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Nostalgia Nationals June 22 - 23
Wild Bunch ResultsNostalgia Nationals22nd - 23rd June 2013
Wild Bunch Series Round 3.
Real Steel Series Round 5.
Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series Round 1.
The Nostalgia Nationals was the 5th event of the WB season. It was the Round 3 of the Wild Bunch Series, Real Steel Series Round 5 and Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series Round 1. There was a field of x Wild Bunch cars participating: 6 Altereds and 8 Slingshots (1 a Coupe)
| Wild Bunch Points | ||||
| Pos | WB | Driver/Team | Car | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Adz Price | Go Hard or Go Home | 9 |
| 2 | 78 | Keith Crampton | Soultown Shaker | 7 |
| - | 73 | Mike Couch | Flat Frenzy 2 | 7 |
| 4 | 6 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | 5 |
| 5 | 2 | Tom Larman | The Ferret | 4 |
| - | 17 | Team GAS Racing | Tiki Munki | 4 |
| - | 25 | Terry Clifford | Ratcatcher Resurrection | 4 |
| - | 33 | Mark Mills | Xenomorph | 4 |
| - | 35 | Dick Sharp | Dorset Horn | 4 |
| - | 69 | Alan Loten | Paranoia | 4 |
| - | 91 | Bob Hawkins | Timetraveller | 4 |
| 12 | 67 | Darryl Howells | Chemical Reaction | 3 |
| 13 | 39 | John Dalrymple | Slingshot | 2 |
| 14 | 11 | Dave Williams | Green With Envy | 1 |
| Spot Prizes | ||||
| WB | Team/Driver | Car | Detail | |
| Closest To Dial-In | 91 | Bob Hawkins | Timetraveller | 0.007 off |
| Most Improved MPH | 33 | Mark Mills | Xenomorph | 0.007 off |
| Best Altered | 17 | Team GAS Racing | Tiki Munki | |
| Best Slingshot | 73 | Mike Couch | Flat Frenzy 2 | |
| Best Appearing Team | 78 | Keith Crampton | Soultown Shaker | |
| Best Burnout | 1 | Adz Price | Go Hard or Go Home | |
| Most Improved ET | 33 | Mark Mills | Xenomorph | 5.471 better |
| NSRA "Quickest WB Car" | 91 | Bob Hawkins | Timetraveller | 8.113 |
| And of special note was the first fireup at Long Marston for about 40 years of the 1961 Allard Chrysler Dragster, the first dragster in Europe, built by Sydney Allard! And the Wild Bunch has just welcomed the Allard and as an ‘Honorary Lifetime Wild Bunch Member’! The team were shorthanded this weekend, so Mark Coulsell stepped forward to help them with maintaining and running the car. Another highlight of the weekend was seeing former Wild Bunch driver and constant supporter Derek Annable at the track on Saturday for the first time in a couple of years. Derek had driven his Honda Integra all the way from Anglesey to watch the event, and it was great to see him! He was rewarded with seeing another fine performance from the Wild Bunch, who he cheered on vigorously!
Yet another highlight was Saturday night's ‘Ring of Fire’ fireup, where the Wild Bunch were the featured class this year. There was also a tribute to longtime drag racer Vic Hammond, who recently passed away. This began with Fuzzy McKenzie giving a speech, followed by the whole place giving a minute's applause and cheering for Vic, in front of his close family, which we are sure he would have very much appreciated! The Supercharged Outlaws also fired up. Despite a few more spots of rain, which thankfully abated in time, the Ring of Fire took place with the Allard and all the Wild Bunch cars parked diagonally along the track, after the Christmas tree. The fireup was started off by the Allard, which got cackling nicely, and then the 11 assembled Wild Bunch cars joined in, and kept going for a couple of minutes. Great fun! And great to take part in! Testing this weekend was Alan Smith in the Avanti slingshot, who made a couple of runs on Sunday, after having just installed a new cam. Also testing was new member Matt Fuller and team, in their newly-refurbished “Oblivion” funny car which looked great. They ended up running a best ET of 12.3 so well done to them on their debut, and hope to see them out again at Dragstalgia! The weather forecast had been terrible during the week, predicting a total washout, but it was gradually improving as Saturday drew near. So, really, any runs would be a bonus! Saturday turned out to be better than expected, and once the early dampness had dried, the track was open. Again there was a bit of tailwind, varying direction. The track was open for quite a while but then a crash and a heavy oildown caused about 3½ hours of stoppage time. Though some Wild Bunchers got in 3 or even 4 runs! Sunday dawned cloudy and windy again, and we hurried to queue up in the lanes as soon as they were open, as the forecast called for showers. This proved a good move, as there was barely any queue, and we got our first round in about 10:30am! We then queued for a second round about noon, and 2 pairs of Wild Bunch ran and it rained! It got heavier, and everyone else returned to the pits. The wind was on our side though, as when the rain stopped, the track crew started to dry the track and the wind assisted this greatly! So much so that the track was open again around 3:15pm, and the remaining 8 cars got the second round in. There was then time for a third round before the track closed! (Looking back at last year, this was a similar story, as there was heavy rain with the track opening at 3pm, and we got 2 runs in, so an improvement on that!). So we were very lucky with the weather this year! Especially as it rained torrentially about 5:30pm! Throughout the weekend 4 drivers ran Personal Best E.T.'s and 3 ran PB Speeds. Well done to all! | |
| WB 1 | Adam Price was in his 5th event this season in the Team Gridlock 'Go Hard or Go Home!!!' altered. The team had just rebuilt the gearbox and hoped for some good runs. Adam began with an 11.2-second checkout pass. He later ran three more passes of 9.38, 9.42 and 9.33. Wife Lorraine was performing admirable backup girl duties in a nice nostalgia-style dress and pony tail. And on the evening, Mum Val was the fireup driver for the 'Ring of Fire'. Great to see Val in her first fireup! The team then dialled in at 9.39 for Sunday, and Adam began with a 9.467 at 143.21mph in the first round. He then recorded a 9.473 at 142.70mph in the second. He then ran much closer in the third, with a 9.398 at 143.42mph, and won the event! His first win of the year! And he was also awarded the 'Best Burnout' Spot Prize by the commentators. Adam is now in equal 2nd place in the Wild Bunch and 2nd place in the Real Steel Series and is, of course, leading the Roy Wilding Series. |
| WB 2 | Tom Larman was back in the hotseat of 'The Ferret' altered for his 3rd event of the season. Tom made several runs Saturday, including a 10.550 at 123.54mph and a 10.536 at 122.42mph. Tom's son Craig was the fireup driver for the evening's 'Ring of Fire' and he really enjoyed this! The team dialled in at 10.55 on Sunday. Tom recorded a 10.451 at 122.53mph in the first round and a closer 10.530 at 122.44mph in the second. He went even quicker in the third, running against teammate Mark Mills, and posted a 10.438 at 122.67mph, finishing in 5th place overall for the weekend. Tom now shares equal 2nd place in the Wild Bunch Series with Adam. So close! |
| WB 6 | Chris Hartnell and team were raring to go for their 5th event of the season in the 'Backdraft' slingshot and had brought Chris' '64 Suburban up to use as push car for the weekend. Chris only made one run on Saturday, and recorded a wheelying 8.887 at 150.52mph. For the 'Ring of Fire' on the evening, Chris was pushed into place on the track next to the Allard by the team. They all thoroughly enjoyed the experience! On Sunday morning, the team dialled in at 8.88. On Chris' first run, he rolled forward just after staging but still took the green and posted a 9.017 at 150.29mph. He then ran a closer 8.952 at 149.21mph in the second round and an even closer 8.867 at 150.08mph in the third round, and finished in 4th place for the event. He is now in 4th place in the Wild Bunch Series and 3rd place in the Real Steel Series. |
| WB 11 | saw Dave Williams in his second event of the season with his and Linda's 'Green with Envy' altered. He made three good runs on Saturday, beginning with an 11.283 at 118.64mph, followed by a better 11.181 at 118.97mph. He then ran a new Personal Best ET of 11.017 at 119.82mph. He also took part in the evening's 'Ring of Fire'. Sunday morning, he and Linda dialled in at 11.16. They then fired the car up but something was amiss. On checking, they saw that the electrode was completely broken off of one spark plug. So they could not take part in the rounds. Later investigation with a camera showed that at least one piston was badly damaged. And back home a strip down also found block damage. Commiserations to Dave and Linda on this, and hope they will be able to rebuild and be back out with the Bunch as soon as they can. Best of luck to them!! |
| WB 17 | Gina Durrant was in the hotseat for her 3rd event of the season in the 'Tiki Munki' slingshot coupe. She made 3 runs on Saturday, starting with a 13.00 and improving to a 12.916 at 102.49mph, and then running a new Personal Best ET of 12.818 at 101mph. Scottie and Gina were using their Chevy as push and tow car for the weekend, and Scottie pushed Gina into place for the 'Ring of Fire' fireup on the Saturday night. Gina dialled in at 12.94 on Sunday morning. She started the day with a 13.090 at 101.63mph. She ran quicker in the second round, posting a 12.987 at 102.30mph, and followed this with a 13.147 at 101.68mph. Gina finished in 8th place overall. She and Scottie were really surprised to be awarded the 'Best Altered' Spot Prize by the commentators! |
| WB 25 | was the fifth Wild Bunch drive this year for Terry Clifford in the 'Ratcatcher Resurrection' slingshot. Terry made a few passes on Saturday, including identical ET's of 9.122 at 152.68mph, a new Personal Best Speed, and 9.122 at 153.21mph, another PB Speed! And so consistent! Terry was towed into place for the 'Ring of Fire' by the family's 60's Falcon, which they were using as tow car all weekend. (And both Andrew and Rachael had enjoyed making numerous runs in it during the RWYB racing on the Friday afternoon!). Terry dialled in at 9.15 for Sunday, and began well with a 9.109 at 151.41mph, his second quickest run ever. On the second round, he was one of the first to run after the long break, and he had quite a hairy run, snaking down the track to a 10.686 at 94.80mph. His third round run was much better, a 9.214 at 150.40mph. He finished in 10th place overall for the weekend. |
| WB 33 | Mark Mills was in his second event of the year in his new 'Xenomorph' altered. He had had the engine out since the Yanks Weekend, and was hoping to build on his debut event. His only run Saturday was a new Personal Best ET and Speed of 12.212 at 107.55mph. He took part in the 'Ring of Fire' on the evening and really enjoyed that! The team dialled in at 10.30 for Sunday, hoping to get somewhere near this by the end of the day. His first round run was another PB ET and Speed of 11.349 at111.98mph. More tuning ensued, and his next run produced another improvement, to a 10.066 at 138.08mph. But he wasn't finished there, as some more adjustments before the third round meant he recorded an impressive 9.125 at 154.14mph! Which ultimately earned him the 'Most Improved ET' trophy with an overall improvement of 5.471 seconds, as well as the 'Most Improved MPH' trophy, with a betterment of 101.39mph!! Congratulations to Mark and the whole team!! |
| WB 35 | saw Dick Sharp back with the Bunch in the 'Dorset Horn' altered for his 4th event of the year. He made 4 runs on Saturday! He did not record a time for the first run, as he left before the tree ran, and again there was no time for the second. His third run netted a 9.59 at 141mph, and his fourth an even better 9.488 at 142.25mph, getting near his best. Dick also took part in the evening's 'Ring of Fire' lineup. The team dialled in at 9.50 for Sunday, and Dick had a bit of a wayward launch and ran a 10.072 at 139.15mph. His next run was much better, with a 9.593 at 140.98mph. He then posted a 9.833 at 141.07mph in the third round and finished in 9th place overall. |
| WB 39 | John Dalrymple was in his third Wild Bunch event with his slingshot. He had built a new engine since the last event, as there had been comprehensive damage to the last motor (the cracked timing cover had been just the start of the damage!). He made at least one checkout pass Saturday, including a 12.212 at 107.55mph. He took part in his first ever 'Ring of Fire' lineup on the Saturday evening and enjoyed the experience. The team dialled in at 12.00 even for the rounds on Sunday. John's first round pass was a 12.384 at 107.55mph (an identical speed to the previous day!). He was one of the racers who was caught in the rain shower waiting for the second round. The slingshot has been for sale for a couple of events, and in between rounds, John actually sold it! So he did not take part in the later rounds. Best of luck to John and the team and hope we see them back in the Bunch soon with a new car! |
| WB 67 | saw Darryl Howells in his 4th event with the Wild Bunch this season in his 'Chemical Reaction' slingshot. The car has been suffering with gremlins for a few events, and Darryl and friends made some changes to the fuel system to set up to what it was when it last ran well. Darryl made one run Saturday of 11.7seconds, and then had to shut down in the fireup road on another attempted run. The team had to miss the 'Ring of Fire' as they were working on the car to try and sort the problems and made some more changes to the settings. Darryl dialled in at 9.99 for Sunday and his first run was a 12.872 at 101.87mph. The team made another change to the pill but the car ran slower, with a 14.489 at 91.33mph. So they decided to call it a day, and make more investigations back home. Sure hope they can fix this quickly and we soon see Darryl back on 9-second form! |
| WB 69 | Alan Loten was in his 4th Wild Bunch event of the season in his 'Paranoia' altered. The team had had a drop in performance at the last event, and hoped to solve this problem. In between events, they had sorted a new gear selector and installed this, and were keen to see how the car would run. The first run of the weekend netted a 10.1, and another run Saturday was a 10.110 at 129.75mph, so still somewhat off the normal pace. The team were working on the car o the evening, trying to cure the problems, so were unable to make it to the 'Ring of Fire'. Alan and Steve dialled in at 10.20 for Sunday, and Alan's first round run was a 10.459 at 127.01mph. He then ran slightly quicker, with a 10.316 at 126.24mph in the second round, and got near to Dial in the third, with a 10.209 at 127.84mph. He finished in 6th place overall. Hope the team can trace the source of the problem soon and be back in the 9's. |
| WB 73 | Mike Couch was in his first full event with Wild Bunch this year in his new 'Flat Frenzy 2' slingshot, after some testing at the last event, where he had set a flathead record. He reset this record on Saturday with a 10.0-second personal best pass. He then dialled in at 10.05 for Sunday's runs. His first round run was an excellent 10.079 at 134.97mph, to move him straight into the Number 1 spot at that point. He then ran another Personal Best ET and speed and new flathead record of 10.008 at 135.59mph! So close to that 9! His third round run was a 10.193 at 134.48mph. Mike finished in equal 2nd place overall for the event, and was really chuffed with the car's performance! He was also awarded the 'Best Slingshot' Spot Prize by the commentators. Fair play! |
| WB 78 | was Keith Crampton's 5th event of the year with the Bunch, with his 'Soultown Shaker' slingshot. He was again assisted by the Marras who joined in the crew and wore the nice white Castrol overalls Keith had for his team members. Keith made 3 runs on Saturday, including an 11.11, an 11.29 and an 11.12. Keith took part in the 'Ring of Fire', and the car was seen complete with disco mirror ball in the fireup road on the way to the fireup. Keith dialled in at 11.13 on Sunday. His first pass was a good 11.071 at 117.22mph. He then recorded an 11.193 at 118.63mph in the second round. Keith then ran his quickest of the weekend, an 11.038 at 117.53mph, and finished in equal 2nd place! Keith and the team were awarded the 'Best Appearing Team' Spot Prize by the commentators for the well turned out team. Keith has now taken the lead in the Wild Bunch Series and consolidated his lead in the Real Steel Series. Well done, Keith! |
| WB 91 | Bob Hawkins was in his 4th event of the season with the Wild Bunch in his 'Time Traveller' slingshot. He started Saturday off with an 8.531 at 158.12mph. He then went quicker and quicker with an 8.278 at 167.26mph and an 8.113 at 162.19mph, which earned him the NSRA trophy for 'Quickest Wild Bunch Car of the event'. Bob took part in the 'Ring of Fire' lineup on the Saturday night. He and Tom dialled in at 8.18 for Sunday's rounds. Bob began the day with an 8.355 at 162.14mph in the first round. His second round pass was an 8.398 at 159.64mph. He then posted the Wild Bunch 'Closest to Dial-in' of 8.173 at 165.26mph, just .007 off Dial. He finished in 7th place overall for the weekend. Bob is now in 4th place in the Real Steel Series. |
| Congratulations to Adam and the whole of Team Gridlock, on their first win of the year! This was accompanied by £50 prize money, courtesy of Roy Wilding, for each event winner in his Series. Many thanks to Roy for this kind contribution! And congrats to Mike, Keith and Chris for their Top 4 places. Well done to all the Wild Bunch on more close racing, with well-presented cars and teams. Huge thanks to all the marshals, officials, fire and track crews at Shakey for their hard work and for their perseverance, on Saturday to clean up the long oil down and on Sunday to dry the track, which then enabled us to complete 3 rounds of racing! Many thanks to all!
We are now really looking forward to the fourth Wild Bunch Series round, sixth Real Steel Series round and second Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series round of 2013, at the third annual “Dragstalgia” event at Santa Pod on 13th & 14th July! We are sure to see a really big field of Wild Bunch for that one!! Can’t wait!! | |