Wednesday 3rd February: Joe's memorable year

This blog entry was written by Joe Riley who became member of the Relentless NFAA team in 2009.

It is roughly a year ago now that I posted an ad on Eurodragster and got the text from Luke. Little could I guess how our year would go. After being a spectator for several years I became part of the team, a chance that I couldn’t wait to take up. The first time I ever saw the car and met the Bennetts couldn’t have fired me up anymore for the season ahead, and so I remember the first day of the Easter Thunderball when finally it could all begin.

One thing you cannot expect when you join a team is the hours and workload you have. It would be unusual not to be up at 7.30 to 8 in the morning starting with the checking of the rear end and getting rid of overnight dirt, and to continue working till often long through the night. This was especially noticeable at the Thunderball, although, with a fortunate lack of snow as opposed to 2008, it still felt pretty cold. During the days, as well, there’s no time for a breather. If there was an issue and we would only have an hour and a bit to turn the car round ready for a deciding run, I would often think how are we going to do this? Yet we would all click into the jobs we had and somehow find a five minute tea break before the run, with the car readier than ever. That certainly made all the hard work and long hours well worth it, especially when that deciding run resulted in a trophy.

When I’ve explained drag racing to people not in-the-know, especially those who have no idea whatsoever, I am often told that ‘all they do is go in a straight line’. This last year has taught me even more how so wrong they are. The buzz I get when standing on the line watching Frank roar up the strip grappling with the car is amazing, and then, when a good time comes up with a win, it's incredible. This is to the point of being incapable of filming the run well due to shaking far too much, Lisa doing a much better job!

I’ve learnt as much in my first year in the team about mechanics and dragsters than I had done in my whole life. It definitely makes studying engineering at university this winter seem more straightforward! I couldn’t have guessed that so many factors could affect the car’s performance. Drag cars might look like just a massive engine and big wheels to some, now I know there’s a lot more than that.

It all built up to the final championship round. We were still leading Joe Bond, but we couldn’t take the weekend putting half the effort in, we still had to win. There have not been many times when I’ve felt as on edge as during that weekend. Everything had to go well, every job to be done right but on time. There were a few times I would talk to Alan before the car was getting ready to fire up for a run and we’d both agree that it was getting serious. Every part of me wanted us to win, it mattered so much after the hard work we’d all put in. So when we did win the championship, I couldn’t have been more relieved. In 2008 I couldn’t have guessed that by the end of the 2009 season I’d be part of a championship winning team. No better way to finish off a very busy and very exciting year.

It has now been roughly four months since we won the championship, and I cannot wait any more for the new season. With a year of experience working together behind us and a championship to come with it, this year has the prospect of being even more memorable. Now I know what it’s like working on a car (and never to look for skyhooks...) the weeks leading up to the Thunderball can’t count down quick enough. Many many thanks go out to the whole team for the chance they’ve given me. I couldn’t have asked for a better first year in drag racing. I’m sure this year will be another great one.