Rough-N-Ready Racing overcame a major setback to secure their third win of the season in front of more than 10,000 spectators at the Redding Motorsports Park in Redding, California.

The Bermudian-owned amateur drag racing team won the 7.0 pro class at the Kool April Drags with driver Tony Trimp behind the wheel of their 1965 Mustang GT funny car.

That they were able to compete was a feat in itself having sustained serious damage to their motor on the way to victory at the at Funny Car Fever in Sacramento in their previous outing.

“The initial reaction to winning was a sense of relief because right now we have to get a brand new motor,” team member Jacqueline Williams told The Royal Gazette.

“The one we have right now is old, it’s done. So for us to have won that event on a last minute kind of fix was a big relief for all of us.

“Harvey [team owner Harvey Williams Jr] was definitely worried about the car or something breaking. But once he saw the light come on the excitement overcame all the obstacles and difficulties that he was worried about.

“The car didn’t run the exact way we wanted. But we got close enough to where we were comfortable and ran the car.”

The victory was especially sweet for American driver Trimp, who owns the drag strip and played an integral role organising the event.

“Tony has had a lot of stress on him the last few weeks because he has been trying to get this event together,” Williams added.

“Hats off to him for jumping in the funny car and having his head straight and coping with all the stress and responsibilities of managing his first big event.

“He has put a lot of effort into having the track ready for the event and a lot of people have appreciated it.

“We had over 10,000 spectators and over 300 racers there and it has been the biggest crowd there in a very long time. So hats off to Tony for sure for managing a big event and still going out there and putting on a show for the crowd.”

The team now hope their motor can last for the remainder of the season as they continue their pursuit of a fourth California Independent Funny Car Association title.

“We are definitely more cautious how we run our motor now because of the strength that it has to last for the rest of the season,” Williams said. “We are definitely looking forward to having a good race season and just cautious about the motor.”