Summernats 33 or Bust
NUTOUT does Summernats
Its 3.30am on Tuesday 31st of December and I’m awoken by my phone ringing, It was old mate Andrew Harrison wondering where the hell I was? Dazed and confused as to why my alarm hadn’t gone off, I stumbled around trying to get dressed to rush out to the van. As I gathering my thoughts and realising what was going on, I had realised he was an hour early!! Somehow the discussion we had maybe 10 hours earlier down at the pub had been lost in translation or maybe it was that bottle of Woodstock & cola or 2.
And so it begins, something I had be planning for the last 6 months was finally here and it had already started with a balls up!
Rewind back to labour weekend, the weekend of the big unveiling of the new NUTOUT, which tied in with a fundraiser I had organized for my summernats trip.
The fundraiser by the way was HUGE! The car community had come together and put on something special!! The car park was maxed out with about 140 cars we had to turn cars away, we had well over 1500 people come to have a look, we had food stalls, colouring comp & bouncy castle for the kids, there was raffles, drag car start-ups, merch for sale and of course my own little version of Skid Row, where we had 8 cars of different sorts come and put on a display of horsepower, smoke, noise, feel and taste of what the burnout world is about! All this in a pub car park in the centre of Wainuiomata!! The locals loved it… apart from maybe 1 or 2! We raised about 8k from this fundraiser, I was blown away and can’t thank everyone enough.
But it was here that we found that we still weren’t quite ready to send the car to aussie and still needed some tuning, the big problem was my engine builder & tuner Joel Arcus was leaving the next morning for SEMA in the good old USA, and by the time he returned NUTOUT would be on its way to Australia.
So I booked it in for a dyno session where things seemed to going awesome until a fuel fitting failure almost put an end to everything!! We had a massive engine bay fire, which destroyed the wiring loom, melted coils, injectors, brake booster, clutch booster, and everything around it. Not to mention making a mess of my pretty new engine bay.
With only few days before it had to be loaded into the container to be shipped my good mate Carl Spence from Bruce Mills 2012 Ltd stepped up and got everything sorted for me so I could get the car back on the dyno to finish the tune. The final result was 750 horses at the rear wheels at about 12psi, man was I happy! Joel Arcus maybe not so happy haha with the car making more HP that we had intentioned and my limiter happy right foot it could possibly be a recipe for disaster.
Fast forward to the 31st December me and the boys had arrived in Sydney and picked up the rental ute then headed to the docks to pick up the car, as I walk into the depot where it was being stored all I could see was
the back of Arcus Performance hoody hunched over the front of the car, it was Joel he had already arrived and was straight to work swapping the pulleys over to lower the boost! We loaded the car onto the trailer and make what we thought would be the 3.5 hour trip to Canberra, what we didn’t count on was the devastating aussie bush fires.
As we made the trip the closer we got towards Canberra the worse the smoke got, at some points of the trip it was fine and then the wind would change and visibility was down to 10-20 metres and we were crawling at about 40kph. We were maybe an hour from Canberra when we came to a complete stop, the M31 was shut… The fires were burning in front of us and there was no way through! So we sat and waited for not 1 but 3 hours! We were stuck with no way forward and by this time the fires were also burning behind us, so there was no way back. We watched as the smoke went from next to nothing to a complete white out within 10 minutes. By this time reality had kicked in that Australia was on fire and it felt like we were in the thick of it.
By the time we reached out hotel its was about 10pm we had been awake and traveling for about 20 hours we were all shattered and hit the sack as we had another big day tomorrow.
New Year’s Day and I was up early me and Carl head to a wash world to clean all the ash and soot from the car, we also met up with Joel & Justine as i had arranged to use a dyno with Jake Edwards at Jakes Performance which was only 10 mins from Summernats. You might know Jake as one of the Horsepower Hero’s with his 2000 HP yellow Torana.
Jake was amazing a wealth of knowledge and a real passion for tuning cars. You couldn’t have met a nicer guy, he let Joel do his thing while he ran the dyno. By the end of the session they had taken about 150Hp out of the car making it a much safer 600HP at the wheels about 9 pounds of boost. Then after a few laps around the back streets of Canberra we were also able to make the car a bit nicer to drive so I could cruise the Summernats cruise route without bunny hoping everywhere.
We load the car onto the trailer then head back to the hotel to grab the boys and head to EPIC to get the car scrutineered as we wait in the massive line of cars waiting for their timeslot reality is really kicking in for me! We are actually doing this!! Up ahead of me is HAMMERTIME a couple cars behind me is Fred Watson in FEAR, across the field camping outside the gates I can see Matt Watts of BLO202 fame already doing shoeys and Summernats doesn’t even start till tomorrow! Yes it is hot, yes it is smokey but we are here and we are doing this baby!
We finally get to the scrutineering shed and there is some kind of competition going with the scrutineers and the boys that are doing mine are sitting in a good position to win that is until the Kiwis arrive, poor blokes I think it took them 3 times as long to go through my car as what anyone’s else’s took. Maybe I didn’t quite interrupt the rules and as well as I should have haha, but we got sorted and got our accreditation.
Thursday rolls around and im up early, rally the boys for breakfast and we head to EPIC for summernats. We are lucky enough to be hosted by the Myres marque right next to the dyno hall, so there is always plenty of action to see. We unload the car off the trailer and setup camp for the next 4 days.
The wildcard eliminations were on today and with 5 masters spots still up for grabs the line-up of wild card entries was looking to outshine the masters itself. I had a test skid today booked in today, so I had to head to the wildcard drivers meeting and ball draw. The meeting took place at the start of the burnout pad which was very cool! The dreaded entry shoot, the stands, the burnout pad itself it was all a lot to take in. Something I had seen on TV, the internet and many magazines since I was a kid, even last year when I came as a spectator to Summernats, just doesn’t compare to when your there standing on it. The entry and exit shoots are quite a bit wider than what you think, the main burnout area in the middle not as big as what it seems, if this makes sense. It also has a noticeable camber that sends the rear of your straight to the left as soon as put you foot down.
Ball draw is all done and they let everyone know to be lined up ready to go for burnouts kick off at 4pm… That’s when I piped up “Hey guys I have a test skid booked for 4pm” The reply was yes you will be opening the pad!
I head back to the marque to get the car sorted and ready for burnouts! They boys had done an oil change and fluid check, so all that was left to do was remove the rear bumper and fit the wheel arch protectors. We were still waiting for some custom axels I had made to be delivered by Showtime Customs & Fabrication which turned up just in the nick of time. We got those all fitted up and made our way to the burnout pad.
Its about 3.30pm its hot but not too bad, still a bit hazy from the fires and im lined up at the front of the burnout pad getting kitted up by the media guys, behind me is the likes of HANFUL, IH8FRDS, the Rod Shops WARBIRD, as well as the mighty LYNCHY just to name a few. Joel is filling up my Ice tank, there is heaps going on but all I can hear is the massive crowd hungry for the 1st burnout of summernats!
I have my mate Carl Spence riding shotgun with me, which is awesome because of the amount of work he puts into all my cars but never gets the chance to come out for a spin! The arm comes up and its time to roll to the line, the official comes over and runs me through what’s going to happen. Right now, reality is well in truly kicking in, we are about to do this!!
Light goes green I pop the clutch in 3rd and it bangs straight to the limiter, I come off the break, quick change to 4th and straight to the limiter again! Feels like we a hauling ass down the entry shoot! I pop my head and arm out the window and throw the crowd a quick “f**k yeh” As we approach the main pad I hard lock it to the left tap the breaks and around we go! From then its really a blur, your blood is pumping, the adrenaline is unreal and its over before you know it!
Back at the marque Joel has a look over the data as there is still a couple little tweeks need to be made, I have no dash at the moment as the dyno fire damaged the wiring for the dash and we didn’t have time to fix it. So we need to look over temps and what not. Good news is the car didn’t get hot at all, our big cooling system had done it job!
Car is good, we are good so what better way to finish the day of than to hit skid row, so we loaded up the boys and headed for a look. Basically you can just line up and the show the crowd what you got! I think the crowd hanging off the fences of skid row were more brutal than the massive crowd at the burnout pad. As so as you get to the starting line the chanting is unreal “don’t stop till they pop” Some of them a black from head to toe like they have been rubbing it all over themselves. Once again, I load up in 3rd pop the clutch, hook 4th and make our way down skid row.
Summernats day 1 done and dusted! Couldn’t be happier, we cruised tuff street, smoked out skid row, and hit the most famous burnout pad of all time. How can you top that???
Friday we had nothing on, so we were able to chill out a bit and enjoy what’s on offer, brought the typical stuff most kiwis do when they venture to Summernats. Rod Shop T Shirts and hat, summernats 33 memorabilia etc..
There seemed to be a huge amount of interest in NUTOUT and I spent a massive amount of time having yarns with people who had seen it on facebook or youtube. We also had the car parked up down at the Aeroflow stand for about 30mins. A lot of people were coming down to check it out because it was a “cogger” or manual as we kiwis call it. It was a real point of deference. There was also heaps of kiwis who came over and said hi!
After lunch we took the Piknic Media crew out for a cruise and run-down skid lane, where we had a massive tyre fire and then proceeded to burn down skid lane. Once the fireys had put us out and given me the all clear to drive off we headed off down tuff street to strut our stuff.. I heard the sirens coming and the security were telling me to move on so I hooned off down a side street only to have them chase me, I was still burning away! This time we got it out properly and removed the burning rubber that was sitting in behind the bumper. Just some more excitement to add to this already epic trip.
I wasn’t aloud to drive after 6pm, so we pulled up some deck chairs outside our marque and watched the craziness that is Summernats, until they shut the bars around us so we made our way to enjoy the evening festivities they have on offer.
Saturday was upon us, it was the big day, masters qualifying! The smoke had cleared from the fires, and the heat was crazy!! We got the car all tidied up and clean, so it looked good out on display, Saturday is by far the biggest day; the crowds are at their maximum and they are all hungry for burnouts.
Drivers briefings and the ball draw was held over by the horse sheds to escape the scorching sun, I pulled ball 8, so that was me sorted, back to the marque and ready the car.
We waited in line for our turn for over 1.5 hours, the heat was in its 40’s the pad temp in its 60’s. The longer we waited the more nervous I got. After out test skid on the Thursday where I had run my tyres at 50psi and still hitting the limiter in 4th gear I decided to let my tyres down to about 34psi in hope they my tyres would last the minute required as well as give me that little bit more grip & control that I didn’t have on the Thursday. What a rookie mistake that was!!! They pad could not have been more different to the fresh pad I used on Thursday! The pad temp was about 70 degrees and the fact there were 100’s of tyres now melted into the pad made it sticky as hell.
The car has now had its cameras put on it, me & Khan are in our fire suits dripping with sweat, 1TUFHG was ahead of me and had broken down, so all of a sudden we are up! Arm goes up to let us in, official come over and asked how my weekend was? I replied very nervous, he just laughed because I shitting myself that I didn’t even know what he said.
Light goes green, I dump the clutch and load up in 3rd then go to hook 4th and she grips up!! WHAT?? I then go into panic mode and drive like a mad man with no control! We still had plenty of speed going into the tip in, and once I had come around I tried to hit 4th again and it wouldn’t take it, as I was doing this the rear lost momentum and I almost sledged into the barrier. So back to 3rd and just beat it!! By now my brain has switched off and im not to sure whats going on! I decide to go back up the entry shoot but with way too much speed and hook around and slam it into the wall not once but twice as the red flag comes out because we had caught on fire. As we sit there while they put the fire out all I can hear is the commentator “Hayden Wilby, welcome to Canberra our nations capital” haha. Still driving with brain fade, I then procced to head straight to exit chute and spin it round tapping the wall again.
Wow that was my big shot and I had screwed it up massively, I was so disappointed because I could drive better than that! The pressure or hype just got to me!! It didn’t take me long to get over the disappointment because messages from all over NZ were flooding in with nothing but love and support!
Once the qualifying had finished the marque started to fill up with people that had been at the burnout pad, everyone was coming over for a chat to say they loved the car and thought I did well?! Which baffled me because I thought it was very average. What it did learn is that Aussies just love burnouts, they love all the action. I hit the wall the aussies went crazy, I caught on fire again they went crazy, every time I changed gear.. they went crazy!!!
We ran a few checks over the car, removed the damage spoiler and the rear section of exhaust which was bent and crushed, change the tyres and push her back inside the marque. This was me for the day, time to get out of this heat and have some beers with the boys!
Its Sunday and there is no rush to get to EPIC, so we enjoy a sleep in after over indulging in the VB’s the night before. We make a bit of plan about what we are going to do and head to Summernats. It’s the last day and already people have packed up and left or are halfway through packing up.
We decided to load the boys up and hit skid row one last time, as well as do our final laps of tuff street. Then make our way back to the marque for pack up. Once were had packed everything up we ventured over to the skid pad one last time to watch the Masters Finals.
Today was the smokiest by far and not tyre smoke, its was smoke from the fire, it was very hazy and there was a slight orange tinge to everything. It was enough to make your eyes water until they adjusted to it, by the time we had got home all our clothes, bags, anything that had gone to aussie smelt like we had been sitting round the camp fire allnight.
Once we had loaded the car on the trailer it felt like a ghost town, people had gone, camp sites, gone, marques empty! A couple of the boys from our marque had headed over to get the traditional photos underneath the Summernats banner on the cruise route, a couple minutes later the almighty roar of “WIDE OPEN” lighting up the rears, which was quickly followed by the sounds of sirens and the police pulling him over and giving him a good talking to. This was the last little bit of action for us, we said our goodbyes to all the choice people we had met and headed back to the hotel to wind down for the big drive back to Sydney in the morning to load NUTOUT into the shipping container where she is being sent to the South Island for Muscle Car Madness.
Its pretty hard to put into words how epic this trip was! The journey building up to it, the people you meet along the way, the new people you meet, the highs the lows it had everything! Although the event was only 4 days, there was 6 months of planning, building, fundraising, and time away from my family and business.
Would I do it again? Hell, yeah brother, would I change anything? No way, if everything had gone perfect, I wouldn’t have a story to tell, I wouldn’t had learnt how much support I had from everyone.
I could tell you more about summernats, but this is my story, and all I can tell you is if you’re a petrol head, this event should be top of your bucket list of things to go see.
I would like to throw a shout out to the boys that made the trip with me Carl, Seth, Andrew, Keaton, Joel & Justine, Kahn & Dave, Paul, thank you guys for all your help in Canberra, it would have been tough with out you.
I also need to say thanks to Chris Daly his family and all of team SYCOUTE, I couldn’t have asked for a better person to make this trip with.
If you guys want to see more of what we get up to in the crazy world of burnsout head over to my facebook page: Fitzroy Motorsport.
