An early exit from the 57th running of the Winternationals in Queensland has left Chris Hargrave and his Middy’s Electrical Pro Alcohol Funny Car team wanting more. A huge build up to the event saw the team excited for what was an outside run at the PDRC Championship title for the first time in their professional Pro Alcohol career.
“We went into the event knowing that it was going to be tough, and then when the field was reduced to 8 entries on the eve of the event we then knew it was going to be a long shot,” remarked Hargrave.
“But nonetheless it was exciting to be a part of. We always try to put our best foot forward for our supporters and partners, but we were really hoping to repay their faith and bring home a result, it just wasn’t to be.”
Prior to the event the team took part in some pre-event publicity at the home of Royal Precision Lubricants up in Narangba, and also had Anthem Workwear and Bosch Professional Power Tools representatives at the track over various times on the weekend. For most of them it was their first time at a race meeting and they were blown away!
Despite the anticipation building in the lead up, the weekend was off to a rocky start with the proverbial $2 part – a throttle cable – breaking at the hit, meaning the first round qualifying pass was over before it really began.
“It was a let down, that’s for sure!” laughed Hargrave. “All that preparation and then we went nowhere. However we were able to get back to our usual consistency in the next two qualifying rounds though with a 5.571 and 5.580 to put us in the top half of the field.”
The consistency that the team has become known for over the last two seasons abandoned them with a bout of tyre shake hampering the chances against Brett White in the first round of eliminations.
“I left on him and thought ‘here we go’ but it started to rattle and I tried to get through it, but just had to pedal it allowing him through.” recalled Hargrave.
“That’s racing I guess. Congratulations to Daniel Reed and their team though, they thoroughly deserved the Championship. I’m still very proud of our top three finish in the points.”
Team Principal, Steve Hargrave, went on to add, “I’m just so proud of our family team, how we have gone about it, and to Chris who takes it all in his stride driving the car so well,” he said.
“We gave away so many posters over the weekend that we ran out, and even sold plenty of old parts to the fans who were eager to get close to us. Then to have the support in person from our sponsors in front of a massive crowd just left us with a will to do more.”
In a continued show of consistency for the team, it is the third year in a row that Hargrave has finished in the top three for the season in the championship chase. In all, 16 cars faced the starter this year and there are many more cars preparing themselves to be ready to compete in next year’s championship.
The team intends to not sit quietly in the offseason though with some upgrades coming that will be revealed soon on the https://www.facebook.com/ECMFunnycarMiddy’s Pro Alcohol Funny Car Facebook page.
