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UK Northern Nationals August 4 - 5
York Summer Showdown4th - 5th AugustPoints awarded for the Wild Bunch Series Round 5, Real Steel Series Round 8 and Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series Round 3.
This event was the Summer Showdown at York Dragway, and it was the Round 5 of the Wild Bunch Series, as well as Real Steel Series Round 8, and Round 3 of the Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series. There was a good field of 10 Wild Bunch cars participating: 4 Altereds, 5 Slingshots and 1 Rear-engine dragster
| Event Participants | ||||
| Position | WB | Driver | Car | Points |
| 1 | 3 | Andy Murphy | B-Sting | 10 |
| 2 | 1 | Tony Smith | The Cunning Plan | 8 |
| 3 | 67 | Darryl Howells | Chemical Reaction II | 7 |
| 4 | 17 | Gina Rumble | Tiki Munki | 6 |
| 5 | 6 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | 5 |
| - | 52 | Ant Harris | Frantic | 5 |
| - | 147 | Sid Slattery | Destiny | 5 |
| 8 | 25 | Terry Clifford | Ratcatcher Resurrection | 4 |
| 9 | 72 | Sag Southworth | Daddy Cool | 3 |
| 10 | 16 | Mark Hartnell | Awesome 4-Some | 1 |
| Saturday The day started off warm and somewhat cloudy, and remained that way for most of the day. This was mostly a practice day and many drivers got in 4 or more runs. Due to the predicted inclement weather on the Sunday, there was a proposal to Dial-in and run the first of the four Series rounds late on Saturday afternoon, and then complete the other 3 on the Sunday if weather allowed, in order to get a definite result. (As there had been two rainoffs in a row at the last two events). The vast majority of the teams voted in favour of this proposal, and after teams had had three or four practice runs, Dial-ins were taken, and the first round was held at about quarter to 5. Sunday (Series Points Day) Sunday's weather was a huge surprise as the day dawned with not a cloud in the sky and no sign of rain! And it stayed that way for much of the day, although it clouded over mid-afternoon. We were able to complete the remaining 3 Series rounds. | |
| WB 1 | saw Tony Smith still in the lead of the Wild Bunch Series with Dave in The Cunning Plan minivan altered. They had travelled the furthest of the Bunch, notching up around 285 miles on the journey. Crewchief Dave and crew Linda had just been married the Saturday before, so were still on their honeymoon! That's dedication for you!! Many congratulations to them from all of the Bunch! On the Saturday, Tony made 4 passes without the minivan body on. These included an 11.754 @ 99 mph, and 11.522 @ a good 114.72 mph, an 11.871, and an 11.599. Tony and Dave dialled in at 11.63 for the Series rounds. Tony's first round netted a promising 11.609 @ 97.62 mph. On the Sunday, Tony recorded passes of 11.426, his best run of the weekend at that point, 11.711 and 11.737, and finished in 2nd place overall. Tony also won the Best Burnout Spot Prize for his well-smoky burnouts! Fair play! Tony later put in a flat out pass of 11.386, just for fun! And Tony and Dave still remain in the lead of the Wild Bunch Series, keeping their title hopes alive once more! |
| WB 3 | Andy Murphy was the driver of the B-Sting altered this weekend. He began Saturday with a good pass of 10.363 @ 121.16 mph. He made three more practice runs during the day, including a one-wheel smoking 11.948 and an 11.169! The team spent a great deal of time deliberating the Dial-in, as the runs had been so varied, but finally settled on a 10.60. In the first round on Saturday, Andy ran a 10.513, with a Best Reaction of .603, so not bad for starters! The second round on Sunday netted a great Closest to Dial-in of 10.601, just a thousandth off Dial! The third run strayed a bit with a 10.758, but a 10.617 @ 122.72 mph in the fourth brought the average right back down again, and Andy won the event! So the Dial-in deliberations paid off! The team were also thrilled to win the Best Appearing Team as chosen by the commentator! So they had a great weekend overall, and leapfrogged up into 3rd place in the Wild Bunch Series, a great result! |
| WB 6 | ‘Crazy’ Chris Hartnell had hopes of some straight runs in the Backdraft slingshot, and had been looking forward to racing at York. He started off really well with a great wheelie on his first run Saturday, where he recorded a straight and promising 9.699 @ 132.62 mph, second quickest of the Bunch over the weekend. He put in two more practice runs on the Saturday, with a wayward 11.367, having to back off on the launch, and a better 10.008 on the next run. Chris dialled in at 9.80 for the rounds. Unfortunately he also had to back off after the launch in the first round and recorded an 11.432 @ 119 mph. He did improve on each round thereafter, and recorded a 10.164, a 9.986 and a 9.915 @ 132.80 mph and finished in 7th place overall for the weekend. Chris is still second in the Real Steel Series after this event, and equal 4th in the Wild Bunch Series. |
| WB 16 | saw the first Wild Bunch event of the year for young Mark Hartnell in his Awesome 4-Some slingshot. He’d had a very delayed start to the season, as he’d had a new block machined, heads ported, diff rebuilt, half-shafts repaired, installed a water system, upgraded the carbs to 45 Dellortos, and made several other modifications and improvements to say the least!! He had towed his car for the first time to a race event, some 230 miles, and was raring to go, to see what the car could run! He started Saturday with a checkout pass of 15.374 @ 69.33 mph, and the car had launched really well. But there had been a problem with a sticking clutch. On his second run, Mark slowed to a 19.439 @ 40 mph, as the clutch ended up disintegrating, putting him out of action for the rest of the weekend! Such a shame after all his months of hard work! Mark still remained philosophical, and was pleased to have been able to make the event in the first place! Good luck with that rebuild, Mark! |
| WB 17 | saw the fifth Wild Bunch event of the year for Gina Rumble in the Tiki Munki Pinto-powered altered, and it was Gina and Scottie's first ever trip to York. Gina was planning a checkout pass for her first run Saturday, and recorded a good 15.400 @ 84.96 mph, and making an all-Pinto lineup on the run, paired with Mark Hartnell. She then put in 4 more practice runs of 15.178 @ 87.37 mph, near her best speed, 15.498, 15.178 (again!) and a great 15.0 second pass. Gina dialled in at 15.17 for the rounds, and was slightly disappointed with a 15.552 in the first round Saturday. She promptly improved on this on the second round, recording a solid 15.111 @ 84.63 mph. She then posted runs of 15.008, her best of the weekend, and 15.042 to finish in 4th place overall for the weekend, her first ever Top 4 finish! Congratulations, Gina! This means Gina is now in equal 4th place in the Wild Bunch Series, and she and Scottie are very pleased with that on their first season with the car! |
| WB 25 | saw the first ever event at York for Terry Clifford with his Ratcatcher Resurrection slingshot. Terry had been looking forward to racing at York and made the 265 mile trip with wife and crew Ruth. He made 3 practice runs Saturday, starting with a solid 10.636 @ 120 mph, not far off his best ever time! On hi second pass, Terry recorded a new Personal Best E.T. of 10.615 @ 122.13 mph! Well done, Terry! He later posted a 10.8-second pass. Terry dialled in at 10.65 for the rounds, and put in a 10.844 @ 121 mph to open his account. He was hugely disappointed in the second round, when the car just would not start, and he could not make the run. The problem was soon diagnosed (!) and Terry came back out strong in the third round, with a 10.624, followed by another good 10.673, just .026 and .023 off his Dial-in. Such a shame he did not make the second round, as he may well have been in the Top 4! There was some consolation though, as the car was awarded the Best Slingshot Spot Prize by the commentator. Terry and Ruth were pleased with their weekend, and enjoyed racing at York! |
| WB 52 | saw Ant Harris, still in second place in the Wild Bunch Series with the Frantic Topolino altered. He made four practice passes on the Saturday, starting with a 9.795 @ 137 mph. He then ran a 10.087 @ 118 mph, and the team were doing some testing. This resulted in a strong 9.576 @ 139.90 mph, not far off Ant's best time. The next run was even better, with another 9.5 at a new Personal Best Speed of 141.7 mph! Which proved to be the top speed for the Bunch for the weekend, with the 9.5 being low E.T. Well, done, Ant, a great performance! The team spent a while discussing the Dial-in, and came up with a 9.59. This proved to be a good choice as in the first round, Ant recorded a great 9.598 @ 138 mph, to lead the Bunch after the first round. The car wandered a little in the next rounds, recording passes of 9.891, 10.019 and 9.832, and Ant finished the event in 5th place overall. He and the team were really chuffed to be awarded the Best Altered Spot Prize by the commentator for the car's strong performance throughout the weekend. Ant remains in 2nd place in the Wild Bunch Series, with just one event left to go! |
| WB 67 | Darryl Howells had brought the DASH Chemical Reaction slingshot to York for the first ever time. Darryl had driven RamRaider I at York some years ago, recording a good 10.3, and he was really keen to see what Chemical Reaction would run. He started Saturday with a checkout pass of 10.745 @ 122.12 mph. He then recorded practice runs of 10.708 and 10.489 @ 133.04 mph, second fastest of the Bunch over the weekend, before he and Sarah dialled in at 10.48. On the first round, Darryl posted a 10.740 @ 132.74 mph. In the second round on Sunday, he improved, with a 10.523 @ 130 mph. He was still reasonably close with a 10.584 in the third round, and even closer in the fourth round, where he recorded his best run of the weekend, with a 10.438. Darryl finished in 3rd place overall for the event, and was really chuffed to gain a Top 4 placing! Well worth the trip, as Darryl increased his lead in the Real Steel Series, and moved up into equal 4th place in the Wild Bunch Series, sharing the spot with Chris and Gina! Darryl also increased his lead in the Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series, with just one event to go, so the season is shaping up very nicely for him, in his first year with the new chassis! |
| WB 72 | Sag Southworth was a welcome addition, in his first Wild Bunch appearance of the season in his Daddy Cool rear-engined dragster. He had installed a new injector hat since last year, and was hoping for some better runs. He arrived late morning on the Saturday, so only had time for a couple of practice runs, including a checkout 12.754 @ 61 mph. Sag dialled in at an optimistic 9.90 for the Series rounds. There was disappointment for the family on the first round, as the car just would not start, so they had to return to the pits. By Sunday morning, they had developed another method for starting, and Sag made the round with a promising 10.153 @ 134.34 mph, with no stumble of the engine in the latter part of the run, as with the old carb! In the third round, Sag put in an even better 10.016 @ 137.03 mph, very near his best speed. The whole team were pleased with this one, and hoped for a 9-second pass on the next round. This unfortunately was not to be, as a bolt broke on the blower, sidelining the dragster for the rest of the event. Such a shame, as we were all rooting for them to run a PB! Hopefully next year!! It was great to see them all again, and we hope to see more of them next season! |
| WB 147 | saw the third Wild Bunch appearance of 2007 for Sid Slattery with the Destiny slingshot. Sid and the team had discovered some teething troubles and hopefully cured them, so were hopeful of some good runs. Sid made three practice passes on Saturday including an 11.1 @ 118 mph and a 10.856 @ 113 mph, his first time back in the 10's for some time! The team dialled in at an optimistic 10.8 for the rounds, and a slight problem caused a drop in performance to an 11.350. They diagnosed the problem and fixed it, and in the second round, Sid recorded his best pass for years, with a solid 10.655 @ 119 mph, near his best time! Well done to Sid and the team! In the third round, Sid posted another good run of 10.684 @ 124.29 mph, very close to his best ever speed! Unfortunately a gremlin spoiled the party in the fourth round, and Sid ran an 11.472, to finish in 6th place overall. The team had looked very smart and professional in their new uniforms, and were thrilled with the car's return to form! Well done to them all! They really enjoyed the weekend! |
| It had been a really good event where we were finally lucky with the weather, as the forecast had predicted heavy rain Sunday! Many thanks to all of the hard working marshals and officials and to all at the PDRC for making us so welcome and donating prize money! Special thanks to Des, Alan, Angie, Marjorie, Abbie, Dave, Reg, Carol, Graham, Jaime and Carl! Thanks to Steve Murty for his hard work and CJ Murty for his extra efforts with track prep. Thanks also to SNS Racing and Roy Wilding for prize money; the combined sum of all the prize money was shared between all the participating drivers, who greatly appreciated it!
We are now really looking forward to the Open Sports Nationals MSA event at Shakespeare County! This will be Real Steel Series Round 9 and the Final of the Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series! | |