2004 Index
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Ultimate Power Series Excitement Nationals May 1 - 3
2004 Excitement Nationals1st May - 3rd MayNo Points were awarded for this event for the Ultimate Power and Real Steel Championships as racing on competition day was rained off
The first Ultimate Power Series event of 2004, the “Excitement Nationals”, was also our Real Steel Series Round 2. There was a field of 9 Wild Bunch cars competing at this 3-day Bank Holiday weekend: 4 Altereds, 4 Slingshots and 1 Radical.
| Event Participants | ||||
| Pos | WB | Driver | Car | Points |
| - | 3 | Joe Stevens | Back in Black | - |
| - | 4 | Tony Smith | The Cunning Plan | - |
| - | 6 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | - |
| - | 20 | Mark Coulsell | Limited Funz | - |
| - | 29 | Tony Wynne-Jones | Welsh Raider II | - |
| - | 34 | Alec Coe | Shy Torque | - |
| - | 38 | Helen Smythe | Hell's Belle | - |
| - | 109 | Andy Murphy | B-Sting | - |
| - | 142 | Mike Cresswell | Living the Dream | - |
| Spot Prizes | ||||
| WB | Team/Driver | Car | Detail | |
| #1 Qualifier | 3 | Joe Stevens | Back In Black | .070 Off |
| Best Reaction | 38 | Helen Smythe | Hell's Belle | .103 |
| Closest To Dial-In | 3 | Joe Stevens | Back In Black | .070 Off |
| Closest Runner-Up | (Not Awarded As Eliminations Were Rained Off) | |||
| Best Altered | 109 | Andrew Murphy | B-Sting | |
| Best Slingshot | 6 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | |
| Best Radical/Dragster | 29 | Tony Wynne-Jones | Welsh Raider II | |
| Quickest E.T. | 6 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | 9.177 |
| Best Appearing Team | 109 | Team B-Sting | B-Sting | |
| Driver's Choice | (Pending Tie-Breaking Vote) | |||
| Saturday This was a qualifying day and there were scheduled to be 3 qualifying rounds. Unfortunately the day had started off damp, and despite the best efforts of the track crew to get the track in a go condition, there was more rain mid-morning, and then again early afternoon, so qualifying was rained off for the whole day. Sunday started off very cloudy, and there was still a lot of wet around. After a lot more hard work from the marshals and officials, the track was ready and prepped and qualifying started at quarter to 12, and luckily there was a fair bit of sunshine around until the close of the day at 5:00pm. In the 1st round of qualifying, all 9 drivers took part. Monday started off with yet more heavy rain, so things did not look too good for the elimination rounds. There were 8 Wild Bunch cars qualified for the race: Joe was due to face Helen, Tony Smith was paired up with Mike, Tony Wynne-Jones had drawn Alec, and Andrew was matched up with Chris. The rain kept falling, and the track nearly dried by noon when there was another huge downpour. Fair play to all the hardworking marshals and officials though, as they worked on drying the track again, and it opened for eliminations at twenty past three in the afternoon! We had our slot in the running order, and almost all of us waited, half packed up, on tenterhooks for our first round, but unfortunately the curfew came before we got the chance to run. It was very disappointing that we did not get to run eliminations after all the build-up, but the rain had badly affected the weekend and we effectively lost 2/3rd's of the event to weather. It now means that 8 Wild Bunch racers are in equal 1st place in the Real Steel Series on just 2 points each!! | |
| WB 3 | Joe Stevens carded a very strong 10.470 @ 127.53 mph opener on an 10.40 Dial-in in his Back in Black altered, which was eventually to earn him the #1 Qualifier Spot, as well as Closest to Dial-in Spot Prize. |
| WB 4 | Tony Smith had changed the diff in The Cunning Plan Minivan altered on Saturday (in Mark Coulsell's new ‘garage’ trailer!), and ran a strong 11.871 on an 11.60 Dial, establishing himself firmly in the 11-second bracket already this season, and qualifying in 3rd place. |
| WB 6 | Chris Hartnell had now added a weight box under the nose cone to control those wild wheelies, and also added a smart wing above the front axle to give added stability. He also adjusted the fuel settings and still pulled a steady wheelie off the launch on his way to running a brilliant Personal Best E.T. of 9.177 @ 139.28 mph!! Chris had dialled in at an optimistic 9.20, so broke out, qualifying in 8th place. He and the team didn’t mind breaking out at all and took home the Quickest E.T. and Best Slingshot Spot Prizes for this great effort!! Chris was also presented with the 2003 Ultimate Power Series Runner-up trophy on Sunday after racing. |
| WB 20 | was Mark Coulsell's first appearance of the year, in the Limited Funz slingshot. He spent time in the rainy pits Saturday, sorting out his gearbox, after having had to spend time at home preparing his lovely new luxury camper (which turned out to be a great retreat from the weekend's weather!). He took the slingshot to the startline, but unfortunately had some carb problems and could not keep the car running, so sadly missed out on putting in a qualifying pass. |
| WB 29 | Tony Wynne-Jones was running in his Welsh Raider II Radical Corvette and posted an 11.60 Dial-in, and went out and recorded an 11.785, qualifying in 2nd place, and proving that he was also solidly in the 11-second bracket this year. Tony once again won the Best Radical/Dragster Spot Prize for the third event in a row, a very good start to the season! |
| WB 34 | Alec Coe had hoped to repeat the improved top end speeds he posted at the last event in the Shy Torque slingshot. He Dialled in at 11.10, but had some misfiring problems and recorded a 12.505 Dial-in, qualifying n 6th place overall. There was some consolation for Alec when he received his 1st place trophy for the 2003 Ultimate Power Series Championship on Sunday evening! |
| WB 38 | Helen Smythe was running in her first MSA event in the Hell's Belle altered. She Dialled in at 12.75, and recorded a 13.275, to qualify in 5th place for the event. Helen also posted the Best Reaction of .103 [on a .000 perfect RT] and showed that she is quick off the lights already! WB 109 Andy Murphy was back for the first time in over a year in the B-Sting altered and Dialled in at 12.00. He recorded his Personal Best E.T. of 12.400, right off the bat, and qualified in 4th place, for a good start to his racing season. The team also won the Best Altered and Best Appearing Team Spot Prizes so will be really pleased with that! WB 142 Mike Cresswell was doing his final licensing pass in the Living the Dream slingshot and Dialled in at 12.20. He bogged off the line, and put in a pass of 25.285 @ 107.11 mph, his best speed to date, and qualified 7th. He succeeded in getting his license signed, so congratulations to Mike on that! After the whole first cycle of qualifying had been completed, there was no time left for another full qualifying round, so sadly that was it for the day. |
| Thanks to all the efforts of the hard working marshals and officials, who did try to get the event going, despite the rain. We appreciate their efforts!! We are now looking forward to some close racing at the second round of the Ultimate Power Series in June!! In the meantime, we have the Classic American Nationals on May 15th & 16th and the first round of the year at York on 30th & 31st May, which should be great fun! Hope to see loads of you there!! | |