2008 NFAA 'Spirit of Fuel Altereds' Award

[Glenn R]

We at UK Event Safety are on the hunt for nominations for a suitable recipient for the 2008 'Spirit of Fuel Altereds' award.

The award went to Laurie Gatehouse last year for bringing the class together and making it work so well. Once again we are searching for that certain someone. We are looking for either an individual team member or full team that have entered into the spirit of the class throughout the 2008 season. Not necessarily looking for those that have turned the best times or run the most consistently but that special person that is always there, helps in the background or even pilots your car, just that certain someone that deserves recognition for working within the 'spirit of fuel altereds'.

UK Event Safety will never be a part of a multinational conglomerate so we can't afford a very impressive cash prize but the winner of the trpohy will recieve a cheque for £100.00 to buy the crew a beer or a breakfast.

We have already recieved an impressive number of nominations and voting closes on Oct 10th. If you would like to submit your ideas please do not hesitate to contact us at [e-mail] or post your ideas on here.

We're away for the next couple of weeks so hopefully when we return, there will be a challenge for us..the ultimate decision!

Thanks in anticipation

Glenn & Mandy
UK Event Safety

[cliff gould]

fire crew,
dave grabham,
charlie draper,
just a thought

[The Black Flag]

'Spirit of Fuel Altereds'? 200mph into the dark with no lights and no brakes then into the field? Not sure you have to look any further than those 'Havoc' boys. And those burnouts...

[anonymous-user]

Another vote for the Havoc boys here too, IMO nothing defines nostalgia, altered and showmanship more than the King, Davies & Loaring machine.

[MotorPsycho]

Rat_Fink_67 said:

Another vote for the Havoc boys here too, IMO nothing defines nostalgia, altered and showmanship more than the King, Davies & Loaring machine.

I'd third that, the look, the banzai wheels up barrier to centre line runs, the storming burnouts, everything embodies the spirit of what a fuel altered is.

[badbird]

MotorPsycho said:

Rat_Fink_67 said:

Another vote for the Havoc boys here too, IMO nothing defines nostalgia, altered and showmanship more than the King, Davies & Loaring machine.

I'd third that, the look, the banzai wheels up barrier to centre line runs, the storming burnouts, everything embodies the spirit of what a fuel altered is.

Make me another to the list for the havock boys
"st iv got no brakes what do i do??? bugger it stage and trust the chutes"
real class gentlemen

[Tet]

Just MHO, but I never really understood all the hype around Havoc. Maybe because I wasn't around in the good old days, so it gives me nothing in the way of nostalgia. The car in the class that most piques my interest as a spectator is the Wratten's Dirty Harry. Something about the way it launches. It always looks to be on the verge of disaster as it heads down the track, which as I understand it is most of the point of having a high powered altered in the first place! Now if they'd only paint it black, the way nature intended...

[cliff gould]

im with you tet.
sorry havoc.

[anonymous-user]

My 2p worth, the award would go to Dave Grabham & the Freddy's Revenge team. Not only did they step up to the plate majorly this year (bearing in mind they came into this season just about in the 7's, so have near enough knocked a second off the car's PB). But also because they had a tough season away from the track. TC's health issues along with car accidents for other crew members. They still got the job done on the track though.

One can only imagine how that beard will fit under a crash helmet come the Thunderball though...

My other nomination would be Joe Bond & the Nuthin Fancy crew, for never giving up despite having more than their fair share of damage, and still coming back at the finals, running into the 6's.

[Dnac]

Got to be Havoc, Proberbly the only team to not put oil on the track! And the one that looks the most authentic in terms of Nostalgia, which is what the class was supposed to be about

Or the fire crew, who constantly have to clean up after the rest of them

Edited by Dnac on Tuesday 30th September 08:25

[NitroWars]

Dnac said:

Got to be Havoc, Proberbly the only team to not put oil on the track! And the one that looks the most authentic in terms of Nostalgia, which is what the class was supposed to be about

Or the fire crew, who constantly have to clean up after the rest of them

Edited by Dnac on Tuesday 30th September 08:25

I take it you wasn't there on Saturday then Dave... which is funny because I am sure I saw you!

Quote from the event coverage "Burnout of the year for Nick Davies, boiling them to 300 feet, but then pulled over to the side of the track at about 1200 feet and shut off. Oil was found in Nick's lane so Frank was shut off."

Edited by NitroWars on Tuesday 30th September 08:50

[BennettRacing]

Dnac said:

Got to be Havoc, Proberbly the only team to not put oil on the track! And the one that looks the most authentic in terms of Nostalgia, which is what the class was supposed to be about

Or the fire crew, who constantly have to clean up after the rest of them

Edited by Dnac on Tuesday 30th September 08:25

Only times we have been shut off is cos of other cars breaking thanks mate.


I think this award should go to my family who have supported me when I was half hour from being in the ground, then through 7 months of the nastiest chemotherapy there is.


Oh and me and my dad built the car from the ground up in between.

Edited by BennettRacing on Tuesday 30th September 09:13

Edited by BennettRacing on Tuesday 30th September 09:21

[anonymous-user]

Dnac said:

Got to be Havoc, Proberbly the only team to not put oil on the track! And the one that looks the most authentic in terms of Nostalgia, which is what the class was supposed to be about

Or the fire crew, who constantly have to clean up after the rest of them

That's a little harsh. Running a weapons grade alky or fuel motor isn't an easy task, and the only chance you get to run, is at an event. In a perfect world, you'd never have oil leaks, but the reality is, they aren't turnkey cars from a dealership. It's hard work at the best of times.

Regarding the firecrew, SPR are superb, as have been proved time and again, but they're not part of the NFAA.

[nfaa_joey]

Tet said:

Just MHO, but I never really understood all the hype around Havoc. Maybe because I wasn't around in the good old days, so it gives me nothing in the way of nostalgia. The car in the class that most piques my interest as a spectator is the Wratten's Dirty Harry. Something about the way it launches. It always looks to be on the verge of disaster as it heads down the track, which as I understand it is most of the point of having a high powered altered in the first place! Now if they'd only paint it black, the way nature intended...

I completely agree! I have never understood what it is that everyone so much loves about Havoc, and I'm not saying that it's not a nice car because it is, but it doesn't stand out whilst on track for me.

Personally I would nominate Joe Bond or Dave, and there is no bias from me towards Dave, but he has put ALOT of money in to our car and it's not money which he has got sat in the bank either. The first 3 years the NFAA were together we weren't out because we either crashed or blew everything up, and yet Dave never lost the passion to get back out there and I have never seen him happier than when we have run a new PB or even came runner up or winner of the event (no offence Hils, your wedding day was a happy occasion too ;-) ). I would also nominate Joe because, if i'm honest, he's had a tough year and he's still been back meeting after meeting and that shows real dedication.

[nfaa_joey]

Dnac said:

Or the fire crew, who constantly have to clean up after the rest of them

Edited by Dnac on Tuesday 30th September 08:25

We've put oil down once, but we still put on a damn good show by pulling a 6ft 4-wheels-off-the-floor wheelie then crashed in to the wall.

[peterwalters]

I would have to say either Dave, for all his efforts and acheivements this year!, or Joe, for having a pretty tough year with breakages and such, but still coming back to each meeting and then topping the season off with a 6!, but i think if I had to choose it would be Luke Bennett, hes definately had a very tough year and he still managed to re-build the altered!

[Miss Corrado]

nfaa_joey said:

I would also nominate Joe because, if i'm honest, he's had a tough year and he's still been back meeting after meeting and that shows real dedication.

+1

Joe has had a tough year and the PB of a 6.85 was just magic

My vote marmite.

[anonymous-user]

I think a lot of the fuss surrounding Havoc, in my opinion at least is it's one of the few cars in the NFFA that's actually nostalgic and in the spirit of what a fuel altered was, rather than, is. Just my opinion as I've said, but to me there's nothing nostalgic about modern wheels, massive fuel tanks and 125" wheelbases. To me, having the "spirit of fuel altereds" is doing it how it used to be done, which is why I lean towards the Bantam.

[anonymous-user]

Rat_Fink_67 said:

I think a lot of the fuss surrounding Havoc, in my opinion at least is it's one of the few cars in the NFFA that's actually nostalgic and in the spirit of what a fuel altered was, rather than, is. Just my opinion as I've said, but to me there's nothing nostalgic about modern wheels, massive fuel tanks and 125" wheelbases. To me, having the "spirit of fuel altereds" is doing it how it used to be done, which is why I lean towards the Bantam.

That sums it up quite well for me. TBH, it appears that many people don't get the whole nostalgia thing, or don't fully understand it. Very few cars look period but have upto date performance. Havoc is the only NFAA car to very clearly retain a very genuine period look whilst perform as per a 2008 spec altered.

I appreciate that some have no interest in seeing period looking cars on a racetrack - as Nitrofan said, cars like mine are simply "crappy", but I like the thought of having something which looks like it was born in 1968, but performs at a respectable level against the current crop of cars.

Edited by Top Fuel Digger on Wednesday 1st October 07:31

[nfaa_joey]

peterwalters said:

but i think if I had to choose it would be Luke Bennett, hes definately had a very tough year and he still managed to re-build the altered!

Definitely.