craigdanielsmithracing

Craig went to his 1st meeting when he was a couple of weeks old so would have been march '74 Mum and Dad (ex #507 Dick Smith) had been going since the 50's and were involved with a lot of the older driver's running Jim Esau's ex #244 F1 World Champion's fan club for a while, good friends with the Pershore Giant, Ron Skinner #316, Pete Poole #28 and F2 #642, Alan Brooke (Simons Dad) #92.

Dad never raced until he took the plunge in 1981 and bought 2 cars from can't remember his name but was #189 he think's from London way and away we go, Dad raced from '81 until his bad smash at belle vue on 7th may 1984, can never forget that date for obvious reasons, but it is also Darrens (Smith ex #207) birthday and my oldest sister Debbies wedding
anniversary.

Neil started in '86 he think's in a old Pete and Keith Palmer car the old Long Eaton celebrity special and he still races now.

Tim Warwick started racing in about 1954 (Are you sure about this one Craig?! *Webmaster*) he thinks but only in hire cars until he took the plunge and got his own car in 1990 he thinks and basically that is how Craig got his break as he's sure he would have raced anyhow but as a thank you from Tim for all the help us as a family gave him as Craig used to mech for him at tracks as Neil had enough, so Tim said Craig could have a go in his car at Scunthorpe,why Scunny god knows as a 17 year old kid who didn't drive on the roads and had driven a stockcar around the farm where they kept the coach for about 10 mins max, it sure was a baptism of fire, he got through and actually got 8th in his 1st ever heat so was well chuffed and took Richard Pratt out to boot aswell.

The week before at Skegness racing was sunday but we went down on the saturday so Craig could have a little practice in both Tims and Neils old Lintern car so he had about 20 laps in each and actually fenced it as neil wouldn't move out of my way so went in a little too hard (*quote* 'hey i was young')no damage though so Neil and Chrissy raced on sunday and thats where the fun started!

Chrissy had a massive roll after Frankie Wainman Juniour #515 caught her front end coming onto the back straight and she ripped both axles out and endless other damage, somehow they managed to get it ready for Boston that night for Tim to
race without brakes! But tim went out and got 5th in his heat and got the grade award though so was well chuffed and bought the chips on the way home with is winnings as a thank you.

Craig had one more meeting in tims car but cannot for the life of him remember what happened but the bug had bit, Neil had just bought Rob Moss's car from the Maynards so Craig had Neils old car and the story begins.

Craig can't remember where he raced it apart from a Coventry for his 3rd meeting and Boston was his 6th meeting where he somehow managed to race to the novice of the year championship and become the youngest ever winner (we think he still holds that tag!)

1992 and Craig started off ok as he got to yellow top but a bad shunt at Boston wrote the car off so for Craig that was my season finished.

Then once again fate stepped in, Tim had problems with his car and was in the process of either scrapping it or getting a new one so he said rather than throw his money away, Barry Heath had the old Mike Shirley car for sale for £1000 so rather than him have 4 go's in Wainman hire car's which were £250 at the time he said he would buy that for Craig and have 4 goes in that and then it was his,Craig used that car for the rest of season '92 but it was a little bit bent at the end so it went to the big stock car grave yard up there.

Then another saint stepped in to help out, step forward Ken Hopes! He had a brand new rolling chassis for sale for the princely sum of Craig thinks £250 with a few wheels and tyres thrown in as well!! So start of 1993 was new car
time.

The season for Craig was normal as he was in carnage more than on the winners rostrum!! But all in all was good fun and Craig think he also won his 1st ever race in that year as well at Boston, and followed it up by winning a whites
and yellow race also at Boston too.

Season '94, same car started off having fun, then a certain Jim Conlon #400 came into the reckoning and that basically was the end for Craig as he tended to take things off track rather than keep them on it so they had a few spats on
track normally with Craig coming out on top,ok he always came out on top but like Craig says he liked to take it off track aswell which isnt racing is it?

Towards the end of season 1994 the Palmers retired and gave Craig all their equipment, including an ex Murray Harrison (#97) car with a 454 chevy in it and also power steering!! Craig felt like he could take on the world,it was like
driving a old clapped out marina then getting in a roller the difference was amazing!!

But alas it was to be as on his 6th meeting at kings lynn where he got 5th in his heat and a halfshalft went in the final proved to be, as he thought at the time, his last ever meetin in an F1 as he was banned from racing
for 2 years with a year suspended for basically being a stockcar driver as in he used the bumper and certain people who were friends of Jim Conlon were also on the committee so it was a foregone conclusion really UNTIL we got a motorsport solicitor involved who basically would have stopped f1 stockcar racing from going on until Craig was given a fair crack and not just being in a kangaroo court.

However the damage had been done Craig hated stockcars, the sport that he had grown up with and didnt want any part of it again.

Then Craig got involved with Michaela Turner who was Andy's ex misses (#488) as her folks were Phil and Jenny Haigh who were family friends and settled down with her after travelling up to Manchester every weekend in '95 he decided to move up there in '96 and as far as he was concerned that was it for his racing from then.

But.... here we go again Neil asked him if he wanted a go in his car at Coventry in May '96 so Craig said yes as long as he had the shale car, Neil said yes no problem so Craig turned up at the meeting to find out he was in the crap tarmac car so wasnt happy! He went out in 1st heat got spun finished way down the places so came back in the pits and said to dad sod it he'd had enough it handles like a bag of crap load it up, he luckily said well stick a different
wheel on it and see how that goes! Craig reluctantly said ok and promptly went out and won heat 2, so the message kids: always trust your dad.

Through that Craig managed to qualify for his one and only semi final at Long Eaton which didnt go great!! It lasted about 2 laps! He got a tire stuck under the car and pulled off thinking he had a flat tire only to realise when he got out he could of got off of, but luckily he didn't know at the time that the headgasket had gone anyhow so wouldn't have finished the race.

Craig didn't race much in '97 and '98 but dad asked Craig in the back end of 98 if he wanted to race again, to which said of course but cant afford it etc etc as he lives up there blah blah blah! So came down to Bedford for Christmas and went up the garage xmas day as you do and his dad said sit on that bare chassis with the rollcage tubes leaning against each other so we can see where your seat needs to go!

So it was Craigs new car for '99 and believe it or not the next time he saw that car was when it was unloaded from the bus in Coventry pits for the 1st meet of 1999 and was a worry incase he couldnt reach the pedals etc etc.

Craig can't remember much from that season or 2000 (if he actually raced in 2000!) but that was it so drifted away bored with the racing and then this happens!!!!!

Scoffian from Stoxnet replied to a post Craig had put on about car sharing for a meeting and it turns out they knew each other as friends of the Colemans who he used to mechanic for so they went to Coventry.....

Craig hated it was boring roundy roundy stuff but through Ian Scoffian he has obviously got the bug back again. Then
Rudi put a post on about sponsorship and Craig just thought oh well stick one on and see what happens!

Staines Bull straight away put up £1000 so blame them 2 people for all of it.

Craigs hopes for the year to do as many meetings as possible and have as much fun as he possibly can.

Craigs previous high points obviously winning a few races and the Novice of the Year title.

His low points seeing his dad have his smash wasnt nice for a kid of 10 to see.

Well it's upto Craig to try and write a new chapter in his racing career, I for one wish him all the very best and look forward to seeing him out on track.

Good luck Mr Smith, oh and "I predict a riot!"

Piczo