The Sun Shines at the Summernationals
After a miserable start to the British season, following on from the snow at Easter, the rain at the Springspeed and the wind and rain at the Main Event, it was great to see the sun actually shine at the Summernationals, giving many racers an opportunity to get their first decent track time of the 2008. Needless to say there were a whole slew of PBs, most notably in the headlining MSA Pro Modified, Nostalgia Fuel Altereds and ACU Top Fuel Bike classes, and the Summernats provided a pleasing boost to the sport just before the long break for championship racing until the end of August as both Santa Pod and Shakespeare County Raceway divert their attention to the lifestyle festivals that greatly augment their yearly income.
MSA Pro Modified
The headlining MSA Pro Modified championship delivered PBs for five of the seven entrants, with Andy ‘Gus’ Robinson qualifying low with an opening 6.164/227.63. However, the Studebaker then developed a tendency to blow the burst panel midway through the burnout which halted Gus in the semi-finals. Philip ‘Bert’ Englefield made the most of the opportunity, defeating Graham Ellis with a PB 6.552 in the semifinals, and then taking the event title in the unopposed final round although severe tyreshake prevented another dart at a 6.4 from the 38 Ford Coupe.
Graham Ellis dropped his stealthy Superbird into the 6.5s in his third meeting (with runs being very much restricted in the previous two events) with a first round 6.526/218.07 taking care of Ian Bishop’s wounded nitrous Avenger. A major rattle off the startline in his semi-final match up with Englefield curtailed any further progression and broke the supercharger mounting plate into the bargain.