Sean D, shondoo
Nitro Member
Well, I can't say a heck of a lot more than has already been said by Shane, Sean B, Scott Gaulter and Rapid. What a deal to not only witness for the first time, but even more so to be a participant. The entire Black Reign gang had a great time!
We had our first qualifying time scratched when we were alongside the Dunn & Gone Fiat of John Dunn. Big John was on a good one, but started coming across the stripe near the finish line. He ended up punting the last cone, making our time come up 4.10 at a whopping 652 Mph, which I believe stood for top speed of the meet....................
We ended up being allowed a re-run about an hour later, and ran 4.30 to put us on the bump.
Kerry stepped it up a little for the last session Saturday afternoon, but the air had gotten over 800 feet worse, so we were just hoping to repeat at that point. However, with Nanook still on the outside looking in, we were pretty sure Rapid, Dave and the rest of the Nanook gang would end up putting us atop the B field, which was exactly what happened in the second to last pair. Rapid fired off a 4.17, to bump us out, shortly after we repeated with another 4.30. We were happy, however, because that 4.30 was in much worse conditions.
That set-up a first round date with Mr. Hope and the Rat Trap gang, which was really awesome. I had never run alongside a nitro car that ran that much in the tank! He was making so much noise while we were staging that I had to look at the tach to see if our stuff was still running! LMAO!!! Anyway, we were fortunate enough to get around Rat Trap and post a nice 4.29 to give us lane choice in the semi's. I have been having trouble with going red quite a bit, so when our opponent broke on the burnout, I felt really fortunate because I was going to be able to take a shot at the tree to see if the adjustments we had made were going to work. But then I had a dumba$$ attack and rolled the starting beams, which not only cost me a chance to find my spot on the tree, but also lost lane choice for the final, which I really wanted because the left lane really seemed to upset our car.
We still felt confident going into the final against the Better Than Therapy gang. They were running right with us throughout the day, and we felt we could run 4.27 or so in the final. I made my mind up that I was going to go after the tree no matter what in the final, and if I could get back to where I was late last year, we should be OK. As a matter of fact, I even told the Rat Trap crew that we were going to be double-oh on the tree or red, one or the two, because I wasn't going to take any chances. I got away with a .009 and could immediately tell he was pretty far back, but at the gear change the car got unsettled again in the left lane. It never really got too far out of the groove, but it was bouncing and shaking pretty bad and I still didn't see him coming. Right about that time the car went up in RPM and the belt came off, ending our day. We coasted through at a 4.74, while Knowles recorded their personal best of 4.25. It was tough to swallow knowing that all we needed to run was 4.33 to win, but it was still a cool deal to see the Better Than Therapy gang record their personal best.
All in all, it was a great weekend, like everyone has said. The weather was perfect, the event was very well organized, and the track and it's personnel were second to none. I also got to add to my 'Mater roster yet again by meeting both Shane and Eric Boyungs, Eric Bru, Dave Hough and Greg Green. It was really great to meet you guys and I look forward to working with Shane and Eric in the near future. I also can't wait for you to debut that nostalgia nitro flopper, Greg! Keep me posted! It was also good to rub elbows once again with Sean Belt and Rapid. Damn, Belt, just how late did you stay up Friday?!
Many thanks to Scott Gaulter for the event, and to Scott Gardner and his staff at Eddyville Raceway! It was a great experience!
Sean D
P.S. Here's a link to a video of the B final. We're in the near lane. World Fuel Altered Nationals - "B" Final - Brightcove
We had our first qualifying time scratched when we were alongside the Dunn & Gone Fiat of John Dunn. Big John was on a good one, but started coming across the stripe near the finish line. He ended up punting the last cone, making our time come up 4.10 at a whopping 652 Mph, which I believe stood for top speed of the meet....................
We ended up being allowed a re-run about an hour later, and ran 4.30 to put us on the bump.Kerry stepped it up a little for the last session Saturday afternoon, but the air had gotten over 800 feet worse, so we were just hoping to repeat at that point. However, with Nanook still on the outside looking in, we were pretty sure Rapid, Dave and the rest of the Nanook gang would end up putting us atop the B field, which was exactly what happened in the second to last pair. Rapid fired off a 4.17, to bump us out, shortly after we repeated with another 4.30. We were happy, however, because that 4.30 was in much worse conditions.
That set-up a first round date with Mr. Hope and the Rat Trap gang, which was really awesome. I had never run alongside a nitro car that ran that much in the tank! He was making so much noise while we were staging that I had to look at the tach to see if our stuff was still running! LMAO!!! Anyway, we were fortunate enough to get around Rat Trap and post a nice 4.29 to give us lane choice in the semi's. I have been having trouble with going red quite a bit, so when our opponent broke on the burnout, I felt really fortunate because I was going to be able to take a shot at the tree to see if the adjustments we had made were going to work. But then I had a dumba$$ attack and rolled the starting beams, which not only cost me a chance to find my spot on the tree, but also lost lane choice for the final, which I really wanted because the left lane really seemed to upset our car.
We still felt confident going into the final against the Better Than Therapy gang. They were running right with us throughout the day, and we felt we could run 4.27 or so in the final. I made my mind up that I was going to go after the tree no matter what in the final, and if I could get back to where I was late last year, we should be OK. As a matter of fact, I even told the Rat Trap crew that we were going to be double-oh on the tree or red, one or the two, because I wasn't going to take any chances. I got away with a .009 and could immediately tell he was pretty far back, but at the gear change the car got unsettled again in the left lane. It never really got too far out of the groove, but it was bouncing and shaking pretty bad and I still didn't see him coming. Right about that time the car went up in RPM and the belt came off, ending our day. We coasted through at a 4.74, while Knowles recorded their personal best of 4.25. It was tough to swallow knowing that all we needed to run was 4.33 to win, but it was still a cool deal to see the Better Than Therapy gang record their personal best.
All in all, it was a great weekend, like everyone has said. The weather was perfect, the event was very well organized, and the track and it's personnel were second to none. I also got to add to my 'Mater roster yet again by meeting both Shane and Eric Boyungs, Eric Bru, Dave Hough and Greg Green. It was really great to meet you guys and I look forward to working with Shane and Eric in the near future. I also can't wait for you to debut that nostalgia nitro flopper, Greg! Keep me posted! It was also good to rub elbows once again with Sean Belt and Rapid. Damn, Belt, just how late did you stay up Friday?!
Many thanks to Scott Gaulter for the event, and to Scott Gardner and his staff at Eddyville Raceway! It was a great experience!
Sean D
P.S. Here's a link to a video of the B final. We're in the near lane. World Fuel Altered Nationals - "B" Final - Brightcove
