The first weekend in October, and the traditional season closer, Santa Pod's National Finals. After a turbulent season of various ups and downs there couldn't have been any better way to wrap up the year. With a healthier looking seven cars in attendance, and some of the best laps of the year, the class did it's self no harm whatsoever in the popularity stakes.

Qualifying.

Session 1

After a weather induced delay, and the subsequent hard work by the track crew, the Super Mods finally got to come out to play around 3:00pm. First in the queue were Craig Gibbs and Graham Ellis. It's been a tough year for the Obsession gang, but the testing and persistency paid dividends at last when Craig lit up the score boards with a 7.998 @ 166 mph. In the left hand lane Graham had one hell of a job on his hands as the Cutlass decided it'd much rather vault the guard wall than go down the strip! Fortunately he was able to muscle it back into the groove to record a 7.952 @ 176 mph. Next up it was Andy Kirk and the returning Simon Farmer. After a somewhat trying year for the Kirk Motorsport team, they were looking for the Camaro to earn it's keep! None of them were disappointed however when it notched up a 7.859 @ 169 mph...maybe some stability at last for the 509ci machine? Meanwhile Simon and Vince had turned up the screws slightly and the 'Terror Nova' ran a personal best 8.254 @ 162.54 mph. Steve Rawlings had frustratingly been struggling to gain consistency with the Supra this season, so for the last outing he handed over the controls to the 'brain trust' of Rob Millward and Kev Perkins. Waving their magic wand over the car obviously helped as the Toyota sped off to a 7.95 @ 171 mph. Unfortunately the car fell foul of the scales and it was back to the drawing board. Rounding off the session were Andy Hone and Tim Garlick. With Fred and the team coming back from the dead more times than Freddy Kreuger this season, they too were looking for the Scorpio to reward their hard work. The big Scorpio happily obliged and a 7.93 fresh from the trailer was exactly what the doctor ordered. Also bouncing back were Tim and the Rehm team. Much work had been carried out on the potent little Rover over the last few months and with the ICE boys on hand to keep check on proceedings, a 7.94 @ 170 mph was the result.

Session 2

The heavens opened once more and the track was plunged into darkness before the second session transpired. Despite the efforts of the Santa Pod staff, the reducing temperature was going to provide the teams with a tough test. Last out in the previous session, Andy Hone and Tim Garlick were first up this time around. Consistency was the key for the Gleeson Wright team, a 7.949 @ 170 mph the result. After a little tyre spin, the Tim's Cortina continued in the right direction with a 7.907. With some feverish activity between rounds to ensure the car was up to the required weight, Rob Millward paired up alongside Graham Ellis. Traction appeared to be a bit of an issue for the Supra as it snaked it's way to an 8.004 @ 166 mph. Graham and the Olds were also a little loose, but it stayed locked on to the finish line and reeled of a storming 7.706 @ 177.12 mph. Simon Farmer and Andy Kirk were side by side once more. With Clive Bond on hand, Rat Fink's™ Chevy lump was leaned on a little further and a first visit to the 7.70's was the result. A twitchy 7.780 starting to show signs of the car's potential. Simon was the picture of consistency with an easy 8.267 @ 161 mph. Last out was Craig Gibbs. Finally the team had reason to sport a big smile, but after a stunning 1.11 60ft. time, around the 400ft. mark the Z/28 went up in smoke and Craig had to lift.

Final qualifying positions were as follows:

SMRA track rep Barbara Kirk, and Terry Gibbs of Obsession Motorsports drew Graham Ellis out of the hat to receive the £50 qualifying bonus.

Eliminations

Round 1

First pair out were Tim Garlick and Rob Millward. With both crews steadily creeping up on the power of their machines, this was always going to be close..and it didn't dissappoint. With just under 200ths advantage, it was Tim away from the line first, an margin he carried all the way to the finish line with a 7.801. Rob was not far behind though, as he extracted a game 7.826 from the Supra to just come up short. Next up were Andy Hone and the resurgent Craig Gibbs. An 0.063 light coupled to a 7.913 @ 166.05 mph saw the Camaro triumphant, as Fred's excellent 7.852 followed an unfortunate 0.215 RT. The final pairing of the round was again between SImaon Farmer and Andy Kirk. Simon gained the advantage away from the line and surged to another personal best of 8.228 @ 162.99 mph. Sadly for him, the Kirk Motorsport gang had tweaked the motor a little further and tore off a PB of their own with a 7.733 @ 171.73 mph. Rounding out the Super Mods was Graham Ellis. Rewarded with a bye as a result of his number one berth, this proved most fortunate as the Olds sprung a leak. Despite becoming somewhat 'animated' when told to shut-off without staging, Graham did manage to get the Cutlass to the line under power and advanced to round two.

Round 2

Semi-final time and it was Andy Kirk and Tim Garlick to go first. With some signs of reliability at last for the little Cortina, Tim and the crew again turned up the wick on the Rover. The tweaks proved most fruitful as the Rehm 'Tiger' shot to a personal best 7.710 @ 175 mph. Rat Fink™ was looking to reward the team with a dip into the .60 zone but unfortunately the powerplant had other ideas. Signs of a long season for the PSI backed Camaro sadly reared their head, and at around 300ft the '67 ran out of steam and limped to a 7.775. The other side of the ladder found Graham Ellis and Craig Gibbs. So far, it had been the best Super Modified weekend ever for the Obsession team, with the car at last showing signs of the potential locked within. Alas the fairytale was not to be, as despite a valiant 7.924, the Camaro was overshadowed by Graham's stunning tyre-shaking 7.638 @ 178 mph.

Final

The final final of '05, and a place for Tim Garlick was just what the doctor ordered after a 'character building' year for the team. Graham Ellis and co. were looking to round out a dominating season on a high note. The Cutlass got a narrow jump away from the line, but by the 60ft. marker, Tim had reeled it in. After looking like an upset was on the cards and the Mark III charging hard, unfortunately for Tim, an over-enthusiastic hit of gas took it's toll on a piston. Despite the mishap, TIm still recorded a seven-cylinder 7.856 as the Ellis Racing Oldsmobile rounded out the year with it's best ET of the weekend. A 7.634 and a storming 179.27 mph speed were more than enough in the end.