455 Ricki Finney has been a household name in the Banger scene for many years, going from one of Team Stinkbridge’s hardest hitters to one of the most consistent racers in the formula. Rikki raced to one of the biggest wins of his career as he secured the Unlimited World of Shale at Kings Lynn in September 2023, and is back to defend his title this weekend.
Like most drivers around the ovals, Ricki got into racing through his family roots. ‘My dad raced at Brampton when I was a kid so I grew up watching him.’ There’s always little moments that stand out from watching your parents race, and for Ricki, it was a more novelty element to his Dad’s racing. ‘I always remember him having a Jaguar with the exhaust manifold turned upside down causing the exhaust to come out of the bonnet and he always had a tyre draped to the boot to cushion the impact,’ Ricki laughs.
Ricki managed to get the opportunity to race once he was old enough, but it was as if he was always destined for Bangers. ‘My first meeting was at Blyton in the Ministox. Me and Glyn Platts didn’t have the best of meetings, but Glyn smashed everyone up and they asked us not to come back! We did Ministox until we were old enough for the bangers and my first banger moment was in a Mk2 Granada at Brampton. I won the DD and was only 15 at the time and have been at it ever since.’ Ricki is known as racing under the 455 number, but that wasn’t the initial plan. ‘I was having number 3, my dad’s number, but when I started Glyn had 450, Willy had 451 and a few others from Brampton had the rest so it was only 455 that was left and that’s what I had.’
The lads from Brampton never really grew apart, and helped play their part in one of the strongest teams of the 2000’s era; Team Stinkbridge. ‘Me, Willy and Glyn all raced together, and Willy was the first to join the team and we ended up joining not too long after and just went from there.’ Stinkbridge became a solid outfit – their motto of ‘the baddest’ wasn’t just a tagline, they endured some hard fought battles over the years. ‘I loved every minute of being part of the team. I think at the time the team were at their best and the travelling was great ticking off new tracks. At the end of every year, the team had its own awards night where we’d have things like best hit, car of the year etc. I can’t pick one individual highlight as we had so many; watch the Stinkbridge on Tour DVDs and you’ll see for yourself.’
Eventually Stinkbridge separated, with Ricki deciding not too long beforehand that it was time to race on his own. ‘The team just died off in the end. There was less and less of us, there wasn’t many of us doing all the meetings. I’m sure it was a Mildenhall 2L meeting where we were all supposed to be doing it, and it ended up with only 3 of us. so I said I wanted to do my own thing and the silver came from a Mk2 Granada Estate that I did in silver with Stinkbridge down the side and it looked cool, so I stayed silver.’ From there, it wasn’t long before Ricki established a new team in the Silver Boys, who still go strong to this day. ‘We never really planned the team. The rest are all young guns compared to me. We don’t really plan meetings, we just do what we can but none of us can keep up with Blake – he’s very keen and I do believe he’ll win a good title very soon.’
We’ve established Ricki’s success as a team member, but he’s also developed a strong CV over the years for himself winning multiple titles. ‘Winning the Champion of Champions at Birmingham was good, and then to win it again last year was brilliant as the amount of quick drivers that are out there now is incredible and to get a win on tarmac these days takes some doing. I had a top meeting at an Ipswich World which was probably my best drive – winning the last chance to get onto the back of the World Final grid and going on to get a third place without any stoppages was cool. That Mk2 was on rails!’
With all the experience Ricki has garnered over the years; fierce battles and rivalries, there’s only one that stood out the most and didn’t take much consideration. ‘The Bears when I was in pink – we had a good few years trading hits!’ There are plenty of Bears booked in on Saturday but we’re sure Ricki will avoid them until later on in the evening after the World of Shale race has been. Ricki is very humble about his chances of defending the title. ‘After last year’s race, I think anybody has a chance.’
Ricki has ticked many things off racing wise. He mentioned the World Final third place, although he was initially deemed the winner before lap scoring and footage was reviewed. It’s still something that Ricki aims for. ‘I’d love to win the World but that’s a lottery in itself. I’d also like to do a season in a good BRISCA F1, but you need a lot of money for that.’ Ricki has enjoyed some time in a stock car this year, having acquired a Saloon which he has used a few times. ‘It’s cheaper racing, but it’s hard work!’ Ricki confesses. ‘I’ll be sticking to Bangers and just race the saloon as and when unless someone makes me a good offer on it.’
There’s a third generation of Finney making their own waves on track, with Ricki’s daughter Lexi being a regular within the podium spots in the Junior Banger class all over the country. Lexi also having done Ninja Karts, as well as the odd appearance in the National Ministox. ‘I’m so proud of Lexi and how far she’s come. She will do a few 1600 Bangers and then the lady Unlimited fixtures, and if she can be on pace, I’ll let her jump into the Nationals.’
As always, we ask our interviewee to select their dream 6 a side team featuring themselves. Ricki opted to go for two; one for racing and one for crashing. The racing side sees a strong line up in itself – 67 Rickie Beasley, 331 ‘Boxer Jack’ Jason Jackson, himself, 459 Blake Platts, 617 Jack Overy and 760 Joey Reynolds whilst the crashing team would certainly take some beating. 77 Aaron Charles, 77 Patxi Beasley, 252 Steven Bugler, 262 Rob Bugler, himself and 838 Jamie Peters.
Ricki would like to conclude the interview with a few thank-you’s. ‘H, Phil and everyone that helps along the way – they know who they are.’
Photos with thanks to Daniel Horton, AC Photos, Jimbo’s Race Photos, ImpactVideos and OvalChat
