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Yanks American RWYB May 28 - 30
Wild Bunch ResultsSpring Nationals28th - 30th May 2011
Wild Bunch Series Round 1.
Real Steel Series Round 3.
The “Spring Nationals” was the third event of the WB season. It was the first round of the Wild Bunch Series, in our 16th year, and Real Steel Series Round 3, and there was a field of 11 Wild Bunch cars participating: 5 Altereds, 5 Slingshots and a rear-engined dragster.
| Wild Bunch Points | ||||
| Pos | WB | Driver/Team | Car | Points |
| 1 | 6 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | 7 |
| 2 | 25 | Terry Clifford | Ratcatcher Resurrection | 5 |
| 3 | 3 | Adz Price | Go Hard or Go Home | 4 |
| 4 | 11 | Dave Williams | Green With Envy | 3 |
| 5 | 2 | Dave Rowlands | Destinys Angel | 2 |
| - | 17 | Tiki Racing | Tiki Munki | 2 |
| - | 63 | Bex & Haz Preston | Boadicea | 2 |
| - | 74 | Simon Williams | Pure Nostalgia | 2 |
| - | 95 | Mark Richardson | Pony Express | 2 |
| - | 129 | Pedro Rawlinson | The Fleeting Glimpse | 2 |
| 11 | 72 | Sag Southworth | Daddy Cool | 1 |
| Spot Prizes | ||||
| WB | Team/Driver | Car | Detail | |
| Closest To Dial-In | 6 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | 0.034 |
| Best Reaction | 95 | Mark Richardson | Pony Express | 0.035 |
| Best Altered | 11 | Dave Williams | Green With Envy | |
| Best Slingshot | 17 | Tiki Racing | Tiki Munki | |
| Best Appearing Team | 17 | Tiki Racing | Tiki Munki | |
| Best Burnout | 3 | Adz Price | Go Hard or Go Home | |
| The weather forecast was mixed for the weekend and Saturday dawned windy, cloudy and cool. Many of the teams managed to get in 3 or more runs throughout the day, as there was quite a lot of track time. Sunday was similar, with many teams getting in 2 or more runs. We all knew the forecast was rainy for most of Monday, so, after Chris’ suggestion, and a driver's meeting Sunday morning, where the majority agreed, we used the Wild Bunch back up plan of running the first points round late on the Sunday afternoon; with the possibility of carrying on the next day if the weather improved. This proved to be a good plan, as the Bunch completed a round at about 4:30pm Sunday, and Monday dawned with heavy rain, which continued intermittently throughout the morning. By 11am it was evident there would be no more racing that day, and by noon, the officials had called time on the event. So, the Wild Bunch managed to get a result from the one round run on Sunday afternoon. Throughout the weekend 5 drivers ran Personal Best E.T.'s and 7 ran PB Speeds. The winners of the NSRA Prize Draw for team entry for the Nostalgia Nationals were Gina Rumble & Scot Durrant with “Tiki Munki”. The winners of the NSRA Prize Draw for team entry for the Hot Rod Drags were Dave & Linda Williams with “Green with Envy”. Congratulations to them! And thanks to the NSRA! | |
| WB 2 | Warren Rowlands was in his first drive of the season with the Wild Bunch in the “Destiny's Angel” altered, sharing the driving duties this year with his Dad, Dave. Warren's previous best time in the car was a 10.35 at 135mph. He started the weekend in great style with his first ever 9-second pass at new PB's of 9.964 and 137.64mph! Congratulations Warren!! His other pass on Saturday was a 10.095 at 141.12mph, his first time over 140mph! On Sunday morning he ran another PB of 9.797 at 140.26mph, followed by a 9.822 at another best Speed of 141.46mph. For Sunday's round, he dialled in at 9.80, and ran 9.916 at 139.69 mph, with a great .039 Reaction time. Warren finished in 6th place overall. |
| WB 3 | Adam Price was in his third event of the season with the Team Gridlock “Go Hard or Go Home!!!” Topolino altered. Adz started Saturday, with a 9.354 at 133.90mph run. His second pass off the day was a new Personal Best E.T. of 9.202, at 134.72mph. His third run was very consistent to his first, a 9.355 at 133.55mph. He initially had a problem on his last run Saturday, but fired back up again, and bounced back to run another new Personal Best E.T. of 9.185 at 134.34mph! He posted 3 good runs in practice on Sunday of 9.303 at 133.52mph, 9.223 at 134.84mph and 9.294 at 135.86mph, a new Personal Best Speed. The team dialled in at 9.28 for the round, and Adam recorded a 9.239 at 134.88mph, with a great .037 Reaction, to finish in 3rd, just .003 behind 2nd place. He was also awarded the “Best Burnout” Spot Prize by the commentators, for the second event in a row. So the team had another great weekend! Adz is now also in 3rd place in the Real Steel Series. |
| WB 6 | ‘Crazy’ Chris Hartnell was also in his third event of the season, with the “Backdraft” slingshot. He was on equal points to Terry Clifford in the Real Steel Series, though leading by virtue of having a 1st and 4th place, to Terry's 2nd and 3rd places. Chris began Saturday with a squirrely launch, having to back off the wheelie, so posted a 9.624 at a big speed of 148.04mph, and a bit of a sideways moment in the wind at the top end! On his next run Saturday, Chris launched much straighter and improved to an 8.917 at 149.00mph. He recorded another ‘8’ on his third run that day, with an 8.943 at 147.05mph. Sunday's first practice run netted an 8.914 at 149.20mph, and his second pass was even better, an 8.857 at 149.24mph, his best run for 6 years!! Chris and the team dialled in at 8.88 for the round Sunday afternoon, and Chris was chuffed to run an 8.914 at 148.10mph, exactly equal on ET to his first run that day! With this pass, Chris won the event! And also the “Closest to Dial-in” Spot Prize, being just .034 off Dial. He is now leading the Real Steel Series outright, as well as taking the early lead in the Wild Bunch Series. He also leads the APIRA Series and MSA Challenge! |
| WB 11 | saw Dave Williams in his third event of the season with his “Green with Envy” altered. His first run Saturday was an 11.508 at 119.69mph, a good starting point. He followed this with a much better 113.86 at 119.38mph, and then an 11.458 at 120.05mph, very near his best ever speed. On Sunday morning, he posted an 11.447 at 119.72mph, very close to Linda's ‘theoretical’ Dial-in! His next practice pass was an 11.543 at 119.57mph. He and Linda dialled in at 11.44 for the round, and Dave ran an 11.495 at 118.92mph, to finish in 4th place overall, his first Top 4 placing of the year. Dave and Linda were also chuffed to be awarded the “Best Altered” Spot Prize by the commentators! |
| WB 17 | saw Gina Rumble's first drive of the season with the Wild Bunch in the “Tiki Munki” slingshot coupe. Gina made 9 passes over the weekend! She started Saturday with a checkout pass of 16.212 at 75mph, and improved on every run Saturday. She next recorded a 14.915 at 85.53mph, the car's best time and speed with the new coupe body configuration. She then posted a 14.816 at 85.45mph, and later a 14.362 at 88.39mph. On Sunday, her first practice run was a 14.570 at 87.59mph, followed by a run of 14.216 at 89.28mph, new Personal Bests for ET and Speed with the new version of the car, and getting close to her bests run with the full Ruby body in the car's competition altered configuration. Her third pass Sunday was an errant 16.882 at 83.87mph, but she followed this with an improved 14.474 at 87.55mph. She and Scottie dialled her in at 14.35 for the round later that day, and Gina ran a 14.511 at 86.50mph, and finished in 7th place overall. The car looks great in this version (as all its previous versions!) and was awarded the “Best Slingshot” Spot Prize by the commentators. The team were also thrilled when the commentators chose them as the Wild Bunch's “Best Appearing Team”, with Scottie and crew helpers Steve and Lesley Field all sporting cool looking blue Hawaiian shirts, which go really well with the whole team theme! As does their new tow car, a great looking matt black 1953 Chevy! Fair play! |
| WB 25 | Terry Clifford was yet another driver in his third event this year, with the “Ratcatcher Resurrection” slingshot. Terry's first run of the weekend was a 10.598 at 130.90mph, a good solid speed, near his personal best. He followed this with much better runs of 10.274 at 130.99mph and 10.259 at 129.11mph. On Sunday morning, Terry recorded his fastest ever speed with the slingshot, a strong 10.110 at 132.24mph! He later ran a 10.227 at 131.69mph during practice. He and Ruth and the team dialled in at 10.25 for the afternoon round. Terry recorded a 10.212 at 131.11mph, and the last digit was crucial as he finished in 2nd place overall for the weekend, just .004 behind Crazy Chris, and earning his second 2nd place in a row. Real good numbers and consistency again! And a really nice way to celebrate his and Ruth's anniversary during the weekend! Congratulations you two! Terry is now in 2nd place in the Real Steel Series, as well as 2nd in the APIRA Series and 3rd in the MSA Challenge. |
| WB 63 | saw the Wild Bunch debut of Rebecca and Harriet Preston in the “Boadicea” Topolino altered. The sisters took it in turns to drive the bronze-coloured Topo, and put in a grand total of 17 runs over the weekend between them!!! Their previous best prior to this event was a 13.2 at around 100mph. Well, your reporter could not keep up with who was driving when, so I will just list the 16 practice runs in order! 17.280/77.29, 12.250/102.50, 12.568/97.93, 14.921/94.32, 14.763/87.98, 13.888/97.38, 11.757/ 112.67mph (Personal Best ET and Speed), an aborted run, 12.112/110.10, 43(bog)/116.95 (best speed), 13.612/96.05, 14.316/93.45, 14.345/90.07, 11.401/120.30 (new PB ET and speed), 11.463/118.14 and 12.988/104.34. The team dialled in at 11.50 for the round, and Rebecca drove this time. Unfortunately, the car bogged off the line and stalled. Rebecca got it re-fired a couple of times and drove on down the track. Such a shame, but we’re sure they’ll be back out soon having more fun! Welcome to the Wild Bunch Bex and Harry, and Dad Kev and all the crew! |
| WB 72 | we welcomed back Dave ‘Sag’ Southworth and team with the “Daddy Cool” rear-engined dragster. Sag and Elaine had been working hard in recent weeks on the car, and with the kids requesting a new paint job, and doing the prep work, Elaine was hard at work burning the midnight oil spraying the car, in its new colours, which were similar to the original colours on the car: yellow, white, red and black. This time it was complete with a ‘The Fogeys’ logo, one of Elaine's products in her www.coolengineeredart.co.uk business. (The team even gave out some neat pin badges, and stickers and advertising to all the teams participating). Sag also had some modifications to do, including sorting out the fuel pump and catch tray, all of which delayed the team's departure from home. They arrived early on Sunday morning, and set up in the pits and started to prep the dragster. They fired the car up, and there were some problems. On later inspection, there was some bearing damage, which sadly meant that, despite their huge efforts to get to the track, they were unable to run. Such a shame! Well done on all their hard work, and hope to see the whole team back out soon! All the best! |
| WB 74 | was Simon Williams’ first event of the season with the Wild Bunch, with his “Pure Nostalgia” slingshot. Simon had recently run a PB of 9.18 at 149.56 in testing at a RWYB at Santa Pod. Real strong numbers! Simon started off the weekend with a checkout pass of 11.310 at 113.26mph. He later went over a second quicker, with a 10.265 at 137.75mph. He carried on improving, with a run of 9.975 at 144.44mph, and a 9.633 at 143.21mph late on Saturday. His first pass Sunday was a 10.262 at 137.21mph, followed by a much better 9.395 at 147.43mph, his best ever speed at Shakey. Simon and Dad Paul dialled in at 9.40 for the round, and Simon recorded his best ever ET at Shakey of 9.335 at 146.72mph, to finish in 5th place overall. The team were happy with the weekend's progress, and hope to improve again next event. |
| WB 95 | saw the first Wild Bunch event of the season for Mark Richardson in the “Pony Express” altered. Mark made a total of 7 runs over the weekend, beginning with a strong 9.311 at 141.91mph. He later ran very near his personal best ET, with a 9.205 at 143.60mph, a new Personal Best Speed. His third run of the day Saturday was a 9.282 at 142.33mph. Mark made three practice runs on Sunday, beginning with another good 9.237 at 143.36mph. His other runs were a 10.041 at 95mph, and a 9.477 at 137.75mph. Mark and Karen dialled in at 9.25 for Sunday's round, and Mark posted a 9.491 at 141.72mph, and finished in 9th place overall. On this run, he had the “Best Reaction” of the Bunch for the round, with an .035, a very hotly contested Spot Prize this weekend! Well done, Mark! |
| WB 129 | was Pedro Rawlinson's first time out with the Wild Bunch since April 2007. Pedro's car is now a slingshot coupe, sporting a great looking ’32 Ford Vicky body. Pedro had travelled from the Isle of Wight for the event, and is storing his car on the mainland during the season. Pedro had been to a recent test and tune, and had run a 15-second pass. He sat out the day on Saturday, and did some work in the pits. On Sunday morning, he put in a practice run of 14.522 at 98.51mph. His second pass of the day netted a new Personal Best ET and Speed of 14.499 at 103.21mph, which was 3 seconds off the best time he ran with the car in its basic slingshot form. Pedro dialled in at 14.50 for the round, and recorded a 14.701 at 102.74mph, to finish in 8th place overall. Good to see you back, Pedro! |
| Big Congratulations to Chris and team on the win! And to Terry, Adz and Dave for their Top 4 placings. And well done to all the Wild Bunch teams on some more good close racing. Congrats to all those who ran PB's, and put on another great show!
It was a pretty good event, despite the weather, which no doubt had an effect on the size of the field. Many thanks to the marshals and officials and track crew at Shakey for their hard work as always. We are now really looking forward to the second Wild Bunch Series round and fourth Real Steel Series round of 2011 at our “June Shootout” at the ‘Shakey Super Pull’ on June 11th & 12th! Where we hope to see an even bigger field of Wild Bunch! | |