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WB Spring Nationals at Yanks Weekend May 23 - 25
Wild Bunch ResultsSpring Nationals23rd - 25th May
Wild Bunch Series Round 1.
Spirit of Nostalgia Challenge 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 20th Anniversary year, and Spirit of Nostalgia Challenge Series Round 3, and we had a field of 18 Wild Bunch cars participating! 4 Altereds, 11 Slingshots (1 coupe), 1 rear-engined dragster and 2 funny cars.
| Wild Bunch Points | ||||
| Pos | WB | Driver/Team | Car | Points |
| 1 | 4 | Keith Crampton | Soultown Shaker | 10 |
| 2 | 41 | Tom Larman | The Ferret | 8 |
| 3 | 3 | Team 'B-Sting' | B-Sting | 7 |
| 4 | 17 | Team GAS Racing | Tiki Munki | 6 |
| 5 | 2 | Bob Hawkins | Timetraveller II | 5 |
| - | 20 | Rob & Pete Brown | Wrathchild | 5 |
| - | 30 | Mick Hillier | Texas Ranger | 5 |
| - | 39 | Jason Cull and Martin White | Perfect Pete | 5 |
| - | 67 | Darryl Howells | Chemical Reaction | 5 |
| - | 69 | Alan Loten | Paranoia | 5 |
| - | 73 | Mike Couch | Chequered Past | 5 |
| - | 77 | Andy Stones | Yellow Slingshot | 5 |
| - | 112 | Matt Fuller | Oblivion | 5 |
| 14 | 86 | Jim Tanner | Shindigger | 4 |
| - | 64 | Russ Heaven | Tight Fit | 4 |
| 15 | 72 | Dave Southworth | Daddy Cool | 3 |
| 17 | 45 | Phil James | Rampage | 1 |
| - | 76 | Team Black Pig | The Black Pig Too | 1 |
| Spot Prizes | ||||
| WB | Team/Driver | Car | Detail | |
| Closest To Dial-In | 67 | Darryl Howells | Chemical Reaction | 0.001 off |
| Best Reaction | 41 | Tom Larman | The Ferret | 0.092 |
| Best Altered | 69 | Alan Loten | Paranoia | |
| Best Slingshot | 64 | Russ Heaven | Tight Fit | |
| Best Appearing Team | 3 | Team 'B-Sting' | B-Sting | |
| Best Burnout | 20 | Rob & Pete Brown | Wrathchild | |
|
Special awards of cash prizes, kindly donated by anonymous donors:- Hard luck awards: Phil James diff breakage: & Hayley Fyfe carrying on crewing like a trooper Great start awards: Newcomers: Andy Stone getting a handle on the car straight away 1st time, and Jim Tanner for leading the Wild Bunch round after his very first run of competition! The weather forecast was fairly good overall for the weekend. Saturday was dry and many teams got in at least 2 runs. But Sunday began wet, and racing did not start until after 1pm, though quite a few teams got 1 or 2 runs in that afternoon. Monday was dry again and there was loads of track time and we completed all 4 rounds of racing! Throughout the weekend a total of 10 drivers ran Personal Best E.T.'s and 6 ran PB Speeds! Overall, it was a great performance from the Bunch! | |
| WB 2 | Bob Hawkins had rebuilt and installed last year's engine in his 'Time Traveller II' blown slingshot, after damage to the newer one at Springspeed. He just managed to make it to his third Wild Bunch event of the season. Fair play to Bob and the team! He made two great runs on the Saturday of 7.767 at 173.74mph and 7.504 at 177.79mph. He also made one pass on Sunday, a 7.557 at 166.77mph and hoped to establish a Dial-in for Monday. The team then dialled in at 7.51 for Monday's rounds. In the first round, Bob recorded a better 7.416 at 180.07mph. He then went quicker in the next 3 rounds, posting 7.389/180.45, 7.399/180.96 and 7.394 at a great speed of 184.11mph. (That run proved to be the quickest and fastest of the weekend amongst all event participants, for the second event in a row at Shakey!). These 4 runs were super consistent but not close enough to the chosen Dial-in. Nice to see the spare engine run so well! Bob finished in 7th place overall. |
| WB 3 | Bob Morgan was taking his first turn for a couple of years in the hotseat of the 'B-Sting' altered. Lynne Croston was again a welcome addition to the crew, which included Andrew, Paul and Allan. Bob made 3 passes on Saturday. They were: 10.355/128.34 (both ends of his PB), 10.370/127.45, and 10.393/127.58. He made 2 runs on Sunday, recording a 10.356 at a new PB Speed of 128.48mph, then a 10.382/125.81. The team dialled in at 10.36 for Monday. Bob posted a new Personal Best ET and Speed of 10.262 at 130.06mph in the first round, his first time over the 130 mark. In Round 2 he ran a much closer 10.334 at 129.07mph. He then made consistent passes of 10.270 at 129.48mph and 10.284 at 112.27mph in Rounds 3 & 4. He finished in 3rd place, so a good start to the season! The team won 'Best Appearing Team' Spot Prize chosen by the commentators. |
| WB 4 | Keith Crampton was on his first event of the season with his 'Soul Town Shaker' slingshot. He made 3 runs on Saturday, beginning with an 11.088 at 116.06mph. He followed this with an 11.147 at 116.19mph and an 11.071 at 116.60mph. On Sunday his pair of runs were 11.167 at 117.00mph and 11.146 at 115.38mph. He dialled in at 11.09 for the rounds on Monday, and began with an 11.136 at 116.38mph. His second round run netted an 11.101 at 116.67mph. On the third run there had been a problem with the tree, so he was given a re-run, and with the engine a little hot ran a new Personal Best ET of 10.892 at 118.16mph! He then ran closer to dial again in Round 4 and posted an 11.067 at 116.87mph. Keith won the event and was both surprised and chuffed! Way to go, Keith! Great stuff! |
| WB 17 | saw Gina Durrant in her first event of the season with her and Scottie's 'Tiki Munki' slingshot coupe. They also had a very special new crew member, their new daughter, 4-month old Elsie-May, who joined older brother Beau on the team! Niece Nicole and Mark Hartnell were performing towing and crewing duties throughout the weekend, and wearing some Tiki-rific shirts! Gina made 3 runs on Saturday, beginning with a 14.184 at 89.43mph. She later ran passes of 14.035 at 88.44mph and 14.300 at 89.02mph. Gina also had 2 runs on Sunday, a 14.388/85.43 and a 14.186/88.12. She dialled in at 14.15 for the rounds on Monday, and posted a 14.062 at 91.22mph in the first round. She then ran a 14.056 at 90.69mph in the second round, a 14.082 at 90.99mph in the third and a 10.207 at 82.77mph in the fourth. Gina finished in 4th place overall for the weekend. Welcome back! |
| WB 20 | saw the Wild Bunch debut of twins Rob and Pete Brown, aka 'The Marras', with their 'Wrathchild' slingshot. They had debuted the car at last season's Hot Rod Drags, and also ran a test event earlier this year where they had gotten down into the high 11's. They were ably crewed by girlfriends Hayley and Kimberley, as well as Mum and Dad George! They had some nice new black T-shirts with the car and crew names on. Pete was the first to run Saturday and recorded a new Personal Best ET of 11.774 at 109.49mph. Rob then posted a 12.000 even at 112.05mph (which was a PB Speed). Pete took the first run on the Sunday, posting a 12.131 at Personal Best Speed of 113.92mph, and the next pass was an 11.578 at 113.73mph. The boys dialled in at 11.78 for Monday's rounds, their first competition. It was again Pete who made the first pass, and they were both gutted as he pulled a red light, and slowed to a 12.773 at 98.08mph. Rob then followed this with a PB ET of 11.544 at 113.33mph. Pete jumped right back in and posted a new Personal Best ET of 11.690 at 112.75mph. Rob finished the rounds off with another PB ET of 11.341 at a PB Speed of 114.57mph! They were chuffed to be awarded the 'Best Burnout' Spot Prize, chosen by the commentary team, for both of their burnouts! Welcome on your Wild Bunch debut Marras! |
| WB 30 | Mick Hillier was in his first event of the season with his 'Texas Ranger' altered. His crew consisted of partner Lorraine and friend Paul Williams from the 'Pure Nostalgia' racing team. The team were sporting great new red T-shirts with the sheriff star logo on. They were not able to get to the event until Sunday morning, and Mick just put in the one test run that day, but it was a good one, netting a new Personal Best ET and Speed of 9.995 at 129.15mph. The team dialled in at 9.90 for Monday's rounds and Mick began better than expected with a big PB ET of 9.685 at 132.34mph, his first time over the 130's with the car! He then recorded passes of 9.853 at 125.82 (in a cool match race against Alan Loten in 'Paranoia' and the first time the two have raced together since the 80's!), 9.804 at 132.67mph and 9.851 at 124.96mph. Mick finished in 6th place and had a great weekend! |
| WB 39 | saw Jason Cull and Martin White sharing the hot seat of the 'Perfect Pete' slingshot. The team just made one pass on Saturday of 10.580 at 113.33mph, which was a new Personal Best ET and pretty close to a PB Speed. Sunday's first run saw a 10.691 at 107.24mph. The next run was another PB ET of 10.500 at 110.17mph. The slingshot is sure looking lively off the line! The team dialled in at 10.54 for the rounds on Monday. Their first round pass was a slightly off-pace 11.060 at 106.92mph, but they were soon back on form with the second, a 10.566 at 110.86mph. The third round run was a 10.672 at 107.21mph and the fourth round another strong 10.506 at 112.27mph. The team finished in 8th place overall for the weekend. |
| WB 41 | Tom Larman was in his first Wild Bunch event of the season with 'The Ferret' altered. He only had the one crew, but a good 'un as it was son Craig. They were thrilled to be back out racing! Tom made 3 runs on Saturday of 11.08 at 120.11mph, 10.452 at 122.07mph and 10.454 at 121.99mph. On Sunday Tom made 2 more passes, 10.525 at 121.24mph and 10.564 at 120.61mph. The team dialled in at 10.52 for Monday. Tom's first round run was a 10.422 at 123.05mph. He then ran successively closer with passes of 10.440/121.26, 10.462/122.28 and 10.573/119.13 (with a Wild Bunch Best Reaction of 0.092. He was really chuffed to finish in 2nd place overall for the weekend. A great start to the season! |
| WB 45 | Phil James was in his third Wild Bunch event of the season 'Rampage' funny car, after making some more modifications in between rounds. He made 3 good runs on the Saturday, beginning with a 9.397 at 137.01mph, followed by a 9.508 at 136.69mph and a 9.399 at 137.07mph. Unfortunately, there had been a noise from the rear end on the last pass and the team began investigating on the Sunday. It turned out that there had been some damage to the diff, so sadly that was it for their weekend. They would like to thank several Wild Bunchers for their assistance with removing the diff at the track, so they can make a start on fixing the problem. Very best of luck to them and we hope to see them back out soon running consistently again. |
| WB 64 | saw the first event of the season for Russ Heaven in his 'Tight Fit' slingshot. Before the event, the team were unsure of making it, but some last minute repairs worked and they got to the event. Russ was ably crewed by son Steve and brother Dave and wife Lorni joined in after work. The team spent Saturday sorting out various things in the pits, and Steve and Dave went home for some parts. They were also assisted with advice from other Wild Bunchers. Russ made one run on the Sunday, an 11.748 at 109.28mph. He dialled in at 9.20 for Monday, near his PB. The first run did not net much improvement as it was an 11.386 at 83.26mph. There was some betterment in the second round when he recorded a 10.920 at 106.62mph. Russ nearly missed the third round with a problem but managed to sort this out in time to make a run in the round, and put in an 11.649 at 110.17mph. However he did miss the fourth round as the team were doing more tuning, though he went out for a test run later that day, which was more promising. . The car was awarded the 'Best Slingshot' Spot Prize by the commentary team. |
| WB 67 | Darryl Howells was on his second Wild Bunch outing of the year with the 'Chemical Reaction' slingshot, fresh from his first 8-second runs in the car at Springspeed. This weekend the crew consisted of Sarah, Bernie and 'WB 67 Temp' crew Andrew Clifford and Rachael Hibberd from the 'Ratcatcher Resurrection' team, who were sporting nice purple polo shirts with their title on the back! Darryl began the weekend with an 8.963 at 147.36mph pass. His other run on Saturday was a very strong 8.876 at 148.23mph. Darryl just made the one run on Sunday, an 8.926 at 147.03mph. Sarah dialled him in at 8.82 for the rounds on Monday. Darryl began well with an 8.841 at 148.96mph. He followed this with an 8.889 at 122.95mph in the second round. On the third round, he recorded a Wild Bunch 'Closest to Dial-in' pass of 8.821 at 146.05mph, just a thousandth off! And a new Personal Best ET to boot!! Fair shout! He was leading the competition at this point, but in the fourth round did not get a good start to the run, and posted a 9.051 at 140.49mph pass. He then finished in 5th place. |
| WB 69 | Alan Loten was in his second event of the season in his 'Paranoia' altered. The team had been working on the nitrous system since the last event and hoped for an improvement this weekend. They arrived during the day on Saturday and set up and got ready. Alan just made the one run, but it was a good one! He recorded a much improved 9.567 at 132.55mph! On the Sunday, he made just one pass, and again there was improvement, to a 9.414 at 137.34mph. So he and Steve were thrilled to have cured the problems and be back to where they were two seasons ago. The team dialled in at 9.45 for the rounds on Monday, and Alan put in his best run for some time, a 9.409 at 139.58mph in the first round. On the second round, he had a bit of wayward run when the car went left and right, and he slowed to a 9.745 at 137.79mph. Alan posted runs of 9.515 at 139.40mph and 9.783 at 132.89mph in the third and fourth rounds. He finished in 9th place. The team were chuffed to be awarded the 'Best Altered' Spot Prize by the commentators. Great to see them back on form again! |
| WB 72 | we welcomed back Dave 'Sag' Southworth and team with the 'Daddy Cool' rear-engined dragster for their first event this season. The whole team is well-organised as every one of them has a particular designated job during the weekend, right down to videoing, event co-ordination and hospitality. Sag's first run of the weekend was a solid 9.307 at 141.30mph, nearly exactly the same as his last run at his last event, Dragstalgia 2014. He made another consistent pass on Sunday, with a 9.369 at 140.00mph even. The team dialled in at 9.30 for the rounds on Sunday, but on warmup in the morning, could not get oil pressure! They stayed in the pits for the first two rounds and finally solved the problem, coming back out for Round 3 where Sag recorded a 10.434 at 135.67mph. He then posted an improved 9.366 at 139.79mph in the fourth round, to finish where he left off. Fair play! |
| WB 73 | Mike Couch was in his first event of the year with his 'Chequered Past' slingshot, now with Chevy power. The team had some nice blue T-shirts with the car name on them, and Mike had a new stars and stripes open-faced helmet. On his first pass Saturday he had to lift straight after launch as he was heading towards the barrier, so slowed to a 17-second run at 71mph. He later had a really good run, recording a 9.931 at 131.59mph. He didn't make any passes on Sunday. The team dialled in at 9.75 for Monday's rounds. Mike began with a 9.946 at 132.51mph in the opening round. He followed this with a new Personal Best ET of 9.703 at 134.96mph. There was a problem on his third run, and he slowed to a 17.201 at 62.45mph. He improved again to a 10.169 at 132.52 in the fourth round. He finished in 11th place overall for the event. |
| WB 76 | Steve Field was back with his and Lesley's 'Black Pig Too' slingshot. Steve had made another set of bodywork for the car which was painted in a striking Mondrian style red, blue, yellow, black and white design. Again, it looked great as their cars always do! Steve put in just the one run on the Saturday, a new Personal Best ET and speed with the car of 9.509 at 134.97mph. There was some smoke on the run though, and back in the pits the team diagnosed some minor problems. Unfortunately this meant they were side-lined for the rest of the weekend. They are confident of being able to fix this for the next event, so we look forward to some more good runs when they sort this and get the car tuned up. |
| WB 77 | we welcomed new member Andy Stones and his wife Cathrine who had recently bought the Kawasaki-powered yellow slingshot originally built by the Postman Patvan team. Andy had never drag raced before so everything was new to him and Cathrine. For the first couple of runs Saturday, Andy made checkout passes of 17.842 at 71.84mph, 13.595 at 89.78mph, and 17.419 at 89.33mph. On the Sunday, he made a couple more runs, recording a 13.626 at 104.12mph and 13.413 at 97.33mph, getting a handle on things. The team dialled in at 12.50 for Monday, as Andy was now going to turn the nitrous on! His first round run netted a promising 12.207 at 101.94mph. He followed this with passes of 12.326 at 105.25mph and 12.390 at 103.55mph. On his fourth round run he recorded a new Personal Best ET and speed of 12.074 at 106.91mph. A fantastic debut! Welcome to them both! Andy finished in 10th place overall for the weekend. |
| WB 86 | we welcomed another new member, Jim Tanner and his crewman Eddie, with the 'Shindigger' slingshot. Jim had made a few runs at a couple of previous RWYB events and got into the mid 10's. His only run Saturday was a 10.801 at 125.35mph. On Sunday, he recorded an 11.227 at 118.70mph. Jim chose a Dial-in of 10.70 for his first Wild Bunch outing. This proved a great choice, as he ran a 10.688 at 124.83mph in the first round, just .012 off and ended up Top of the Bunch at that point!! Well done, Jim! His next pass was a slightly slower 10.977 at 122.36mph. He towed down for the third round, but had a problem when firing up so towed back to the pits. He came back out for the fourth round and recorded a 10.843 at 120.74mph. They thoroughly enjoyed their weekend's racing. Welcome to the Wild Bunch Jim and Eddie! |
| WB 112 | Matt Fuller was out early in the season for his first Wild Bunch round of the year with the 'Oblivion' funny car. He made one run on the Saturday, a 13.017 at 75.94mph. On Sunday, he improved greatly to a 10.851 at 114.02 mph on his first pass, and later ran an 11.304 at 124.19mph The team dialled in at 10.70 for the rounds on Monday. Matt went way better than that on his first run, where he posted a 10.378 at 124.76mph! He followed this with a 10.473 at 126.59mph, but had red lit at the start of the run. He then posted runs of 10.306 at 126.70mph and 10.850 at 126.45mph. |
| In all it was a really good event. There were some great matchups and runs and individual highlights! Big Congratulations to Keith on the win! This was accompanied by a £75 prize from Springbridge Direct Ltd, so many thanks to them for this sponsorship as they also sponsored the £25 Runner-up prize, which went to Tom Larman – Congratulations to him and Craig! And congratulations also to Bob Morgan and Gina on their 3rd and 4th places. And a very big well done to all of the Wild Bunch teams who put on a great show throughout the weekend! Many thanks to all the marshals and officials and fire and track crews at Shakey for their hard work all weekend as always. Very much appreciated!
We are now really looking forward to the second Wild Bunch Series round and fourth Spirit of Nostalgia Series round, as well as Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series Round 1 at the 'Nostalgia Nationals' at Shakey on June 20th & 21st! We hope to see an even bigger field of Wild Bunch and good weather for this one!! | |