The National Finals

Saturday:

Saturday morning dawned with lots of rain, and the racing was not started until around 11am. The altereds were called to the fireup road around midday and our first run would be against Paul Wratten and the Dirty Harry IV Topolino. The burnouts were pulled and we went into stage. As the lights ran I cut a big holeshot, my .15 to his .39 and ran through a 7.43 @ 182 to his winning 7.14 @ 188, the difference on the finish line being only .087.


Photo courtesy of Peter Donaldson


Photo courtesy of Peter Donaldson

The next run would be against Frank Bennett and the Relentless Topolino. After a pair of soft burnouts, the cars left together nicely and the run was close, only .060 at the stripe, his winning 7.27 @ 178 to my 7.35 @ 183. Through the finish line one of the bolts which hold the snout onto the front blower case burst out, showering the entire car with gear oil. First to get covered was the windscreen, and take it from me going 180+mph with no vision sucks! I just pulled the parachute, kept my eye on the barrier to my left and stood on the brakes until it came to a stop on the track. In this photo you can see the oil pouring out.


Photo courtesy of Peter Donaldson

Sunday:

As for the Sunday, it was a mixed bundle of good and bad. The first run of the morning after backing from the burnout we sprung a leak from the blower again, which we got shut down on the line for. After changing the seal we found it was still leaking, after closer inspection we had cracked the front case of the blower. Luckily Paul Wratten and the guys on the Dirty Harry team had a spare, thanks guys we appreciate it!

For the final run we were to be paired in the final against Paul and the Dirty Harry team again. After pulling another big holeshot, the wheelie bar snapped on launch and the burst panel blew before the 60ft marker, so all I could do was watch Paul win with a 7.14.

A few hours later, we picked up our first trophy with the Topolino!


Photo courtesy of Peter Donaldson

And that was it for the 2007 season, our first full season with the Topolino and we finished 2nd in the NFAA series. A fantastic way to finish the year. I hope to take some photos and do a little writeup on the dinner dance in November, so stay tuned. We have plenty for the car for the winter rebuild, so keep in touch

Joe

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