Let's bring you upto speed!

Okay this is so unbelievably out of date, it needs fixing. So, here we go!!

Here is a quick round up of everything that has happened since we last chat. The last time we spoke, we were packing up to head off for the Easter Thunderball in Early April. A lot happened over Easter, and in between times, so here is a quick round up of it all:

Easter Thunderball:

After a mild launch which eventually caused a lane change on the first day, due to the cold weather we were relatively confident that we could get the car down the track well. Due to the cold weather also, we knew the corrected altitude of the track would be absolutely brilliant for making a lot of power.

The first full pass we did over the Easter weekend was a absolute stunning run; the car ran a 6.305 @ only 207mph, the motor being shut off early due to a broken push rod and lifter combination. Here is a quick video of the run itself:

It was our Personal Best E.T by a long way, and we were chuffed to run it in the cold weather. Only 4/100ths of a second away from a European record too, so we will aim for that one another time!

The next day we ran a very, very out of shape 6.59 @ 205mph which got us No.1 qualifier going into the final day, but sadly weather got the better of things and the final day was washed out.

We were unable to make the Springspeed Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway due to other commitments, so the next meeting would be the Nostalgia Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway instead!

Nostalgia Nationals:

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we would have normally raced with the NFAA at the Summer Nationals at Santa Pod, but instead we raced with the Supercharged Outlaws at the Nostalgia Nationals and had a great time. Bad weather was forecast, but Saturday turned out to be a great day. We only got one run in during the day, but it was a eventful one!

Here is a short video filmed by Sam Mason:

The car hit very violent tyre shake about 100ft, and it carried on through second gear to about 330ft when the entire car went airborne for a split second. I was able to settle the car back down and get to the finish line in 6.87 seconds, at a early chute 196 mph terminal speed.

Sadly, this would be the only run of the weekend because bad weather got the better of us on Sunday. The weekend has taught us some things about the car, and we are thinking of ways to go about solving some small issues. Either way, you'll know first here when things change.

At the moment, the next scheduled meeting is Dragstalgia at Santa Pod Raceway. Hope to see you all there. Oh, and I hope to keep this all more updated too!

Cheers
Joe

Time to go racing:

Well, after months of complaining about the long off season, finally the Easter Thunderball is upon us, and we are good to go!

The car is in the trailer, and we are fully loaded up ready to go to Santa Pod for the opening round of the NFAA championship for 2012. With mixed fortunes on the weather forecast, we are hoping to get some luck with the weather and lay some good opening runs on the year.

I am hoping to have access to a proper method of keeping relatively live updates from the pit area throughout the racing weekend. Experiments with wireless internet services hopefully means I can keep everyone updated with how the team gets on during the weekend.

Next stop; Santa Pod for the Thunderball. See you there!
-Joe

Pre Easter Preparations:

This is written after the events of the Thunderball itself, as the time prior to the event was very busy with finishing the car and other non racing matters that caused delays in updating the site. Here is however some words written in past tense, in a hope to give you all a idea of how things were!

The build up to the Easter Thunderball was a typically hectic time, with last minute parts being delivered and returned from respective certification and servicing. The parts we had ordered from Holbrook Performance Parts arrived in good time and we were able to do what we needed to prepare what we had. The supercharger arrived back from servicing, and the new injector hat arrived from Good Vibrations Motorsports of Whittier, California. Must recommend their service to anyone, anywhere in the world, speak to Kasey there (http://www.dragparts.com/) as they were fantastic for us.

The body also arrived back from paint the weekend prior to the race, and must thank Martyn’s brother Mick so much for driving to Bridgwater to pick it up for me. The body looks incredible, and photos will be aplenty hopefully at the Thunderball.

Things are looking good to be there in good stead for the opening round. Stay tuned for more information before the big ‘Go’

Thanks for reading!
-Joe

NFAA Dinner Dance / Workshop Update

Happy New Year!

This is a combined update to bring everyone bang up to date with whats going on here prior to the 2012 season.

First off, a few weeks ago we had the NFAA dinner dance at the great Ettington Chase hotel. This is the second time the event has been staged here and once again the place and everything was great, with great food, great times to catch up and even some dancing!

We picked up the number 1 trophy for the second year running, which was superb. Much to my joy we also picked up the Best Appearing Car trophy. Not only has the new front end made the car much better driving wise, but also looks great! I must thank everyone who voted for our car for the best appearing award. Must also thank to Pete and Richard Walters at JW Automotive for painting everything for us!

Here is a quick photo of myself and my awesome crew; Lawrence, Martyn and Dad Doug:


A few weeks have passed and we have been busy preparing the car for the 2012 season. Expect more photos as the weeks pass, as we have some small updates going on to hopefully help keep the car running strong and consistent.

Stay tuned a bit more as more news will be coming soon.

Cheers!
Joe