PRO DIARIES: BENNETT RACING – TEAM INTERVIEW

  • Oct 11, 2010
  • Aaron Thomas
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    Name: Bennett Racing
    Occupation: Drag Racers
    Team Size 10 Members
    Statistics: 2009 NFAA Champion
    0-60mph 0.7 Seconds
    0-220mph 6.1 Seconds

    Hi Bennett Racing Team, thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule and talking to us today. It’s very impressive that you guys have been racing for 29 years; you must have some amazing memories?

    Hi, no problem at all it’s a pleasure. Yeah we’ve been racing for a long time and have been lucky to experience some fantastic times. One of the best memories for us was running our first 6 second ‘ET’ (Elapsed Time).

    We had been racing for years before, but always ran the car very soft and never pushed it too hard. We have been lucky with sponsors that have helped us with the financial side of things, so when we did utilize the car we managed a 6.901 second run at only 195mph. Later that same year we also managed a run over 200mph!

    Our best time to date is 6.42seconds at 191mph, again not leaning on the car too much and with a soft tune – so it can still go a lot quicker.

    How has this year been for you, have you done well in the competitions?

    This year we have not been racing. We have been super busy preparing the car to race in another class, FIA Top Methanol Funny Car (TMFC). We did have a great year last year, when we won the NFAA (Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association) Championship, winning 3 out of the 4 events we entered. We actually only lost 2 races all year and we put those down to a technical fault (the parachutes fell out of the back due to the immense vibration).

    Impressive stuff, so what do these competitions usually consist of?

    The easiest way to describe how the way TMFC works is:
    – IE stipulates 8 cars enter
    – Each car gets to qualify
    – All cars race but it doesn’t matter who wins just yet…
    – All will then go into a ladder so that 1st place races 8th place, 2nd place races 7th place – and so on.
    – Each race is a Knock-Out until the Final.

    Do you compete all across the country?

    Well there are 3 tracks we can run on in the UK, but we mainly use Santa Pod Raceway in Bedfordshire.

    Where do you train and what does it involve?

    I wish we could train or practice, but due to costs involved we just can’t.

    How many different Race cars do you operate?

    We currently have 3 cars but we’re about to have 4 as I’m just collecting parts to build a ‘Tot Rod’ for my baby, who is due pretty soon!

    The Cars we run are:
    ‘Relentless’ which will soon be competing in FIA TMFC
    ‘Superpower Bantam’ which will run in a class called Super Pro ET
    ‘Darkside Slingshot’ which will run in a class called the Wild Bunch.

    How many people are there in the team? How often does Frank Bennett drive?

    There are 10 of us in total. Frank only drives the main car, Luke drives the Superpower Bantam and his brother Adam will drive the Darkside Slingshot.

    Where are the best places in the UK for Drag Racing?

    Apologies to the other tracks, but the best place in the UK is Santa Pod!

    Is it available for people to try as an experience?

    Not so much an experience but anyone can have a go at drag racing in their own cars, and get into the sport slowly before really getting in to it, then it’s simply a case of: Take your car – Have fun – If you like it; you’ll be addicted in no time!


    What is the top speed you could reach in your fastest car?

    If we geared it differently we could get up to huge speeds such as 230mph+, but we generally gear it up for the ¼ mile track so it works out differently.

    Wow that’s pretty serious! How does it feel at that speed?

    It feels amazing, lots of vibration with everything moving past at a super fast rate! But you have to concentrate so much that it doesn’t feel as fast as you might think when you’re actually in the car. It’s difficult to explain but I guess if you just stepped in and went that fast without any experience – it would feel incredibly fast!

    Have you always been in drag racing, or have you competed in other forms of motor sport?

    Yes we’ve been involved in other forms. My dad (Frank Bennett) used to ride in motocross and was pretty successful when he was younger, and I had a brief go but ended up selling it to buy my first road car. I also had a brief stint at Rally Driving (at Silverstone) but drag racing is in our blood.

    Have there ever been any injuries whilst training or competing?

    None thankfully…touch wood.

    What made you start drag racing and how old were you?

    Well I was born into the sport, and it was without a doubt my dad who got me into Drag Racing. He has been doing it since 1981 and I was born that same year…so it just happened! I wouldn’t change it for the world though, I absolutely love it.

    That’s great, exactly what we love about extreme sports and those with a real passion for it. How would you recommend somebody to get into drag racing?

    I’d recommend anybody who is interested check this out and then it’s a simple case of being around the sport long enough before you naturally get involved.

    What will the future hold for Bennett Racing?

    We’re heading for TMFC; an official FIA class. We hope that we can represent ourselves well and put on a good show with some decent races, and then it’s a case of finding a title sponsor to join the team – and then we can win the class!

    Thanks for talking to us today Bennett Racing, and good luck with your future races!

    If you’d be interested in sponsoring Bennett Racing or to find out more about the benefits of being involved, please get in touch and make an enquiry.

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