2004 Index
Select another 2004 event
York Summer Showdown August 7 - 8
2004 York Summer Showdown7 August - 8 AugustPoints awarded for Wild Bunch Championship Round 5, Real Steel Series Round 8 Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series Round 3
This weekend was a RWYB event, the “York Summer Showdown”. It was Wild Bunch Series Round 5 as well as Real Steel Series Round 8 and Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series Round 3 and there were Spot Prizes. We had a field of 14 Wild Bunch cars, including: 6 Slingshots, 5 Altereds, 2 Rear-engine dragsters and 1 Radical
| Event Results | ||||
| Pos | WB | Driver | Car | Points |
| 1 | 3 | Joe Stevens | Back in Black | 10 |
| 2 | 38 | Helen Smythe | Hell's Belle | 8 |
| 3 | 34 | Alec Coe | Shy Torque | 7 |
| 4 | 28 | Pete & Gav Loveridge | Herr X | 6 |
| 5 | 36 | Russ Dean | Fury | 5 |
| - | 76 | Steven Field | The Black Pig | 5 |
| - | 109 | Andy Murphy | B-Sting | 5 |
| 8 | 4 | Tony Smith | The Cunning Plan | 4 |
| - | 29 | Tony Wynne-Jones | Welsh Raider 2 | 4 |
| 10 | 80 | Mike Davis | Traspasser | 3 |
| 11 | 142 | Mike Cresswell | Living the Dream | 2 |
| 12 | 72 | Dave Southworth | Daddy Cool | 1 |
| - | 131 | Paul Harvey | Mailkey Dragster | 1 |
| - | 147 | Sid Slattery | Destiny | 1 |
| Spot Prizes | ||||
| WB | Team/Driver | Car | Detail | |
| Best Reaction | 38 | Helen Smythe | Hell's Belle | .530 |
| Closest To Dial-In | 3 | Joe Stevens | Back In Black | .011 Off |
| Quickest E.T. | 34 | Tom Coe | Shy Torque | 10.194 |
| Best Altered | 76 | Steve Field | The Black Pig | |
| Best Slingshot | 28 | Pete & Gav Loveridge | Herr X | |
| Best Dragster/Radical | 29 | Tony Wynne-Jones | Welsh Raider II | |
| Best Burnout | 4 | Tony Smith | The Cunning Plan | |
| Best Appearing Team | 109 | Team B-Sting | B-Sting | |
| Saturday was a practice day and the weather was real hot and most of the Wild Bunch racers managed to get in 4 runs, or more! The weather was good on Sunday too, hot with a bit more wind, and we completed 4 rounds. We welcomed 2 more new teams into the Wild Bunch, WB 36, Russ Dean with the “Fury” slingshot, (previously Clayton Round's Rebel Slingshot (previously Roy Wilding's Buick slingshot)) and WB 80, Mike Davies and Linda Jones, with the “Trespasser” slingshot (ex-Darryl Howell's “Wheels of Fortune” and ex-Tony Wynne Jones “Trespasser”). The Wild Bunch put on a good show at the event and had a lot of fun. Four racers ran Personal Best E.T.'s this weekend, with three of these running Personal Best speeds, and there was some good competition! Unfortunately missing from the weekend's fun was “Backdraft”, as ‘Crazy’ Chris had been waiting for parts and was still rebuilding the new engine after the demise of the trusty Small Block Chevy at the Mini Nationals. Chris and Claire were of course still up at the track helping to organise all the rounds for the Wild Bunch, and had brought along some of the old parts to show the damage. Also missing were Darryl & Sarah Howells with their new “Chemical Reaction” slingshot, as they were performing Best Man and Woman duties at the wedding of longtime Wild Bunch driver Mark Coulsell and his lovely bride Lynne in Southampton. The whole Wild Bunch would like to wish Mark and Lynne good luck for a long and happy marriage!! Congratulations and all the best!! | |
| WB 3 | Joe Stevens was running his “Back in Black” altered, making 5 passes on Saturday, all over 130 mph, and ranging from 10.754 down to 10.324. Joe Dialled in at 10.50 for Saturday. He ran well every round, never being further than 8 hundredths off his Dial-in!! He recorded 10.541, 10.579, 10.511 (“Closest to Dial-in” for the Bunch) and 10.453, to take the win! Well done, Joe!! |
| WB 4 | Tony Smith ran 6 variable passes on Saturday in his “The Cunning Plan” minivan altered; the slowest being a couple of 12.4's, and the best being an 11.788 and an 11.732 @ 106.98 mph. He dialled in at 12.00 for Sunday, and started with a 12.206 in the first round, followed by a better 12.096 in the second round. On the burnout of the third run, he experienced a problem with the gear change and had to shut down the car and miss the round. The team checked out the problem but could not find any damage, so were back out for the fourth round with an 11.906 @ 102.71 mph. Tony performed some great smoky burnouts, and won the “Best Burnout” Spot Prize awarded by the commentators for his efforts. Fair shout! |
| WB 28 | Pete & Gavyn Loveridge were making their first trip to York since they won the event in 2000 with the “Herr X” slingshot. Pete made 2 passes of 10.762 @ 122.39 mph and 10.877, and Gavyn made 2 passes of 12.379 and 10.947 @ 103.13 mph on Saturday. They dialled in at 10.75 for Sunday and Pete started off with a 10.857, followed by Gavyn running his weekend best of 10.789 in the second round. Pete then ran his weekend best of 10.677 in the third round and Gavyn ran a 10.860 in the fourth round, to put the team in 4th place overall. They also won the “Best Slingshot” Spot Prize and had a great weekend at sunny York!! |
| WB 29 | Tony Wynne-Jones had repaired the oil union in his “Welsh Raider 2” Radical and made 3 passes on Saturday, including a promising 11.737 @ 117.50 mph. He dialled in at 11.60 for Sunday, and started with a 12.197 in Round 1. He followed this with a strong weekend best of 11.626 in the second round, and then ran off the pace in the third with a 12.265. Unfortunately, the car would not fire when he queued up for the fourth round, so hope it's just a minor problem that he can cure real soon. Overall he had a good weekend and the car ran well, earning him the “Best Radical/Dragster” Spot Prize, chosen by the commentators. |
| WB 34 | saw the first event this year for last year's Wild Bunch Champion Tom Coe, taking his first ever turn in the Mad R's “Shy Torque” slingshot. The team had installed a new cam after damage at the Power Nationals, and bought a new tow vehicle (an American ambulance) after their unfortunate crash on the motorway in June. Dad Alec made one checkout pass Saturday morning of 10.372 @ a Personal Best Speed of 130.48 mph, the first time the car has broken the 130 mph mark! After this run, the team had a problem with a valve on one of the rear slicks, but luckily noticed it in the pits and was able to fix it. Alec then handed the reins over to Tom who ran the car for the rest of the weekend. Tom made 4 runs on the Saturday, beginning with an incredible Personal Best E.T. and speed of 10.180 @ 131.46 mph, the quickest and fastest the car's ever run (not bad for his first time in the hotseat!!). He followed this with a 10.783, backing off as the car veered left on launch, but picking up to 129.47 mph. He also ran a 10.520 and a 10.324 @ 130.91 mph. Tom Dialled in at 10.30 for Sunday, and started with a 10.492 in the first round, but improved with every pass of the day, recording a 10.447, a 10.212 and a 10.194, which was “Quickest E.T.” of the Bunch for the day. Tom finished in 3rd place overall and the whole team was really thrilled to be back out racing again and had a great time up at York! |
| WB 36 | Russ Dean was in his debut event with the newly painted black “Fury” slingshot. He put in a couple checkout passes on Saturday, of 12.396 and 11.904, getting familiar with the car, and the whole drag racing procedure, ably assisted by previous owners Clayton and Roy! He dialled in at 11.00 on Sunday, and put in four good straight passes of 11.801, 11.853, a Personal Best E.T. and speed of 11.451 @ 113.10 mph, and 12.052 (with a keen redlight) in the rounds. Russ learned the car pretty quickly and was enjoying the adrenalin rush!! Welcome to the Wild Bunch Russ and the team!! |
| WB 38 | Helen Smythe was in her second event at York with the “Hell's Belle” altered, and she started Saturday with a checkout pass of 13.997. She followed this with runs of 13.569 @ 94.92 mph, 13.265 and 13.825. Helen dialled in at 13.75 for Sunday, and ran a 13.859 in the first round, with a “Best Reaction” of .530. She then recorded runs of 13.182 (a weekend best), 14.414 and 13.716 in the second, third and fourth rounds, and finished in 2nd place overall, the first time she has had a Top 4 finish! Well done, Helen!! |
| WB 72 | Dave ‘Sag’ Southworth was in his second Wild Bunch event this season in his Rear-engine dragster “Daddy Cool”! Dave put in three passes on Saturday, including a 10.371 and a 10.6, but experienced some smoke on his third run, which later investigation showed to be a torched cylinder. The team went home for the evening to see if there were any repairs that could be made, but sadly this put them out for the weekend. Great to see the whole family at the track, running with the Wild Bunch, and hope to see them back out soon! |
| WB 76 | Steve and Lesley Field had brought their altered “The Black Pig” for their second ever trip to York. Steve ran four passes on the Saturday between 11.919 and 11.775 @ 110.46 mph. He dialled in at 11.95 for Sunday, and ran 12.069, 12.117, 12.124 and a stronger 11.932 in the fourth round, to finish in 5th place overall. The team were once again awarded the “Best Altered” Spot Prize for their well-turned out vehicle. |
| WB 80 | was the debut of Mike Davis and Linda Jones in the “Trespasser” slingshot. This had been postponed from the York May Bank Holiday weekend as Linda had been involved in an accident prior to that event. It wasn’t long before they got out there and got stuck in with the newly painted maroon car, as Mike made 2 passes in the RWYB session before the first official Wild Bunch qualifier on the Saturday. He then had 2 further passes, including a Personal Best E.T. and speed of 13.132 @ 103.45 mph, all before 1:00 pm; then the team rested on their laurels for the day. Mike dialled in at 13.20 for Sunday, and ran a 14.318 in the first round. In the second round, the gear linkage came off, and he had to coast to the top end where he was towed off. Mike and crew chief Linda decided to park the car for the day, rather than try to run a one-gear pass, so hope they can fix the gear problem soon and be back out racing. They had a ball in their first ever race event. Welcome to the Wild Bunch Mike and Linda!! |
| WB 109 | Andy Murphy was driving the “B-Sting” altered for the first time at York this year. He started off with a pair of 12.4's on Saturday and ran 4 more passes that day, including a Personal Best E.T. of 12.177 @ 106.99 mph, and another strong 12.221. He dialled in at 12.35 for Sunday, and ran a 12.624 in the first round. He followed this with a 12.569, a 12.667 and a 12.537 in the other rounds to finish in 6th place overall. The whole team won the “Best Appearing Team” Spot Prize, chosen by the commentators and had a good time running 10 passes at York. |
| WB 131 | Paul Harvey was in his first trip to York for many years in the “Mailkey” Rear-engine dragster, which he had recently taken to the London City Airport Drags. He had just installed the new engine and made a couple of checkout passes on Saturday, starting with a half-pass. He then ran a 9.667 @ 142.80 mph and a strong 9.222 @ 141.84 mph, which were the quickest and fastest runs in the Wild Bunch this weekend. He later realised that he had been experiencing some gearbox slippage problems, and took the car home Sunday morning to get home early to start a gearbox rebuild. Well done, Paul, and good luck with that. |
| WB 142 | Mike Cresswell was on his second ever visit to York with the “Living the Dream” slingshot, after having won the event there at the May Bank Holiday. He put in several passes on Saturday, between 11.907 and 11.234 @ 116.90 mph. He dialled in at 11.30 for Sunday and put in a good pass of 11.414 in the first round. Unfortunately, back in the pits, the team realised there had been some engine damage, but only went as far as discovering a smashed spark plug. They then planned to take the car home and disassemble the engine in the garage. Hope the damage isn’t too bad, and that they can be back out racing at the Allstar Nationals at Shakey in a couple weeks’ time! |
| WB 147 | ‘Sizzling’ Sid Slattery was running his beautiful “Destiny” slingshot, and put in a good pass of 11.933 @ 109.35 mph early on Saturday. On returning to the pits the team discovered two holes in the sump, with oil leaking out, and feared the worst. Later investigation revealed a broken timing chain tensioner (which had punched the holes in the sump), so hopefully they do not discover much further damage to the engine when they take it back to the garage. We very much hope they will be able to fix it quickly and be back out racing again soon! Good luck guys! |
| Once again the Wild Bunch had a great time at York and we would especially like to thank Steve Murty, Andrew & Christine Watson, chief starter Des Brown, Angie & Alan Perkins, Marjorie & Richard Lyons, Carl in the tower and all of the many marshals and officials who worked so very hard to make the event a success, and made us feel very welcome as always. We look forward to racing there again next year! Congratulations also to the 5 Junior Dragster drivers who put on a great show and had a lot of fun in their first event at York! Well done boys & girls!
The next event is the “Allstar Nationals”, Round 3 of the Ultimate Power Series (the decider!) at Shakespeare County Raceway, on the Bank Holiday weekend, August 28th –30th. This MSA event will be Wild Bunch Series Round 6 and Real Steel Series Round 9 and should be really exciting close racing with a big field of Wild Bunch! | |