Reigning Australian Nationals champion Greg Clayton returned to his happy hunting ground of Sydney Dragway last weekend, claiming another finals appearance in Competition at the famed Nitro Champs.
Clayton started the event by qualifying fourth and soldiered through to the final against Craig Geddes, only to leave the start line too early, recording a red light and handing the win to Geddes.
“She won’t let me live it down,” Clayton said, referring tongue-in-cheek to his wife and racing partner, Kim.
“We were really disappointed to come away with a red light, but you just can’t afford even a good light against Craig Geddes. It has to be in the 0’s or he’ll nail you. So I just tried too hard and went too early.”
Despite having to settle for the runner up spot, Clayton was still upbeat about the Bridgestone Select Team’s efforts to turn a car around that wasn’t remotely set up for the conditions that Sydney had served them.
“When we arrived in Sydney the extremely good air conditions threw us a curve ball and we got lost with the tune up on Saturday, but thankfully Ken Lowe was on hand with his awesome fuel system advice and he really got us back on track for eliminations on Sunday. Then we added more clutch weight than we have ever run before and the car responded with great ET and MPH numbers right through the eliminations.
“We are extremely grateful to all that have helped us this season including Steven Ham and RD Williams, who transport our car to Interstate events and offer advice . We couldn’t do this without them.”
The Bridgestone Select Team are now back in the workshop in preparation for the famed Fuchs Winternationals on June 7-10 at their home track of Willowbank Raceway, where they will continue their quest for the Aeroflow Sportsman Drag Racing Championship where they currently sit in a well placed third position.
image courtesy Fred Dwyer.