An Interview with National Banger Nutcracker Champion Stretch 830 Lee White
(interview published May 28 2014 in the lead up to the National Banger Hot Shots Championship at Mildenhall on June 8)

Age: 23
Home Town: Saffron Walden
Occupation: Mechanic and MOT tester
Family: Single
Racing career: Started racing Junior Bangers at Henham in 2001

You are once again set to compete in the under 25 Hot Shot Championship, a race you have competed in previously, is it a race you look forward to in the season?
I think I’ve actually been in every one now since it started which is pretty cool and yes it is a race and meeting I look forward to because it’s almost always good. It ca go one of two ways, it’s either a really good, hard and fast race or it’s really crashy but whatever it is it’s usually a good race to be in and one that I look forward to doing. It’s also pretty nice racing against drivers that are all a similar age to yourself and I think it’s a good test of your own ability so to speak. It’s still a really tough race because there are still a lot of top drivers right now under 25 but at the same time experience goes a really long way so most of the drivers in this race have a similar amount of experience and also because the race is in graded order it means the top drivers out there have to come from the back so I think it’s a race where everyone starts on a very level playing field. Hopefully it will be good again, I think the last two have been really good, having a big field of cars helps and when you have a large grid at Mildenhall that usually means it will be lively, also when it’s lively it’s anyone’s race.

You are a former two time winner of the unlimited under 25 GB championship at King’s Lynn and now the reigning Nutcracker champion, where do this victories rank in your career and how special would it be to win the Hot Shots championship?
The wins at Lynn are very special to me. The first time I won the under 25 GB title was a really big thing for me because it was the first one and the first time I’d won anything like that so that was really cool and a big deal for me and then win it again was even more special I think because I never thought that would happen, I was pleased enough to win once let alone twice. But the Nutcracker win in December topped it for me, because again you were against everyone, older drivers and some very experienced ones and to come out on top in that race was a huge thing for me so that’s the highlight now. It’d be really brilliant to win the Hot Shots and say I’ve won both the under 25 championships on shale because I don’t think anyone has done that so far so to do it and be the first would be amazing. It would also mean a lot to me to win a title at Mildenhall because that is something I’ve yet to do and I would also like to win something in a (National Banger) because that’s the one format that’s I’ve not had a good bit of success in. It’s weird because I’ve had the unlimited wins and I won a Micro Banger title at Lynn as well but when it comes to Mondeos, I’ve never had a significant win so it would be great to get that under my belt.

Is the lack of success in a National Banger format a source of frustration or motivation to you?
I guess it’s a bit of both. Don’t get me wrong I’ve done ok in Mondeos, had plenty of good places, just never a big win but all the while I’m getting good places I suppose I am going in the right direction and I know I am capable of doing well, it’s just a matter of having the luck come together at the same time, so many times luck plays a big part in our racing.

You are a regular at our National Banger meetings where most of the field races either a Ford Mondeo or Cougar, these events have become less popular with several fans and drivers despite continuing to get good fields at Mildenhall and producing some lively racing, what is your take on these meetings?
I like them, but I do understand why some people don’t. (Mondeos) are such a hard car that they can take a toll on the driver and because they don’t bend they might not be so appealing to fans. But they do have a lot of good points, they are quite easy to build because you take your gear from one and put it straight into another so once its stripped they are fairly easy to put together and because they are strong you can be fairly confident of having a good day’s racing with one and that the car will last the whole meeting and you can have a crash or two along the way without the car breaking.

How do you feel your season has been going so far?
Pretty good I think, I’ve been enjoying it which is the most important thing. I was talking to Michael Norman (#527) the other day and we were commenting about how we’ve both got up to the blue grade and how pleased we both were. I think it’s especially good for guys like us because we both know we’ve not got the best equipment and cars and maybe we’re not the best drivers out there but it shows that we can still do well, I think racing on shale is a big factor for that, it allows someone like myself to be able to compete on a much smaller budget so to get up to the blue grade was really cool for me and something I was very pleased about it and a sign that the year has gone well.

You and Michael were part of Team Mates at the 1400cc Suffolk Open team championship on Good Friday, the first time that team has featured, did you enjoy it and might we see more of the team in the future?
We had a great day. The team name really summed us up, Team Mates because we really were just a group of friends in a team (laughs). Most of us have done the meeting before but with other people and we just thought there was enough of us to get together and do our own thing and we had a lot of fun which is what it is all about and I think we will definitely do it again next year and we’ve even been talking about doing the (Mildenhall team championship) in November as well.

Before that you have once again booked in for the Siamese meeting in July with your dad Chris, are you looking forward to that?
Yes, very much, we had a brilliant time last year and winning the consolation was a great thing for us so we’ve been looking forward to doing it again ever since. We didn’t have any luck in the final last year so it would be nice to do a little better this time round but that is some of the most fun I’ve ever had racing and it was great doing it with my dad. He doesn’t race much now and we’ve never done anything like that together before so it was a brilliant night and I’m looking forward to doing it again.

You are a regular as well as unlimited and RWD based meetings at Mildenhall and elsewhere, is that something you enjoy?
I enjoy all my racing but the RWD stuff is a lot of fun. It’s just different and it’s a lot more fun racing a RWD car than a FWD one and I think there is a bit more skill involved so I always try and do those meetings when I can.

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
My dad for everything he does and it really is a lot, Colin is another huge help, all the boys I race with like Ben and Mickey who help keep it all fun, Cupcake (517 Sidders) for the laughs he gives us, all the boys I meet at racing and everyone else who helps out.