Buddah Racing Team

We had a small issue with the Camera moving back when Buddah took off.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for the BRT Crew. Like most teams at this time of the year, all eyes were on the session finals – The Castrol Edge Winternationals hosted at Willowbank Raceway.

However, with the mechanical problems experienced earlier in the year (also at Willowbank), BRT had a lot of work to do. Unfortunately the new parts arriving from the USA were not ready in time. As a result the decision was made to use the backup motor, which some might remember from the Torana days. Changing motors a fortnight before a major race meeting is no small feat, but with a lot of hard work the crew managed to be ready to roll.

A quick test at Palmyra Dragway gave Gary a chance to see how she would handle off the line. Then it was time to start packing up for the trip to Brisbane.

The crew based in Mackay left early Thursday morning, arriving at the track in the afternoon and met the Brisbane based team members. With camp set up and the car checked, BRT was ready to start first thing Friday morning.

To say it was cold would be an understatement, with the weather forecast predicting frost for Friday morning, a couple of crew members mentioned the temperate was a little extreme during the first night. However with the crew safely camped in the heated trailer, this was only an issue experienced during toilet breaks throughout the night.

Friday saw all three rounds of qualifying for the 80 odd car field of Super Sedan, the first kicking off at 9:30am, follow by the second at 12:00 and the last wrapping up at about 7:30pm. (Keep an eye out for some of the footage from a car mounted camera coming soon)

Using the backup motor, the car was running 9.50’s (9.5 second quarter miles), but didn’t leave the line as hard at the bigger motor. Gary equated the difference as – “The bigger motor feels like you get hit in the back with a bat as you launch, while the backup feels more like a solid push.” No big deal though, as Super Sedan is bracket racing, you don’t have to be the quickest to win the meeting, just the most consistent. We know that this motor can do it, as this was the motor BRT won the Winternationals with a couple of years ago in the Torana.

Qualifying out of the way, Saturday schedule included the 1^st of 7 rounds of elimination racing for Super Sedan, the remainder scheduled over Sunday and Monday, and the finals Monday afternoon / night.

As Saturday kicked off, the nerves could be felt throughout the pits as everyone got ready to start. As BRT started to tow around to the start line, Gary managed to relax in the car a little, which helped to calm the rest of the crew. As the crew would tell you, Gary always cuts the best reaction times when he can be relaxed enough to have a small snooze before he gets to the line. Every racer is different in his preparation, and what works for Gary is to try and get a little sleep to relax him.

As he pulled up the line there was a slight hold up while the track crew cleaned up a small amount of oil, however this was over before anyone knew it, and Gary was ready to rumble. As Smithy guided him into the burnout box, Gary lights up the tyres for a good solid burnout, goes into full stage and cuts the best reaction time of the meeting so far taking the win in the first round of elimination. The first round of racing now over, everyone was settled, as things started falling into place for the BRT Crew. The same things could not be said for the meeting or Willowbank staff.

Come Saturday afternoon, the track experienced a small shower which held racing up for about an hour or two, once this was cleaned up, one 1 or 2 passes were completed before the wet stuff set in to stay. As the night progressed and the rain continued you could see the disappointment on everyone’s faces, as all that could be heard is that trusty saying we all revert to when things go wrong – “That’s drag racing”.

Sunday morning with the grounds looking more like a swamp then a race track, the decision was made by the track staff to call the meeting and reschedule for 5 weeks – 15-17 of July, with racing to pick up where it left off.

It was disappointing for all involved, but don’t fear, BRT will be back in 5 weeks.

Stay tuned for some footage from an on board camera.

Cheers

The BRT Crew.

Due to the ongoing rain here in Mackay the BRT crew were forced to travel to Brisbane to do some testing recently, the weekend was used strictly as a test day for the car and crew, (especially the driver) after quite a few months away from the tracks.

Saturday at Willowbank came round, and a morning shower of rain came, so we were beginning to think it was us north Queenslanders that have the rain curse.

The Willowbank track staff had a clean up of the surface water with their jet engine powered track dryer, and in no time, we were ready to go have some fun again.

This was my first run back at Willowbank after the crash with the Torana, so the butterflies were doing back flips; Smithy gives me the go-ahead to do the burnout, I put my finger on the rev limiter button and let it rip, nice and strong, open the door and a quick check of the oil pressure and Smithy comes to the door, shows me the parachute pin has been removed, by this point my heart just about pounding outside my chest. I take the pontiac up to the staging beams, hit the trans brake button and start to bring the revs up and then the track starter is waving me to wait, I think what is going on, luckily it was just a timing system glitch, then all of a sudden the lights start to come down, wasn’t ready for that, so let the trans button off and floor it, crikey,it feels like someone has run up behind me and hit me with a bat, it pulls almost 3 G’s of force off the start line. First pass out, and  it ran an 8.35, woohoo. It was great to get that monkey off my back and now we can move on and have some fun. After mapping out the 4 link rear suspension, and fitting a new set of slicks in our time away from the track, the car ran 8.22 seconds for the quarter mile, which was a PB for the car and crew. This has shown us we are on the right track with our set up for the car.

Unfortunately due to some mechanical component failures on our third qualifier run, we didn’t get to compete in the racing, but there are now some new and improved parts on the way from the USA which will drop us comfortably into the 7 second zone.

The intention is to have the engine back in the car and get some testing in before travelling to Brisbane for the winternationals in June 10^th – 13^th, to compete in the season finals of the Australian championship, success there will always give us some much needed exposure for our sponsorship partners.

I like to welcome Mackay Labour hire to the BRT team and thank my other sponsors Hastings deering, Hardy Spicer, Bimrose lubricants, Muffler shop Mackay and Smick Auto’s, for your ongoing support, and a special thanks must go to my wife Jody and three girls who let me go around the country, to enjoy what I love.

Kindest regards

Gary Brett

And the BRT Crew

With the Pro Streets meeting at Willowbank Raceway now over, the BRT crew are on there way home.

Stay tuned for a round up of how they went.

By the sounds of it they may have taken Palmyra’s Pro Street curse with them.

Stay tuned.

As we quickly approach the Best Tractor Parts Night of Fire at Palmyra Dragway on the 20^th of November, the BRT are gearing up for what is set to be a great event for all involved.

While there may not have been a lot of racing at Palmyra Dragway over the last couple of months due to that weather condition that I’m not allowed to mention, the crew has been working on getting the Pontiacs setup perfected.

With a couple of suspension issues sorted out now, and after a quick test of the how she launches, there is nothing left to do but hit the track to see how she stacks up against the competition.

January 14^th and 15^th will see the BRT crew racing at Willowbank raceway for the New Year Series which is the 3^rd Scheduled round of the Australian Rocket Allstars Race Series. With the new car and some new faces to the crew, it’s safe to say all are looking forward to the trip. But more on that later.

If you are at the Nitros make sure you drop by and say hi.

Cheers

BRT crew

BRT started the Pro Street meeting at Palmyra Dragway on the weekend with a little bad luck that seemed to spread to the track by the end of the night.

This the second meet the Ponti has run at, and still in the process of smoothing out the bugs of a new car, the BRT team had raised the front by almost two inches after having some clearance issues at the last meeting. As a result we always new it was going to effect how she launched off the line, and that the first run was going to only be used for us to make adjustments and get her back to launching like the lean, mean racing machine she is.

However due to a little misfortune this didn’t go to plan. The first qualifying pass saw the Ponti launch and slide all over the place as Buddah struggled to keep her straight and between the whites. Down in the back of the track the crew found that one of the slicks was down 2 pounds of pressure compared to the other, thus causing her to lose traction and handle like she was racing on ice.

Upon closer inspection back at in the pits we found that the valve of the slick was leaking. As a result we missed the second qualifying round while repairing the slick. Once completed we were back ready for the third round, however still not sure on what adjustment might be required for the change in front suspension height, we were forced to line her up as she sat to see how she would handle with full tyre pressure in the slicks.

Buddah pulled out to qualify, after completing his burnout to heat the tyres, he did a small launch towards the line, thus giving the crew a chance to see two launches, then proceeded to stage. Once stalled up, and the tree dropped, launching caused her to not transfer the weight to the rear causing difficult in getting the traction down to the black stuff, and having the Ponti creep to the right.

Qualifying over, the crew adjusted the 4 link pinion angle in the rear in an effort to better transfer the power to the track once launched. However with qualifying over, and no way to test how much the changes will effect the launch, BRT was heading into the first race a little blind. Options for dial in where discussed, and it was decided that Buddah would go for it. Dialing in at 8.35, either she would hook up and run well, or we would hand a easy win to the other lane. With a best of the day so far being a 9.60, seeing the dial in of 8.35 confused a few people, but with a solid burnout, and little hop to the start line Buddah new the car was going to get up and boogie this time around. As the tree dropped and Buddah released the transbrake the Ponti launched straight with a 1.24 60 foot, allowing Buddah to win the race with a early back off for fear of breaking out (running quicker than his dial in)

Finally some good luck for the team after what had been a rough morning. However with BRT’s luck turning around the Palmyra Staff’s luck was not going so well. A series of oil downs with almost 5 in a row caused massive hold ups and damage to the traction, resulting in the meeting having to be called after the first round of racing. It was unfortunate for the hard working staff, the racers and the fans, but as the saying goes, that’s drag racing.

Not at all a waist for BRT, with the car now set up properly at the new height, only a couple of minor adjustments need to made between now and the next time Buddah hits the track. But one thing is for sure, the Ponti has only just started to show everyone what she can do, so make sure you stay tuned..

Until next time, we hope to see you at the track.

Cheers

BRT

Gary “Buddah” Brett and the BRT crew debuted the new Pontiac over the weekend at the Palmyra Drag’s Nitro Nostalgia Drags, in what was a taste of things to come.



The early predictions for the Pontiac suggested we would see 8.60 to 8.50 ET’s, and with a high 8 out of the very first full pass even though Buddah was taking it easy, the crews excitement said it all.  With the approval from the officials with the cars performance on its first full run, BRT was finally underway racing.

The plan for the meeting was never to be a strong competitor, but rather use the day as a test for future racing, and a chance to train some new crew members. However as the day and times progressed Buddah only further proved his and the Pontiac’s racing ability. Still with lots of adjustments left, Buddah managed a best on the day of 8.35 ET and 162 mph, giving him top qualify for the small 3 car field.

With a win against Graham Honor’s XD Falcon, Buddah was through to the finals with Vinny Borg. Determined to give Vinny a run for his money, it seems Buddah was just a little quick off the line resulting in a red light and handing the win over to Vinny.

All in all a great result from the first outing. Both Buddah and all the crew were very happy with the performance, and only a couple of little teething problems to work on for next time.

Once again Gary & the BRT crew would like to thank everyone who has made this possible, firstly our sponsors Smick Auto’s, Muffler Shop Mackay, Hardy Spicer and Brimrose Lubricants.

A special thanks to John “Smithy” Smith, who has work non stop to get the Pontiac ready to race and Steve “Devo” Dale for all his help tuning of the motor, both leading up to the meet as well as on the day.

Also thanks for everyone’s support and well wishes, as well as to everyone who stopped by to say hello. If we didn’t get a chance to see you, please don’t think that we were ignoring you, we always love to speak to fans and others racers a like. And we hope to see you all at the track again soon.

Cheers

BRT – Buddah Racing Team

As the 2009/10 National Championship comes to an end, Mackay racer Gary Brett and his team, Buddah Racing Team (BRT) are getting set to debut a new Super Sedan, as they begin to stage for the 2010/2011 racing season.

Gary and BRT have been sidelined for the last 2 years building the new car, after a spectacular crash at the 2008 Willowbank Winternationals in Brisbane.

Suspension failure in 2008 saw Gary roll the car 12 times as he crossed the finish line traveling at 150 mph, but thankfully the high level of safety in ANDRA Drag Racing and within the BRT itself, Gary was able to walk away with only a few cuts and bruises. Unfortunately this caused the BRT to be sidelined while a new car was built.

2 years on, Gary and the BRT crew are excited to debut the new setup at the Nostalgia Drags hosted by Palmyra Dragway on the 26^th of June.

The 1989 model bodied Pontiac Trans Am running a 540 big block Chev, is sure to turn a few heads with the custom House of Color paint job from Smick Auto’s.

BRT would like to quickly thank their sponsors Smick Auto’s, Muffler Shop Mackay, Hardy Spicer and Brimrose Lubricants, as well as John “Smithy” Smith and Steve “Devo” Dale for all their help with setting up the new car and look forward to an exciting race season.

Past years have seen Gary a strong competitor in the National Championship, with the new set up, BRT will be stronger than ever, and definitely one to watch out for in the 2010/11 national race series.