It has taken a long time to get this out, back into the speed world, in fact too long. A whole year working in an atmosphere that felt fun and adventurous, but it`s the right time to get this back on track, no pun intended.
We should really address the elephant in the room. My time in the BDC. Firstly I am grateful for the time invested in me from all owners of the series that allowed me to be part of the history that is the British Drift Championship. I tried to give it my all and I was ever hopeful I could repay the kindness of owners, staff and most important, the drivers. I wanted to represent the underdog and prove that it was about the sacrifice of grassroot competitors that made the difference. Their passion, money and pure determination that keep the sport alive and always proved that they were the true champions. Unfortunately towards the end of my time, it seems I was to fall foul of personal goals and never really felt that I ever got to my full speed, and to the drivers I am sorry. I don`t think I was truly in the game but I hope I gave some light entertainment to all. As well as my perfect foolhardy actions that can only be described as tall stupid me!!
That being said I needed, like the true addict, to get my fix elsewhere, but when all you know is to capture a car sideways, it was a bold step to go where I eventually found a new group of people that just accepted me as well as the drivers of the BDC.
So welcome to the new breed of speed freaks. West Ten Motorsport. Team Hawkins and the Gladiator, the Undertaker and Speed Ghost.
Let us go back to the start of the year. It was a slow start I have to admit. The gap left in my schedule was honestly eating me up inside. No fault but my own and I am not playing for sympathy here, it wasn`t until later in the year I came to hear I had fallen foul of other peoples personal agendas.
The time continued with regular trips to my local track where I have been participating in drifting for the past ten years, but that wasn`t the professionals, it was true grassroots. I accepted the loss and moved on, still with a bitter taste in my mouth but what can you do? Sometimes it is just what it is.
A good friend of mine called out of the blue on day in mid March and asked if was free to join him and others at Santa Pod, the home of UK Drag Racing, for some filming and antics. Honestly I jumped at the chance, not even checking my diary. It was just what I needed, but it was a trip into the unknown. I`ve known about drag racing like most people and Santa Pod, even been there a couple of times for other types of events but never this. Never full on start line mayhem, never pit garage start ups and fumes. Never the long hours of waiting for a few seconds of brute force in your face nitro fueled madness. What a rush!
The day came, the weather was good, the time was so early. I left early as I certainly did not know how long it would take. honestly I arrived and sat for over an hour for someone to arrive. Then, once my friend arrived on the scene it did not stop until Sunday evening when I touched down back at home base. The team slowly walked in to the pit area one by one, and like a well worn routine they got to work. Bolts out, covers off, plugs out, etc. Fuel in, oil in and everything goes back together. Eager to take everything I got busy myself, got in the way and probably stood in places I should not have. A polite look from the mechanics and I got the message. Over the following rounds it gets like a well rehearsed song, they just follow the lines and the chorus is that miracle four second pass. I learnt in subsequent rounds where to be, what to record and what to ask in order to get that clip that no one gets.
Warm up is something that has to be experienced first hand. A description just does not give it justice. It is brutal, aural, toxic and sensational all in one. Five hundred cubic inches of big block Hemi fueled by a foul smelling, burning liquid explodes(wrong term) into life. The engine is honestly started on pump gas firstly, just to get that first ignition then on methanol to get the oil pressure up and any leaks or adjustments done. The driver wedged in his seat and roll cage gives the nod and the methanol feed is withdrawn and the nitro fuel pumps engage. The engine note drops and the room becomes a gas chamber. Fans blow the exhaust fumes out but wind carries then back in. You learn where to stand. The sound is visceral, the smell takes your breath away. Tears flow from your eyes, you just have to get out. There are many that seem immune but the others wear masks, they know!
It is all about the set up in this game. The weather makes a huge difference with the way the car runs. Air pressure and temperature really can make or break a run. Please accept that at this point I am flying blind. If there are any Drag racing drivers reading this I know nothing, zilch, only what I have heard from mechanics and crew chiefs. We accept that drifting the UK is not getting any cheaper but that that and multiply it by ten. Fuel is astronomical in this game and you can only get it from one supplier. The only man in the game with the technical knowledge and quite frankly balls to move it around. Parts too, they certainly are not cheap, and the way you can burn through them is mind boggling. Still my eyes were opened, although through the vast quantities of tears they were constantly amazed.
Every man knows his roll. Whether it is fuel and oil, left valve train, right valve train, clutch or pistons. These guys know what has to be done and the importance of doing it right. It is a mans life at stake here.
Let us introduce the main man here for the West Ten Motorsports team. Kevin Kent is a simple family main not unlike the rest of us. A self made, hard working individual who unlike others is not afraid of hard graft. He has been in the four second club for years, taken his fair share of wins and defeats, accidents and issues, money loss and gain, but still turns up, still puts in the hours and wants that win at all costs. He trusts his team, as do all the Nitro Funny Car drivers, he mucks in and gets dirty because I am sure he knows no other way. He had my total respect from day one.
Warm up leads you out to the lanes. The long road to success or failure. The drivers of all the teams do not bat an eyelid, but you can tell there is something ticking away inside their heads. It is all about now. The work leads up to this point and it is the crew chiefs job to make sure that his tune works. It is down to the driver once he is strapped in, there is no going back. I got the feeling that it could be all or nothing at that stage, not knowing what happens down the road, once again success or failure. All for that four seconds of bliss. For me it is a path to glory, hoping for that pass, like the drivers coming off a successful heat on the drift track, smiles blazing across their faces. That made me smile, knowing I had captured that moment in time when success meant everything. Seeing the drivers safe at the far end in the run off lane means the world to all the teams. Families make up a huge part of the teams. It is all made brighter by seeing the win lights on and seeing a great time on the boards.
My experience was just a vast quantity of shock and awe. It is a huge attack on the senses on the start line. I told myself in later rounds that “yes I know it is coming” but you can never fully prepare yourself for the launch of a funny car or top fuel dragster. It gets you every time.
It’s now back on the shoulders of the team. Off to collect Kevin at the far end of the track. Load up and tow the car back to the pits. And so the strip down begins. I mentioned earlier that everyman has is job. It is now that it counts, but it is up to the crew chief to say yay or nay to the internals. Very part gets the once over and if there is any doubt that it is not 100% then it is swapped out. I actually timed the crew to see how long it took to strip and reassemble the engine. Ninety minutes. Not bad by my standards.
This is where the the true hard work pays off. That little tweek here, the little turn of the nut there makes all the difference. Can I say that I know everything they are doing, hell no, but I understand the importance. I think each and every team member knows what is at stake.
It is certainly a different world of motorsport. The dedication and tireless work of all the teams shows in the willingness to succeed, What does this mean for me as a media guy, who is to say but I get a great deal of satisfaction that I am just along for the ride, and what a ride it was. Hopefully I can return to the pits in 2023 with the West Ten team, and I hope they continue to make an impact on the world of nitro funny cars.
My thanks go out to all the teams, Kevin Kent and the West Ten Motorsports team, David Bryant and Steve Ashdown with the Undertaker team and Jason Phelps and all the Team Hawkins gang, for without their acceptance and hospitality I would not have been there to witness the sheer mayhem of the nitro world.
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