The Cannonball
Sunday (race day)

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21:30

Today's pictures are now available from the raceday update index.

So that's the end of the 19th running of the Cannonball, another great race. Thanks very much for staying with us over the weekend. Your reporter this weekend was Tog of Eurodragster.com, photographs by Sharkman of Eurodragster.com.

Our raceday updates this weekend were brought to you in association with our sponsors e-manumit.com and High Performance Heaven, to whom many thanks.

Thanks also to Andy Marrs, Martin Wallis, Lisa Smart and John Hackney of TSI Timers; race director Darren Prentice; Ian Marshall and all the SPR race officials and track crew; track announcers Graham Beckwith and Paul Venners; Sue Morris and Natalie Grief in the SPR press office; Roger Gorringe; Carol Ismail; Kathy Taylor; Caz Beckwith; and Kjell Petterson and Caroline Day of Santa Pod.

Eurodragster's next raceday update will be from Super Series 3 on 29-30 July, our next update from Santa Pod Raceway will be the build-up to the FIA European Finals in September. See you then!

20:55

Here are the winners in all classes, congratulations to the following:

Cannonball: Micke Kågered 6.06/238.54 def. Urs Erbacher 6.48/217.04
Top Methanol: Dave Wilson 6.14/226.52 def. John Ellul 11.61/70.78 red light
Pro Mod: Nick Davies 13.10/64.81 was unopposed
Super Comp: Phil Bennett 9.19/107.93 def. Steve Harrington 9.04/132.45 red light
Super Gas: Pete Creswell 9.94/143.04 def. Tim Adam 9.97/139.65
Super Street: Bob Doignie 11.93/104.57 def. Dave Cherrett 11.215/116.50 red light
Super Pro ET: Steve Green 8.83/131.70 def. Jon Webster 7.63/170.70
Pro ET: Chris Johnson 9.61/143.98 def. Bob Doyle 10.99/126.70 break-out
Sportsman ET: Neil L'Alouette 13.48/96.58 def. Ian Turnbull 12.08/111.77
Custom Car Street Eliminator: John Sleath 9.73/148.48 def. Jeff Meads 10.88/85.48 red light
VW Pro: Nigel Green 17.67/68.49 was unopposed
VW Sportsman: Catherine Bishop 18.64/63.70 def. Simon Guest 16.76/81.80
Junior Dragster: Paul Lindley-Allen 9.54/66.86 def. Tom Watts 14.87/40.86
Top Fuel Bike: Brian Johnson 8.47/119.60 was unopposed
Funny Bike: Chris Hall 7.33/175.03 def. Paul Knapp 8.16/141.19
Pro Stock Bike: Len Paget 8.07/160.74 def. Chris Hope 13.31/58.63 crossed centre line
Super Street Bike: Graham Dance 8.38/169.23 def. Dave Holland 8.78/167.70
9.90 Bike: Pete Cameron 10.05/122.53 def. Steve Ashby 10.24/135.76
10.90 Bike: Darren Winnard 13.41/89.95 def. Steve Templeman 21.86/48.65 red light

20:10

Sweden's Micke Kågered won the Cannonball in a great race against Urs Erbacher. He got a slight holeshot and then it was more or less over when Urs got out of shape at about 330 feet and pedalled it giving Micke the advantage and the win in 6.06/238.54 to Urs' 6.48/217.04. Congratulations to Micke on another Cannonball win.

In Top Methanol, Dave Wilson took the win over John Ellul. Both cars pulled 200-foot burnouts, but John Ellul ended it early when he redlit, handing Dave the win. Dave recorded 6.14/226.52, John Ellul weaving way out of shape and eventually backing off to 11.61/70.78.

Brian Johnson soloed to the win in Top Fuel Bike when Steve Woollatt didn't show. BJ launched very strongly and then went up in smoke at about 250 feet, backing out and then getting back in it to clock 8.47/119.60.

Rob Guerain put in a test pass in his TMFC, recording 7.74/161.76.

All of our sportsman finals are lined up, stay tuned for the final results.

18:45

All is not yet lost. After a prolonged sterling effort by our track crew (great work folks), the track is almost dry, so we should be back on our way very soon. Stay tuned.

16:15

The raffle and collection for Chris Hampson's family raised £3390. Well done and thanks to everyone who bought a ticket and to Graham Whitehead who organised it. "Thanks to everyone who loved Chris so much that they were more than willing to help me give to something back", said Graham. The framed picture of Chris has been won by a member of Ian King's Top Fuel Bike team.

We have our Cannonball finalists after the final qualifying round, and a lot of betting slips have gone in the bin as one of the favourites to make the final hasn't made it. To go through each of the last pairings individually:

The first pairing was the Fuel FCs of Tony Betts and Smax Smith. Tony's really coming on with the burnouts in the Jungle.com car, long and straight burnout and the usual showstopper from Smax. On the green Smax was away, pedalling it and getting very close to the guardrail at the top end, recording 6.523 and a nice speed of 231.16. Meanwhile Tony Betts had several cylinders out by 330 feet and got off it, recording 11.959. Gordon Smith didn't show for this round so Spuff was on his own in the DJB and Snap On Tools-sponsored Showtime. As with last time out, Spuff pulled a great burnout and then the fun started on the run. The car launched very well but went into tyre shake about 200 feet out, a chute deployed just as Spuff was pedalling, and then the tyres went up in smoke as the chute caught. A dramatic pass to be sure, but a time of 8.913/66.17 put Spuff's final-round participation in real danger.

Urs Embacher and Lex Joon squared off for the first of the two TMFC pairings. Urs burnt out past the 60-foot marker followed by an aggressive burnout by Lex. A nice race between these two, Lex recording 6.147/234.22 and Urs creeping up on it with a 6.407/214.16.

After Spuff's eventful run, there was a real chance that he would be bumped from the final by either or both of the last pairing, Urs Erbacher and Micke Kågered. These two really meant business, and Urs strapped a 0.100 holeshot on Micke at the start, Micke reeling him in towards the end but Urs getting there first, 6.114/233.73 to Micke's quicker 5.958/242.08.

The timing crew then leapt into action and sure enough it was announced that the Cannonball final will be between Micke Kågered and Urs Erbacher. Two TMFCs, two Quaker State-sponsored cars, and two racers capable of running in the fives. What a race that's going to be. The final qualifying standings in the Cannonball (three quarters of a mile) are as follow:

1. Micke Kågered 17.874
2. Urs Erbacher 18.122
3. Lex Joon 18.459
4. Urs Embacher 19.466
5. John Spuffard 20.551
6. Smax Smith 29.659
7. Gordon Smith 30.958
8. Tony Betts 45.095

The Cannonball final was due at 17:30 but unfortunately a huge rainstorm has come out of nowhere and the track is soaked. We've got thunder, lightning, the lot. We are able to run to 21:00 here so once the rain stops, whenever that is, let's hope we've got time to get finished. Stay tuned and whenever there is any news, we'll bring it to you.

14:45

Another great run from Brian Johnson on his Top Fuel Bike, 6.24/215.50 in his semi-final. The bike launched very strongly indeed and the front wheel was alost for a fair way although it appeared to come down with a bit of a bump. Steve Woollatt ran 6.75/198.25 in his semi, very squirrelly to half-track and then straight as you like.

The Funny Cars are heading down the fire-up road for the next round of the Cannonball, stay tuned.

14:30

The next round of Top Methanol had Dave Wilson on a 6.09/226.68 bye, a clean-looking run and into the final for the Lucas Oils and Express Freight sponsored team. The second semi was an exciting race between Rob Turner and John Ellul. Ellul left first and immediately went into tyre shake, meanwhile Rob was on one, clean and straight. John Ellul pedalled just as Rob Turner's burst plate blew and Rob was helpless to do anything about it as John passed him at the top end, John winning with a 6.31/225.76 to Rob's 6.51/153.51.

Nick Davies put in the first of his two runs, a great 6.80/205.78 from the Allstar Performance Pro Mod.

14:15

We've just had an astounding run by Martin Hill in the Fireforce 2 Jet Funny Car, a new JFC record outside the USA of 6.26 at a whopping 252.77. We lost a window in the control tower in the middle of the afterburner show, but there was no stopping Martin as he shot down the track and stayed on it all the way. Congratulations to Martin and the team.

13:25

We've now had round two of the Cannonball and we saw some excellent action. In the first pairing, Spuff and Gordon Smith faced off. Two tremendous burnouts followed by two strong launches and then the real fun started. Spuff hit tyre shake at 330 feet and started weaving wildly, at one point one of the back wheels was off the track. He pedalled it and a parachute deployed, but Spuff was obviously unaware of this as he stayed on the throttle, recording 6.147/174.77. Meanwhile it had gone quiet in Gordon's lane, a small flash fire seemed to be the cause, Gordon clocking 7.700/116.68. Next up were Smax Smith and Tony Betts. Another pair of great burnouts with contrasting styles - Smax ran at it and Betts took it languidly although he got close to paying your reporter a trackside social call. The crew raised the body of Tony Betts' Jungle.com FC when he got back to the start line but then had trouble latching it again. With Smax waiting patiently and his engine temperature climbing, Chief Starter Ian Marshall had no choice but to wave Smax into stage and tell Tony to shut off. Smax left with a cylinder out and got badly out of shape, shutting off to 12.078/73.76.

Lex Joon and Urs Embacher were next on the track, Lex pulling his usual long burnout although a little to the left of centre. Lex then staged off his tracks and when he launched he immediately started to drift towards the centre line, pulling it back to clock 6.271/223.56, whilst Embacher stepped up a little with a nice straight 6.413/212.48. The final Cannonball pairing was an all-Quaker State affair between Micke Kågered and Urs Erbacher and this was a classic drag race plain and simple. The cars were glued together all the way down the track and from the start line it was difficult to see who got there first. Micke just made it there first (although it doesn't matter in the Cannonball, of course), 5.947/242.09 to Urs' 5.986/235.56.

The slowest pass of the round was Smax's, so Tony Betts was given a time of 16.058 including a five-second penalty. So the cumulative (half-mile) standings in the Cannonball are now as follow:

1. John Spuffard 11.638
2. Micke Kågered 11.916
3. Urs Erbacher 12.008
4. Lex Joon 12.312
5. Urs Embacher 13.059
6. Gordon Smith 13.999
7. Smax Smith 23.136
8. Tony Betts 33.136

With one more qualifying pass to go you wouldn't like to predict the final two from the top half of the current standings. Stay tuned and we'll bring you more of the action later on.

12:15

Top Methanol round one:

Dave Wilson 5.96/233.92 def. Rob Guerain 8.79/123.37
John Ellul 10.65/75.10 bye
Rob Turner 5.91/223.55 def. Doug Bond shut off on line

Dave Wilson gets the bye on the next round, whilst John Ellul and Rob Turner face off.

Steph Milam put in another observed run, 9.38/148.41.

Ian King took advantage of the extra Top Fuel Bike qualifier to record 11.80/69.64, shut off at about 150 feet.

The Funny Cars are all in the fire-up road, stay tuned for the Cannonball latest.

12:05

The minute's silence for Chris Hampson was observed at 12:00, a moving time on the start line and on the spectator banks as we remembered our fallen hero. We're all going to miss you, Chris.

11:15

Racing is full speed ahead here now, under a sunny sky.

Horst Pauli of Peter Beck's Top Fuel team is working this weekend with Urs Embacher's team. He said that the team is happy with the way things are going, and that they are changing the clutch to set the car for a 6.0 in the next Cannonball round. "We have no damage at all, everything is OK, so we are looking forward to it". He said.

Tony Betts' Crew Chief Neil Taylor told us that the team just ran out of time to make the call in yesterday's Cannonball round. A fuel leak on the Jungle.com-sponsored Fuel FC meant that the team had a thrash between the warm-up and the call to the staging lanes, and they didn't quite make it. But Neil is happy with the way that things are going. "The car's improved this season, we have a new fuel system, new tinwork and a new body. We have to defer to Tony's wallet! If we go home with the car the right way up and all of our parts and we've learnt something, then that's a successful weekend. We have a slightly different aim to everyone else here this weekend. We are learning how to walk, then we'll learn to trot, then we'll learn to run. There is so much to learn, lots of little tricks. We have a highly motivated and skilful team, they're great guys". Driver Tony Betts agreed. "I have a great team, and we have had a lot of help from all the other racers. It's a steep learning curve though. We solve each problem then move on."

In other news, Pro Mod racer Nick Davies is on his own again after Peter Wacker and John Ellis broke. Peter Wacker has broken the suspension of his Chevy, hence the frightening run yesterday, and John Ellis has broken a rod. Nick will be putting in two runs in the Allstar Performance-sponsored Oldsmobile this afternoon since he still has to run the semi-final and final.

The first round of Top Methanol and the Cannonball are due soon, stay tuned.

9:00

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!

Or if you live near New England Dragway (hi Ed and Kathy)...Sundaaaaay.

Well hi there and thanks for joining us again here at Santa Pod, for the second day of our Cannonball coverage, brought to you in association with e-manumit.com and High Performance Heaven.

If it has to rain at all, which I would dispute, then overnight is probably the best time for it to happen. And rain it did just before midnight last night. This morning though it's warmed up, it's dry, the track is a little damp but the ambient temperature has dried most of the racing surface and the guys are out with the new jet drier attending to the shutdown area. So you know what to do, get in your car and head here for what promises to be a hectic day of Funny Car action.

Race director Darren Prentice has just told us that we have some additional qualifying this morning, Pro Modified and Top Fuel Bike are getting one more shot.

Also today we we have a minute's silence for the late Chris Hampson at 12:00; if you can't make it to Santa Pod then why not join us by spending a quiet minute wherever you are at that time. When we last spoke to Graham Whitehead the raffle total had gone up to seventeen hundred pounds. Nice work Graham and thanks to everyone who has already bought a ticket, if you are coming today then don't forget your fiver.

This morning's pitside report is a little abbreviated since someone reported a technical problem with our pictures page. We have concluded that there must have been a temporary problem with our internet server last night since despite frantic investigation this morning we can't find a problem and we can't get the pictures page to go wrong. So if you tried and failed last night to have a look at the pictures then please give it another try (and don't forget to hit your Browser's refresh key to make sure that you get the very latest version).

Onto the news we picked up from our curtailed visit to the pits. Seventh-placed Cannonball contender Smax Smith had to rebuild last night after the crank was blackened on yesterday's pass. You'll remember that we said that cylinders appeared to be out and then the chute deployed. Smax told us that his foot was not positioned properly on the throttle and so when he hit it, the pedal was only partially depressed. Consequently a lot of fuel but very little air was going into the engine which made it appear that cylinders were out. Smax then managed to hit one of the chute releases. He was not particularly amused with himself and was even less happy when the blackened crank was found. But respect to Smax for telling us the truth when he could easily have made something up and we would have been none the wiser.

Team Cooperised also had a night's work. Team manager Ken Cooper told us that three of the team's four bikes (Pro Mod, two Super Street and 9.90) broke yesterday, but only one was irretrievably broken; Tony Clark's SSB spread a crank and the team couldn't find a spare, so he is out of competition today. Ken's own Pro Mod bike partially seized two pistons, and Brian Bowen broke a plenum chamber after putting in his quickest pass. Helen Curran's SSB was all in one piece but Ken told us that she was disappointed not to get into the eights, having run 9.003 yesterday.

The team face a busy few weeks; Helen Curran is competing in the European Super Street Bike Series round at Drachten, and then they are taking Ken's Pro Mod bike to the FIM rounds at Mantorp Park and Gardermoen.

You'll remember that Dave Wilson went through the top end trailing smoke from the Nemesis Top Methanol Dragster yesterday, unfortunately and as we feared it was death smoke since a rod came through the block. Dave showed us what was left of the piston and rod; only a small part of the piston and the remains of the rod resembled a bag of gravel, so small and many were the parts. The team spent the rest of yesterday swapping engines, the number two engine which won the MSA round at Super Series 1 is now in the car. Dave told us that the other block can be repaired.

The track is looking close to dry now so we should be on our way soon. Stay tuned and we'll bring you some more news from the pits and then the action from the track.