Late season update and review

This site has sadly been put on the back burner due to changing jobs and general busy times. I apologise for the lack of updates, hopefully I can bring everything back upto speed pretty quickly.

Since Springspeed we have raced a few meetings, and i'll give a quick recap of things now.

Dragstalgia @ Santa Pod Raceway:
After hurting the motor on the record breaking run, we used Dragstalgia as a exercise of bedding in a lot of fresh parts (The repair list was long, so I didn't want to thrash the motor... just yet!). With the bad weather and other unfortunate circumstances we only got two runs in. The first run was against Adam Gleadow in the Motor Psycho altered, with which I ran a early shut off 7.50. Just what everyone needed with bedding in new parts.

The second run was the Sunday morning, and originally to be against Chaos. After the burnout the car lost fire and we couldn't work out why to begin with. It turned out to be the battery plug for the MSD system, which when shook loose the points box and coil lost current and shut down. Fortunately, Bob Glassup was shut off too, so after letting the cars cool for 10 minutes, we ran again. The car left very strong this time and I wanted to run it through, but I had lost high gear, and after a few attempts to get high gear I shut the motor off about 1000ft and still ran a 7.17. Bad weather put a end to the final run, but the motor was looking good for Open Sports Nationals.

Open Sports Nationals @ Shakespeare County Raceway:
Sadly we were to be the only car to appear for the August Bank Holiday meeting at Shakespeare County Raceway this year, but we went to get some precious track time. After a rain delayed first day, we spent the day checking the car over and left it for the Sunday.

The Sunday afternoon we ran out and after a strong burnout, I launched off idle and drove the car to a 6.63 @ 201mph pass. A checkover saw no problems with the motor at all, so we left the car again for the Bank Holiday Monday. The next day after some small rain delays again, we ran the car, after getting a large bout of tyre shake about 200ft, I drove the car to a 7.01 @ 201mph run.

After this, we trailored the car ready for the next meeting, which we decided was to be the Hot Rod Drags.

Hot Rod Drags @ Shakespeare County Raceway:
We decided this year to attend the Hot Rod Drags with the Supercharged Outlaws. Unfortunately rain played havoc with the event all Saturday, but however we were able to take part in the Saturday Night cacklefest, which was a real treat and I thoroughly enjoyed burning out down the fireup road.

The next day was again hampered by bad weather, but the weather cleared in the afternoon and we were able to run in the afternoon against Team Thing. After another bout of tyre shake, I was able to get a 6.94 @ 201mph pass down the track, which we thought was a great achievement given the weather conditions over the weekend.

Sadly we found after the Hot Rod Drags we had damaged the rear wing and decided to not enter the National Finals because of it. That said, due to point gained over the Avon Park meetings we were able to hold onto our NFAA title for 2011. Sadly due to the lack of cars across the season, it isn't quite a achievement as the previous year, but a win is a win in the end.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all my awesome family, my crew, and everyone who helped me and the team throughout the year. You all know who you are, and for that, I'm truly grateful for them. In 2011 I met a ton of new people at the track, especially in aspects of the sport I wasn't before involved, and I look forward to seeing all of them, and my old friends, at the track again next year.

Now; onto next season. We just had our NFAA yearly AGM, and with a few pieces on the agenda, some areas of the class has been addressed and some other bits are now in motion. 2012 looks to be a healthier year for the NFAA, and let's hope it turns out that way.

Also in the works for 2012 is the chance of two, possibly three, shootout style demonstration weekends, so stay tuned for that. 2012 might also involve a certain fuel which has the chemical compound CH3NO2... we'll see :)

More to come soon!
Joe

Photo copyright Ingrid Chesworth

Springspeed Nationals review

Well the Springspeed Festival was a few weeks ago, and due to work and family commitments this is the first time I was able to sit down and write up about our ventures at the meeting. This was the first meeting we were to be without one of our crew members Lawrence as family matters meant he was unable to attend.

With only two cars entered (myself and Chaos) it was always going to be a quiet meeting for the NFAA, and with some small debate about whether we should race the 1/8th mile due to safety concerns was raised, but were quickly quashed after a quick conversation between myself and the Chaos crew. For the record, I was always going to be racing the 1/4 mile, and that really was the end of it.

Saturday went quietly for us as we went through our normal routine, and as the weather was notably cooler than Easter, the car was sounded really very strong. We pulled to the fireup road and were soon against the blast wall. The car sounded great at start up and pulled a soft burnout; I could hear Chaos in the other lane and with that we staged the car.

On the green I left .1 of a second ahead of Chaos and never saw him again; I could certainly hear him, and heard the car pedal as his engine note died over the sound of my own. I decided to short shift both gears and as soon as I saw the shift light at top end, pull the parachutes and shut it down. Coming up about 1100ft the light came on and pulled the parachutes and coasted through the line and to the last turn off.

I saw ambulance crews and fire teams leaving their station as the car coasted through to the turnoff, totally oblivious to the disaster which happened with Chaos in the other lane. I'm just glad to hear that Gary was unharmed. As the fire crews were tending to Chaos they couldn't allow the crew to come pick me up, so I was stranded up the top end with Dick Sharp with the Dorset Horn for about 10 minutes, where we sparked up a friendly chat while waiting for our crews.

The crew finally got to me and were quiet, which I was expecting as it was only to be a check out pass. It wasn't until they started grinning and said quietly that I had run 6.48 @ 198mph and smashed the BB/FA track ET record. I was stunned, and thought they were winding me up! Looking at the timing ticket and it was true, a check out pass turned into a record breaker!

Returning to the pits feeling quite amazed, we checked the car over and everything was looking great, so we saved the car for the next day.

Sunday dawned overcast with spots of rain here and there delaying proceedings, and with eliminations finally getting underway the weather improved. We took to the line about 3pm when their was a slight lull in eliminations. We fired the car against the wall and quickly shut it down as we found a small issue, and after 30 seconds we fired the car back up. A sharp burnout followed and was given the thumbs up by Dad and Martyn to take it to the line.

And the end result? a .065 r/t, 4.17 @ 170 1/8th, brief pedal and went through the finish line at 6.47 @ 214mph! Not only had we taken the E.T record, but now the speed. We got to the entrance to the pits and were greeted with a really warm applause by spectators on the banking and in the grandstands, thank you so much everyone we really appreciate all the support we get.

Sadly we did some damage on that run, but we are well set to get the motor sorted for Dragstalgia in the middle of July.

I want to thank my incredible crew once more for making me a record breaking race car, all the fire and safety teams who chased after me on the Sunday after seeing the smoke when the motor decided to hurt itself, you were with me all the way and there like a flash when the car came to a stop at the turn off; can't ask for much more than that from a fire crew.

I also want to thank Jerry Cookson and all the startline and track crews at Shakespeare County Raceway for preparing a record breaking race track, it was superb and I look forward to going back there for the next meeting, which will now be the Open Sports Nationals. We were planning to attend the Nostalgia Nationals, but sadly with parts turnarounds from the states we are unable to source the last peices of the motor.

Our next meeting is the first running of Dragstalgia at Santa Pod, the weekend of my birthday. If your going, we will see you there!

Cheers for reading
Joe

Easter Thunderball: Day Three

Easter Sunday arrived and overnight we had cloud come in and the wind changed direction which meant that the weather was a bit cooler, which was perfect. The clouds soon cleared and the weather was spot on for the racing. We knew after yesterday that the track took some treatment after racing to help the conditions so the track was a lot better from our perspective to race on.

After dropping the oil after the 6.95 the day before, the weather conditions changed so much we decided to run some changes in the fuel system and took the car to the line. I took the left lane as it appeared to be holding out well. After a strong burnout, the car launched quite nicely but got into quite a uncomfortable bounce and skipping which caused the car to become quite unstable. After a quick pedal about 400ft out I shifted into high gear and drove it through to run a 6.78 @ 191mph.

When the crew came to pick me up I was suprised at the time as I knew the bounce would cost me time. Martin Cottle filmed a great video of the run, which can be seen in the link below:

6.78 @ 191 mph run

After this run during the maintenance we found a few issues with the fuelling which were quickly remedied. The later pairing in the day we were to run against Adam Gleadow in the Motor Psycho 34 Ford Altered, and we both pulled strong burnouts again. Sadly shortly before staging Adam's car shut down with problems so I took the solo.

The run itself was as close to perfect as I have ever felt in the car; the car launched great, didn't buck around after launch, and the ride was so smooth both shifts were great and it really charged through the finish line. The shutdown area got a little hairy about 200metres before the turnoff as I overcooked the braking and got into a bounce but no harm done.

The crew came up to get me and were all quiet, walking towards me like a mexican standoff was about to commence. In my head I thought I had either done something very stupid or very good!

Thankfully it was the latter! They told me I had run 6.54 @ 208.96mph and we were ecstatic! Martin Cottle again filmed the run, and that clip can be found below:

6.54 @ 208mph run

After a quick celebration we did the usual maintenance and found that a crank problem had reared it's head again, so with that we made the car ready for tomorrow. When Easter Monday came along we were to be in the final against Gary Page driving Chaos, but I decided after such a great weekend, and we knew the problem wouldn't go away with the crank, I aired on the side of caution and trailored the car so we can properly repair it for the next meeting.

So with that, after a few years of Easter being a problematic / head scratching first meeting of the year, we walked away from the 2011 Thunderball with a big smile on our face which was great.

Also quick facts; the Topolino is now the 3rd fastest blown alcohol altered in Europe!, and to add to that the 2nd fastest! Hopefully we can keep the performance consistant from here on in.

The next update will be a workshop update prior to Springspeed in 2 weekends time, so catch us then.

Thanks for reading!
Joe

Easter Thunderball: Day Two

Saturday was another great day with superb weather and it looked like the weather wouldn't break all day which was great.

The car was unchanged from the day before after the test launch so after a quick fireup we checked the car and got ready for the call. Sadly a bike racer came off earlier in the day and caused the session to be pushed back a little (luckily the rider was okay though so thats all that matters).

When we got the call we towed down and got strapped in good to go. The session started with Dave Grabham doing a moon shot and in doing so, destroying his car and causing a very lengthy delay. The track guys said it wouldn't be too long before the racing would start again so I stayed strapped in the car. After nearly a hour we were getting restless and, in the very humid 26 degree heat, a sfi-20 suit really does take it out of you.

The startline crew came upto us and said a issue with a repair to the track wasn't holding so they had to hold us back a bit longer. At this point I got out and drunk about four bottles of water (I had never felt so exhausted in my life). However after 30 minutes in the shade with drinks and other bits I took back to the car and we got the call to fire up. The frustration of the long wait came out in a long smokey burnout, which Lawrence didn't appreciate as he would have to chase after me.

The run itself was all over the place, the car bucking about about 330ft to half track, really moving about and taking up a lot of time to get to the line. I eventually wrestled the car to the line with a early shut off 6.91 @ 191mph. Considering the conditions I was quite happy with it, and thought that would be the only session of the day.

Turned out I was wrong however, as people within the class decided a final session could be run merely 40 minutes after the run, which gave us no time at all to turn the car around. This was extremely frustrating to me as I would have preferred to run in the evening but not knowing this was going to happen it caused us problems. They know who they are, and be-grudgingly I watched a few cars run the last session. I would have to wait until the next morning before getting another chance to get the car down the track.

That night the track closed at 7pm as a lot of prep was needed after so many hot days and a large build up of rubber was on the startline. Cooler temperatures were predicted for the Sunday, so I looked forward to that.

Catch us tomorrow for Sundays write up, and here is two shots of the 6.9 run from Saturday.

Photos copyright of Mark Skinners. Thanks for the photos Mark!

Easter Thunderball: Day One

Easter Friday dawned with great weather and big expectations, and we were really keen to debut the new look car . After towing to scruitineering, the car passed tech comfortably and we took the car back to the pits to have the finishing touches made and prepare everything for a check out pass later that afternoon.

After measuring the new fuel tank capacity (just a smidge over 6 gallons, perfect!), we fired the car up and it felt and sounded great. We set the car down and out into the sunshine as we got the truck ready to tow down. When we towed to the fireup road the sheer amount of people taking photographs was incredible, everyone coming upto us, saying the car looked great it was really very touching and meant a huge amount to me!

I got suited up and took the car to the line. With a mild burnout I staged the car and launched to about 100ft where the car hit tyre shake and made a hard move to the barrier. With that I shut her down and coasted to the first turn off. A quick checkover of the car showed no problems, just a few small changes to be made for the following day.

With that we retired the car for the night as we had a early afternoon pass the next day. Check back tomorrow and I will write about Saturday.

Thanks for reading!

Easter Thunderball Preview!

Hi guys.

This is written after the Thunderball, but I wanted to write this first and then write a proper review of the meeting in another entry later this weekend.

Anyway, the car was made ready for the Thunderball, and with everything in place the car looked fantastic in it's new design, we are really very happy with it.

Stay tuned for a full write up on the Thunderball. Until then, here is a photo of the car before we loaded her up for the meeting.










Stay tuned, plenty more to come!
Joe

Workshop Update 09th April

Today was a big weekend in preparation to the Easter weekend.

On top of servicing the trailer and the tow vehicle, we began peicing the car back together with the fresh front end, re-wiring the car, re-plumbing the moved fire system etc. (All the small bits and peices that take up a large amount of time).

We are on course for Easter, tune in next time and we will have hopefully sorted most of the car ready for the Thunderball.

Here is a latest workshop photo. The photos don't do the car any justice as in it's new guise it really looks superb. I hope you all feel the same when you see it at the track soon!










Many thanks, catch you soon!
Joe

Another workshop update!

Another busy weekend at the workshop.

After a 140 mile round trip to Bridgwater to pick up the freshly painted parts from JW Automotive, we spent the afternoon working on the trailer and the rear axle of the race car. Just want to add a huge thanks to Richard and Pete Walters for their help with design and application of the paint to the new parts aswell as the new lettering for the car. Always appreciate the hard work they put in for us!

The end result was the rear axle fully assembled finally, ready to go and installed into the car. This means that once the SFI day at Santa Pod has come and gone (this Monday), we can finally start with the complete re-assembly of the car.











Here is a photo of the front end of the car together with the new nose, tank and canards fresh from paint. Just under the nose you can see where the fire bottles are. That will add extra colour to the front too.

Next up is a 180 mile round trip to Santa Pod for the SFI day.

Thanks for reading

Workshop update

Another quick workshop update for you all, we have got the new body panels down to paint and here is a sneak preview of the new grille shell painted up by the guys at JW Automotive, designed by Peter Walters @ PWRD:

Richard did a awesome job on the nose, aswell as the other panels and I can't wait to get everything back together ready for Easter.

On other Easter related news the chassis updates are basically done and the motor is back in the car. Now we just need to wait for the SFI tech day so we can get everything back upto spec and then re-assemble everything ready.


Once I have more i'll keep this updated.

Have a nice weekend!
Joe

Workshop update!

Hi everyone,

Quick update to say that the workshops been cleared and the car is back at home, now the work begins to get the car stripped down, checked, serviced, re-certified and checked again before re-assembly begins.

Here are some more photos of the car back in the yard. With wider shots of the car you get to see more of the work Wayne at Intergalactic Customs has done. I personally don't think the photos do the modifications justice, you'll just have to see it in the flesh at the track. Here they are anyway:


The new parts will now be sent off for fresh paint, aswell as the new rear wing. Check back for more updates as the parts come back and the car begins to get fit for racing.

Thanks for reading

Workshop update!

Happy New Year everyone!

This is just a quick blog update to keep things rolling with the updates during the off season. Like I said in a previous entry to this, we will not be idle during the off season. And I'm true to my word!

We have taken the car to Wayne Allmans workshop just outside Shakespeare County Raceway, where he has done some serious car updates. The front end has been completely changed around, as can be seen in the photos below:


The front end has been modified, a new Moontank w/ Secondary tank installed for the fuel tank, aswell as a moulded topolino grille and a pair of front wings. A lot of people would have called our car a 'FC with a altered body on it', but now I think it can be said it's a through and through Fuel Altered now.

On top of this, other big new parts have come in from the states to hopefully help us stage a strong defence of our 2010 title. That said, we still have plenty to do before Easter, so will post more on the car once we are closer to the time.

But until then, see you soon!

Happy New Year!

Hi everyone.

Just a quick message from all the team, wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!

We hope your festive holidays were great and looking forward to this new year.

Stay tuned as very soon we will have workshop updates with whats going on here with the car, as plenty of things is happening with the car during the off season.

Thanks for reading
Joe