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Hey guys.
No real big updates today; the car is still in the trailer waiting for us to make a move on it and get the work underway.
Until then, I can't really share much new, but check out this pretty nice page of the National Finals review on American drag racing site Dragracingonline.com:
Drag Racing Online National Finals Review
Not too much ink, but still a really cool set of photos and review on probably one of the biggest American drag racing sites.
Until next time!
Joe
Wednesday 6 October 2010
Tuesday 28 September 2010
2010 NFAA Champions!
Well, what a amazing change of fortune for us!
After a terrible Open Sports Nationals event at Shakespeare County Raceway, we went back home very much down in the dumps. The oil pressure problem was really giving us a run for our money, and after many many weekends and weeknights working on trying to find where the problem was coming from, we were running out of ideas.
Until after some very, very keen eyes, brought to our attention a situation regarding our crankshaft; something we had never seen before. After some research we could find nothing to support why it was how it was, and thus went about fixing what we had found. We tied in these crank modifications with a billet oil pump pressure adjustable tool that Tom @ Ryder Design developed for us, and went to the National Finals with renewed hope of finally resolving the problem!
The first warm up was quite eagerly anticipated, and when the motor fired the pressure began to fluctuate once more (much to my annoyance), but started to settle down and then finally stabilised very nicely. After a few test revs the pressure was behaving itself, so we took it to the line. The weather was a chilly late september early afternoon, plenty of power to be had!
We finally had the chance to run alongside Adam Gleadow and his gorgeous Motor Psycho 34 Ford Altered, and after the burnouts the motor was still behaving itself. Sadly Adam got shut down due to a oil leak, but I went into stage keeping a eye on the pressure. Pre-stage, one last glance at the pressure, and go for it!
The result? 6.64 @ 199mph! The motor was finally beginning to settle down. The relief getting out at the top end, was quickly changed to elation when the crew told me the time.
We took the car back and checked the motor over and it was looking good. So after the usual maintenance, we took it back out, once again against Adam in the Motor Psycho machine. By now we were racing into the sunset, and it made for the setting of a really special race.
We both went to the line after waiting for this moment for years! The lights went down and we both went off. The car was weaving all about the left lane but I was able to drive it through to a 6.72 @ 198mph to Adam's 7.60 @ 173mph, his first ever 7! Well done guys, what a cracking race. After the race, both teams popped bottles of champagne, plenty of hand-shakes, hugs and laughing and joking which lasted all evening, truly a memorable night for all.
So with No.1 going into Sunday mornings final qualifier, we waited for the rain to stop, but it never did. We entered the National Finals on equal points with the Wratten Brothers, but our No.1 qualifying points gave us the extra 50pts to seal the 2010 Championship title!
I want to take this moment to thank my awesome family and crew, they have been exceptional once again all year. A huge well done to all the NFAA crews and track crews at Santa Pod and Shakespeare County Raceway.
Finally, a massive well done to Adam and all the Motor Psycho crew for destroying their PB at the National Finals with a 7.60. Their first seven, hope for many more (and quicker!)
Well thats it for racing blogs, but I will be keeping this blog upto date with news over the off season with whats going on in the NFR camp and our bid to defend the No.1 plate in 2011
Stay tuned for more!
Until next time
Cheers
Joe
Sunday 22 August 2010
Bringing you upto speed!
It has been awhile since I posted on this blog for the race team, so let me bring things upto speed.
Springspeed as reported earlier didn't work out so well for us, but we moved onto the Summer Nationals with the hope of better luck.
The Summer Nationals worked out to be another real mixed weekend. We ran 6.81 @ 196 on the first run, which was very wayward at times and still having oiling issues, so we hoped the later afternoon run would be better.
The afternoon run still gave us oiling problem headaches, but I went for it anyway. The run was going great and looking at the incrementals was on for a 6.7 or so. However the car gradually went towards the barrier until 1000ft when the car double clipped the retaining wall, glancing the headers and then the rear wheel ever so slightly. When I first hit the wall I lifted, and the car cruised to a 6.96 at only 170mph. The car was really on one, it was a shame it was wayward as we lost the race by .017 of a second.
After a complete checkover of the car and replacing the left bank of headers, we waited for the Final round on Sunday where the car did the burnout but lost oil pressure almost immediately. I shut the car down and later inspections found huge bearing failure. Lucky I spotted it early otherwise it would have been Easter all over again.
After a lot more headscratching, the crank was inspected once more and a large crack on a journal was found; brank new crank (which I bought before the start of the season) lasted 2 full runs, a few launches and half dozen burnouts. Now, it's nothing more than a paperweight! To say I'm gutted is a understatement, but we have been able to use a replacement crank which we will be using for the Open Sports Nationals this coming weekend.
We hope this has cured our problems, as the lack of general performance after the magic 6.6 run at Easter needs rectifying. We hope to do that at Shakespeare County over the August Bank Holiday.
Anyway, I leave you with a youtube video of me hitting the wall at the Summer Nationals. This in-car footage is great, and thanks to Paul Venners and the guys at Quartermilehigh.com for letting me put it up on youtube. Click the link below to see.
Nuthin Fancy Summer Nationals In-Car Footage
Thats enough from me, see you at August Bank Holiday.
Springspeed as reported earlier didn't work out so well for us, but we moved onto the Summer Nationals with the hope of better luck.
The Summer Nationals worked out to be another real mixed weekend. We ran 6.81 @ 196 on the first run, which was very wayward at times and still having oiling issues, so we hoped the later afternoon run would be better.
The afternoon run still gave us oiling problem headaches, but I went for it anyway. The run was going great and looking at the incrementals was on for a 6.7 or so. However the car gradually went towards the barrier until 1000ft when the car double clipped the retaining wall, glancing the headers and then the rear wheel ever so slightly. When I first hit the wall I lifted, and the car cruised to a 6.96 at only 170mph. The car was really on one, it was a shame it was wayward as we lost the race by .017 of a second.
After a complete checkover of the car and replacing the left bank of headers, we waited for the Final round on Sunday where the car did the burnout but lost oil pressure almost immediately. I shut the car down and later inspections found huge bearing failure. Lucky I spotted it early otherwise it would have been Easter all over again.
After a lot more headscratching, the crank was inspected once more and a large crack on a journal was found; brank new crank (which I bought before the start of the season) lasted 2 full runs, a few launches and half dozen burnouts. Now, it's nothing more than a paperweight! To say I'm gutted is a understatement, but we have been able to use a replacement crank which we will be using for the Open Sports Nationals this coming weekend.
We hope this has cured our problems, as the lack of general performance after the magic 6.6 run at Easter needs rectifying. We hope to do that at Shakespeare County over the August Bank Holiday.
Anyway, I leave you with a youtube video of me hitting the wall at the Summer Nationals. This in-car footage is great, and thanks to Paul Venners and the guys at Quartermilehigh.com for letting me put it up on youtube. Click the link below to see.
Nuthin Fancy Summer Nationals In-Car Footage
Thats enough from me, see you at August Bank Holiday.
Sunday 16 May 2010
Springspeed Report
Well Springspeed was a few weeks ago, and I thought it was about time I pulled the finger out and got a quick write up done on the weekend.
After a bit of a mad rush to make the first run after some problems, we had overlooked a few parts to the clutch and caused it to not perform how we wanted. Aswell as this, the oil pressure was low again, but luckily no harm done.
And that was basically the story of the entire weekend; we fought oil pressure problems all weekend, mixing in with finding lots of shavings in the oil after every run. After 2 launches the oil came out clean, so we were assuming it was the remnants of the machining done on our replacement block.
After Sunday night we did some changes to the oil pump and got ample pressure, so it was time to put down a run on the Monday. Sadly, like last year, the weather plagued us all day and we didn't get to run. But that said, the motor is ready for the Summer Nationals.
I want to put a huge thank you on here for all my family and crew for their support, hard work and long hours put in after the engine failure at Easter. Luckily we didn't miss any of the NFAA schedule from it, so we can hopefully keep going now and get the car back on song for the Summer Nationals.
After a bit of a mad rush to make the first run after some problems, we had overlooked a few parts to the clutch and caused it to not perform how we wanted. Aswell as this, the oil pressure was low again, but luckily no harm done.
And that was basically the story of the entire weekend; we fought oil pressure problems all weekend, mixing in with finding lots of shavings in the oil after every run. After 2 launches the oil came out clean, so we were assuming it was the remnants of the machining done on our replacement block.
After Sunday night we did some changes to the oil pump and got ample pressure, so it was time to put down a run on the Monday. Sadly, like last year, the weather plagued us all day and we didn't get to run. But that said, the motor is ready for the Summer Nationals.
I want to put a huge thank you on here for all my family and crew for their support, hard work and long hours put in after the engine failure at Easter. Luckily we didn't miss any of the NFAA schedule from it, so we can hopefully keep going now and get the car back on song for the Summer Nationals.
Monday 26 April 2010
On a wing and a prayer..
What a mad 10 days we have had here!
After destroying the motor at Easter, we had to weigh up a few options with how to go with our motor combination. After looking at our options, the decision was made to source a replacement block for the car. After some research, TMFC racer Danny Bellio had a Stage VI block at his racing HQ in Belgium. After a few phone calls and emails, myself, Dad and Millie were on a one day there and back trip to central Belgium. Leaving Cheltenham at 1.30am, we hit Folkestone 6am for the 6.20am crossing in the Channel Tunnel. From there, we drove non stop from Calais to Danny Cars in Houthalen Belgium. Little did we realise this was the same day that all the Volcano issues came about, so the return crossing was delayed until 8pm, and didn't get home until 11pm that evening. 840 mile round trip, driving for 18 hours, but like most things we do in drag racing, it's worth it!
We are now in a mad thrash to get the car ready for Springspeed after GRP got us our replacement rods ahead of schedule, so after a quick word with Shakespeare County Raceway they've accepted a late entry and we are full steam ahead to get the car ready for the Springspeed Nationals.
We want to use it to get tracktime on the new block, and to get back to where we were before the motor let go. I want to take this moment to thank everyone who has made this possible; Danny Bellio and team for arranging to meet up at their HQ and pick up the block, the guys at GRP Rods for manufacturing and shipping us a replacement set of rods in very quick time, and also my great crew, we went from a huge high to a desperate low in 24 hours at Easter, hopefully we can get back to where we were.
If your going to be at Springspeed, we will see you there!
Cheers
After destroying the motor at Easter, we had to weigh up a few options with how to go with our motor combination. After looking at our options, the decision was made to source a replacement block for the car. After some research, TMFC racer Danny Bellio had a Stage VI block at his racing HQ in Belgium. After a few phone calls and emails, myself, Dad and Millie were on a one day there and back trip to central Belgium. Leaving Cheltenham at 1.30am, we hit Folkestone 6am for the 6.20am crossing in the Channel Tunnel. From there, we drove non stop from Calais to Danny Cars in Houthalen Belgium. Little did we realise this was the same day that all the Volcano issues came about, so the return crossing was delayed until 8pm, and didn't get home until 11pm that evening. 840 mile round trip, driving for 18 hours, but like most things we do in drag racing, it's worth it!
We are now in a mad thrash to get the car ready for Springspeed after GRP got us our replacement rods ahead of schedule, so after a quick word with Shakespeare County Raceway they've accepted a late entry and we are full steam ahead to get the car ready for the Springspeed Nationals.
We want to use it to get tracktime on the new block, and to get back to where we were before the motor let go. I want to take this moment to thank everyone who has made this possible; Danny Bellio and team for arranging to meet up at their HQ and pick up the block, the guys at GRP Rods for manufacturing and shipping us a replacement set of rods in very quick time, and also my great crew, we went from a huge high to a desperate low in 24 hours at Easter, hopefully we can get back to where we were.
If your going to be at Springspeed, we will see you there!
Cheers
Sunday 18 April 2010
The highs and lows of Easter 2010
This is written a few weeks after the Easter meeting, but I wanted to quickly recap on the events of the event.
We arrived with a new motor combination; new short block, new ignition system, new fuel system and everything that goes with it. After a few cautious squirts the first full day of qualifying, I decided to give it everything it's got, and it had a lot! The new motor ran 6.62 @ 205mph with big shake and a pedal half track.
The incrementals were as follows:
60ft: .998
1/8th ET: 4.237
1/8th MPH: 163.52
1/4 ET: 6.62
1/4 MPH: 205.25
Which put us on a huge high, but we couldn't back up our run in the evening, blowing the tyres off on launch. The next morning we hit our low; first run of the morning the car launched, then it launched a rod out the side of the block. We were gutted, but vowed to make a swift return.
Stay tuned for more, and I'll post some photos of the Easter meeting, aswell as latest updates with the motor.
Thanks a lot for reading!
We arrived with a new motor combination; new short block, new ignition system, new fuel system and everything that goes with it. After a few cautious squirts the first full day of qualifying, I decided to give it everything it's got, and it had a lot! The new motor ran 6.62 @ 205mph with big shake and a pedal half track.
The incrementals were as follows:
60ft: .998
1/8th ET: 4.237
1/8th MPH: 163.52
1/4 ET: 6.62
1/4 MPH: 205.25
Which put us on a huge high, but we couldn't back up our run in the evening, blowing the tyres off on launch. The next morning we hit our low; first run of the morning the car launched, then it launched a rod out the side of the block. We were gutted, but vowed to make a swift return.
Stay tuned for more, and I'll post some photos of the Easter meeting, aswell as latest updates with the motor.
Thanks a lot for reading!
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