24th ANNUAL WILD BUNCH PRIZE PRESENTATION 2019
The Wild Bunch had another brilliant evening at the 24th Annual Prize Presentation Dinner Dance at the SnowDome in Tamworth on Saturday, 30th November! Barry Bohannon and Paul Wright were our fabulous comperes for the evening, and we had some surprises to go with our Series & Merit award trophy winners.
There was a great intro where all the PB’s of those attending were read out and cheered! Our sponsors for 2019 were thanked for their support:
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Springbridge Direct Limited
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Team Ratchet Strap
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Mark Coulsell of MJC Property Solutions
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Team East
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Elaine Southworth of coolengineeredart
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Ratcatcher Racing
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Keith Crampton of Wiz Training
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Christian Frei from Switzerland
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Andy & Cathrine Stones of Sutton Soda Blasting
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Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars
Wild Bunch Ladies
Gifts were given to all ladies attending! Flowers were presented to Claire Meaddows, many thanks to Mark Coulsell for his very kind donation!
Commemoratives
Ed Yates received a presentation for services to the Wild Bunch website.
Lynne Coulsell received a presentation for services as Wild Bunch Secretary & co-ordination.
Claire Meaddows received a presentation for services as Wild Bunch Co-ordinator and Treasurer.
We had a special extra to present:
For our smiliest team, Robert White & the “Happy Daze” team there was a lovely team photo of them! They are always smiling and enjoying their racing, as is their car with its ‘smiley face’ front wheels, and now they have T-shirts to match!!
Series Winners
All the Series Winners were presented with their trophies, beginning with the Winner of the ‘Springbridge MSUK’ Series. This was followed by the Top 4 in the ‘Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series’. The Top 4 of the ‘Spirit of Nostalgia Challenge’ Series were presented with their huge tower trophies. Then all of the Top 10 in the Wild Bunch trophies received their replicas, with the Top 4 receiving the perpetual trophies.
Special Presentation
There was an extra presentation in recognition of a special achievement this year, to celebrate the:
Top 10 in 10
Keith Crampton “Soul Town Shaker”
Keith started the season with renewed energy, a new paint job on his already immaculate car, and a steely determination to reach a very special personal goal! He achieved this, by finishing in the Wild Bunch Series Top 10 for 10 years in a row!! Congratulations!! ……. Well done Keith!!
Re-Presentation of the BOOTSIE for the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame
At last Saturday’s British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Gala, our beloved Wild Bunch Nostalgia Drag Racing Club was formally Inducted in to the Hall of Fame. A piece about the history of the club was read out and the Bootsie was presented by US Commentator Bob Beck to Roy, Chris & Claire. Roy gave a lovely speech. There were 30 Wild Bunch members attending and some fab group photos were taken.
The following is the last paragraph of the citation and is a lovely statement about the Bunch
“The Wild Bunch have come a long way during the last quarter century and ensured that nostalgia drag racing continues to thrive in the UK. Everyone who has been involved has a passion for the sport, a burning desire to go fast safely but, most importantly of all, preserving our sport’s history. Even now, more vintage dragsters and altereds are being brought back to life, while new recreations are being built. Competition with a fun element is always at the forefront of every Wild Bunch racer’s mind, and it’s for these reasons we have inducted the Wild Bunch Nostalgia Drag Racing Club into the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame.”
At our prize presentation, we invited longest serving Wild Bunch members present, Mark Coulsell & Dave Williams, to receive the award once again on behalf of the whole Wild Bunch! J
MERIT AWARDS 2019
Big Bang Trophy
Bob Hawkins “Time Traveller II”
Bob started off the season with an absolutely incredible run with a PB E.T. of 6.515 @ 204mph. Sadly major damage was done on his second run resulting huge engine damage, where the car also tagged the wall, causing more damage. Undaunted, he fixed the car to return later in the season, only to suffer further damage! He once again fixed the car! Wishing Bob much better luck for next season chasing those 6’s at over 200mph again!!
Fastest time by a British-engined dragster (the Martin Holgate award)
Dr Faye Hern “Daddy Cool”
(This time needs to be backed up within 2% and the driver attend 2 or more events)
Faye ran a good 9.442 in the team’s “Daddy Cool” dragster at Dragstalgia, backed up by her quicker 9.098 at the Nostalgia Nationals! Well done Velocity Dr!
Fastest MPH
Rob Brown “Rebel”
(This speed needs to be backed up within 2% and the driver attend 4 or more events.)
The Wrathchild Racing team brought out this new car this year and both drivers had PB’s in the low 8’s at over 160mph! Rob Brown ran a new Personal Best 161.91 mph at the Summer Nationals. This was backed up within 2%, with a 159.60 mph at Dragstalgia!
Quickest E.T.
Mark Coulsell “Ballbreaker”
(This time needs to be backed up within 2% and the driver attend 4 or more events.)
The Limited Funz team keep improving the PB’s in their fabulous slingshot! Mark Coulsell recorded a great 8.143 at the Nostalgia Nationals. He backed this ET up within 2%, running an 8.178 at the same event!! Many Congratulations on this Mark & Steve!
The Roy Wilding ‘Best Newcomer’ Award (we had 10 Newcomers this year!!)
Andy Clifford “Snake Eyes”
Though Andy Clifford has been around Drag Racing for some time, he had never driven a race car before. He made his Wild Bunch debut at Dragstalgia with the team’s fabulous slingshot. He raced at 3 events this season and the whole family team really enjoyed their racing! During the season he gained his MSUK licence and competed at his first ever MSUK event, and was a real credit to himself and the whole team, really enjoying driving the well-turned out car. Andy ran a Personal Best of 9.877 @ 131mph. Well done Andy and team!
BEST VEHICLES These 3 categories of Best Vehicle trophies are chosen this year by commentator Colin Theobald, who judges the winners on high standards of presentation, appearance and performance.
Best Radical or Rear-engine Dragster
Phil James “Rampage”
The “Rampage” funny car is a stunning looking car. The team competed at 7 events this season, with Phil winning 2 races and finishing 2nd place in 2 events. They always show great teamwork and family camaraderie. This season the driver won the Wild Bunch Series for the second year in a row!
Best Slingshot
Rob & Pete Brown “Rebel”
“Rebel” is a beautifully painted nostalgic car and looks stunning! The team have made a great effort to make the car and drivers look period correct and show great attention to detail with their well turned out car! They have greatly improved performance throughout the 8 events they raced at this year, gotten a quicker chassis tag for the car, and both Pete & Rob broke in to the magic 8’s for the first time, with Pete recording a PB of 8.354 @ 160mph & Rob recording a PB of 8.401 @ 161mph! Fantastic Marras!
Best Altered
Callum Swinchatt “Kings N/W”
This period perfect gorgeously painted Topolino altered is always immaculately turned out and looks fantastic. It runs well too with fantastic smoky burnouts and wheels up launches. The team ran at 8 events this season. They won 7 Spot Prizes this year. They have improved performance and Callum recorded his first 8’s with a PB of 8.885 @ 147mph this season! He also won 3 Series!
The Roy Wilding ‘Best Turned Out’ Award
Team Wrathchild “Rebel”
This keen and enthusiastic and very well-liked team are regular members of the Wild Bunch and always display a very well turned out, stunning-looking car, period perfect in every way, running PB’s throughout the season. They won 5 Spot Prizes including Best Appearing Car & Team awards in the 8 events they raced this year. The car & crew are always turned out well and match the red & blue of each driver!! They always put on a fantastic show!
Best Achiever
Callum Swinchatt “Kings N/W”
Callum is part of a hardworking team with a very well-turned out car. After some modifications to the setup, he achieved great consistency this season in the 8 events he raced at, earning 7 Spot Prizes. He also earned 2 event wins, 2 x 2nd places and a 3rd, and WON the Spirit of Nostalgia Challenge, the Roy Wilding Series and the Springbridge MSUK Challenge, plus a 3rd Place in the Wild Bunch Series! He also ran a PB of 8.885 @ 147mph! A fantastic & successful season for him, and very well-deserved!!
Perseverance Award
Lee & Mark Hartnell “Metal Mistress”, “Backdraft”, “Couped Up”
What can we say about these guys?!! They have tried, and tried again and again and never given up! They faced many issues whilst trying to get the race car to the track and then to get it running. Time after time they have had to put up with disappointment, which didn’t last long til they were on the case again, trying to get the car up and running. They have both also helped on other race cars including their Dad’s and friend Ollie’s, both of which had teething problems which they worked to cure! On the night we let one of Mark’s fb posts about a tough weekend speak volumes about their determination, which we all hope will pay off next season!! Best of luck!!
Derek & Brenda Annable Trophy
Ian, Ozzie and Harrison Brown of “Thatadoo Racing”
Last year’s winners Mike Lacey & Karen Stevens chose the 2019 winners because
Of their dedication and willingness to help others ……… They write to say:
“We have chosen them because they are a dedicated family team with a long standing commitment to the sport of Drag Racing. An inspiration to any racer or fan. You will see Ian, Ozzie and Harrison at the track at almost all events competing in a multiple of classes from two wheels to four! A very open and approachable family always friendly and willing to help.Congratulations from: Mike Lacey & Karen Stevens and the whole Wild Bunch
Chris & Claire Sportsperson Award
The Clifford Family “Ratcatcher Resurrection” and “Snake Eyes”
This well-liked friendly easy-going team have been members of the Wild Bunch for over a dozen years. They are always willing to help others and do so cheerfully. They are hugely supportive of all other racers and always show great sportsmanship to others. They greatly enjoy their racing & this year ran 2 cars! They always put on a great nostalgic show & are great supporters of the Bunch! This award goes to Terry, Ruth, Andy, Rachael & James!
Crew of the Year Shield
Celebrating our crews and their hard work, achievements and dedication! You are all stars!! Thank you!!
Alan ‘Skippy’ Skipp “Cheap Thrills” and many more!!!
Our winner this year is a very hardworking crew, who is always cheerfully willing to help absolutely anyone who asks. When not driving himself, he constantly supports his team to together achieve everything they can with their car. He also crews for numerous other teams and will do anything to help out. He is a very humble guy for whom nothing is too much trouble! He is a very popular member of the Wild Bunch!
The Scottie Durrant ‘Above and Beyond’ Award
Craig Larman “The Ferret”
Craig has had to work hard to get the car to the race track this season. He and his uncle Mark had to try to find spare time amongst many family and work commitments just to get it there and logistics were never easy! He was rewarded with two 3rd place event finishes and has finished in 10th place in the Wild Bunch Series, proudly always running in tribute to his Dad, Tom who we all love and miss. Well done!! All my Life.
Daddy Cool (Sags) Personal Achievement Shield
Team Ratchet Strap Racing “Cheap Thrills”
This year the award goes to a strong and brilliant team who have been Wild Bunch members for a while now, and who have had fantastic achievements this year! They worked hard to improve the performance of the car, and sometimes had to face hard times personally and individually during this season. They still came out racing, doing their best, helping others and being a great part of the Wild Bunch who they are huge supporters of. On trying to improve further, they suffered a big engine blow up, but were quickly on the case to rebuild. They came back better and stronger, and one of the several drivers, Skippy, took the car in to the 8’s for the first time, with a PB 8.957 @ 146mph! A huge achievement for a team on a tight budget! Together they have worked hard and achieved so much! Well done to them all!!!
Crazy Chris Showmanship Award
A tribute to Chris’ entertainment and the great show he’s always put on!
Callum Swinchatt “Kings N/W”
This team have a stunning looking car, period perfectly in both looks and performance. They put on a fantastic Nostalgia drag racing display, with their metal-flake painted beautiful Topolino altered, jaw-dropping burnouts and wheels up launches. Callum always makes entertaining runs! He has also run a PB this year of 8.885 @ 147pmh, showing great performance. He’s a winner too, winning the Spirit of Nostalgia, Roy Wilding and Springbridge MSUK Series. The whole team always put on an amazing show!!
Don Garlits 'Spirit of Drag Racing' Shield 2019
TEAM WRATHCHILD RACING – ROB, PETE & HAYLEY and GEORGE & JULIE
The 2018 winners, the “Rampage” team, presented the Don Garlits ‘Spirit of Drag Racing’ Shield to the 2019 winners on the night.
This year’s winners have been members of the Wild Bunch for a few years now, and they have all grown up around Drag Racing. The whole team do their absolute best to field a well-turned out Nostalgic car. They have improved the car’s performance throughout the year, running several PB’s in the 8’s and earning 5 Spot prizes this season. This close family team takes part in both MSUK and RWYB events, and are a great credit to themselves and to the Wild Bunch. Their car has a brilliant paint job and everything they have is matching, including some fab team t-shirts. They show great passion, enthusiasm and commitment to the Wild Bunch and took part in 8 events this year. They are constantly helpful to others and go above and beyond to do so, in a cheery friendly way, helping so many other teams along the way. They have won an event and had several more top 4 placings and feature in the Top 4 of every Series. They have also won the Best Turned Out team and Best Slingshot awards. Their keenness and enthusiasm knows no bounds and they appreciate and love everything about Nostalgia Drag Racing! They are hugely valued members of the Wild Bunch and demonstrate the true spirit of this award and the family spirit our club!!
Big congratulations to the whole team on this very well-deserved award!
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Many congratulations to all our winners! Well done on all your achievements! Best Wishes to you all for the off season! Good luck with all your winter rebuilds/builds/freshen ups! Looking forward to next season now, our 25th Anniversary year of The Wild Bunch!!!