Rough-N-Ready Racing overcame major setbacks to defend their title at the Funny Car Fever and Nostalgia Reunion held at the Sacramento Raceway Park in Sacramento, California, at the weekend.

The top fuel drag racing syndicate, owned by Bermudian Harvey Williams Jr, won the 7.0 Pro class for the fourth consecutive year during the California Independent Funny Car Association Championship season opener.

However, the road to glory was anything but a smooth one as they were confronted by mechanical problems on both days of the event, which threatened to derail their title hopes.

The team missed the second qualifying on Saturday while their mechanics worked feverishly in the pit to replace a new head for the engine and two rocker arms and lifters.

Fortunately, they managed to complete the repairs and go on to qualify for the next day’s final.

However, their fortunes took another turn for the worst when the oil pressure in the engine of their 1986 Corvette body funny car dropped during testing on Sunday morning.

After removing the oil pan they discovered bad crank shaft bearings that had to be replaced and the crank shaft sanded manually.

Once again, Harvey’s pit crew rose to the challenge and went on to contest the final in which driver Tony Trimp beat rival Mike Troxel to extend his team’s impressive win streak.

“We ran into so many issues including taking the motor apart twice for the elimination rounds and took the win in the final round,” said Jacqueline Williams, the sister of the team’s owner. “It’s a blessing and I am so proud of my team.

“This marks our fourth time in a row we have won this race and having all our crew on deck made it all possible.”

Wiliams’s team is based in Sacramento and have won nine titles in the past three years, including the CIFCA championship twice. To date, the team has a best elapsed time of 6.97 secs and fastest time of 196mph.

James Maher, the CIFCA president, is the reigning CIFCA Championship champion.