturday, with a 12.083, and he was rewarded on his second pass with a Personal Best E.T. of 11.824. He followed this with another low 12 of 12.146 and Dialled in at 12.00 even for Sunday. Unfortunately he picked up a puncture in one of his rear slicks, and was unable to get it repaired, so could not take part in the rounds on Sunday. He did win the Best Radical/Dragster Spot Prize over the stiff competition of the four Rear-engine dragsters present, so many congratulations to him for that and for running his first 11! |
| WB 33 | was Tom Coe's Psycho slingshot, on his 3rd 312-mile trip from Kent to York. He ran an 11.429 for starters Saturday, followed by and 11.514 an 11.432 and a York Personal Best of 11.396. On the Saturday evening, Tom made his debut as a magician in the marquee, entertaining a larger-than-expected crowd of about 100. His act went down very well, and he hopes to perform again at the Allstar Nationals! He dialled-in at 11.45 on Sunday, and ran an 11.534, 11.576 and 11.526, repeating the consistency of the previous day, and taking 4th place overall for the weekend. |
| WB 34 | Alec Coe's Shy Torque slingshot started off well with a 10.541, a 10.714, a 10.514 and a York Personal Best of 10.443 Saturday, with Alec Dialling in at 10.54 for Sunday. He ran a 10.658 in the first round, but had to sit out the rest of the day with gearbox problems. |
| WB 44 | Tara Nicholas was in her first outing to York in the Destiny's Angel altered. She put in a tentative checkout pass of 15.274 on her first run, and improved every run after that, posting 12.998 and 11.779 on Saturday. She Dialled in a cautious 11.80 for Sunday and ran more than a second under on each pass, with a 10.700 and a great 10.299 @ 100.82 mph in the second round. Erring on the side of caution, the team decided to sit out the third round, due to the unpredictable weather conditions. [Wonder what that next run would have been?!!]. Congratulations to Tara and Bernie for a great York debut! |
| WB 50 | Clayton Round had installed a new Chevy lump with neat injection system in the Rebel Racing slingshot, since the demise of the faithful Buick at the Nostalgia Nationals. In his first ever run with the new combination, he ran a terrific 9.761 @ 110.73 mph checkout pass!! He continued getting a handle on the car, and Dialled in at 9.50 for Sunday. He was also running in Pro ET, still leading in the points for that series at York. He won that class, but was not able to make any Wild Bunch rounds, although he had hoped to join in. |
| WB 56 | Sarah Howells had the first run Saturday in the Ram Raider slingshot, putting in a pass of 11.258, then Ed Yates took the hotseat and ran a 10.574, followed by a 10.925 and then Sarah finished with a 10.841 @ 127.21 mph, recording her York Personal Best. Ed Dialled in at 10.50 Sunday and ran great runs of 10.406 @ 127.64 mph and 10.590, in the second round, being within 4 thousandths on the 2 runs! He decided to sit out the third round. |
| WB 61 | was Ron Roper's altered High Fever. He put in passes of 12.763, 13.138 and 14.630 on Saturday and had carburettor and starter motor problems. The car was not running well at all and he decided to take it home and work on the problem. Good luck with that Ron! |
| WB 72 | Dave Sag Southworth was in the Daddy Cool Rear-engine dragster, for his second Wild Bunch outing for the year! He had puncture problems on Saturday, and could not arrive til late afternoon. He Dialled in conservatively at 10.80 Sunday and surprised himself with a great 10.045 @ 131.12 mph off the trailer in the first round! In the second he posted another good 10.176, but unfortunately got shut down for the third with a fuel leak, which he later repaired. Great to see you out with the ‘Bunch’ Sag!! |
| WB 82 | Gary Kay in the Dream Machine Rear-engine dragster made 4 passes Saturday, with a best of 12.454 @ 110.57 mph. He Dialled in at 12.50 Sunday and ran 12.939, 13.465 (with a good .580 light) and 13.113, finishing in a good 5th place overall for the weekend. |
| WB 134 | Dave McKenzie was back in the Total Eclipse Rear-engine dragster, which now sported a 400 cu in Chevy motor, without supercharger. He ran improving runs Saturday of 11.847, 11.421 and a Personal Best E.T. of 11.390 @112.64 mph, dialling in at 11.30 for the next day. He did not record a time in the first round, but ran a 12.526 in the second round, sitting out the third with a hot gearbox. |
| WB 147 | Sid Slattery was running his Destiny slingshot for the first time at York, having experienced a failed magneto at the May Bank Holiday event. He did not record a time on his first run, but ran a checkout 13.528 on his second pass Saturday. He Dialled in at 12.80 Sunday, and ran a new PB of 12.981 @ 116.86 mph in the first round. On the launch of the second run, he pulled a huge wheelie and still managed to record another Personal Best E.T. of 12.158. He sat out the last round, but had a great time, also winning Best Slingshot for the weekend. |
| WB 243 | was Derek Annable's first ever outing to York with the Brenda's Life Force Top Methanol Dragster. He put in a 12-second checkout pass early on Saturday, familiarising himself with the track again, and was happy with how the car was running. He Dialled in at 8.50 Sunday and ran a brilliant 8.453 @ 125.80 mph in the first round. In the second round, he posted another close 8.594 @ 126.28 mph (his speed had been 145 mph in the 1/8th!). This left him in temporary 4th place, with just .047 off over the 2 runs! Derek and the team decided to sit out the third round as well, as rain looked likely. He was thrilled to win the Quickest E.T. trophy for the weekend with his first 8-second pass at York! |
| It was a very good weekend again, and all the teams enjoyed racing at York Dragway. The track crew worked hard and the marshals and officials all made us welcome, with the PDRC even making us a wonderful Wild Bunch Nostalgia Drag Racing Club banner to display by our pit area. Many thanks again to all the crew, especially Des and Andrew, and promoter Steve Murty who never stopped working on one job or another, and Cath for sorting out all our entries. Also many thanks once again to Marjorie and the PDRC for the prize money, and Rebel Racing and Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars for prize money from each of them. The next event is Ultimate Power Series Round 3 (Final), the Allstar Nationals on August 23rd-25th, the Big One! This will also be Wild Bunch Series Round 5 and Real Steel Series Round 7. It's getting close & exciting! | |