2007 Index
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Yanks American Weekend June 2 - 3
June Shootout2nd - 3rd JunePoints awarded for the Wild Bunch Series Round 2 and Real Steel Series Round 4
This event was the “June Shootout” RWYB at Shakespeare County, and it was the second round of the Wild Bunch Series, as well as Real Steel Series Round 4. There was a good field of 14 Wild Bunch cars participating: 6 Altereds, 5 Slingshots, 2 Rear-engine dragsters and 1 Radical
| Event Participants | ||||
| Position | WB | Driver | Car | Points |
| 1 | 4 | Joe Stevens | Back in Black | 10 |
| 2 | 52 | Ant Harris | Frantic | 8 |
| 3 | 1 | Tony Smith | The Cunning Plan | 7 |
| 4 | 6 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | 6 |
| 5 | 9 | Dogs Bollocks Racing | RamRaider | 5 |
| - | 17 | Gina Rumble | Tiki Munki | 5 |
| - | 40 | Darren Law | The Wicked Lady | 5 |
| - | 47 | Liam Maltby | Vauxhall Funny Car | 5 |
| - | 57 | Neil Ward | Andromeda | 5 |
| 10 | 67 | Darryl Howells | Chemical Reaction II | 4 |
| - | 83 | Neil Witney | Monster Magic | 4 |
| 12 | 95 | Mark Richardson | Pony Express | 3 |
| 13 | 7 | Roy Wilding | Hemi Hunter | 2 |
| 14 | 76 | Steve Field | The Black Pig | 1 |
| Spot Prizes | ||||
| WB | Team/Driver | Car | Detail | |
| Closest To Dial-In | 52 | Ant Harris | Frantic | .003 Off |
| Best Altered | 95 | Mark Richardson | Pony Express | |
| Best Slingshot | 6 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | |
| Best Burnout | 52 | Ant Harris | Frantic | |
| Best Engineered | 95 | Mark Richardson | Pony Express | |
| Joint Driver's Choice | 17 | Gina Rumble | Tiki Munki | |
| Joint Driver's Choice | 67 | Darryl Howells | Chemical Reaction | |
| Saturday The day started off bright and warm, and remained that way for most of the day. This was a practice day and many drivers got in 4 or more runs, some even 6 or 7! Sunday (Series Points Day) Sunday's weather was about the same as Saturday, but a bit warmer and more overcast, but no sign of rain! And with quite a lot of track time, we were able to complete all 4 rounds. | |
| WB 1 | saw Tony Smith with an early lead in the Wild Bunch Series with The Cunning Plan minivan altered. Tony made 5 passes on the Saturday, including an 11.507 and an 11.473. He then took the minivan body off the altered, and ran a new Personal Best E.T. of 10.976 @ 118.33 mph! His first time ever in the 10's! Fair play Tony! He then tried to back this up, and recorded an 11.175. He put the body back on for one more testing run, and ran an 11.435 @ 113.06. Tony dialled in at 11.50 for the rounds on Sunday. He went quicker than Dial-in in the first three rounds, posting 11.487, 11.440 and 11.434, and then recorded a great 11.504 in the fourth round, just .004 off his Dial-in, to finish in 3rd place overall. And Tony still remains in the lead of the Wild Bunch Series. |
| WB 4 | Joe Stevens was in his second Wild Bunch event of 2007 with his blown Back in Black altered. He made a few passes Saturday, including an 8.690 @ 152 mph and a new Personal Best E.T. of 8.67! Joe dialled in at 8.69 for the rounds on Sunday, and started with a strong 8.681 at a new Personal Best Speed of 152.98 mph. He then posted another PB of 8.656 in the second round, and another really close 8.696 in the third, just .006 off Dial. He finished the day with an 8.700, again just one hundredth off his Dial. All four runs on Sunday were over 152 mph, and he was never further than .034 off Dial, and this consistency earned him the event win! |
| WB 6 | ‘Crazy’ Chris Hartnell was still tuning the Backdraft slingshot to its new axle and tyres. He was also learning the ropes with the transbrake, to improve the launches. On Saturday, he put in four runs, beginning with an overfuelled 10.742 @ 118 mph. He made a change for the second run and recorded a 10.279 @ 126 mph. He then found form again, and posted a 9.605 @ 136.58 mph and a 9.621 @ 135 mph, with both runs showing a return to the car's wheelying launches! Chris dialled in at 9.60 for Sunday, and began the day with a 9.701. He then posted a nearer 9.580 @ 135.53 mph in the second round. He then ran a 9.714 in the third round and a 9.642 in the fourth and finished in 4th place overall for the weekend. Chris also won the Best Slingshot Spot Prize, chosen by the commentators, and was really chuffed with his weekend, and starting to get a good handle on the tuneup. Chris is still leading the Real Steel Series after this event! |
| WB 7 | Roy Wilding was back for the first time in a couple of years, in his Hemi Hunter blown slingshot. Roy made a couple of checkout passes on the Saturday, including an 8.9 @ 154 mph and an 8.7 @ 155 mph. Roy dialled in at 8.78 for the rounds on Sunday, and put in a great 8.748 @ 156.59 mph in the first round. He sat out the second round, doing routine maintenance but joined in again for the third round. He performed a strong burnout, but noticed something untoward, and had to pull over to the side of the track. This was a shame as he was paired up with ‘Crazy’ Chris and it would have been good to see them run together again! Roy then had to sit out the rest of the day, but had been pleased with his testing, and glad to be back in the beautifully-turned out slingshot again! |
| WB 9 | saw Ray Ford taking his first turn of the year in a Wild Bunch event in the RamRaider slingshot of Team Dog's B's. He started Saturday with a good 9.3 second pass, and then put in a new Personal Best E.T. of 9.119 @ 145.52 mph. He then recorded another PB of 9.051 @ 147.15 mph, getting ever closer to that first magic 8! He experienced a slight problem with the revs on his fourth burnout, and did not make the run, but the team soon had this cured. Ray dialled in at 9.05 for the rounds on Sunday, and posted a 9.161 in his first pass of the day. He then put in another solid 9.156, but unfortunately redlit in the third round, and recorded a 9.284. he came back on form in the fourth round with a 9.191 @ 145 mph, and had a great weekend driving the car again! Fair play to all the team as the slingshot has been running really well again this season! |
| WB 17 | saw the second Wild Bunch event of the year for Gina Rumble and Scottie Durrant's Tiki Munki Pinto-powered altered. Gina had been at a recent test and tune in between events and had made about 18 runs! And got down into the high 14-second bracket! Gina was raring to go again, and on Saturday recorded yet another new Personal Best E.T. on her first pass, a 14.735! She also put in runs of 14.91 and 14.96, and Scottie dialled her in at 14.90 for Sunday's rounds. Gina started really well again, putting in a good pass of 14.743 @ 88.28 mph in the first round. She ran well again in the second, with a 14.746. There was a slight problem on the start line in the third round, and Gina got distracted on the leave, and posted a 15.026. But she got right back into it in the fourth round, with a 14.802 at a new Personal Best Speed of 88.32 mph! Gina finished in 5th place overall for the weekend and was the joint winner of the Driver's Choice Spot Prize voted for by all the driver's attending the event! Fair play, Gina! |
| WB 40 | saw the fourth WB event of the season for Darren Law in The Wicked Lady rear-engined dragster. Darren made 3 runs Saturday, starting with a 10.549 @ 127.14 mph. The team then found their form on the next two runs, recording consistent passes of 9.814 @ 138.18 mph, and 9.81 also at 138 mph, not far off Darren's best times! They dialled in at 9.81 on Sunday, and Darren started really well with a 9.833 @ 136.70 mph. He then posted runs of 9.983 @ 136.75 mph in the second round, then a 10.145 and a 10.090 in the third and fourth rounds. Darren finished in 7th place overall. Congratulations to him and the whole team on getting back into the 9's! |
| WB 47 | Liam Maltby was still doing some tuning with his Vauxhall-bodied comp altered, Still Shovin’ It. He posted a few runs Saturday, varying from a 12-second pass to a 15-second pass, with some minor problems. He dialled in at 14.50 for the rounds, and started the day with a better 13.983 at a new Personal Best Speed of 113.12 mph. He then recorded a 14.822 in the second round and a 14.063 in the third, before having a problem in the fourth round and pulling over and not recording a time. Hope he can get a handle on the nicely-painted funny car soon, and get rid of the gremlins! |
| WB 52 | was Ant Harris, in the Frantic Topolino altered. He made six passes on the Saturday, with most of them being PB's! He started off with a Personal Best E.T. and Speed of 9.701 @ 138.90 mph, and followed this with a 10.049 at another PB speed of 139.14 mph. He then dropped the E.T. even lower to a 9.633, before shaving off another thousandth with a 9.632! His fifth run of the day was even better when he recorded new time and speed PB's again, with a 9.527 @ 140.21 mph, his first time over 140 mph! Ant and the team dialled in at 9.60 for Sunday, and started well, with a 9.636 @ 138.69 mph in the first round. In the second round he recorded the Closest to Dial-in of the Bunch with a 9.603 @ 139.59 mph, just .003 off his Dial. He then posted good runs of 9.560 and 9.654 in the third and fourth rounds, and was never further than .054 off his Dial-in. With his consistent performance, Ant finished in 2nd place overall for the event, and also won the Best Burnout Spot Prize for his smoky burnouts. |
| WB 57 | Neil Ward was back with his crew for some more tuning in the Andromeda slingshot. He began the weekend with a 9.4 and dropped down into the 8's on one run on Saturday. The team dialled in at 8.99 for Sunday, and Neil started off with a solid 9.034 @ 150.03 mph. He then recorded a slower 9.211 @ 148.49 mph, but came back strong in the third round with an 8.963 @ 150.63 mph! He ended the day with a 9.353 @ 147 mph, and finished in 6th place overall. Still some more testing to do, but the team were reasonably happy with their weekend! |
| WB 67 | Darryl Howells was another driver in his fourth WB event of the year in his Chemical Reaction slingshot. He started Saturday very well with a new Personal Best E.T. of 10.321, and followed this with an excellent PB of 10.042 @ 134.23 mph, getting even closer to that magic 9! He dialled in at 10.20 for the rounds, and started off with a solid 10.271 @ 132.46 mph. He then put in runs of 10.309 and 10.179 in the second and third rounds, but unfortunately had to sit out the fourth round as his engine was still very hot. Such a shame! Darryl was very pleased with the car's performance though, and to top it off, he was the joint winner of the Driver's Choice Spot Prize. Fair cushtie! |
| WB 76 | Steve Field was in his second appearance of the season in The Black Pig altered. He made a couple of runs on Saturday, including a 10.202 @ 135.07 mph, but unfortunately dropped a valve, and was forced to sit out the rest of the weekend. He's sure to have that fixed soon and be back out raring to get back into the 9's! |
| WB 83 | saw the Wild Bunch debut of Neil Witney in the Monster Magic rear-engined dragster. He had been at a test and tune at the end of last year, and got the car down into the 12's. He improved on this on one of Saturday's runs, recording a Personal Best E.T. of 11.8. He dialled in at 12.00 even for Sunday. In the first round, he posted a 12.793 @ 104.83 mph, which he followed with a 12.884 in the second round. Sadly something broke on the car in the third round, and Neil had to sideline it on the run. Hopefully he can fix the breakage quickly and be back out next month! |
| WB 95 | saw the second Wild Bunch outing of Mark Richardson with the canopied Pony Express altered. Mark made a few runs on Saturday, beginning with a new Personal Best E.T. of 10.089 @ 129.39 mph. He then recorded another PB with a 9.719 at a new best speed of 137.54 mph, his first time in the 9's! He followed this with yet another PB in the 9.6's! Mark and crewchief Karen dialled in at 9.60 for the rounds on Sunday, and he put in an off-pace 10.407 in the first round. He bounced right back recording another PB of 9.633 @ 137.38 mph in the second round, not far off the Dial. Unfortunately, he then had a problem and had to miss the last two rounds. But there were more surprises on an already good weekend, when he won the Best Altered Spot Prize, chosen by the commentator, and the Best Engineered award, chosen by the scrutineer! Well done Mark! Also at the track, testing and tuning was another ex-Wicked Lady crew member, Dave Rowlands, who had bought Bernie's Destiny's Angel, and ran down into the 9's at over 140 mph! Dave will be running with the Bunch at the next event! |
| It had been a really good event where we were really lucky with the weather, as the forecast had predicted loads of rain! We also had a lot of track time! Thanks very much to all the hard working marshals and officials for their efforts. And to all at the track for their hard work and progress with some improvements which are taking place. Thanks also to Jerry Cookson for his organisation and hard work behind the scenes. Well done and thanks to you all! It's much appreciated!
We are now really looking forward to the Summer Nationals MSA event at Santa Pod Raceway! This will be Real Steel Series Round 5 and Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series Round 2. | |