Fall Nationals - Wild Bunch

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Fall Nationals at National Finals September 20 - 21

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Wild Bunch ResultsNational Finals20th - 21st September 2014 Wild Bunch Series Round 5. Real Steel Series Round 9. MSA Points Challenge 5.

The 'Fall Nationals' at the UK National Finals was the 9th event of the WB season. It was Wild Bunch Series Round 5 (Final), Real Steel Series Round 9 (Final) and the 5th round of the Springbridge MSA Challenge (Final). There was a field of 8 Wild Bunch cars: 2 Altereds, 4 Slingshots, a Rear-engined dragster and a Funny Car.

Wild Bunch Points
Pos	WB	Driver/Team	Car	Points
1	91	Bob Hawkins	Timetraveller II	9
2	1	Adz Price	Go Hard or Go Home	7
3	40	Sean Law	The Wicked Lady	5
4	3	Keith Crampton	Soultown Shaker	4
5	45	Phil James	Rampage	2
-	101	Steve East	Ellies in Trouble Now	2
-	109	Team 'B-Sting'	B-Sting	2
8	68	Mick Gleadow	Jurassic Parts	1

MSA Points
Pos	WB	Driver/Team	Car	Points
1	91	Bob Hawkins	Timetraveller II	530
2	1	Adz Price	Go Hard or Go Home	410
3	40	Sean Law	The Wicked Lady	250
4	3	Keith Crampton	Soultown Shaker	240
5	45	Phil James	Rampage	160
6	101	Steve East	Ellies in Trouble Now	120
7	109	Team 'B-Sting'	B-Sting	110
8	68	Mick Gleadow	Jurassic Parts	10

Spot Prizes
	WB	Team/Driver	Car	Detail
Closest To Dial-In	1	Adz Price	Go Hard or Go Home	0.015 off
Best Reaction	1	Adz Price	Go Hard or Go Home	0.037
Best Appearing Team	1	Team Gridlock	Go Hard or Go Home
#1 Qualifier	1	Adz Price	Go Hard or Go Home	0.013 off
Best Appearing Car	101	Steve East	Ellies in Trouble Now

Qualifying Saturday This was a qualifying day and there were scheduled to be 3 rounds. The 8 teams competing at the event hoped the weather was going to allow an exciting finale! We were 12th on the running order. Saturdays weather began foggy, but this cleared and the track opened on time and an hour's racing took place before some drizzle. The crew worked hard and re-opened the track about an hour and a half later. It was fairly cloudy most of the day, but remained dry and we got our first qualifier around 2pm. We later got a second qualifier around 5pm. 7 of the teams safely qualified.
WB 1	Adam Price was back in the 'Go Hard or Go Home!!!' altered for his sixth event of the season, and keen to see if he could make it 'four in a row' for Wild Bunch Series wins!! The team had been at the test day on the Friday and had 3 consistent runs in the low 9's. Adam and the team dialled in at 9.08 for the first round, and Adam recorded a great 9.093 at 148.09mph to start the day. The team lowered the Dial slightly for the second round, to 9.07, and Adam broke out with a strong 9.045 at 148.09mph again. He qualified #1 with his first round pass.
WB 3	Keith Crampton was back out with his 'Soul Town Shaker' slingshot for his ninth Wild Bunch event of the season! His first year competing at all events. He was ably assisted by the Marras and Marra girls again this weekend. He started off with a Dial-in of 11.04, and posted an 11.194 at 115.54mph in the first round. He raised this Dial on the second qualifier, and ran a breakout 11.061 at 116.71mph. He qualified in 4th place overall for the event with his first run.
WB 40	Sean Law was in his sixth Wild Bunch event of the season with the team's 'The Wicked Lady' rear-engined dragster. Sean matched up with Adam and began the day with a Dial-in of 9.13 and posted a strong 9.093 at 146.71mph, an identical ET to Adam (!) for his first qualifier. The team lowered the Dial to 9.08 for the second round and Sean recorded a 9.204 at 147.13mph to qualify in 3rd place overall with this run.
WB 45	Phil James was also in his sixth Wild Bunch event of the season in his 'Rampage' Funny Car. Along with son Carl, he had another new crewman for help. He began the weekend with a Dial-in of 9.35 and recorded a 9.410 at 139.92mph for starters. He raised the Dial slightly to 9.38 for his next pass, and posted a breakout 9.346 at 139.84mph. He qualified in 2nd place with his first round run.
WB 68	Mick Gleadow arrived for his third Wild Bunch event of the season with his 'Jurassic Parts' slingshot. He had recently run PB's in the low 10's at Dragstalgia. He still needed to complete 2 observed runs for his MSA licence, so the first was a planned 1000ft pass with the chute out. Mick did not set a Dial-in, so it defaulted to 20-seconds. He had some trouble with misting up, so did not get lined up entirely straight, though still recorded a good ¾ pass of 11.535 at 90.15mph with the chute pulled safely. He then had to complete a full pass for his next run and he ran a solid 10.336 at 128.08mph. Unfortunately he did not get his licence signed off, as the race director wanted to see another full pass, so he did not make the qualifying field. However, the next morning he was able to make another run after the Wild Bunch first round, and was very pleased to be granted his licence. Well done, Mick! He has some interesting plans for the off-season, so we look forward to seeing him run well again regularly next season!
WB 91	Bob Hawkins was in his ninth Wild Bunch event of the season with his 'Time Traveller II' slingshot. He had taken part in another 'fire burnout' at the Cacklefest at the previous weekend's Hot Rod Drags at Shakey in his 'Time Traveller I' slingshot. At that event crew members Tom Hawkins and Dave Williams both had runs in the car, making several passes in the low 9's. Bob dialled in at 7.25 for the first qualifying round and ran a 7.409 at 179.25mph for starters. The team raised this Dial-in to 7.35 for the second round and Bob broke out with a strong 7.307 at 180.64mph! He qualified in 5th place overall for the event.
WB 101	Steven East was in his fifth Wild Bunch event of the year in his 'Ellie's in Trouble Now' slingshot. He was delayed by traffic early Saturday, so did not arrive until late morning, with son Joshua. They set up their pits, and went to watch the first Wild Bunch qualifier. They then went to scrutineering, where a problem with the steering box was detected. Several Wild Bunch drivers and crews pitched in to help (it was 'all hands on deck'!) and they rectified this, and Steven passed scrutineering. There was then a rush to get ready in time for the second qualifier, but the team just made it, dialling in at 10.20. The car bogged off the line, but Steven made the pass, recording a 19.676 at 129.93mph, which would have been a mid-10. Steven safely qualified in 6th place overall.
WB 109	Andrew Murphy was back in the 'B-Sting' altered for the team's fifth event of the season. He had run consistently at the Friday test day. The team dialled in at 10.10 for the opening round. Andrew recorded a breakout run, of 10.070 at 134.13mph, very near his best speed. The team lowered the Dial-in to 10.06 for the second round, and Andrew posted another breakout, a 10.045 at 132.99mph, near his best ever time. He qualified in 7th place for the event with the second run.
Race Day Sunday (Eliminations) Sunday dawned cloudy and fairly mild, and it remained dry all day! The track opened around 9:30am and we completed all 3 rounds of racing. There were some exciting moments with loads of breakouts and close Series-deciding races right down to the wire in the Final! Quarter-Finals 7 of the Wild Bunch cars had qualified for eliminations, so there were due to be 3 good races and a Bye in the first round, which took place around 2pm. On this round, it was Adam who had the #1 Qualifier Bye. He recorded a 9.013 at 148.08mph on his 9.04 Dial-in, with a Wild Bunch 'Best Reaction' of .037, to advance to the Semis. One of the crucial races of the round was Keith against Andrew, with Andrew still in the running for the Wild Bunch title. Keith opted for an 11.02 Dial-in and Andrew a 10.04. Well, a great race, as both drivers broke out, with Keith posting a 10.977 at 116.44mph, to take the victory with a lesser breakout! Meanwhile, Andrew recorded his first ever 9-second pass, a 9.985 at 132.17mph! Congratulations to Andrew and team on this ahcievement! This result, along with Adam's first round win, meant that Adam is now the 2014 Wild Bunch Series winner, so many Congratulations to him and the whole team on another win!! Another good race of the round was Sean versus Steven. Sean and team chose a 9.10 Dial-in whilst Steven went for a 10.20. Sean had a big starting line advantage and slowed to a 9.361 at 110.72mph to take the win over Steven's 10.475 at 133.33mph. There was some consolation for the latter, as Steven was awarded the 'Best Appearing Car' Spot Prize by the commentators. The third race of the round saw Phil versus Bob, and this was crucial for the Real Steel Series, as to keep his hopes alive, Bob would need to win. Phil dialled in at 9.32 and Bob at 7.30. It was another exciting race, with both drivers breaking out, but Bob by just one thousandth, with a 7.299 at 180.57mph, taking the win over Phil's new Personal Best ET of 9.278 at 141.59mph! Fantastic race! Semi-Finals The Semis took place just before 4pm and there were two more exiting races in prospect. One of these saw Adam facing Sean, the two Essex boys. Adam and team went for a low Dial-in of 8.98 and Sean a 9.05, both below their PB's! Well, Sean redlit on this one, though still recorded a fantastic run, with a new Personal Best ET and Speed of 9.067 at 148.57mph, and just .017 off Dial! Well done, Sean! However, this handed the win to Adam, who ran a great 8.995 at 148.68mph, with a Wild Bunch 'Closest to Dial-in' of .015 off! Great stuff! The other race of the round with Keith pitted against Bob was still crucial for the Real Steel Series, with either needing to win to keep their title hopes going. Keith dialled in at 10.98 and Bob at 7.29. Another fantastic race, where both drivers broke out by very small margins! Bob took the win with a lesser breakout of -.002, recording a 7.288 at 182.08mph (one of his best speeds!) against Keith's close breakout of -.007 with a 10.973 at 115.80mph! Sooooo close! Third and fourth places for the event were decided on 'Closest to Dial without breaking out' so Sean finished in 3rd and Keith in 4th. Well done! Final There was not much time between the Semi and the Final, which took place around 5pm. Again, this was a crucial race, as the winner would secure the Real Steel Series win. Adam and team again lowered their Dial, to an 8.97, and Bob lowered his to 7.28. Another great race! Adam broke out with a new Personal Best ET and Speed of 8.938 at 149.15mph! Congratulations, Adam!! This handed the victory to Bob who posted a 7.361 at 179.89mph! Well done, Bob! This meant that Bob earned the Real Steel Series win, his first ever Series win! Congratulations to Bob and the whole team on this! Adam and team were awarded 'Best Appearing Team' Spot Prize by the commentators for their well-turned our car and team appearance, and a big credit to Lorraine with her backup outfits! It was a fantastic event to finish the season with! Once again huge thanks to the track and safety crews, marshalls and officials and everyone at Santa Pod who worked really hard as always! The results also mean that Keith Crampton has won the 2014 'Springbridge MSA Challenge'! Well done, Keith! His second Series win of the season!! Congratulations again to Adam and Team Gridlock on their 4th Wild Bunch Series win in a row! Great achievement and a first in Wild Bunch! Bob has finished in 2nd place in the Wild Bunch Series, another great result for him! Andrew Murphy has finished in 3rd place and Keith in 4th place, so congratulations to all of the Top 4!! Congrats again to Bob on his Real Steel Series win. Adam finished in 2nd place, and it was sooo close, as they were on equal points, with Bob winning due to racing at more rounds. Third place was Keith and fourth was Andrew. So well done to all the Top 4! We are now looking forward to our Annual Dinner Dance and Prize Presentation on 22nd November. It will be another great evening to celebrate all our winners after another fantastic season!!