NUTOUT ON TOUR —

ONE KIWI’S TALE OF AN EXCELLENT ADVENTURE TO THE BIG TIME!

THE ROAD TO SUMMERNATS

It’s 3.30am on Tuesday, 31 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 gathered my thoughts, I realized that he was an hour early. Somehow, the discussion we had had down at the pub maybe 10 hours earlier had been lost in translation — or maybe it was that bottle or two of Woodstock and cola. So it was beginning; something I had been planning for the past six months was finally here, and it had already started with a balls-up!

Rewind to Labour weekend, and the big unveiling of the new ‘NUTOUT’, which tied in with a fundraiser that I had organized for my Summernats trip. The fundraiser was huge, the car community coming together to put on something special. The car park was maxed out with about 140 cars; we had to turn cars away. Well over 1500 people come to have a look. We had food stalls, a colouring comp, and a bouncy castle for the kids. There were raffles; drag car start-ups; merch for sale; and, of course, my own little version of Skid Row, where we had eight cars of different sorts come and put on a display of horsepower, smoke, noise, and feel, to showcase 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 one or two. We raised about $8K from this fundraiser. I was blown away and can’t thank everyone enough.

However, it was there that we found we still weren’t quite ready to send the car to Aussie; it still needed some tuning. The big problem was that my engine builder and tuner, Joel Arcus, was leaving the next morning for the SEMA Show in the good old US, and, by the time he returned, NUTOUT would be on its way to Australia.

So, I booked it in for a dyno session, and things seemed to be going awesomely well until a fuelfitting failure almost put an end to everything. We had a massive engine-bay fire, which destroyed the wiring loom, melted coils, injectors, the brake booster, and the clutch booster and everything around it — making a mess of my pretty new engine bay. With only a few days before NUTOUT 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 that I could get the car back on the dyno to finish the tune. The final result was 750 horses at the rear wheels on about 12psi — man, was I happy! Joel Arcus probably wouldn’t be so happy with the car making more horsepower than we had intended — ha ha — and with my limiter-happy right foot, I knew it may be a recipe for disaster.

On 31 December, the boys and I arrived in Sydney, picked up the rental ute, then headed to the docks to pick up the car. As I walked into the depot where it was being stored, all I could see was the back of an Arcus Performance hoodie hunched over the front of the car. Joel had already arrived and got straight to work swapping the pulleys over to lower the boost.

We loaded the car onto the trailer and set off on what we thought would be a 3.5-hour trip to Canberra. What we didn’t count on was the devastating Aussie bush fires.

The closer we got to Canberra, the worse the smoke got. At some points of the trip, it was fine and then the wind would change, visibility would drop to down to 10–20m, and we would be 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 one but three hours. We were stuck, with no way forward; by this time, the fires were also burning behind us, so there was no way back either. We watched as the smoke went from next to nothing to complete white-out within 10 minutes. By this time, the reality that Australia was on fire had kicked in, and it felt like we were in the thick of it. By the time we reached our hotel, it was about 10pm. We had been awake and travelling for about 20 hours, and we were all shattered, so we hit the sack, as we had another big day tomorrow. New Year’s Day saw me up early. Carl and I headed to a Washworld to clean all the ash and soot from the car. We also met up with Joel and Justine, as I had arranged to use a dyno at Jake’s Performance, which was only 10 minutes from Summernats. You might know Jake as one of the Horsepower Heroes, with his 2000hp 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 on about 9psi 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-hopping everywhere. We loaded the car onto the trailer then headed back to the hotel to grab the boys and set off to Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC) to get the car scrutineered.

As we sat in the massive line of cars all waiting for their time slot, reality kicked in for me: We are actually doing this. Up ahead of me was ‘HAMMERTIME’; a couple cars behind me was Fred Watson in ‘FEAR’; across the field, camping outside the gates, I saw Matt Watts, of ‘BLO 202’ fame, already doing shoeys — and Summernats didn’t even start till the next day! Yes, it was hot; yes, it was smoky; but we were here, and we were doing this, baby!

We finally got to the scrutineering shed and there was some kind of competition going on with the scrutineers. The boys doing mine were sitting in a good position to win — that is, until the Kiwis arrived. Poor blokes! I think it took them three times as long to go through my car as it did to do anyone else’s. Maybe I didn’t interpret the rules as well as I should have, but we got sorted and got our accreditation.

Thursday rolled around and I was up early, rallying the boys for breakfast. Then we headed to EPIC for Summernats. We were lucky enough to be hosted by the Myers marquee right next to the Dyno Hall, so there was always plenty of action to see. We unloaded the car off the trailer and set up camp for the next four days.

The Wildcard eliminations were on the Thursday, and, with five Masters spots still up for grabs, the line-up of Wildcard entries was looking to outshine the Masters itself. I had a test skid booked in, 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 and the internet and in many magazines since I was a kid, even last year when I came as a spectator, but none of that compares with actually standing on it. The entry and exit shoots are quite a bit wider than you think, the main burnout area in the middle not as big as it seems, if that makes sense. It also has a noticeable

camber that sends the rear of your car straight to the left as soon as you put your foot down.

The ball draw all done, they let everyone know that they should be lined up ready to go for burnouts kick-off at 4pm.

That’s when I piped up. “Hey guys,” I said, “I have a test skid booked for 4pm.”

The reply was, “Yes, you will be opening the pad.” I headed back to the marquee to get the car sorted and ready for burnouts. The boys had done an oil change and fluid check, so all that was left to do was remove the rear bumper and fit the wheelarch protectors. We were still waiting for the delivery of some custom axles that I had had made by Showtime Customs & Fabrication; they turned up just in the nick of time. We got them all fitted up and made our way to the burnout pad.

There we were! It was about 3.30pm, hot but not too bad, still a bit hazy from the fires, and I was lined up at the front of the burnout pad getting kitted up by the media guys. Behind me were the likes of ‘HANFUL’, ‘IH8FRDS’, Castlemaine Rod Shop’s ‘WARBIRD’, and the mighty ‘LYNCHY’, to name just a few. Joel filled up my ice tank. There was heaps going on, but all I could hear was the massive crowd hungry for the first burnout of Summernats!

My mate Carl Spence was riding shotgun with me, which was 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 came up and it was time to roll to the line. The official came over and ran me through what was going to happen. We were about to do this!

The light goes green, I pop the clutch into third and it bangs straight to the limiter. I come off the brake, quick change to fourth, and straight to the limiter again. Feels like we are hauling ass down the entry shoot. I pop my head and arm out the window and throw the crowd a quick “F**k yeah”. As we approach the main pad, I hard lock it to the left, tap the brakes, and around we go! From then it’s really a blur — blood is pumping, adrenaline unreal, and then it’s over before you know it! Back at the marquee, Joel had a look over the data as there were still a couple little tweaks needing to be made. I had no dash as the dyno fire had damaged the wiring for the dash, and we didn’t have time to fix it. So we needed to look over temps and what not. The good news was that the car didn’t get hot at all; our big cooling system had done its job!

Car good, we’re good, so what better way to finish the day than to hit Skid Row? So we loaded up the boys and headed for a look. Basically, you can just line up and show the crowd what you got! I think the crowd hanging off the fences of Skid Row was more brutal than the massive crowd at the burnout pad.

As you get to the starting line, the chanting is unreal: “Don’t stop till they pop.” Some of the spectators are black from head to toe as if they’ve been rubbing burnt rubber all over themselves. Once again, I load up in third, pop the clutch, hook fourth, and we make our way down Skid Row. Summernats day one done and dusted! Couldn’t be happier. We had 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 was on offer, bought 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 at the Aeroflow stand for about 30 minutes. 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 difference. Heaps of Kiwis came over and said hi.

After lunch, we took the Picnik Media crew out for a cruise and a run down Skid Lane, where we had a massive tyre fire and then proceeded to burn down the 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 security was telling me to move on, so I hooned off down a side street only to have them chase me; I was still burning! 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 allowed to drive after 6pm, so we pulled up some deck chairs outside our marquee and watched the craziness that is Summernats, until they shut the bars around us. We made our way to enjoy the evening festivities 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 were held over by the horse sheds to escape the scorching sun. I pulled ball eight, so that was me sorted. Back to the marquee to ready the car.

We waited in line for our turn for over one-and-ahalf hours; the heat was in the 40s, the pad temp in the 60s. The longer we waited, the more nervous I got. After our test skid on the Thursday, when I had run my tyres at 50psi and was still hitting the limiter in fourth gear, I decided to let my tyres down to about 34psi in the hope they would last the minute required, as well as give me that little bit more grip and control that I didn’t have. What a rookie mistake that was! The pad could not have been more different from the fresh pad I had used on Thursday. The pad temp was about 70°C and the fact that there were hundreds of tyres melted into it now made it as sticky as hell.

The car now had its cameras put on. Khan and I are in our fire suits, dripping with sweat; ‘1 TUF HG’ is ahead of me and has broken down, so, all of a sudden, we are up! The arm goes up to let us in, an official comes over and asks how my weekend is going. I reply, “Very nervous.” He just laughs because I am shitting myself and don’t even know what he has said.

Light goes green, I dump the clutch and load up in third, then go to hook fourth and she grips up. What!? I then go into panic mode and drive like a mad man with no control! We still have plenty of speed going into the tip-in. Once I come around, I try to hit fourth again but it won’t take it. As I am doing this, the rear loses momentum and I almost sledge into the barrier. So, back to third and just beat it!

By now my brain has switched off and I’m not too sure what is going on. I decide to go back up the entry shoot but with way too much speed. I hook around and slam it into the wall not once but twice as the red flag comes out because we have caught fire.

While we sit there waiting for them to put the fire out, all I can hear is the commentator: “Hayden Wilby, welcome to Canberra, our nation’s capital.” Ha ha.

Still driving with brain fade, I proceed to head straight to exit chute and spin it around, tapping the wall again.

Wow, that had been 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. But it didn’t take me long to get over the disappointment, because messages from all over New Zealand were flooding in with nothing but love and support! Once the qualifying had finished, the marquee started to fill up with people who 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 I 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 damaged spoiler and the rear section of exhaust, which was bent and crushed, changed the tyres, and pushed her back inside the marquee. That was me for the day — time to get out of the heat and have some beers with the boys!

Sunday and there was no rush to get to EPIC, so we enjoyed a sleep-in after overindulging in the VBs the night before. We made a bit of a plan about what we were going to do and headed to Summernats. It was the last day and already people were halfway through packing up or had already packed up and left.

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 made our way back to the marquee to pack up. Once we had packed everything away, 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; it 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 got home, all our clothes, bags — anything that had gone to Aussie — smelt as if we had been sitting round the campfire all night.

By the time we had loaded the car onto the trailer, it felt like a ghost town — people gone, campsites gone, marquees empty. A couple of the boys from our marquee had headed over to get the traditional photos underneath the Summernats banner on the cruise route. Minutes later, we heard the almighty roar of ‘WIDE OPEN’ lighting up the rears — a sound that was quickly followed by the sound of sirens and the police pulling the driver over and giving them a good talking to.

That 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 next day’s big drive back to Sydney, where we would load NUTOUT into the shipping container to head to the South Island for Muscle Car Madness. It’s pretty hard to put into words how epic the trip was: the journey building up to it, the people we met along the way and there, the highs, the lows — it had everything.

Although the event was only four days long, it had been six 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 perfectly, I wouldn’t have had a story to tell; I wouldn’t have 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 that if you’re a petrolhead, this event should be at the top of your bucket list.

I would like to throw a shout-out to the guys who made the trip with me: Carl, Seth, Andrew, Keaton, Joel and Justine, Kahn and Dave, Paul — thank you for all your help in Canberra; it would have been tough without you.

I also need to say thanks to Chris Daly, his family, and all of Team ‘SYCO UTE’. 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 burnouts, head over to my Facebook page: Fitzroy Motorsport.