2004 Index
Select another 2004 event
York Spring Shootout May 30 - 31
2004 York Spring Shootout30 May - 31 MayPoints awarded for Wild Bunch Series Round 3, Real Steel Series Round 4 and Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series Round 1
This weekend was a RWYB event, the “York Spring Shootout”. It was Wild Bunch Series Round 3 as well as Real Steel Series Round 4 and Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series Round 1 and there were Spot Prizes. We had a field of 14 Wild Bunch cars, including: 5 Slingshots, 6 Altereds, 2 Rear-engine dragster and 1 Radical
| Event Participants | ||||
| Position | WB | Driver | Car | Pts |
| 1 | 142 | Mike Cresswell | Living the Dream | 10 |
| 2 | 6 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | 8 |
| 3 | 76 | Steven Field | The Black Pig | 7 |
| 4 | 4 | Tony Smith | The Cunning Plan | 6 |
| 5 | 34 | Alec Coe | Shy Torque | 5 |
| - | 72 | Dave Southworth | Daddy Cool | 5 |
| - | 87 | Julian Meakins | Claustrophobic | 5 |
| - | 109 | Andy Murphy | B-Sting | 5 |
| 9 | 38 | Helen Smythe | Hell's Belle | 3 |
| - | 50 | Clayton Round | Rebel | 3 |
| 11 | 3 | Joe Stevens | Back in Black | 2 |
| - | 29 | Tony Wynne-Jones | Welsh Raider 2 | 2 |
| 13 | 89 | Terry Meakins | Luvly Jubly | 1 |
| - | 147 | Sid Slattery | Destiny | 1 |
| Spot Prizes | ||||
| WB | Team/Driver | Car | Detail | |
| Best Reaction | 34 | Alec Coe | Shy Torque | .597 |
| Closest To Dial-In | 109 | Paul Croston | B-Sting | .005 Off |
| Quickest E.T. | 6 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | 9.733 |
| Fastest Mph | 6 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | 133.19 Mph |
| Best Altered | 89 | Terry Meakins | Luvvly Jubbly | |
| Best Slingshot | 6 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | |
| Best Dragster/Radical | 72 | Dave Southworth | Daddy Cool | |
| Best Appearing Team | 6 | C&C Drag Racing Team | Backdraft | |
| Sunday was a practice day and the weather was good and most of the Wild Bunch racers managed to get in 4 runs! Monday's weather was good too, and we completed 4 rounds! We welcomed 2 more new teams into the Wild Bunch, WB 87, Julian Meakins with the “Claustrophobic” Rear-engine dragster, (previously Chris & Clayton Round's “Longshot”) and his Dad, WB 89, Terry Meakins with the “Luvvly Jubbly” Reliant-bodied altered (previously “Firecracker”). [Unfortunately Mike Davies and Linda Jones, who were due to debut the “Trespasser” slingshot (ex-Tony Wynne Jones, and ex-Darryl Howell's “Wheels of Fortune”) did not make it to the track. The week before, Linda had an accident and received some injuries that meant she couldn’t race. We all send our best wishes and hope she gets well soon! They were very much missed, and we look forward to meeting them at the August event in York.] The Wild Bunch put on a good show at the event and had a lot of fun. Two racers ran Personal Best E.T.'s this weekend and there was some close competition! | |
| WB 3 | Joe Stevens was running in his “Back in Black” altered, hoping to put in some more strong passes after his recent low 10's at Shakespeare County. He put in a couple of passes on Sunday, but had some starter motor problems, and then Dialled in at 10.70 for Monday. He ran well in the first round, with a 10.774 @ 126.76 mph, but unfortunately had more problems with the starter motor which put him out for the rest of the day. Hope he can get that sorted soon! |
| WB 4 | Tony Smith ran some variable runs on the Sunday, with a 12.294, 12.559, a strong 11.956 @ 109.38 mph, and a 12.732. He dialled in at 12.20 on Monday, and ran a great 11.826 for starters in the first round. He followed this with a 12.697, back in the 11's with an 11.946, and then off the pace again with a 12.826. He finished in 4th place overall, so fair play to him!! |
| WB 6 | “Crazy” Chris Hartnell started off with a steady pass of 9.989 @ 132.87 mph on the Sunday, and followed this with runs of 9.821, 9.768 and 9.841, and dialled in at 9.75 for Monday. In the first round, he recorded a great 9.759, just 9 thousandths off his Dial, at a “Fastest MPH” for Monday for the Bunch of 133.19 mph. In the second round he carded a “Quickest E.T.” of the Bunch, at 9.733, still fairly close to his Dial-in. He then posted a 9.802 and a 9.737 in the 3rd and 4th rounds to finish in 2nd place overall. Chris also won the “Best Slingshot” Spot Prize and the whole team were awarded the “Best Appearing Team” by the commentary tower team, so they were really chuffed with the weekend and enjoyed racing at York! |
| WB 29 | Tony Wynne-Jones arrived Sunday night with his “Welsh Raider 2” Radical and dialled in blind at 11.60. In Round 1 he had a really strong launch and ran through to a 12.125 @ 109.08, but unfortunately the end of the prop shaft and the pinion broke at the top end and exited into the field, accompanied by a big ‘bang’, which sadly put him out for the rest of the day. Hope Tony can get that fixed soon and be back out racing! |
| WB 34 | was Alec Coe in the Mad R's “Shy Torque” slingshot. He made 4 runs on the Sunday, including a strong 10.833 @ 122.56 mph and an 11.174, and dialled in at 10.80, as the track promised better for the Monday. He put in passes of 11.123, 11.089 (with a “Best Reaction” of .597), 11.177 and 11.179, all at 119 or 120 mph. There were a couple of problems with misfires, but Alec and Kev and the whole team had a great time up at York! |
| WB 38 | Helen Smythe was in her first event at York with the “Hell's Belle” altered, and the first round saw Helen putting in a checkout pass of 15.435 @ 79.29 mph. She followed this with strong runs of 13.186, 13.239 and 13.356, all at 99 mph. On this last run, Helen had quite a hairy ride with all four wheels off the ground near the top end, and she and Dean suspected there was something wrong with the prop shaft so took some time out to investigate the problem. Helen dialled in at 15.00 for Monday, and the team spent the morning checking out the prop shaft and back end and re-assembling it. Helen joined in on the third round and put in a very creditable 14.550 checkout pass, followed by an improving 14.384 @ 85.64 mph, getting rid of the gremlins. Well done to the whole team which this weekend included Helen's Mum Christine and two new ‘smaller’ members of the team, who, although they didn’t contribute much in the way of mechanical advice, did provide good moral support! |
| WB 50 | Clayton Round was back in his Buick-powered “Rebel” slingshot, having some fun and advertising the car for sale. He put in three passes on Sunday and Dialled in at 10.60 for Monday. He recorded a good 10.665 @ 117.12 mph in the first round which looked promising, but on the second round, the engine unfortunately let go at the top end, recording a 12.257! What rotten luck for Clayton! We hope he can get this fixed quickly, along with the engine in his Big Bad Blown Altered, and be back out racing real soon!! |
| WB 72 | We welcomed back Dave ‘Sag’ Southworth in his Rear-engine dragster “Daddy Cool”! Dave arrived Sunday night and dialled in blind at an even 10.00 seconds. In the first round, he put in an 11.341, followed by an 11.072. He then adjusted the jets on the carb and ran a much stronger 10.640, followed by an even better 10.404 @ 115.76 mph. Sag won the “Best Radical/Dragster” Spot Prize for his efforts, and it was a pleasure to have him back racing with the Wild Bunch! Hope to see him back in August, running more low 10's! |
| WB 76 | Steve and Lesley Field had brought their “The Black Pig” altered to York for the first time and the car was soon right at home there (on the pig farm!). Steve started off with a checkout pass of 13.386, and by the fourth run of the day had lowered this to an 11.766. He dialled in at 11.90 for Monday, and ran 11.999, 12.125, a Personal Best E.T. of 11.577 @ 112.71 mph, and another strong 11.599 in the fourth round, to finish in 3rd place overall. Steve would like to thank his whole team, especially John, for all their hard work and efforts over the weekend, and getting the car sorted. |
| WB 87 | was newcomer Julian Meakins in the “Claustrophobic” Rear-engine dragster. He put in 3 passes on Sunday, including a 14.205, still getting used to the car. He dialled in at 13.70 Monday, and ran improving runs of 13.502, 13.180, 13.251 and a weekend's best of 13.174. Julian and the team had a great time at York, getting familiar with the track and car. Welcome to the Wild Bunch Julian! |
| WB 89 | was another ‘newcomer’, Julian's Dad, Terry Meakins, with the “Luvvly Jubbly” altered. Terry has just retired from racing drag bikes and taken up 4-wheel pursuits! He put in 3 passes on Sunday including a 13.637 and a 12.949 @ 98.80 mph, getting familiar with the car. He decided to sit out the day on Monday, as there were a few things that needed adjusting on the car and its setup. Terry won the “Best Altered” Spot Prize for his Reliant-bodied yellow and red-flamed altered! Welcome to the Wild Bunch to Terry and all the “Cushtie Racing” Team! |
| WB 109 | Paul Croston, Team Manager, made a welcome return to driving the “B-Sting” altered! We’d say he hasn’t lost his touch! He started off with a 12.704 on Sunday and ran 3 more passes that day, including a 12.496 and a 12.578 @ 101.98 mph. He dialled in at 12.40 for Monday, and promptly went out and ran a 12.406! He followed this with a 12.395, just 5 thousandths off for the “Closest to Dial-in” of the Bunch. He then ran a great Personal Best E.T. of 12.222 @ 103.72 mph, but performed off the pace with a 13.175 on the fourth run. It's just like riding a bike for Paul, almost as if he’d never had a year off!! |
| WB 142 | Mike Cresswell was another driver on his first visit to York and he put in runs of 12.548, 11.838 and 12.359, plus another on Sunday. His Monday Dial-in was 11.80, and he started the first round with a 12.048, but improved on the second with an 11.357 @ 99.38 mph. He then ran closer to his Dial-in with an 11.976 and an 11.826, and had his first ever event win with the Wild Bunch!! Many congratulations to Mike and the team! Fair play! They really enjoyed their weekend at York! |
| WB 147 | Sid Slattery had done the almost impossible by installing a new motor in his “Destiny” slingshot, after the sad demise of the previous engine at the Classic American Nationals. Fair play to him and the whole team for this achievement, and especially to Sheena for all her support! Sid spent the morning Sunday making some more adjustments to the car and tuning the engine. His first pass of the day was good but produced a ticket with incorrect statistics, as the mph did not give a reading, and the E.T. was not consistent with the run. The same was true of the second ticket. On this run, Sid had a very hairy moment as some oil leaked out and covered his visor, and the car drifted towards the field. Sid managed to control the car and the engine kept running til the top end, so the engine was still intact. The team parked the car after this to diagnose the problem, so hope they will sort it soon and be back out racing again! |
| The Wild Bunch had a great time at York and we would especially like to thank Steve Murty, Andrew Watson, Des Brown, Angie Perkins and all of the many marshals and officials who worked so hard to make the event a success, and made us feel very welcome. We look forward to racing there again in August!
The next event is the “Power Nationals”, Round 2 of the Ultimate Power Series, at Shakespeare County Raceway, on June 12th & 13th. This MSA event will be Real Steel Series Round 5 and should be really exciting close racing! | |