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Sportsman/National Finals October 2 - 3

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2004 Fall Nationals/Sportsman Finals2 October - 3 OctoberPoints awarded for Wild Bunch Series and Real Steel Series Final Rounds

1st - 4th PLACES NOT AWARDED DUE TO RAINOFF; Spot Prizes based on qualifying statisticsThis weekend was our second MSA event at Santa Pod Raceway this season, the Sportsman Finals, which were our “Fall Nationals”. It was also our Wild Bunch Series Round 7 (Final Round and Title decider) and Real Steel Series Round 10 (Final Round). There was a field of 12 Wild Bunch cars competing this weekend: 4 Altereds, 5 Slingshots, 1 Rear-engine dragster and 2 Radicals

Event Participants
Position	WB	Driver	Car	Pts
-	3	Joe Stevens	Back in Black	1
-	4	Tony Smith	The Cunning Plan	1
-	6	Chris Hartnell	Backdraft	1
-	20	Mark Coulsell	Limited Funz	1
-	29	Tony Wynne-Jones	Welsh Raider 2	1
-	34	Alec Coe	Shy Torque	1
-	38	Helen Smythe	Hell's Belle	1
-	40	Darren Law	Wicked Lady	1
-	60	Andrew Gibb	Witchcraft/Little Old Opel	1
-	67	Darryl Howells	Chemical Reaction	1
-	109	Andy Murphy	B-Sting	1
-	142	Mike Cresswell	Living the Dream	1

Spot Prizes
	WB	Team/Driver	Car	Detail
#1 Qualifier	34	Alec Coe	Shy Torque	.052 Off
Best Reaction	6	Chris Hartnell	Backdraft	.055
Closest To Dial-In	34	Alec Coe	Shy Torque	.052 Off
Closest Runner-Up	Not Awarded, No Eliminations Due To Rainoff
Closest Break-Out	40	Darren Law	The Wicked Lady	-.163
Best Altered	38	Helen Smythe	Hell's Belle
Best Slingshot	20	Mark Coulsell	Limited Funz
Best Radical/Dragster	40	Darren Law	The Wicked Lady
Best Appearing Team	6	C & C Drag Racing Team	Backdraft
Driver's Choice	67	Darryl Howells	Chemical Reaction

Saturday was a qualifying day and there were scheduled to be 3 qualifying rounds. The day started off cool and cloudy after rain the night before and the track crew were out early drying the strip. Our first round of qualifying was at about 1:00 pm, and 11 drivers took part in this. There was a problem with the computer setup for our class, and the drivers were given a Sportsman tree instead of a Pro Tree, so there were a few red lights in this round! There was also a really strong headwind at the time, so many of the drivers were down on their usual times.
WB 3	Joe Stevens was currently second in both the Wild Bunch and Real Steel Series by only 1 point, and was hoping to improve! He dialled in at 10.24 in the “Back in Black” altered and recorded a 10.478 @ 130.40 mph for his opening bid, and this ended up qualifying him in 4th place.
WB 4	Tony Smith was leading both Series ahead of Joe with “The Cunning Plan” Minivan altered, and hoping to repeat the PB's he’d had at Shakey at the Hot Rod Drags. He carded an 11.699 on an 11.50 Dial-in for his first qualifier, putting him in 3rd place on the ladder.
WB 6	‘Crazy’ Chris Hartnell had now fixed some of the gremlins he’d had since the installation of the new Chevy motor, and Dialled in at a hopeful 8.80, not wanting to break out. Chris ran a very strong wheels-up pass of 9.228 @ 142.40 mph, his best run since way back in May. He recorded the “Best Reaction” on the Sportsman tree of .055. The run was Low E.T. and high speed of the Bunch for the day and he qualified in 8th place overall. The team also took away the “Best Appearing Team” Spot Prize, awarded by the commentary team.
WB 20	Mark Coulsell was in his first Santa Pod event this year in the “Limited Funz” slingshot. He Dialled in at 10.50 for the first round and posted a 10.841 @ 119.37 mph and qualified in 5th spot. Mark won the “Best Slingshot” Spot Prize, awarded by the commentators, for his blue and silver machine.
WB 29	Tony Wynne-Jones was running in his “Welsh Raider II” Radical Corvette, fresh from some Personal Bests at the Hot Rod Drags. He dialled in at 11.25 and ran an 11.732 @ 114.47 mph, to qualify in 9th position.
WB 34	Alec Coe was back in the “Shy Torque” slingshot and dialled in at 10.25 for the first round, and recorded a good 10.302 @ 130.38 mph, which turned out to be the “Closest to Dial-in” for the day. This also made him the “#1 Qualifier”. Well done, Alec!!
WB 38	Helen Smythe was in her first MSA event at Santa Pod with the “Hell's Belle” altered. She dialled in at 12.82, and posted a 13.245 @ 95.32 mph, somewhat slowed by the wind. She qualified in 7th place with this run and was awarded the “Best Altered” Spot Prize by the commentary team. Helen was really chuffed with this as it was her first of the year!!
WB 40	Darren Law and the team had given “The Wicked Lady” Rear-engine dragster a gorgeous new paint job, a really wicked-looking dark green sparkly paint, which really shone when the sun did come out! Darren dialled in at 9.85, hoping to pick up where he left off at the ‘Mini Nationals’. He went out and ran a new Personal Best E.T. of 9.687 @ 126.69 mph, the only PB and breakout of the session, earning him the “Closest Breakout” Spot Prize, with .163 under Dial. Darren was also awarded the “Best Dragster/Radical” Spot Prize by the commentary team, a unanimous decision for such a beautifully turned out car!
WB 60	Andrew Gibb was running the “Lil’ Old Opel” Radical. He Dialled in at 12.20 and posted a good 12.307, into the wind, putting him in second place overall for qualifying, a good performance.
WB 67	Darryl Howells was in his first Santa Pod event with the “Chemical Reaction” slingshot. He had fixed the broken halfshaft from the Hot Rod Drags and was raring to go again. He dialled in at 11.35 and carded a 12.328, qualifying in 10th, and hoped to tune up the carb for the next run. Darryl was awarded the “Driver's Choice” Spot Prize, voted for by all the drivers attending! Fair play, Darryl!
WB 109	Andy Murphy was back in the “B-Sting” altered, hoping to break into the 11's with the car as team manager Paul had done at the last event. He Dialled in at a conservative 12.20 for starters, and posted a 12.564 @ 106.19 mph, qualifying in 6th place overall.
WB 142	Mike Cresswell was in his first event at Santa Pod in the “Living the Dream” slingshot. He had trouble starting the car early Saturday, and this later turned out to be a battery problem. Unfortunately, he did not make the first round of qualifying, and therefore was unable to record a qualifying pass.
After more classes had qualifiers, rain started about 2:30 and the track crew worked hard to get the track ready to complete the first cycle and start the second. They tried for a few hours but the day turned cold and the track did not dry, so the second qualifier was postponed til morning. Sunday began cold and cloudy, and the start was again delayed by a wet track. There was the promise of a second qualifier (we were due to be last on the order) and we all towed down in anticipation, as the track was nearly ready after an oildown clearup was completed. It then started to drizzle, and we were sent back to the pits, and told everyone would go straight into eliminations once it was dry enough. 11 Wild Bunch cars had qualified for the race and there were due to be 5 good races and a Bye for Alec Coe in the first round. But after about an hour of constant rain, the organisers had to take the decision to rain the day off, as the forecast was still bad. (It never did really stop that day, so it was a great shame that the weather spoilt the party!). It was a good event, even though the weather stopped play. Thanks once again to all the hard working marshals and officials for all their efforts and thanks to everyone at Santa Pod for making us so welcome! We just have one more event this season, the “Halloween Showdown” at Shakey on October 30th & 31st. There will be fun-themed Spot Prizes at this event, crew dressing up, and a real party atmosphere as we go into the off-season! Tony Smith has won the Wild Bunch Series for 2004, as well as the Real Steel Series, so many congratulations to him! We’re now looking forward to the Wild Bunch Prize Presentation at Drayton Manor on 27th November - should be another really great night! Hope to see you there!