NASCAR
Nationwide Series- Wypall 200- Sam Hornish
Sprint Cup- Kobalt Tools 500- Kasey Kahne
NHRA
Casey Currie Update
We were pleased to have Casey come by our booth at the SEMA show last week.
Casey Currie was all-in at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, in his No. 2 Monster Energy General Tire Nissan, contending for the Lucas Oil Off-Road Championship. With some intense racing, and a couple of set backs, Casey drove hard and pushed through to finish the weekend strong, with one race remaining in the season—his final chance to put it all on the table.
Qualifying 10th after some steering issues on Friday, Casey was down, but not out. Saturday’s race would again challenge the team with some set backs and thus yield a less than stellar finish, only to turn up the team’s focus and motivation to push even harder for the win on Sunday.
“We had a great truck today,” noted Casey of Saturday’s race. “I started 10th and quickly made my way through the field. We got all the way up to 4th and lost brakes when a rock broke a brake line—very disappointing, but out of our hands.”
Game-face on for Sunday, Casey knew he had to break through traffic and move through the pack to prevent the front-runners from gaining too much ground. Casey succeeded, moving from 13th to 3rd before the competition yellow tightened the pack back up. Once in the number 3 position, Casey managed to hold off fellow Monster Energy driver Cameron Steele until Steele made a pass at turn one after battling door-to-door with Casey on the front stretch. Casey would stay on him but cross the finish in 4th.
“Starting from 13th we had our work cut out for us,” Casey reflects. “We made our way through the field as fast as possible getting up to 3rd. We had some great battles and we have the truck working very well. There is some homework to do, but come time for Firebird, we will be ready.”
Off-track and back in the pits, fans stopped in to get a picture with Casey and the No. 2 Monster Energy General Tire Nissan, many admiring the full-sized “Huseman #36” signage on the hood in memory of fellow Monster Energy driver Rick Huseman. Miss Magnaflow Exhaust’s presence also brightened up the pit area as she signed autographs and took pictures with fans.
Casey’s hard driving and skill overcame the weekend’s obstacles and advanced him to 5th in championship points in the Lucas Oil Off-Road Series. He will make his last stop of the season at Firebird Raceway for the final round of the Lucas Oil Championship and the Lucas Oil Off-Road Challenge Cup. Catch him December 10-11 for the action at Firebird Speedway in Phoenix, Arizona. For more information on Casey Currie, visit CaseyCurrie.com, become a fan at Facebook/OfficialCaseyCurrie or follow Casey on Twitter at Twitter.com/caseycurrie
Hot Rodders of Tomorrow
ARP is pleased to be a part of the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow program. We are proud of Team ARP and their 4th place finish.
Las Vegas NV. – Team MOROSO – Loara High School from Anaheim CA. won the 3rd Annual “Showdown at SEMA” with a record breaking time of 21:08 minutes. As a matter of fact, the top six of the ten teams competing average this year would have beat last year’s winning time of 31 minutes. All ten teams would have beat the 2009 winning time of 44:22!
“Showdown at SEMA” is the title of the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge National Championship held at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas. This year 10 High School Auto Tech teams competed Nov. 1-4, 2011 in the engine teardown and rebuild contest in front of thousands of spectators.During the divisional playoffs all teams compete once. The best time wins the division and the team has the opportunity to compete at SEMA. But during the “Showdown at SEMA” all the teams compete once each day, Tuesday through Thursday, for a total of three times. At the end of the third day the times are averaged. The National Champion for 2011 – Team MOROSO (Loara High School from Anaheim CA.)was determined with the best average time of 21:08. They were recognized Thursday night during the SEMA Industry Awards Banquet.Trophies and scholarships were given out on Friday morning at the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow award presentation.
SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund Engine
We’re almost “home” with our project to benefit the SEMA
Memorial Scholarship Fund. The engine was on display in
the Grand Lobby of the SEMA Show. 
The bidding started the day of the show and will conclude
this coming Friday, November 11. According to SEMA
Scholarship Committee member Anson Tse, who is an
executive with eBay, the last three days of the auction
are when the bidding really heats up.
We have received quite a bit of support from the media.
I’ve enclosed links to about two dozen stories that have
recently run. There are more. And we anticipate getting
additional coverage in both the digital and print media
upon culmination of the project.
Thanks again to all SEMA member manufacturers for
making this happen.
Bill
Bill Holland, Project Coordinator
SEMA Scholarship Committee
http://www.nhra.com/blog/nhra-notebook/2011/11/4/ed-pinksema-scholarship-engine-completed,-auction-underway/
http://www.enginebuildermag.com/Article/91523/ed_pinkbuilt_engine_auction_to_benefit_sema_scholarship_fund.aspx
http://www.streetlegaltv.com/news/engine-builder-ed-pink-builds-a-351-for-sema%E2%80%99s-scholarship-committee/
http://www.auctioncause.com/index.php/2011/10/ed-pink-sema-engine/
http://www.streetrodderweb.com/hotnews/1110sr_ed_pink_sema_scholarship_engine_completed/index.html
http://www.sema.org/sema-enews/2011/42/roster-of-participating-manufacturers-set-for-sema-scholarship-engine-project
http://www.performanceracing.com/news/20-companies-join-ed-pink-auction-engine-sema-scholarship-fund
http://competitionplus.com/drag-racing/news/18946-engine-auction-to-benefit-sema-scholarship-fund
http://stores.ebay.com/Celebrity-Charity-Auctions/SEMA.html
http://www.tirebusiness.com/subscriber/associationnews2.phtml?cat=15&id=1313766240&subtitle=
http://blogs.mustang50magazine.com/6757852/miscellaneous/roster-of-participating-manufacturers-set-for-sema-scholarship-engine-project/index.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kfd1VP93N5A
http://www.hotrodandrestoration.com/tag/ed-pink-racing-engines/
http://blogs.4wdandsportutility.com/6743348/editorials/engine-auction-to-benefit-sema-scholarship-fund/index.html
http://www.dragracingonline.com/agent1320/2011/1320-xiii_8-66.html
http://renegrivois.posterous.com/ed-pinksema-auction-engine-completed
http://mustangoverload.com/entry/2011/09/02/sema-scholarship-fund-auction-1/
http://4x4galore.com/2011/08/engine-auction-to-benefit-sema-scholarship-fund-36vhrh7cb7/
http://blogs.mustangandfords.com/2/363/ford-parts/index.html
http://blogs.customclassictrucks.com/6750607/classic-truck-news/sema-scholarship-fund/index.html
http://www.hotrodpartsguide.com/?cat=12
Matt Lennen- 1320 Racing
Last week was absolutely crazy. We blew the motor and trans apart on Sunday 10/30, with the huge MIR World Cup Finals race coming up on the following Saturday/Sunday (11/5-11/6). Big thanks goes out to:
-ARP for getting us the extra L19 hardware months ago
-Boost Logic for overnighting a fresh downpipe
-Brian Crower for overnighting a new set of Rods
-Elmhurst Toyota for getting us the OEM parts we were missing
-Ferrea for overnighting some replacement valves
-FTI for building a new converter last minute
-Gates for supplying us additional parts back at the beginning of the season
-Justice Racing Engines for getting the new bottom end machined/assembled and repairing the head
-PFSupercars for helping me get some last minute late night issues resolved
-Real Street Performance for overnighting a set of ACL main/rod bearings and some hoodies to keep us warm at the track
-Wiseco for overnighting us a set of Rings, and somehow getting us 4 fresh custom cut pistons to make a complete set.
-And anyone else that I texted/called/annoyed all last week (my apologies)
It was a long week filled with sleepless nights, scrambling to find parts and cleaning up one big disastrous mess. We picked up the bottom end and head from Justice Racing on Thursday afternoon, from that point on it was go time. Started putting the odds and ends back on the motor, ran into big problems with the oil pump, got the head on, got the accessories bolted up, did the timing belt, water pump, wiring harness, etc. Finally had the motor in the car around 2-3pm Friday. Started hooking up intercooler piping, radiator, wiring – got the transmission bolted up around 6pm. Going back over all the loose odds and ends around 11pm we found a helicoil on the radiator drainplug was trashed. Met up with Andre from PFSupercars down at their shop and came up with a temporary solution. By 3:30am the car was completely back together and ready for some oil, a filter and startup. Ran into an issue with an oil leak at 4am Saturday, didnt have it resolved until around 6am. Finally had the car ready to go at 9:30am Saturday. We loaded up, and went straight down to the track.
All week we had played it off as though there was no chance we could possibly get the car together and make the event. This worked out exactly as we planned getting everyone at the track talking when they saw us bring the car in. Arrived at MIR around Noon on Saturday, in time for the 2nd round of qualifying. We unloaded the car, went up to the lanes around 4pm and pulled off a 9.26@151 right off the trailer, qualifying #1. That was all we needed to do Saturday, decided to take it easy on the few hour old motor and park the car for the rest of the day.
Sunday the track was plagued with breakage and oil downs. It was announced that our class would have a 32 car field and thus 5 rounds of eliminations. We did our first round pass around 12pm, up against a high 10 second S2000. Decided to take it easy on the car and not hurt anything until we had to, peddled the car at 40% to a 10.3@118 beating the S2000’s 11.5 second pass – advancing us onto round 2.
The event was falling way behind schedule by round 2, which didnt begin until 4pm. The track tech inspectors announced they would be measuring everyones turbo’s at the scales right after the round 2 pass. We ended up with a bye run for round 2, so to try to avoid the compressor housing inlet swelling from heat, again decided to just take it easy down the track and ran a 12 second pass. Turbo measured up legal after the pass and we were on to round 3.
We were called up to the lanes for round 3 around 8:30pm, more than 4 hours behind schedule. We sat in the lanes for at least another hour and a half waiting for wrecks and spills to be cleaned up. The sun was long gone and temperatures were dropping, it was now about 38 degrees outside and dew was forming on the track surface. For round 3 we were up against the 2nd fastest car in the class, running 9.3’s consistently the last few passes. We’ve had an ongoing rivalry with this racer, so we knew he was going to throw everything he had at us on this pass. Once the amber lights flashed it was a contest of who could find traction first – we both spun hard out of the hole, and we both were quick to recover. I managed to inch ahead and win with a 10.0@150 to his 10.2@151, advancing us to the semi finals.
After returning to the pits, an announcement was made that due to the track conditions the event would be ended early with the purse being split evenly between everyone still in the race. This is a first for this event, and definitely a disappointment, but we’ll still count it as a win.
Race Report Week Ending 11/6/11
Nascar
Sprint Cup- AAA Texas 500- Tony Stewart
Nationwide Series- OReilly Auto Parts Challenge- Trevor Bayne
Camping World Truck Series- WinStar World Casino 350- Kevin Harvick
World of Outlaws
World of Outlaws World Finals- Donny Schatz
Series Champion- Jason Meyers
Corey Kruseman Checks In
Nice!
Matt Lennen- 1320 Racing
Editor note: Racing isn’t always good news. I have serious respect for folks who not only send us their reports when they are winning, but also when things aren’t so good.
Since the last email there have been some interesting developments. We made the 1000 mile trip down to Palm Beach, FL again for the NSCRA round 4 race on October 23rd. Started out strong qualifying #1 right off the trailer with a 9.06@153mph. The day was downhill from there however, as the track prep was just not up to par. The next pass we ran was the first round of eliminations, maintained our position as the fastest in the class with a 9.18@145mph, had to lift at the 1000ft due to the poor track conditions. There were quite a few cars into the wall, one Extreme class car actually rolled at the 1000ft, and we had a scare ourselves on the last pass.
The second round of eliminations the car left the line hard, but right past the 60ft the tires hit ice, the track was slick and tires lost traction; immediately throwing off smoke as they spun up to 150mph in the blink of an eye. The back end swung out and I had to let out to recover, by the time I realized nothing had broken, it was too late and we were out.
We were sure to put on a good show while we were running, the car has become very recognizable. We got some good media coverage from Nyce1’s and GRS, waiting for videos to be posted from them. The stands were packed at this event, and I believe it was one of the best spectator turnouts we have seen so far this year. Our video can be seen at www.facebook.com/1320motorsports. These pictures have gone somewhat viral due to the extent of the damage. We literally snapped the block in half at the #4 cylinder. The cause for this appears to be a drivetrain malfunction.
With the MIR World Cup Finals race coming next weekend we have been busy here. We are trying to get a motor back in the car, we are only being held up by one part at the moment. If we can get that part, we will be good to go. We picked a bad weekend to pop the motor, quite a few of you are out at SEMA this week, luckily we have been able to get ahold of almost everyone we needed to.
Jim Justice has been working hard to get the motor/head ready to go. Brian Crower has been kind enough to send us out a fresh set of rods, Wiseco has supplied a fresh set of rings, Mark @ Real Street Performance has come onboard and supplied us with a set of bearings, Ferrea has sent us some new replacement valves, and Boost Logic is helping us repair the damage to the transmission. We’ve also got some OEM parts coming from Curt @ Elmhurst Toyota.
An in-car video of the pass where the motor let go is already up at photobucket.com/1320ms-October2011/
Race Report Week Ending 10/30/11
It’s SEMA week- I apologize for the delay.
NASCAR
Sprint Cup- Martinsville- Tums Fast Relief 500- Tony Stewart
Camping World Truck Series- Kroger 200- Denny Hamlin
F1- Inaugural Grand Prix of India- Sebastian Vettel
NHRA
Hauser Racing News from Europe
After seemingly an eternity of delays, not enough spare time and last minute hang ups we finally debuted the new Hauser Racing dragster in mid August. Although the car took longer than expected to complete, the wait was definitely worth it. The car was set up in the workshop and then went arrow straight on its first run and drove like a Cadillac. This is the first dragster we have built with suspension and the ride is great. It’s interesting to see how much the shocks actually travel during a run and I’m sure they help greatly in keeping the car on the straight and narrow.
Our first proper race event was the Euro Finals at Santa Pod. We qualified 16th out of 48 cars and went a couple of rounds before an 0.002 red light ended our day. We are currently using a fairly mild 509 Chevy motor and our best is 8.06 @ 164mph. A step up to something bigger is planned for the winter, nothing too wild, probably something to run mid-sevens should still be consistent. In the UK we race in a bracket that spans from 6.00 to 8.99 and delay boxes and throttle stops are banned so we don’t want to make it too difficult for ourselves.
Kasey Kahne Racing Roundup
The Sage Fruit Showdown Recap
Kasey Kahne helped the World of Outlaws return to the Talladega short track for the first time since 2004. The Sage Fruit Showdown was a thrilling 35-lap event at the 1/3rd mile, high banked oval and presented 19 year-old David Gravel his first career WoO victory. Kahne also had a strong showing in the event, scoring an eighth-place finish driving the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet/Sage Fruit Maxim.
-Kasey Kahne driver of the #49 Ollie’s Bargain Outlet/Sage Fruit Maxim
Kahne strapped in the #49 Ollie’s Bargain Outlet/Sage Fruit Maxim on Saturday night at the Talladega short track and cranked out a 10th-place qualifying effort. He finished fifth in his heat and lined up 12th for the A-main. He wasted no time working his way toward the front of the field and held his own with the World of Outlaws regulars, posting an eighth-place finish.
-Joey Saldana, driver of the #9 Red Bull/Sage Fruit Maxim
Saldana qualified the Red Bull/Sage Fruit Maxim in the sixth position. He finished third in his heat and lined up 11th for the A-main. He was running in the top 10 when he spun out. Saldana finished the A-main in 15th.
-Paul McMahan, driver of the #83 HR Cattle/Roth Motorsports Maxim
McMahan started off Saturday night with a ninth-place qualifying run. He followed that up by winning his heat and finishing eighth in the dash. He started the A-main in eighth and finished in 13th. He is currently fourth in points with one race remaining in the 2011 season.
-Cody Darrah, driver of the #91 Great Clips/Sage Fruit/ASE Maxim
Darrah qualified 13th at the Sage Fruit Showdown and finished sixth in his heat. He started the A-main event in 13th. Darrah finished the A-main event in 20th and is currently 10th in points with one event remaining in 2011.
Race Results Week Ending 10/23/11
Nascar
Camping World Truck Series- Mountain Dew 250- Mike Wallace
Sprint Cup- Good Sam Club 500- Clint Bowyer
Chris Kearns Fights Crate Motors!
A little 2011 back ground on the engine giveaway which included weekly shows at Santa Maria Speedway and West Coast Shootout shows across California.
Had a really good year for Late Models out here on the West Coast. Obviously not up to the standards back east, but still pretty good. The engine giveaway really made a difference. To give you a few examples. My smallest car count at a weekly show was 19. The highest car count at any other weekly show in California was 16. Bakersfield Speedway went to the NASRA rules. (weight break and spoiler for crates) I believe he averaged 13-14 cars a night with the largest car count for his weekly show being 16. I was always in the 20’s at all my weekly shows. Had 14 guys make every race, to be in the Engine drawing. When Bakersfield saw that allowing the 525 with a weight break wasn’t helping car count, he raised his purse to $300 more to win and $50 more to start than my weekly purse. It still didn’t help. When I took my West Coast Shootout series to Bakersfield we had 30 cars. Only dipped under 30 one time. And that was at my track for $5000 to win. Lol.
So basically as you can see staying with my open motor rules and promoting the engine giveaway has worked tremendously. Its been a tough fight out here, but it could be a lot worse. We did the drawing on Sept 24th at my final points race. Bill Bartels won the drawing. I told him I would start to get the ball rolling here.
Have done what I can for Promotions. Full page ad in Late Model Illustrated, company logos on all winner checks, stand up banner, decals on cars.I am including some pics. Karl Fredrickson of Speedway Illustrated will make the engine a feature project. I am pretty sure he hates Crate engine more than I do!
For more information, visit Chris’ website: ChrisKearnsPresents.com
Another Record for Bill Warner and Wild Brothers
Last weekend Bill Warner of Wild Brothers Racing set yet another track record at the Mojave Mile, in Mojave California, shattering the old record by over 23 miles per hour!
Bill ran a record 274.8 mph, then backed it up with a run of 273.8 mph!
Unfortunately, Bill was unable to go all out, as the track has a small dip where one of the taxiways crosses the runway. Due to the speeds Bill is laying down and the incredible acceleration, the bike would unload, resulting in a wheelie at over 280 mph! After looking over the track and reviewing the logged data on Saturday night, it was decided that no runs would be made on Sunday.
Wild Brothers Racing now holds track records at 4 of the five paved land speed racing venues in the country: Maxton, NC; Loring, ME, Goliad, TX, and now Mojave, CA !!!!
Next week, we will be racing at the new Texas Mile “Beeville” track and will be attempting to become the first motorcycle to go over 300 mph in the standing mile and to complete the sweep of ALL paved Land Speed track records in the USA.
Race Report Week Ending 10/16/11
Indycar
ARP joins the racing community mourning the loss of Dan Wheldon.
Series Champion- Dario Franchitti
Nascar-
Sprint Cup- Bank of America 500, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Matt Kenseth
Nationwide Series- Dollar General 300- Carl Edwards
Camping World Truck Series- Las Vegas- Smith’s 350- Ron Hornaday
K&N West
Toyota Napa Auto Parts 150- Eric Holmes
Series Champion- Greg Pursely
Whelan All American
Glen Reen- Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing, Thompson International Speedway
Series Champion- Ron Silk
World of Outlaws
Fremont Speedway- Jason Meyers
ARCA
Federated Car Care 200- Chris Buescher
Rookie of the Year- Chris Buescher
Series Champion- Austin Dillon
F1
Korean Grand Prix
Sebastian Vettel
NHRA
Abbreviated Race Report Week Ending 10/9/11
It’s crunch time in the performance industry. Sorry this is late.
Nascar
Sprint Cup- Hollywood Casino 400- Kansas Speedway- Jimmie Johnson
Nationwide Series- Kansas Lottery 300- Brad Keselowski
Kasey Kahne Racing Recap
Riding an emotional high into Eldora Speedway on Friday night, Joey Saldana returned to the site of his greatest victories and scariest crashes with hopes of winning his second-consecutive World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series race since missing nine weeks to injury.
Joey Saldana, driver of the #9 Red Bull/Sage Fruit Maxim
Saldana dominated once again, winning for the second time this season at the historic half-mile dirt track that is beginning to define his career. Twice he has won the prestigious Kings Royal, but twice a potential championship run was decimated by injuries from a crash, most recently in July when he sustained a shattered arm, punctured lung and broken ribs that kept him out of the Kasey Kahne Racing Red Bull Maxim for nine weeks.
On Friday, just two days after winning at Hartford (Mich.) Motor Speedway his first race back, Saldana again was in victory lane at Eldora after leading 30 laps and holding off Paul McMahan, to the checkered flag. It was his sixth win of the year overall.
“I have to thank God for this one,” said Saldana.”It was only three weeks ago that I could barely run on a treadmill and tonight I outlasted a very physical race track. That’s a testament to my trainer at Pit Fit, Jim Leo. He ran me through my paces and pushed me harder and harder and it’s paid off. I couldn’t have imagined in a million years we would have won Hartford but now we’ve made it two in a row. It just shows how tough and good this team is. We were competitive earlier this season and they haven’t missed a beat since.”
On Saturday night at Lernerville, Saldana was going for his third win in a row and suffered engine trouble that resulted in a 23rd-place finish.
Paul McMahan, driver of the #83 HR Cattle/Roth Motorsports Maxim
McMahan kicked off the night with a fourth-place qualifying effort, a fifth-place finish in his heat and a win in the dash to put him on the front row for the A-main. Despite a strong effort, McMahan could only watch as Saldana powered to the front and held on through 30 circuits and two double-file restarts.
“You hate losing but if I had to lose to anyone, I’m glad it’s my best friend,” said McMahan, driver of the #83 Roth Motorsports/H.R. Cattle Maxim that’s run out of Kahne’s Mooresville, N.C., shop. “Joey just had an awesome car again tonight and it’s great to have him back out here. We had a really good car all night long and maybe had a shot on the restarts. It’s just a great night overall for Kasey Kahne Racing.”
McMahan qualified 10th on Saturday at Lernerville, finished third in his heat and ninth in the A-main. He is still fourth in the point standings.
-Brad Sweet, driver of the #49 Ollie’s Bargain Outlet/Sage Fruit Maxim
On Friday night, Sweet qualified the #49 Ollie’s Bargain Outlet car in sixth, finished second in his heat, fifth in the dash and 15th in the A-main. Sweet was running third when a flat tire forced him to the pit area.
On Saturday night at Lernerville, Sweet qualified 17th, finished fifth in his heat and 10th in the A-main event.
-Cody Darrah, driver of the #91 Great Clips/Sage Fruit/ASE Maxim
Darrah made his presence known early on in the night with a second-place qualifying effort and a fifth-place finish in his heat. He finished third in the dash and from the onset of the A-main was looking strong. While running in the top five a flat tire would force Darrah to the pits and leave him with a 21st place finish.
On Saturday night at Lernerville, Darrah qualified 19th, finished sixth in his heat, third in the B-main and 15th in the A-main.
Follow A Dream Heads to Reading
After a few weeks off, Jay Blake’s Permatex/Follow A Dream team is back in action this weekend in Reading, Pa., at Blake’s favorite race of the year, the Auto Plus Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. With a strong performance there, driver Todd Veney, ninth in the national Top Alcohol Funny Car standings, can shoot back into the top five.
“I love this race and this track. It’s where I made the decision about what I wanted to do with the rest of my life,” said Blake, who committed himself to forming his own race team while attending the 1998 event. “We’ve been to the semifinals there a few times, and it’s time for another win for the Follow A Dream team.”
“I made my quickest run ever [5.54] there last year, and the conditions usually are perfect for Alcohol Funny Cars,” Veney said. “Our test session at New England Dragway after the Englishtown divisional race was productive. We didn’t run in the .50s, but that wasn’t really the point. I think [tuner] Tom [Howell] learned what he wanted to know.”
Louise Cook Ends First Year Beautifully
Louise Cook, 24 from Maidstone in Kent, completed her debut season in the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship this weekend. Louise became the DT MSA BRC Ladies Champion and collected 2nd place from 13 runners in Britain’s most competitive one make rally series, the M-Sport Ford Fiesta Sport Trophy. Louise was forced to contest the season in the older slower Fiesta ST due to a lack of funds but amazingly against 11 male drivers in the new Fiesta R2, Louise finished the season with 11 drivers behind her in the table. Louise also collected a top 10 in the BRC Formula 2 championship, 7th/21 Junior, and 7th/21 in BRC R2 Class.
“I am over the moon, I thought the cancellation of the Isle of Man Rally had taken all my chances away of a better championship position, but our consistent quick pace through the season worked in our favour.” Said the British Champion.
The late news just the day before Trackrod Rally Yorkshire that October’s Rally Isle of Man was unexpectedly cancelled meant International Rally Yorkshire became the season’s final event. The drop scores of the British Rally Championship were no longer applicable so all 6 scores now counted.
Cookie suffering a non start on the previous round in Ulster left Louise in limbo. “As soon as I got the email, I spent an hour working out every possibility. If I won the rally outright above all the 4WD cars I could not finish any higher than 4th in the Fiesta Sport Trophy. If I got the car to the finish, I would climb the table to 4th and maybe climb further in the unlikely event of the Finland Fiesta Sport Trophy Champion 2010 Jussi Kumpumaki and ex Karting Champion Nick Cristofaro not making the finish. I could even get as far up as second in the Fiesta Sport Trophy UK so I just had to get the Fiesta home. No rally driver wants to drive slowly, it was painful, and much more stressful than driving flat out! I knew I had a duty to my sponsors to give them the best result I could after all their support this season. I had to be professional and do my job.” Said Cook.
The first stage, 14 miles of the notorious Dalby Forest got under way. 5 miles in, Louise’s competitor, Jussi Kumpumaki had crashed off the road. “It was good to see that they were alright, and the car, though dented, did not look so bad. I thought, these stages must be really tricky as the Finish Fiesta Sport Champion Kumpumaki is a great driver. It started to blow my mind and I felt the pressure double as a finish would now mean joint 3rd with Jussi.” Said Louise.
Cookie carried on through the next three stages and got to the first service all intact with no problems to report. It was then back out to another two stages,
the Langdale stage being particularly rough, a real car breaker. “I thought if a car is going to break, it is going to break here.” said Louise.
The crew made it through and back for 2nd service. After looking through the times, competitor Nick Cristofaro had no times posted for the last 2 stages. Louise noticed he was also not at the time control for Service In. Nick had fell victim to the Langdale stage, breaking a driveshaft. This now meant Louise’s professional strategy and painful caution had put her in a position to climb to an unbelievable 2nd place in her debut season in the Ford Fiesta Sport Trophy if only she could make it to the end. The pressure was really on. “I still had 3 stages to get round, including Langdale, which had a surface like the Moon!! I couldn’t believe it. I was cringing at every bump and pot hole and avoided anything that could get in the way of 2nd place. I was accelerating so progressively to look after the drive shafts and short shifted to save the engine and gearbox, it was intense!” Said Cook.
Louise finished the rally drama free and 2nd in the Fiesta Sport Trophy Championship for 2011 was hers along with being crowned British Ladies Rally Champion and in her debut season in the DT MSA British Rally Championship.
Brianna Blintzler Had a Great Weekend!
Thanks to Tyler Caheely, Brianna’s car ran in the 4.31’s all five passes down the track! 4.313 / 4.316 / 4.319 / 4.319 / 4.315
Yesterday, Brianna ran three classes in three different cars with three different lights and, good or bad, cut two perfect lights! First pass in her Jr. Comp car on a 5/10th Pro tree and the first pass in her Bracket car on a 5/10th Sportsman tree.