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31st March: Drag Bike racers who wish to contest this year's FIM European Drag Bike Championships and who have not yet registered are advised that registration us now possible via the on-line shop at www.tgeurope.eu. SPR Tree goes LED. 31st March: Darren Prentice tells us that Santa Pod Raceway will be this season be using a Christmas Tree with LED lights. The first outing for the new LED Tree will be at the Pro Peak Performance Test and Tune Day on Thursday 13th April, and then it will be in competitive use from the Festival of Power on 14th-16th April. Electric Juniors for UK. 31st March: Further to David Withington's news item of 6th March Phil Evans, who heads up the UK's Tech Committee as well as serving on the FIA Drag Racing Commission, tells us that work is underway to introduce Electric Junior Dragsters to UK competition: At the last Technical Committee meeting we discussed the possibility of allowing Electric Junior Dragsters to run in competition with conventionally-powered cars and consequently I have been in touch with the America's National Electric Drag Racing Association to discuss the adoption of their rules, as NHRA and IHRA have done. I have been communicating with John Metric who is the Technical Director of NEDRA and they are pleased for us to base our rules on their regulations. Apparently both Jonny Smith and Sam Young have built their vehicles using the NEDRA construction rules as a guideline. For complete information please see the NEDRA Electric Junior Dragster rules at www.nedra.com/jr_dragsters.html. You will see that they retain the basic ET structure with the age category catered for by altering voltages (i.e. power available). The construction of the chassis is to the same standard as conventional cars. If anybody wants to discuss this matter then please E-Mail me at [email protected]. I plan to hold a mid-season tech meeting and electric vehicles will be high on the agenda. Swift snippets. 
31st March: Longtime readers will remember our 2015 April Fool, which amongst other things
convinced a large number of readers that model Melanie Bond would be fronting our
Webster Race
Engineering / Nimbus Motorsport webcasts. In
an amusing case of life imitating art Eurodragster.com received a marketing E-Mail from a French company offering us
a similar service (right). So you see people lift our ideas even when we're joking...
Today (Friday) is the closing date for standard-fee entry to Big Bang, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 21st-23rd April (racing 22nd-23rd). You can download the official entry forms via the Information link of the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. You can check out the current Big Bang entry list by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. If you have any queries about Big Bang then you can contact Ian Marshall at SPRC on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or E-Mail [email protected]. Kuwait's Hussain Al Shammari is planning a return to FIA European Championship competition in 2017, this time in his own Camaro. You can read more on the Drag Racing Europe Blog by clicking here. VP Racing Fuels renew SPR contingency. 31st March: Santa Pod Raceway are pleased to announce that VP Racing Fuels will be continuing their Sportsman-class contingency scheme at UK and ACU National Championship rounds at Santa Pod: VP Racing Fuels and Santa Pod Raceway will be offering one nineteen-litre pail of any VP fuel to the winner in the following classes at the Festival of Power, FIA / FIM Main Event, SPRC Summernationals, FIA / FIM European Finals and UK National Finals:
UK event entry update. 29th March: This Friday (31st) is the closing date for standard-fee entry to Big Bang, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 21st-23rd April (racing 22nd-23rd); you can download the official entry forms via the Information link of the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. You can check out the current Big Bang entry list by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Thanks to Ian Marshall for forwarding us Version 11 of the official entry list for the Festival of Power, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 14th-16th April. You can check out the entry list on our John Woolfe Racing-sponsored Festival of Power Event Index by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. If you have any queries about Big Bang or Festival of Power entry then you can contact Ian Marshall at SPRC on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or E-Mail [email protected]. Official entry forms for the APIRA Springspeed Nationals, which takes place at Shakespeare County Raceway on 29th April-1st May, are available to download from the Downloads page of the Shakespeare County Raceway web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk. One Daimler good, two... 29th March: UK Super Pro ET racer Robin Read has been in touch to let us know that he has picked up his new 250" wheelbase dragster from Wayne Allman's Intergalactic Custom Shop: I would like to thank the hugely-talented and multi-faceted Wayne for his input and effort with the project so far. Once we got the car back to our own workshop we carried out a full appraisal of the overall project, which we then set against our own requirements and expectations. We realised that there were areas of design and construction which we needed to adjust. The process of turning a metal fabrication into a functional race car has already started and it is still our wish to be testing later this year. 
We have not been idle with our historic and iconic record-holding Daimler-powered dragster. After running 6.84/193 in October 2016 it was felt that the first 200 mph pass from a British-engined dragster was not only possible but achievable with our little car. But! We needed taller gears again than the 3.5 to 1 ratio which we had previously run. Such gears are not available and in fact not even manufactured any more . The only way forward was to go for a taller tyre to increase the roll-out per revolution but this wasn't possible with our old wheels and so we acquired some period Centreline Convo Pro wheels and tyres from Chris Orthodoxou. The new (old) wheels and tyres had a different bolt pattern and were taller and wider than our old wheels and tyres so we had to make new hubs. Whilst we were doing this and taking into account the increase in loading we upgraded to 5/8" diameter wheel studs and also upgraded both the spool and drive shafts from 30-spline to 35-spline Mark Williams components. The 40 spline outer drive plates were designed and manufactured by ourselves. We thought that Dragstalgia 2017 would be a good choice to make the attempt at 200 mph and we will work towards that. We will have to go testing before that meeting as the whole car has had a rebuild and freshen. I would like to thank my crew for their endless and enthusiastic support with cars old and new: Bertie Hopkinson and Mark Evans, and of course Ella Chapman and Bill Mears. It certainly wouldn't happen without them. Swift snippets. 29th March: Good luck and stay safe to Jonnie Lindberg (Fuel FC), Fred Hanssen (Top Alcohol Dragster) and Rob Turner (Top Alcohol FC) who are contesting this weekend's Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas and to Adam Flamholc and Mattias Wulcan who are contesting this weekend's PDRA East Coast Nationals at Galot. You will be able to stay in touch with our heroes' progress courtesy of Dragracecentral.com and the PDRA race will be webcast on Speedvideo.com. Don't forget the Lindberg brothers' awesome and frequently-updated web site and Facebook page. Per Bengtsson's company Bentec Engineering has signed up as a contingency sponsor for EDRS Pro Top Fuel Bike and Supertwin. You can find out more on the Drag Racing Europe Blog by clicking here. No news update yesterday, for which apologies, so we were unable to say a big Happy Birthday to race car builder, tuner, British Drag Racing Hall of Fame member and longtime Eurodragster.com supporter Rob Loaring and to Jan Phersson of Eurodragster.com sponsor Simpson Europe. Hope you had great days, guys. Fast Show Live. 29th March: The UK's first permit race of the year is Round 1 of the 2017 FWD Drag Series which takes place at this weekend's Fast Show at Santa Pod Raceway and you will be able to tune on Facebook for live video of the racing plus other show highlights. Like Santa Pod Raceway on Facebook and turn on notifications for live posts to be among the first to check out the action. Nitro FM will be broadcasting from 18:00 on Saturday evening at www.eurodragster.com/nitrofm. The Eurodragster.com Webster Race Engineering / Nimbus Motorsport webcam will start this year's broadcasts with a test at the RWYB and GTi Festival at Santa Pod Raceway on 8th-9th April followed by the Pro Peak Performance Test and Tune Day on 13th April. Web site updates. 29th March: Congratulations to our good friend Alan Currans who is celebrating fifty years following drag racing. Alan's first update this season is a gallery of Saturday's action at the Public Test and Tune at Shakespeare County Raceway. You can check out the latest update via What's New at www.theaccelerationarchive.co.uk. Nostalgia fans will want to speed over to Dick Parnham's Flickr site which has been updated with a gallery of the NDRC event at Radlett in 1978. You can find Dick's shots at www.flickr.com/photos/dickparnhamdragracing. US Automotive back BDRHoF Gala. 29th March: Another regular British Drag Racing Hall of Fame supporter has announced that it will be sponsoring the 2017 BDRHoF Gala Awards Dinner which is being held at the Oatlands Park Hotel, Weybridge on Saturday 18th November. That company is American parts supplier US Automotive which has helped fund the Hall of Fame since it was established in 2006. Bedford-based US Automotive currently stocks in excess of 20,000 product lines which cover the most popular applications from the classics of the 1950s up to current models and are updated regularly to follow market trends. The company supplies parts from the most respected American manufacturers, including Crane Cams, Fel-Pro Gaskets, Clevite Engine Bearings, Sealed Power and TRW Engine Components, and provides full technical support not only for its product range but also for American vehicles in general. As a Primary Sponsor, US Automotive's sponsorship is extensive and includes funding the Souvenir Programme production costs, co-sponsoring the Junior Drag Racing tables and table wine for all tables, plus help in other areas. BDRHoF Honorary Chairman Stu Bradbury, who worked for US Automotive for many years, said "I was working at US Automotive when I set up the BDRHoF back in 2006 and when I floated the idea to them they immediately made a decision to help fund things and have sponsored us every year since. It is no exaggeration to say that without them the BDRHoF would not exist and I can't thank them enough for their encouragement and financial support." 
US Automotive Chairman Stewart Bassett said "We are pleased to continue our support of the BDRHoF team who throughout the whole year put
in an amazing amount of voluntary work to celebrate drag racing pioneers in style. The Annual Gala Awards Dinner is a fabulous event and
we are proud to be associated with it. It has become one of my favourite social occasions of the year. This one will be extra special for
us because US Automotive is celebrating its 20th Anniversary."
The BDRHoF is now taking reservations for the 2017 Gala Awards Dinner by E-Mail at [email protected] or by telephone at 01933 279102. This year the tickets are priced competitively at £65 which includes a pre-dinner reception. The event always sells out well in advance, so if you would like to join us for the occasion we suggest you make your reservation sooner rather than later. On receiving your reservation you will be given the procedure to book rooms at the negotiated room rate that includes breakfast and VAT as well as parking. On-going news about the Gala, sponsors and other events in which the BDRHoF is involved will be published on the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame web site at www.britishdragracinghof.co.uk, on Eurodragster.com, and on Facebook and Twitter. Smax feels the heat in Florida. 
27th March: Ex-pat UK Top Fuel Dragster racer Smax Smith has been in touch with a report of his weekend at
the NHRA Gatornationals, where he was again driving the Leverich family's car:
After one of our best seasons ever Gary Leverich and I reflected on what we had achieved in 2016. We had attended only six NHRA races but qualified and ended up twenty second of thirty eight teams! We ran our first four-second quarter-mile pass at 4.9, got to the finals at the Mopar Nationals at Grand Bend, then won the Canadian Nitro Nationals at Toronto Motorsport Park and ran my Personal Best of 4.84 with the blower belt coming off before 1200 feet - it would have been a 4.79/310. Not to mention meeting some of the best names in drag racing! With that in mind we now want to run our first three-second 300 mph thousand-foot pass so, confident we could achieve that, Gary made the call to go to the Gators in Florida. Unfortunately my boy Aidan couldn't come as he had other plans that weekend, which was a bummer, but Gary has friends in Florida who help him a lot. Mark Jones, Eric and Richard were to meet us there while Jacob (bottom end), Dan (cylinder head) and I drove to Detroit to catch a flight to Orlando on Thursday night. Gary and Bob Leverich drove the truck and trailer the twenty two hours but before setting off on Wednesday night found a flat tyre but everywhere was closed. Gary put a plug in but the truck tyre was too thick so he drove onto the spike and successfully penetrated the tyre so he could set off. Needs must! We arrived at midnight then got a rental car and drove to the motel, finally getting to meet up with Lee Webb of the Shockwave team, who flew over to help us, at 2:30 am - he was waiting with a beer! We set the alarm for 5:30 am as we had a long drive to the track and there was a mandatory meeting for drivers and owners at NHRA Hospitality at 9:00! We made it just on time only having had a fast food brekky, Jake and Dan had hit Denny's at 2:30 am so that they could survive. The meeting was really positive that since Fox Sports 1 and 2 had taken over the TV the viewership had increased over 300% and sponsorship now looking a lot tastier now! Gary and Bob had arrived the night before and got the car all tecched so we planned to do Q1. But then NHRA came over and complained that our Butler head restraint had been tampered with so had to miss Q1 and go see Alan at Simpson to do a repair- thanx to Aaron from Hans who darted around to find SFI material. NHRA also said to retag our mags so we had big thrash and were ready for Q2. We had some concerns over oil pressure but still decided to go out qualify. We put English Lee out in front as my boy Ronan didn't attend either. I did a short burnout and backed up, then after stopping a chute fell out so I had to shut off. Bummer! We went back and Mark Fedexed two new cables from California whilst I went to see my hero Scott Palmer who gave us two chutes as he had just got a sponsor deal for two new chutes on his car, he also gave us one bag! We got everything ready and hit the Texas Steakhouse but there was a long wait so went to Denny's for food then next with Lee to an Irish pub for green beer and St Paddy's Day! Had to get up early again to get the car ready for Q3 as we were the only car not qualified. Fast food brekky and jumped back on the car. Fired up but no oil pressure! Long story short, Gary discovered the system one filter screen was plugged even though clean, so left it out and got all the pressure back... phew! With chutes fixed and oil pressure figured this was our chance for that three-second pass. Racing against Shawn Reed I did a nice burnout, staged nice and left first but 250 feet out it went bang and shut off. As I had no radios or mirrors I didn't know that I had had a huge fireball so I just trickled over the finish line at 23 mph in fifteen seconds to make sure that we were qualified. I sat in the car until the Safety Safari put the fire out. Back in the pits it was another story. The brand new rod #1 rod had disintegrated and exited the block. We lost five points for the oildown. So a huge CSI to find out what happened, as the piston, pin and rod bearing were OK and the data didn't show a misfire we were thinking rod failure but we were not sure. We asked Todd Okuhara of Schumacher's team to look and he felt that we had an ignition malfunction causing a hydraulic and catastrophic rod failure. We pulled the whole ignition off the car and Aaron Grant came over with Audrey to help so he went through our ignition. Todd kindly offered to take all our stuff back and check through it for free! MSD had just checked the mags and Scott Palmer gave us two coils, Aaron checked the boxes and harnesses and rewired whilst I looked at our dated kill switch. Many thought that could have been an issue although we replaced our mag clamps with billet off Scott Palmer's team. We put our spare short block in and thrashed to the wee hours, although I sneaked over to Larry Dixon's pit to meet his amazing family and have a little food. I didn't see much qualifying but said Hi to our man Jonnie Lindberg. We got back to the hotel at around 2:00 am, a quick beer at the Irish pub then a hot bath and set the alarm for 5:30 am! The first round was scheduled for 11:00 am and I had number one qualifier Tony Schumacher. There was only 305 mph difference between #1 and #16! We got all done and fired up, scared the crap out of the fans with Gary's huge nitro whacks and got a standing ovation. We got such a warm welcome and lots of fans wishing us on. I went down to the driver introduction with Audrey and connected with a lot of drivers as well as getting asked for autographs from fans who thought I was Sammy Hagar! We got the call and towed down. Did my burnout then disaster! The brakes were failing so I shot past Lee and rolled to a stop, got in reverse and not wanting to use up what was left I backed up real slow so I wouldn't risk backing into anyone. All was OK even though everyone including the TV announcer was wondering why but I had to keep my cool as no radios. I then went to pre-stage the car but it rolled through into deep stage. I waited for Tony to pre-stage then highsided but on the yellows I redlit. I went to 300 feet and the car shook so I lifted and rolled to a stop. There was brake fluid on the track which counted as oildown #2 and on race day you lose five points and pay a fine of $2000. I was bit disappointed. I went to Tony Schumacher's pit to apologise and explain what had happened but he was cool. We then went to service the car for Audrey to do licencing runs on Monday but disaster again - we had spun bearings, not sure why, so couldn't risk the line bore. We packed up and headed to the Texas Steakhouse for drinks and food... I think I was the only vegetarian in the place! Friend Les and Gary and his granddaughter had driven their RV from Canada so we shot over and picked them up too. Saw Jonnie, Johan and Karsten in there then I was going to party with Palmer's gang back at the track but found out that he was at a racers' bar so we turned around and joined him. Over the course of the weekend it was great to see Liam Jones and Gary Page as well as Monique and Roel Koedam, Stig Neegaard and his missus and Andy Wilsheer. On Sunday night Gary was with Tommy Johnson Jr at the same bar, a great night then back to the track to party in Les' RV then finally back to motel around 3:00 am, one last beer in the Irish pub with Jake and Lee. Lee was a great help all weekend and helped Jake on the bottom end while Mark Jones helped Gary, Eric worked on the clutch, and Richard ran around doing everything and proved his worth. It was a shame that Aidan wasn't there though. 
As Audrey was not running and our flight home wasn't until 6:30 pm we went back to the track to watch testing. Watched and chatted to Anthony from Gas Monkey and Ulf
Leanders as well as watching Nitro Funny Cars testing. The big highlight was Nico from Iron Maiden who was with the Tequila team, I got to chat to him and Maiden are
touring so he invited our crew to the show in New Jersey when we are at Englishtown. Gary is a huge Maiden fan and has offered to wrap our car to promote their tour so
see we'll see how that pans out, but it's positive!
We'll hopefully get all our damage sorted and head to Charlotte for the Four Wide at the end of April. I will race and we will test with Audrey on the Monday. Hopefully all of the minor dramas of last weekend are behind us and the crew will be dialled in to the car and back on the mission for that three-second pass. Big thanks to Gary and Bob and all the crew for their really hard work all weekend. Swift snippets. 
27th March: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com came with
no words. If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at
[email protected].
We were very pleased to hear that Germany's Werner Habermann Racing will be fielding both Timo's and Dennis' Top Methanol Dragsters on the full FIA European Championship Tour this season. Stay tuned for more. EDRS Comp Eliminator Champion and full-time genius PerErik Lindgren will be swapping his dragster for a Doorslammer this season. Courtesy of our good friend Lena Perés you can read all about it on the Drag Racing Europe Blog by clicking here. Your News Editor stopped by Santa Pod Raceway on Saturday to plan the installation of the webcam PC into the track's reconfigured network (Thanks to Julian Parsons for his time - Ed) and whilst there he photographed trackside for an hour or so. You can check out our small Run What You Brung gallery, which is presented in association with John Woolfe Racing, by clicking here. UK event entry update. 25th March: Many thanks to Ian Marshall for forwarding us Version 7 (aka "Final-ish") of the official entry list for the Festival of Power, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 14th-16th April. You can check out the entry list on our John Woolfe Racing-sponsored Festival of Power Event Index by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Standard-fee Festival of Power entry closed yesterday (Friday); entry may still be accepted but if so then may be subject to a Late Entry penalty. Next Friday, 31st March, is the closing date for standard-fee entry to Big Bang, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 21st-23rd April (racing 22nd-23rd); you can download the official entry forms via the Information link of the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. If you have any queries about Festival of Power or Big Bang entry then you can contact Ian Marshall at SPRC on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or E-Mail [email protected]. Official entry forms for the APIRA Springspeed Nationals, which takes place at Shakespeare County Raceway on 29th April-1st May, are available to download from the Downloads page of the Shakespeare County Raceway web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk. Malta's own Mister Six. 
25th March: We were very pleased to hear that Simon Giordmaina's Super Street Bike, ridden by Franklyn Borg, blasted
into the sixes at Malta's Hal Far Raceway last weekend. With Shawn Buttigieg also on the facility at Round 1 of the Malta Drag Racing
Association Championship the race was on to the first six, as Gabriel Briffa writes:
Meanwhile Shawn Buttigieg took over the National Record with a 7.08 pass, backed up later with a 7.07, meaning that Simon's team needed to step up their game. During Saturday qualifying everything showed that the air and track conditions were better than last November as the bike went 7.11 with a Personal Best speed of 206 mph straight off the trailer and all the incrementals showing that a six-second pass was not an impossible dream any more. Later on the team backed it up with a 7.083 at an astonishing 208.40, which made them believe that it could really happen. 
After a lot of data analysis from Simon doing his magic on the MoTeC and AMS2000, and discussion with Franklyn between passes about changes in the tune-up
trying to make the combination work between all of the components, the bike was ready for eliminations. The air and track conditions were ideal. The team had two set-ups
ready and decided at the last minute not to go for the aggressive set-up. The bike left the line, stayed on the ground and ran a 1.23 at sixty feet, then a 4.64 eighth mile showed
up on the scoreboard. We thought "This could be it". The win light went on and all the hard work paid off, 6.993 at 208.95.
It was once a dream, but not any more. Not only a National Record in its class but Simon's bike was the first Super Street Bike to run in the sevens in Malta and now the first SSB to run in the sixes, and it also puts the bike third in Europe of the active registered bikes under FIM Europe SSB rules. 
It could not have been a better weekend for us after the non-stop hard work since last November: coming back and qualifying first in both SSB and Open and winning both finals.
Simon, Franklyn and the whole team would like to take this opportunity to thank firstly Rodney Williford for helping and consistently pointing us in the right direction, MTC Engineering
for the amazing clutch, and NLR for power control and more. A special Thank You goes from Simon to Franklyn for doing a great job riding the bike and for also helping out, to Leli
for all the help, to Gabriel for the support and now Press and Media Relations, and to George for finding the time for hard work at the workshop. Special big thanks go to all the people
who have always supported us and continue to do so, again the feedback from you on the stands was something special: you can never explain how happy it makes you when you see
the stands cheering at what you just achieved so thank you all again. We have to say a big Well Done and Thank You to the MDRA for putting on such a great event and giving us a
track which can handle what we throw at it. Thanks to our parents who support and care for us: Charles and Carmen, and Marcell and Doris. Last but not least Simon and Franklyn
want to thank their wives and children for the full support they always give, even when it sometimes means less time with them. We love you and we thank you for being there backing
us up all the time.
There were more National Records at Hal Far last weekend including Duncan Micallef's 4.03/303 Top Fuel Dragster record and courtesy of our good buddy Remco Scheelings you can read more on the Drag Racing Europe Blog by clicking here. Top Fuel Dragster SFI spec updated. 23rd March: Geoff Martin of the UK's Tech Crew has been in touch to remind Top Fuel Dragster racers that an SFI chassis revision, to Spec 2.3P, was issued on 17th March. "This means that any existing certification is no longer valid", says Geoff. "Obviously if a car is planning to compete at the FIA Main Event then it will require this revision and a recert. If anyone requires details I can forward them, please contact me at [email protected]." SCR open gates for 2017. 22nd March: It's the first Test and Tune Public Track Weekend of the season at Warwickshire's Shakespeare County Raceway, Shakedown@S-Town. Jerry Cookson writes: 
With many taking full advantage of the weekend the track will host its first in a series of the popular Bracket Gamblers races open to all doorslammers and street legal cars as entrants roll the dice and hopefully they'll win some money in return! Details can be found on the ET Bracket Race Facebook page. 
The weekend also features the first 2017 outing for Roger Goring's popular Firestorm Jet Funny Car as the test and development work continues before the team launch into a full programme of appearances in the UK and Europe. The track will be open from 10.00 am each day and caters for all competitions cars, bikes and street legal machines which are all welcome to come to test those winter modifications or just shake those winter blues out of their systems! General admission is £12 per person each day or £22 for a weekend pass, track fee is £25 each day or £40 for a weekend of unlimited runs. Helmets are required along with a full driving licence. Overnight camping is available on the purchase of a weekend ticket. Kenny's Bar will also be open on Saturday night. So for a great weekend of fun on the drag strip make it Shakespeare County Raceway this weekend! You can find out more at www.shakespearecountyraceway.com. Swift snippets. 22nd March: Kerryanne van den Berg writes that 2016 Most Professional Appearing Team winners Shark Attack Drag Racing will be fielding no less than five racers this season and that it will be a family affair: her daughter Bobby Frazier (below) in Comp Bike, daughter Meggie Talbot in Junior Drag Bike, husband Rene van den Berg in Top Fuel Bike, nephew Tonny van den Berg also in Comp Bike, and nephew Louis Davies in ET Bike. 
Complementing yesterday's report of the SFI Tour's UK stop, our good friend Lena Perés writes about the new generation of SFI inspectors attending the Swedish stop. You check it out on the Drag Racing Europe Blog by clicking here. Michael Dowdy has been in touch to ask us to wish a big Happy 12th Birthday to his son, UK Junior Dragster racer Matthew Dowdy. Our pleasure, have a very Happy Birthday Matthew. "Matthew is looking forward to getting the dragster back from Hauser Race Cars where the engine has been refreshed and the harness straps updated", says Michael. "A big Thank You to Gary Lockyer of Wootton Tyre & Exhaust for his continuing support." How to join in the Havoc. 22nd March: The next stop on the Havoc Fuel Altered's US Tour will be the Holley National Hot Rod Reunion at Bowling Green, Kentucky on 15th-17th June and Geof Stilwell of British Drag Racing Hall of Fame sponsor Beech Underwriting writes that you too can be there at an affordable price: It's one of the biggest events of the year, with a huge car show and you are near the Corvette museum so it's a great few days. Nashville is the nearest main airport and Bobby at Dial-a-Flight (01732 593050) has loads of flight or fly-drive deals for those who want to support the team. If you are going then make sure you get your hotel booked as lodgings near the track are limited. The March Meet was well attended by us Brits, so please come and support our boys. SFI Tour hits Santa Pod. 
21st March: The fourth and final leg of the 2017 European SFI Recertification Tour took place at Santa Pod
Raceway yesterday (Monday). Simon went along to talk to the inspection team and racers attending:
SFI Foundation President Arnie Kuhns said that this would be his final tour and we wish him well for the future. Since becoming president of SFI Foundation in 1984, Arnie has seen it grow to encompass around one hundred member sanctioning bodies and well over three hundred individual equipment manufacturers who participate in more than eighty five specification programmes. Arnie said "I have been involved in the SFI European Tour for more than twenty years since before the FIA Championship began and around ten years before that. The overall attitude has become more and more professional. The sanctioning bodies know what they're doing and racers are highly co-operative." Since the passing of the much-missed Tim Hyatt in December 2015, Arnie has had his eye towards succession on the tour. This time, the place of Murf McKinney on the SFI European Tour was taken by L-G Eriksson, now running ME Racing Services in Börlange, Sweden. Luke Robinson has succeeded Tim Hyatt as clutch specialist, and Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson continues to inspect clutch cans and flexplates. The administration is handled by full-time SFI employee Jennifer Faye who commented that, whilst numbers seem to be down in all countries on the tour, there are increasing numbers of automatic transmissions in many classes. In association with Lucas Oil Products we are pleased to present a gallery of the day which you can check out by clicking here or by clicking on the Features, Interviews, Tributes link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Whilst photographing the SFI Day for our Feature we also garnered a few Pit Notes which are presented below in the order in which we spoke to the racers: Dave Milam of the She Devil Top Methanol Funny Car team, with driver Steph, said "Our new ex-Dan Larsen Stratus was ready at the European Finals and then the class was cancelled a week before the event. We can't see any improvement in class numbers for this year so the car is now for sale as a rolling chassis. We will be running the previous car as an altered at Dragstalgia with a modified front wing to help the drivability, and plan to extend our European record of 6.18 further." Karl Harrison of the NUA RKS Top Methanol Dragster team is busy with Rod Harrison's car and completing the Beetle Nostalgia Funny Car due out later in the year. He said "There was very little damage last year apart from our torque converter at Hockenheim and so work has been mainly freshening. For the dragster, we will be doing the same schedule as last year: Festival of Power, Main Event, Hockenheim and European Finals. Andy's Beetle is due for a mid-season début and I will be getting involved with Simon Barlow's team later in the year as well." Ashley Bell will be back in his familiar Super Pro ET AC Cobra with a new black paint scheme, after taking most of the last three years off, with a sole appearance at the Mopars last year. His first event this year will be in Super Pro ET at the FIA Main Event. Jon Best will be making his return to the track in a '78 Corvette-bodied Nostalgia Funny Car. "It's the old Chaos Fuel Altered chassis which we had altered with the cage reduced in height by around eight to ten inches for a lay-down driving position and a wheelbase of 125 inches. The body is a brand-new Lowlife Customs fibreglass item from former Motorsports announcer Army Armstrong. The engine is an aluminium Big Block Chevy with Arias heads. We will be joined by US Nostalgia Top Fuel racer Brendan Murry at Dragstalgia, as our engine set-up is identical to Brendan's with the exception of a twenty one-gallon fuel pump on the Funny Car as opposed to twenty-gallon in Nostalgia Top Fuel." Super Mod racer Peter Thompson will be making a return to racing in his '68 Chevelle after a break in driving of four years. The car crashed in 2011 and Peter had it rebuilt and out in 2012, after which he had "A year out that became four years". This time he will be racing his nitrous Powerglide machine in Competition Eliminator. Former JDS Street racer James Willday had a low nine second RX7, last seen in 2012, but has now built a RX8 for JDS Pro and Super Pro ET or Competition Eliminator. He said "I will be out in June or July. Hauser Racing fabricated the chassis and I have been working with Stuart at Hausers on assembling the body, and the wiring which I will need to be familiar when I run the car. The engine revs to around 14,000 rpm and getting the tuning right is really important as they don't handle detonation well. My sights are on running a six eventually, and the world record for a rotary car is now in the mid-sixes." Rob Elsom will be making his initial passes in his Dirty Deeds Firebird Nostalgia Funny Car at the Festival of Power after a two year build. Swift snippets. 21st March: Many thanks to Ian Marshall for forwarding us updated entry lists for the Festival of Power (Version 4) and Big Bang (Version 3). You can check out either entry list by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. You can download the official entry forms via the Information link of the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. Standard-fee Festival of Power entry closes this Thursday (24th). Mummy Stone remembered. 21st March: Lesley Wright hears that she was so sad to hear that Mummy Stone had passed away: I have such fond memories of her, always smiling and laughing, it was a joy to be in her company. Whether at Santa Pod, at the Brighton show or on race trips abroad to Sweden, Italy and Switzerland you could always count on Mummy Stone – to go shopping! After making sure her 'Den', Dave, Gerry and Andrew had everything they needed for the day, she was off. Independent and resourceful she enjoyed the bits of drag racing which she wanted to and then pleased herself with her time. Always up for a cup of tea and a gossip in anyone's caravan or trailer, a breath of fresh air whenever you saw her. Mary was an inspiration in that whether at home or abroad, she would hop on a bus and take herself off on her own little adventure for the day. Always back for dinner with entertaining tales of where she had ended up and who she had spoken to. In doing this she allowed the boys the freedom to enjoy themselves too and concentrate on the racing. She taught us girls how to survive the mistress that is drag racing, always remembered and celebrated birthdays in some small way, and made everyone feel special. I am so grateful that Mummy Stone has been a big part in my life. My sincerest condolences to all the family. UK Championship class sponsors. 19th March: Following negotiations between Santa Pod Racers Club and sponsors for the title rights to race classes, SPRC are pleased to announce that Modurstang and Gearhead Garage UK are now the title sponsors for Pro ET and Super Pro ET respectively. Modurstang and Gearhead Garage UK join long-standing Junior Dragster class sponsor Lucas Oil UK. Ian Marshall writes: SPRC would like to welcome both companies on board and thank them for their sponsorship commitment throughout the 2017 season. Modurstang is a highly regarded UK-based Ford Mustang performance upgrade specialist. Conducting business in Chipping Norton, Mike Lacey and his team are waiting to help prospective customers to take Mustangs from show room stock wherever their dreams want to take them. Modurstang can be contacted on 01608 678818 or via their web site at www.modurstang.co.uk. Mick Pusey's Gearhead Garage UK are well-known for supplying American vehicles to suit customers' requirements and parts to improve existing vehicles. They can even supply bespoke garages in which to keep your pride and joy safe, warm and dry, Gearhead Garage UK can be reached on on 01335 372119 or 07973 740076, by E-Mail at [email protected], or via their web site at www.gearhead-garage.co.uk or of course on the right-hand side of Eurodragster.com News. Please consider all of your sponsors, especially when looking to buy goods and services, and hopefully these good people will continue to come back and help our racers where they can. Swift snippets. 19th March: Brian Taylor has been in touch with a tribute to Mary (Mummy) Stone who died on Wednesday. "Sad news about Mary", he says. "She was a lovely lady with no side to her at all. I have many happy memories of her and my sympathies are with the family. Drag racing has much for which to thank Mary and the Stone family." Glen Read writes with his deepest and sincere sympathies to Dave, Vicky and all members of the Stone family. "The Reads and the Stones were strong competitors on the track but even stronger friends off the track", he says. "We travelled so many thousands of kilometers together during the 1970s and 1980s. Our overseas jaunts usually started at Review Rd where we were all welcomed, fed and watered and more. Mary was like a mum to our team also. I know that Jim used to spend weekends off-season with Dennis and Mary. He came back always heavier and happier. RIP Mummy Stone." "So sorry to hear this sad news", says Stu Bradbury. "I have fond memories of Mary and Dennis, in fact all the Stones family. Great pioneers of drag racing. Their contributions are one of the reasons the sport exists today! Condolences to family and friends." 
The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com came with the
words "Package on its way, delivery address Santa Pod Raceway, 1320 Airfield Boulevard, Northampton". Probably not one
necessitating a rocket scientist but if you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at
[email protected].
No news update yesterday for which apologies (Your News Editor successfully applied for an aegrotat - Ed) so we were unable to say a big Happy Birthday to our good buddy Barry Bohannon. Hope you had a good birthday Barry, similarly we hope that Darren West of Eurodragster.com sponsor Power Race Graphics had a great birthday yesterday. On to today and big Happy Birthdays to Mick Pusey of Eurodragster.com sponsor Gearhead Garage UK, and to Nigel Payne. Have a great day both. Father and daughter Dag and Kathrine Wagenius have been flying the flag for drag racing at the recent MC-Messen, where they also revealed their plans for the 2017 EDRS Pro Nordic Motorcycle Championship. You can take a look on the Drag Racing Europe Blog by clicking here. Staying with the 2017 EDRS Pro Nordic Motorcycle Championship, Kristin Hegre will be following in son Jan-Sturla's footpegs by contesting Supertwin Motorcycle in this year's Series. Again you can read more on the Drag Racing Europe Blog by clicking here. Eurodragster.com sponsor MPM Oil has introduced MB9 Automatic Transmission Oil, a premium synthetic automatic transmission oil especially developed for the latest-generation nine-speed automatic transmission from Mercedes-Benz for which the MB-approval 236.17 is recommended. You can find out more (PDF format) by clicking here. Fifty years of Nitro Thunder. 
19th March: Celebrating fifty years of Santa Pod Raceway and thereby fifty years of Fuel racing, longtime journalist
Mike Collins has compiled an in-depth feature especially for Eurodragster.com readers.
Mike's piece runs to thirty two pages, covering both the 2016 FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Championship season and the history of Fuel racing at Santa Pod Raceway since its opening day. You can check out Mike's article, which comes in PDF format, by clicking here or by clicking on the picture at right. PMR's double date. 19th March: Paul Marston Racing are pleased to announce that Paul's name will shortly appear in Super Gas and Super Street on the official entry list for April's Festival of Power at Santa Pod Raceway: I will be driving at the opener with entries from the stable appearing in various classes as the season pans out including the inaugural No Prep Doorslammer Nationals at North Weald Dragstrip on 2nd July and in UK Top Sportsman at the Mopar EuroNationals on 28th-30th July as well as other UK Championship dates. Super Gas is where I cut my teeth, competing against what were then the very best Doorslammer drivers, and where I won first my National event, so in some ways it's like coming home. With all the effort that Jon Giles has put into securing such a great sponsor, Super Gas needs racers to show their appreciation which is why I will be competing in the class this season. Just as it was before, the class is chock-full of some very tough racers and teams. To win in Super Gas you most certainly have to earn it. Sure the money helps, but I am excited about the new challenge of running a Pro tree again. Plus it's an even field: no dragsters, just Doorslammers and the occasional roadster. I will also be supporting Super Street. It's a great class, and as I played my part in getting SPRC to agree to the-double header at the two FIA events with the blessing of Santa Pod Raceway I thought it only fair that I run that class too. PMR will be fielding the 100% Whoopass Chevy Monza to kick the season off, but don't be surprised to see a change of race car as the season progresses with the début of a purpose built Super Class doorslammer. Regrettably PMR have lost some of their Super Crew over the off-season, but the Brains Trust stays intact and there will be some new additions as the season progresses. At present all the crew are hard at it prepping everything to be 100% ready for the 2017 season, all that behind-the-scenes work which makes the team tick, and so long as the weather plays ball we will be ready. Please stop by and say hello at Easter. Mary (Mummy) Stone. 
16th March: We were very sorry to hear from Vickie Stone of the death yesterday (Wednesday) of Mary 'Mummy' Stone,
wife of Dennis Stone and matriarch of of the UK's legendary Stones Drag Racing Team:
Mum had returned to her roots in a County Cork, Ireland in 2014 and was enjoying a quiet life in the place where she was born. She was 91. The picture at right was taken by the Barking and Dagenham Post many years ago when the Stones bought Stardust. Our deepest sympathies to Vickie and to Dave, and to all of Mary's family and friends. If you would like to send a tribute to or share a story about Mary then please E-Mail us at [email protected]. 2017 European Top Gas calendar. 16th March: Many thanks to Herman Jolink for sending us this year's calendar for the European Supertwin Top Gas Series. Herman writes: Twenty two European Top Gas racers held a meeting at Molln in Germany to discuss the 2017 races. Jozef Hadnagy invited us to Kunmadaras for the twentieth year celebration on 24th June and said that if we came then Top Gas could have a two-day event, but there was one vote too few so we are going to Malmö twice in 2017. 13th-15th May: Malmö, Sweden 3rd-6th June: Malmö, Sweden 14th-16th July: Drachten, The Netherlands 18th-20th August: Hockenheim, Germany 1st-2nd September: Mosten Race Days, Denmark 29th September-1st October: Drachten, The Netherlands Herman adds that he had to say goodbye to Eurol, his sponsor of twenty five years, this year but that he will now be sponsored by Putoline Motorcycle Oil. FIM Europe prepare for 2017... 16th March: FIM Europe Drag Racing Commission member Job Heezen has been in touch with an update from the FIM Europe Drag Bike Championships: On 17th-1th February, the Magyar Motorsport Szövetség hosted the FIM Europe Drag Racing Commission's seminar for Clerks of the Course and Technical Steward licence holders. Prior to the seminar, the Drag Racing Commission had a special meeting with Rezsö Bulcsu, director of FIM International's Commission of Circuit Racing together with FIM co-ordinator Victoria Corredoira. This valuable meeting was scheduled to make a first list of issues regarding the plans for the new World Cup of Drag Racing. The overall conclusion of the meeting was very positive although everybody agreed on the fact that there are a lot of issues to manage and solve. Left to right below left are Reszö Bulcsu, Jozef Hadnagy (MAMS), Victoria Corredoira, and Job Heezen, Peder Eneroth, Palle Lind and Jari Halonen all of the Drag Racing Commission. 
On day two of the seminar the real work started with training courses for Clerks of the Course and the Technical Steward licencees (above right). The training and examinations for Clerks of the Course were run by Commission Chair Palle Lind and those for Tech Stewards by newly-appointed Commission member Job Heezen. The turnout of candidates was very satisfying with people from England, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands and Hungary. Those trained will help to bring the quality of the officiating and scrutineering to even highers level. New rules were explained, issues from previous seasons were communicated and there was ample opportunity to exchange views during the day. Major attention was been given to the safety aspects of drag racing, a key issue for the Commission. All of the licencees should be ready for some flawless operation in seasons to come. Many thanks to our Hungarian hosts who did a wonderful job ! FIM Europe racers and others involved can check out important matters such as rule books, rule changes etc on the FIM web site or go to the Drag Racing Commission's Facebook page. ...whilst Holmberg forgets 2016. 16th March: 2016 was not the most fortunate of seasons for Swedish Pro Stock Bike racer Kenneth Holmberg with a broken thumb necessitating wearing a cast for the first race of the season and a number of broken engines. Finishing ninth in the Championship after previous top five finishes was disappointing but Kenneth says that it is all forgotten now and that he and his team have never been so well-prepared for an upcoming season: With two updated engines, a number of new sponsors and a tight team, we are really looking forward to 2017. Gabriella 'Gabbi' Nikolovska and Kent 'Kenta' Carlsson, our talented team members for many years, are helping us out at racers with family and friends. We will compete and focus upon all of the FIM races and we will also race in the EDRS Pro series. One of the highlights is of course racing at our home track Tierp Arena in June and August. 
This year's goal is of course top position in the FIM European Championship. Hopefully there will be a World Championship at Hockenheim in 2018 if all goes as it should with the FIM and promoters. The first round of the FIM European Championship will be held at Santa Pod Raceway in England at the end of May with great organisation and a wonderful atmosphere. Before that we have a plan to test at Malm&oum; at the end of April. See you at the track! Thanks to our sponsors Swecomposite, Hyresbostäder Boliden, EG Nord, ProService, Bilglasdesign, Texstar, Yniq, Swedol and FHRA Feringe. Swift snippets. 16th March: Many thanks to Ian Marshall for forwarding us updated entry lists for the Festival of Power (Version 3) and Big Bang (Version 2). You can check out either entry list by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. You can download the official entry forms via the Information link of the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. Good luck and stay safe to Smax Smith (Top Fuel Dragster), Jonnie Lindberg (Fuel Funny Car) and Ulf Leanders (Top Alcohol FC) who are contesting this weekend's NHRA Amalie Gatornationals at Gainesville. Our heroes are in action from Friday and you will be able to stay in touch courtesy of the Drag Race Central web site at www.dragracecentral.com and on the racers' Facebook pages. We would like to say a big Happy Birthday to our good friend and Honorary Eurodragster.com Staff Member John Hackney. Have a great day Hackers. London Motor Show SPRC discount. 16th March: Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall has been in touch with news of a special discount for SPRC members: The London Motor Show, which takes place in Battersea Park on 4th-7th May, is back again following a highly-successful event last year with over 25,000 visitors. As the show is intended for all car enthusiasts, and before the show sells out again, the Show is offering Santa Pod Racers Club members a special 10% discount on tickets. A special food and beverage area for Club members will also be on hand as a good meeting point with the added benefit of reduced rates on catering. To use this exclusive special rate members just need to add the promo code SANTAPOD when buying tickets on-line at www.thelondonmotorshow.co.uk. BDRHoF Gala sponsorship update. 16th March: Lucas Oil Products UK has announced that it is renewing its sponsorship of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Gala Awards Dinner, to be held on Saturday 18th November at the Oatlands Park Hotel, Weybridge, Surrey. Lucas Oil will be joined by Kelsey Media as joint hosts of the pre-dinner drinks reception, welcoming guests to an evening celebrating those who have helped the sport grow since its beginning in the late 1950s. 
Lucas Oil also sponsors the BDRHoF Lucas Oil Global Achievement Award. In 2016 this was presented to the National Hot Rod Association for the
crucial role played by NHRA and its employees in organising, governing and growing the sport of drag racing throughout its sixty five years of
existence including the establishment of the FIA Drag Racing Commission which organises Championships in Europe and Australia. NHRA President
Peter Clifford sent a photo and message saying how thrilled they were with the award and that they are proudly displaying it in their Glendora
Headquarters' conference room.
Lucas Oil UK Managing Director Les Downey said "It is rewarding that British drag racing and Lucas Oil are represented in the sport's corridors
of power in California. Our company has a long history in drag racing and also sponsors the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame based in
Florida. And we are proud to continue our support of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Gala Awards Dinner and this year act as joint hosts
of the pre-dinner drinks reception with our friends from Kelsey Media. As well as celebrating the sport's UK pioneers at the BDRHoF Gala, many
of whom have become personal friends of mine, Lucas Oil is committed to celebrating the young people entering drag racing by co-sponsoring two
tables for the Junior Drag Racing Champions and their families It is great that the 2017 Junior Drag Racing Champions can attend the Gala again
and meet so many legends of our sport. I know they really look forward to the occasion. The British Drag Racing Hall of Fame is doing important
work and I would encourage more companies to get involved". This Andy Willsheer photo was taken at the 2016 BDRHoF Gala Awards Dinner and shows,
from left, Les Downey of Lucas Oil Products UK, Don Schumacher and the 2016 Junior Drag Racing Champions. Sponsorship Partner and BDRHoF
International Liaison Advisor Geoff Stilwell of Beech Underwriting is on the right.
British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Limited CEO Brian Taylor said "I have known Les for many years and he is a true friend of drag racing. This year the event will have a revised format aimed at streamlining the awards programme and providing more time for socialising. I can't think of anyone better to welcome guests before the Awards Dinner and set the right atmosphere of the evening and I thank him for his support." Joining Lucas Oil this year is Kelsey Media – a business now publishing a multitude of magazines and organising events covering the automotive sector and many other areas too. A visit to their web site www.kelsey.co.uk shows you the amazing breadth of their coverage these days. The world of drag racing knows them for Custom Car, a magazine which has been helping to promote our sport since its launch in 1970. In 2007 the magazine was inducted into the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame for its long association with the sport and, along with US Automotive, sponsored the Souvenir Programme for the 2014 BDRHoF Gala Awards Dinner. Covering everything from low-budget traditional hot rods and customs to hi-tech street rods and 300 mph dragsters, the team of writers at Custom Car bring together event coverage, technical articles, project cars, news and reviews and feature cars on a monthly basis. In addition, the magazine offers a classified section for those looking to buy and sell. It is available in print and digital format and is part of the Fast Car Entertainment event series which brings motoring enthusiasts together to celebrate their shared passion. 
Managing Director of Kelsey Media Phil Weeden said "Kelsey Media, and in particular Custom Car magazine, are delighted to be supporting the
British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Gala Awards Dinner. We're equally pleased to be sharing that support with a brand of repute like Lucas Oil. Custom
Car magazine is part of a growing family of motoring publications, web sites and events at Kelsey Media. All have a passion for motoring at their
heart. The knowledge and enthusiasm for cars in particular is especially evident in a brand like Custom Car magazine, which has been around now
for over forty years, reflecting the best in hot rods, customs and drag racers."
Honorary Chairman of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Stu Bradbury said "Custom Car is part of our family, being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007, and it is very rewarding that they are supporting us again. I remember when the magazine was launched and what a difference it made to how drag racing was perceived by the public and sponsors. Of all the titles out there this is the one that has shown longevity in its association with our sport and it is a special pleasure to welcome them back as a sponsor." The BDRHoF is now taking reservations for the 2017 Gala Awards Dinner by E-Mail at [email protected] or by telephone at 01933 279102. This year the tickets are priced competitively at £65 which includes a pre-dinner reception. The event always sells out well in advance, so if you would like to join us for the occasion we suggest you make your reservation sooner rather than later. On receiving your reservation you will be given the procedure to book rooms at the negotiated room rate that includes breakfast and VAT as well as parking. On-going news about the Gala, sponsors and other events in which the BDRHoF is involved will be published on the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame web site at www.britishdragracinghof.co.uk, on Eurodragster.com, and on Facebook and Twitter. UK event entry update. 14th March: Many thanks to Ian Marshall for forwarding us Version 2 of the official entry list for the Festival of Power, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 14th-16th April. You can check out the entry list on our John Woolfe Racing-sponsored Festival of Power Event Index by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Thanks also to Ian Marshall for forwarding us Version 1 of the official entry list for Big Bang, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 21st-23rd April (racing 22nd-23rd). You can check out the entry list on our John Woolfe Racing-sponsored Big Bang Event Index by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Festival of Power entry closes on 24th March and Big Bang entry closes on 31st March; you can download the official entry forms via the Information link of the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. If you have any queries about Festival of Power entry then you can contact Ian at SPRC on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or E-Mail [email protected]. Official entry forms for the APIRA Springspeed Nationals, which takes place at Shakespeare County Raceway on 29th April-1st May, are available to download from the Downloads page of the Shakespeare County Raceway web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk. Havoc: The inside track. 13th March: Many thanks to Rob Loaring who has been in touch with the inside story of the Havoc Fuel Altered team's weekend at the March Meet. Wednesday 1st March: Nick, Scott and I got into Bakersfield around 9:45 on Tuesday evening. We grabbed something to eat, found the hotel and went straight to bed. The previous Sunday, Brian Hope, Keith Dugan and 'Junior' had started the twenty two-hour tow from Rat Trap HQ in Tennessee. About the same time that we were falling into bed, our weary team-mates had parked the two trucks outside the track and were taking some well-earned rest at the same hotel. We met up at breakfast, said our Hellos and headed out to the track. 
The pit set up was, to say the least, impressive. Rat Trap had travelled in a recently acquired forty foot trailer and the Bantam was tied down in the team's previous forty foot Gooseneck. Both trailers had been fitted with identical awnings and by the time they were set up we had a covered area about the size of a football pitch. For three guys from England, it was more than we could have dreamed of. The car had travelled well. There was a little organising to do but nothing too painful. Brian had equipped the trailer with a complete set of hand tools and the only stuff we had shipped from Silverstone was some specialist tools and our spares. Scott and I set about getting the car ready for Tech while Nick got things organised inside the trailer. By 6:00 that evening we were all but done. There were a few details to finish up Thursday morning but assuming that the car cleared Tech, we were set for a short run that afternoon. 
That evening we all dined at Famous Dave's Barbeque, an establishment which thankfully isn't located anywhere close to where I live in England. The ribs, oh boy the ribs... Thursday 2nd March: Thursday started bright and sunny; it was to remain this way until Sunday morning. We had finished breakfast and were headed to the track by 8:00 am. Apart from some questions regarding our International SFI chassis tag, Tech went smoothly. Our Tech Inspector made a call to Danny Gracia for clarification on expiry dates and we got the all clear at around 2:30 that afternoon. There was an open test session available from 3:00 pm and we hadn't been idle while waiting for Tech to sign us off. The car was warmed up, the clutch, ignition and idle speed set, and we were good to go. The only potential banana skin we could see was a tyre roll-out issue. The first time we set the pressure, our new slicks measured just over an inch difference in circumference. If you're unfamiliar with this issue and can afford to waste five minutes of your life, cut out two small circles of card, one a little bigger than the other. If you then push them onto each end of a pencil and roll it forwards it'll go around in a circle. We have the same issue during a run. The rear axle is locked, and with the front end in the air any difference in tyre roll out (circumference) will cause the car to rotate either towards the left or the right. To an extent we can correct this by stretching the smaller of the two but the tyre has memory, making the job somewhat problematic. The slicks are bias-belted and the construction is basically a viscoelastic matrix of fibre cords, polymers and fillers. At the risk of oversimplifying, it's something like a plate of reinforced pasta. If over-inflated, areas in the matrix can break down and when the pressure is reduced to operating level the circumference is increased slightly. The difficult part is that, over time, the tyre continues to recover so for a while it's like hitting a moving target. By the time we pulled out of the pit the difference was down to half an inch, the right rear being the larger of the two. Alarm bells should have rung when Nick indicated that some right hand steering was needed to keep the car rolling straight but unfortunately, we were excited and tired and missed the connection. We were directed into lane four along with various other AA/FAs, Top Fuel Dragsters and Funny Cars. The Fuel cars would run in pairs chosen entirely at random. We had the right lane and hooked up the starter alongside Adam Sorokin's Top Fuel car. Unfortunately the Small Block had an issue during start up and the team pushed back leaving us to début on a single. 
Our first impressions of the track were great, it looked smooth and well prepped. The distance from the water to the staging beams is a little shorter than at Santa Pod Raceway so the car needed to be reasonably well-centred when backing up after the burnout. At the hit we lost cylinder #4 for about two tenths but after that the engine sounded fine. About thirty feet out our roll-out problem became apparent and the car steered left. Nick rolled off the throttle to try to get the front down but no joy, the rear end steered the car toward the centre line and that was that. It went 1.06 at sixty feet which is about as fast as it goes so we had something to smile about. Back in the pits Nick dumped the Racepak data and it all looked good. Brian and the guys had finished up the last jobs on Rat Trap and we were all set for Friday qualifying. The March Meet was underway. Dinner that evening was at In-N-Out Burger. Stewart Bassett and Geoff Stilwell (of US Automotive and Beech Underwriting respectively) had arrived that day and we all set off, largely unwashed, at around 6:45 pm. My good friend Andy Willsheer had suggested we try a Double–Double with onions and most of our group followed his advice. With our order placed we sat down at our table and Brian suggested I try one of the side dishes. I asked what they were and Stewart Bassett indicated "Pickles". I selected one about the size of a cherry tomato and bit off just over half. It was a rookie mistake. As the seeds turned the inside of my mouth into lava the entire Rat Trap team wet their pants laughing. So much for the Transatlantic Special Relationship... I'd like to comment on the burger but with what was left of the inside of my mouth it might as well have been a tennis ball. Friday 3rd March: Brian suggested we start Friday with breakfast at Hardee's. I've always found cultural eating habits interesting, what gets mixed with what and when so to speak. Sitting at the table drinking coffee while our American team-mates sipped 7Up and Pepsi is one such example. We looked at each other and thought "How can you drink that stuff at 7:30 in the morning?". The all-inclusive breakfast sandwich was great but it did hang around for a while, progressing at glacial speed towards my stomach and finally arriving at about 3:00 that afternoon. Ron Hope, Kay Hudson and Brian's wife Rebecca arrived late Thursday, thus making both teams complete. We weren't scheduled to run until late that afternoon so the pace around the pit was fairly steady. We hooked up with many of our travelling supporters and took some time to soak up the atmosphere. Around midday Ron gathered us all together and made a presentation. As if we hadn't already received enough help, Lawrie Gatehouse along with Bill and the entire Sherratt family had paid for our first barrel of nitro. If things were going to get better, it was difficult to see how. We got the call at around 4:00 pm. The warm-up had gone OK and Scott had spent some time messing with the roll-out before going to the Goodyear trailer to check the balance. The steering was better, not perfect but a lot better. We sat in the lanes for a long time, Funny Car and Top Fuel qualifying was a hard-fought affair and a few oildowns were inevitable. The sun went down around 6:30 pm and the temperature started to drop dramatically. By the time it got to 7:30 pm it was getting cold. We had no official confirmation but it appeared that if the track temperature got down to sixty degrees they'd call it a day. In conditions such as this it becomes less of a question of what the car can run and more of what the track will take. 
By the time we got to the top of the line Nick and I were debating a high-gear launch just to get something on the board. It would probably cost us a clutch pack but with only two qualifiers, the first of which was in cold conditions, we had little choice. In the event, when the Bantam rolled through the water it was sixty two degrees. Nick ran it in low gear for about thirty feet then punched the button. The car fell on its face but stayed in the middle of the lane and ran a 6.57 at 223 mph, good enough for third spot. Bad news was to follow. Half way through the burnout, Rat Trap pushed #2 spark plug out of the head and the team were unable to make a run. Going into final qualifying it would be our third hit at the startline but for our team-mates it would be their first. Back in the pits Nick dumped the data and Scotty drained the oil. On the tow-back, headlights had illuminated the smoke coming from the clutch can. At this time of day I had no interest in dealing with the remnants, it was 9:30 pm and we were exhausted. Brian and Keith set about servicing Rat Trap and repairing the damaged cylinder head. We made our excuses, loaded the car and tools into the trailer and headed for the hotel. There was a small Mexican restaurant close by and dinner was a brief and light affair. The magnitude of the weekend was telling; you can hide stress from the outside world but your body knows. We were dead on our feet. Saturday 4th March: The event was gaining momentum. The joking and messing around we enjoyed during the first couple of days had started to give way to a more focused atmosphere. We had one shot left, our team-mates hadn't yet qualified and we were a lifetime away from safe. This change in approach accelerated somewhat when, as we arrived at the track, the announcer indicated that our 4:00 pm qualifier had been moved up to 12:30 pm. There was enough time but we had to get to work. Check the bearings, fit a new clutch pack, mix the fuel, lube the valvetrain and accommodate a few interviews. By 11:00 am we were done. Scotty kept chasing the roll-out problem and when we pulled out of the pit we were in decent shape. It was business as usual for Ron, Brian and the Rat Trap guys. It was the environment in which they lived. 
We eventually ran at about 3:15 pm. The staging lanes were organised so that we could run together, Ron in the left and Nick in the right. Our run was a little better, a 6.34 at 234 mph looked a little more likely to keep us in and at close of play it was enough for fourth. Ron had his hands full in the left. Brian has been fighting one or two dropped cylinders during the early part of a run and when they light up Ron spends the rest of the run with the car's front end in the air. A 6.77 at 219 mph was good enough to qualify but by the end of the session the little Bantam was ninth. Unless someone couldn't make the first round, Rat Trap Racing would go into Sunday with one car. Dinner that evening was at the Outback steak restaurant. I can't explain why the steaks in the US are so good; Nick suggested that maybe the cows are just "Nicer" and frankly I can't think of anything better. Sunday 5th March: Sunday morning brought rain. The farmers celebrated and we went looking for rope. The ever-changing forecast did little to help, surely we hadn't come this far just go home with a rain-out ticket. Running the race on Monday brought unwanted complications as our flight was due to leave at 9:00 pm that evening. As luck would have it, by about 11:30 am the rain started to clear and the early afternoon found us in the staging lanes waiting for our first round. During qualifying, our fuel mix had been close to 88%, in the first round it was back up to 90%. History has taught us that if we're short on pace, there's little point in making a guess at something better. We just take our A Game to the start line and if we come up short, so be it. Our opponent was Keith Wilson in the Witch Doctor, a car which had been deep into the five-second zone. To be honest, the race was going to be tough because we weren't fast enough. To make a fist of it, we needed to be closer to the 6.00 index. For our opponents, slowing a mid five-second car down to 6.00 wasn't exactly going to be a walk in the park either. There were no games on the start line. Nick had indicated fuel on his visor during the burnout and at the hit, it was shower head. We enjoyed a hundredth's advantage at the start but by the eighth the Witch Doctor was in another post code. Unable to see much by now, Nick rolled off the throttle and we took a first round loss on the chin. 
The mood in the pit was a little subdued, but after a short while the smiles returned and we were prepping the car for its long trip back to Tennessee. It was Rat Trap team member Junior's birthday and another trip to Famous Dave's Barbeque was planned for the evening. With the race over, it was a more relaxed affair, the ribs were great but the company was better. What a weekend. As ever our sincere thanks go to the Hope family, Lawrie Gatehouse, Geoff Stilwell at Beech Underwriting and of course, US Automotive's larger than life Stewart Bassett. To everyone who has made a donation, many thanks. You've no idea how much it helps. 
On AA/FA 6.00: Class performance is somewhat defined by technical regulations. If your car runs seven flat and it's a Super Stocker, you're probably Harry Potter. If it's an Alcohol Funny Car you should probably consider another career. However, without a credible Championship and sufficient long-term funding, writing a set of technical regulations is a waste of time. In the absence of a rule book, racers will naturally build whatever takes their fancy and such is the case with the AA/Fuel Altereds. Bringing a large cross-section of cars together for a single eliminator is probably only viable if an index is in place. The 6.00 number appears to be a good fit for the type of cars most people have built. If the tracks continue to run the format, over time I'd expect application-specific AA/FA 6.00 cars to start appearing. If you're a fan of the short cars, you're probably north of fifty. Despite their enormous popularity, very few people build cars which truly mirror those that ran in the late sixties. For a 108" car with 25% engine set back, a string of 6.00s is a lot to ask. When Ron Hope runs a mid six there's not much left on the table. Over time their numbers will likely diminish so if you're a fan of cars like Pure Hell, Bradfords Fiat, Pure Heaven and Rat Trap I suggest you take every opportunity available to go and watch them. Buy a T-shirt and meet the teams. Nothing lasts forever. Quote of the meeting from outside our pit: Upon arriving at the top end with yet another engine smouldering in the front of his Funny Car, our hero was met by a concerned fire marshal asking if his car was on fire. His reply: "As slow as this thing's runnin', I sure ******' hope so". Quote of the meeting from inside our pit: After our Sunday warm-up Brian quizzed me about our idle speed. I informed him that it sounded high because, in order to save fuel, Nick turns the fuel shut-off half open. Brian replied "We've got two trailers full of nitro. Burn it. Burn it all." School Report: Good effort, must try harder. If we'd picked up the tyre roll out issue sooner it would be a B+ but we didn't so, I give us a straight B. Roll on Bowling Green in June. Something for the weekend. 10th March: Luke Stevenson writes that the Volkswagen Drag Racing Club's 2017 promotional tour begins this weekend at Ultimate Dubs at the Telford International Centre: As ever we have a number of cars on display with seasoned favourites plus some new builds for 2017. If you love your modified VWs (Audis, Skodas, SEATs, Porsches) then UD17 is a great day out for you, it's only £10 for Saturday (evening only) or £15 for Sunday. You can find out more at www.ultimate-dubs.co.uk. Also we are happy to announce another sponsor for the anniversary season in the form of Hangar 30. Ben Speechley has been around the VWDRC for many years, supplying suspension components and custom fabrication to our racers. In 2016 he created Hangar 30 offering custom fabrication, roll cages and track day preparation as well as general car servicing and repairs from his workshop in Ely, Cambridgeshire. Over the winter Ben has already fitted roll cages to four new racers for VW Pro, these along with a great number of racers are leading up to a very busy and exciting season. As always a massive thank you to our 2017 sponsors Darkside Developments, Vanology Performance Ltd, Kleanfreaks, Engine Carbon Clean, WRP Paint and Restoration, Brickfield Autos, BJ's Speedshop, Trackstuff Racing Fuels and Tyres, Starsz Hair and Beauty and of course Hangar 30 who between them have amassed over £5000 of prize fund for the VWDRC racers to fight for. Want to be part of the fun? Head to www.vwdrc.com for more. Webster's Battery of assistance. 
10th March: Eurodragster.com sponsor Webster
Race Engineering's new Pro Mod project is underway, the aim being to get out on track as soon as possible. Jon Webster writes:
We've had great interest in the project since the announcement in January. Progress on the build is good and on target. We've got some correspondence going back and forth looking for support and technical partners, with some very positive feedback. One area of the car getting particular attention is weight. The target legal minimum weight for the turbo vehicles is 2650 lbs with driver. We're targeting a lot less so that we have the option of moving the mass around for chassis tuning. Analysis of the weight and location of all components is key to mass distribution within the car and as this is a fresh build we can appraise each item individually for its spec and potential location. The battery is a key component on any vehicle, but also very often of considerable weight and size. With some research and several E-Mails and phone conversations we found a product that fitted our requirements. Antigravity Batteries produce a range of extremely compact Lithium-Ion batteries for large range of Vehicles in OEM standard sizes, with over two and a half times the cranking power of lead-acid versions. They are readily available in the UK and are priced very competitively. Antigravity Batteries have become technical partners with us on the Mustang and we will be using their ATX20 unit, which has 780 Cranking Amps and 25 Ah. The unit weighs less than 5 lbs making a weight saving of more than 30 lbs over our usual choice of battery. With an overall size of 175 x 87 x 155mm, the unit reduces limitations for the location within the car. Webster Race Engineering will be agents in the near future. Meanwhile if anyone has any interest in their product range, Antigravity Batteries are located in Essex and can be reached via their web site at www.antigravitybatteries-uk.co.uk or call 01702 301664. No trouble at the Mills. 10th March: UK Outlaw Anglia team Cooper Bros Racing are proud to announce Mills CNC as a sponsor for the 2017 season. Mat Cooper writes: Mills CNC is one of, if not the, fastest-growing machine tool companies in the UK. Mills are highly-regarded and -respected in the machine tool market and across all those manufacturing sectors they serve: aerospace and defence, power generation, motorsport, oil and gas, medical, automotive and general precision component manufacture, to name but a few. If you or your company are in the market for a new state of the art CNC machine look no further than Mills CNC. If you have any questions regarding the latest Doosan CNC machines then feel free to contact us via our Facebook page, contact Mills CNC directly via www.millscnc.co.uk or via their Facebook page, or drop by our pit at any Outlaw Anglia meetings. Support the companies which support our drag racing family! Swift snippets. 10th March: Good luck and stay safe to Sweden's Adam Flamholc who is contesting Extreme Pro Mod at this weekend's NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem at Bradenton Motorsports Park. You will be able to stay in touch with Adam's progress via the free Speed Video webcast at www.livestream.com/speedvideo/nmca-muscle-car-mayhem-2017. On the subject of drag racing webcasts the excellent 1320 Online web site offers a detailed daily schedule of webcasts from around the planet including Eurodragster.com's own Webster Race Engineering / Nimbus Motorsport webcam (Thanks Barney - Ed). You can stay up to date with all the latest webcast offerings at www.1320online.com. Monday's spy picture elicited a single response, to whit: "The dog is named Olive but if it's going to sit underneath a Ford it should be Oily". We are naturally honour-bound to protect the identity of Thanks very much to Jerry Cookson for letting us know that the official APIRA Trophy Presentation photographs are now available on Shakespeare County Raceway Facebook page. 
Geoff Stilwell of British Drag Racing Hall of Fame sponsor Beech Underwriting Agencies asked us to say a big Happy 79th Birthday for today (Friday) to US Fuel legend Bob Muravez. Geoff tells us that he and Ron Hope sprung a surprise on Bob at Bakersfield (above). "Everyone in the pit area sang Happy Birthday to Bob", says Geoff. "Earlier, as a special treat, Ron put Bob in Rat Trap for a warm-up just to give him his nitro fix. Bob was wearing a replica of his original firesuit." Robin Jackson tells us that Motor Sport magazine's prestigious Hall Of Fame contains a category for American racing personalities and that this year's twelve US nominees include a single drag racer, John Force. For more information, visit the Hall Of Fame voting page at www.motorsportmagazine.com/hall-of-fame/who-will-be-next. Scroll down through the categories and select your favourite candidates. All votes will be entered in a free prize draw for various Motor Sport goodies, including tickets to the Hall Of Fame Awards Dinner itself, which this year retail at a cool £399 apiece. The event takes place on Wednesday 7th June at the Royal Automobile Club, Woodcote Park, Surrey. Be sure to cast your votes in good time. Web site updates. 10th March: In the latest instalment of his exclusive Racer Blog presented in association with Gearhead Garage Paul Marston brings us up to date with the construction of his twin-turbo Cortina. You can take a look by clicking here or by clicking on the Gearhead Garage Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Festival of Power entry. 8th March: Many thanks to Ian Marshall for forwarding us Version 1 of the official entry list for the Festival of Power, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 14th-16th April. You can check out the entry list on our John Woolfe Racing-sponsored Festival of Power Event Index by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Festival of Power entry closes on 24th March; you can download the official entry forms via the Information link of the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. If you have any queries about Festival of Power entry then you can contact Ian at SPRC on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or E-Mail [email protected]. Swift snippets. 8th March: Kathy Taylor asked us to say a big Happy special Birthday to her good friend Lesley Wright. We're very happy to do so, have a lovely day Lesley and love and hugs from us too. STTG, ET Bike run at Big Bang. 7th March: Many thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall for letting us know that, subsequent to discussion at the recent UK Riders' and Drivers' Meeting and at the AGM of the National Association of Supertwins, Supertwin Top Gas and ET Bike will have an additional UK National Championship round at Big Bang at Santa Pod Raceway on 21st-23rd April (racing takes place on 22nd-23rd). Supertwin Top Gas and ET Bike join 8.50 Bike and 9.50 Bike which already had a UK National Championship round at Big Bang. The official Big Bang entry forms will be amended to suit and will be available on the SPRC web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc on or by Friday of this week, 10th March. You can check out the amended full UK National Championships calendar in our report of the UK Riders' and Drivers' Meeting by clicking here. If you have any queries then you can contact Ian at SPRC on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or E-Mail [email protected]. Swift snippets. 7th March: We would like to wish a big Happy 40th Birthday to our good buddy and Honorary Eurodragster.com Staff Member Spencer Tramm. Have a great day Spencer. A big Happy Birthday also to alcohol tuner Karl Harrison; you have a great day too Karl. The Undertaker goes Cold. 6th March: UK Fuel Funny Car racer Steve Ashdown is pleased to announce sponsorship from Cold Fire Firefighting on the Undertaker FC: 
Hydro Navitas Solutions is a name with which you may not be familiar, but Cold Fire Firefighting might just be. Lift the body of any
Fuel Funny Car and look inside and you might just see a Cold Fire Firefighting fire suppression system staring up at you. Santa Pod
Raceway have been using Cold Fire Firefighting for almost ten years and it is regarded as the very best firefighting product available.
Hydro Navitas Solutions are Santa Pod's official firefighting partners, and are now in their second year as lane sponsor with the Cold
Fire Firefighting lane.
Continuing their support for drag racing in 2017, Hydro Navitas Solutions are proud to announce that they will be sponsoring Steve Ashdown's exciting move into the European Nitro Funny Car series, driving the Undertaker Funny Car in 2017 with their Cold Fire Firefighting brand. Hydro Navitas Solutions' CEO James Petter said "I got a call from Kath Taylor who was helping Steve raise funds, she asked for ten minutes of my time, there was only one reply I could give her - yes! I was presented with a very professional Undertaker portfolio which got me hooked. In fact, even though I didn't say it there and then, I knew we had to help Steve achieve his own dream of driving in this series, and with Cold Fire Firefighting it made for a great partnership. "I must say that Dave Bryant has a great team back at the Undertaker garage, Steve has an impressive support team behind him and I wish him every success in 2017. We are glad to do our bit for this amazing sport." Steve told Eurodragster.com that Fuel FC was where he wanted to be. "I got the opportunity to drive Top Fuel thanks to Rune and Lindsay", he said. "Then it all went a bit crazy and I ended up agreeing to do extra events. Words can't describe how that felt. "Then the plot thickened! I was going to take a year out to concentrate on Tyler's racing but at the end of last season I was asked if I would like to drive Shockwave. I had a quick chat with the family and then a meeting was set up with Gordon Smith and and Dave Bryant to discuss plans. After a couple of hours we came to an agreement, shook hands and agreed to do the full season in the 2017 Funny Car Championship. I am looking forward to it and I will be getting in there and getting my hands dirty! "I am really looking forward to it and I have some great sponsors on board. You have read about Cold Fire Firefighting, I am pleased to say that my original sponsors are staying with me as well as new backers: Dave at Robey Scaffolding, Adrian at The Phone Shop, and Richard Deevey has been a gem. As well as Cold Fire Firefighting my new sponsors for the season include Anthony from Aspect Contracts Ltd, Les Downey at Lucas Oil UK, Alex Bateman at Goodridge Hoses, Graham and Mark at Serck Motorsport, Michela at Champion Spark Plugs, Liam Jones TFJ Motorsport and Gary at Fast2Finish Printers. "I would like to say a big Thank You to Kathy Taylor and Darren Prentice for their help, to Pete Walters for the design and shirts, awesome work as usual, Dave, Gordon and the entire Shockwave team for the opportunity and for making not just me but my family feel so welcome. Thanks to Keith Bartlett and the Santa Pod Raceway staff for continued support of the Nitro Funny Car series, to Dave Bateman and family for all their help through the years, to Paul Marston for all his help and advice because this really all began with the Paul Marston Drag Race Driving School, and to Tog and Eurodragster.com for their help (Thanks, you're welcome, milk and none in mine - Ed). Finally the biggest thanks go to my family for all of their support." March Meet update IV. 6th March: The UK's Havoc Fuel Altered made a first-round exit in yesterday's eliminations at the March Meet at Bakersfield. Gary Willy writes: 
It was always going to be a big challenge against Keith Wilson's Witch Doctor Fuel Altered which has run as quickly as 5.73 seconds at 249 mph. Nick Davies ran a losing 6.91/152 and not without problems as Rob Loaring indicated that there was a fuel leak at the hit (Nick's visor being the Official Receiver - Ed). The Witch Doctor streaked ahead running 6.13/189, lifting early so as to not break out of the 6.0 index. The whole weekend was however a fantastic achievement for the Havoc team (Hear hear - Ed). Swift snippets. 
6th March: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com came with the
words "Old Fords never die, they just get faster". If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture,
then drop us a line at [email protected].
Best wishes to the UK's Richie Webb who has made it into September's Hot Rod Drag Week with one of his wild VWs. Entry sold out in six minutes so securing an entry for the street-legal event is grounds for congratulation in itself. Richie faces six races in six days driving between tracks carrying or towing what he needs. You can find out more by clicking here. Electric shock Hazard. 6th March: The UK's Adam Withington will be making a return to the track in the Hazard Racing Junior Dragster later this season. Dad and Super Street racer David Withington writes that Adam's car has a different power plant to that we last saw nearly four years ago: 
The Briggs and Stratton 5 hp engine has been replaced with an electric motor. We think that this should be a natural progression as electric cars are
becoming more common and even appear in Street Eliminator. We understand that this will be totally against the grain with the rule book as it is written
around the use of a side valve engine, but things must move with the times.
We are currently testing the new motor and making adjustments before the first outing mid-season. The new motor can accelerate from 0 to its maximum RPM within 250 metres, which as you can imagine has caused a few issues such as throwing the motor windings and smoking tyres. We are currently tuning the control system to smooth out the acceleration and adding additional safety features to kill all power if anything fails. The custom control system has been designed by GFX Power Ltd in Cannock and has been created from scratch using some of the most up-to-date equipment available. Their strapline Power With Control definitely rings true, as a lot of power without control is pretty useless. Adam says that will be a whole new challenge and that he is looking forwards to the return. APIRA Perpetual Award winners. 5th March: The winners and runners-up in the 2016 APIRA Ultimate Power Championships, Supercharged Outlaws and National Association of Supertwins were presented with their trophies at the APIRA Dinner Dance and Trophy Presentation in Warwick last night (Saturday). The winners of APIRA's Perpetual Awards, for whom Eurodragster.com readers had the chance to vote, were also presented with their trophies. Congratulations to the APIRA Perpetual Award winners: APIRA Iris Page Memorial Trophy: Richard Walters (Super Pro ET sponsorship scheme) Shakespeare County Raceway Award for Outstanding Achievement: Scott Crookston (Outlaw Anglia) APIRA Shakespeare County Raceway Sportswoman of the Year: Caitlin Wilson (Lucas Oil Junior Dragster) APIRA Endeavour Award: Simon Groves (Eurodragster.com) Alan Wigmore Memorial Trophy: Tony Smith (ACU and APIRA race official) McDonald Racing Ireland Best Newcomer Trophy: Elaine Hancock (Sportsman ET) Thanks to all of the Eurodragster.com readers who voted. APIRA Endeavour Award winner, our own Simon, writes: It is a real honour to win the APIRA Endeavour Award and I am sorry I couldn't be at the ceremony in person. I would like to thank all the officials at APIRA for generously giving facilities and information, often requested at very short notice. I would like to thank Tog of Eurodragster.com for giving me the opportunity to work with him on the site which has been, and continues to be, an amazing journey. Eurodragster.com's readers and sponsors should also take credit for providing us with content and backing. I would finally like to pay tribute to my wife Ros for supporting my work in drag racing. See you at the track! The following special awards were also presented. Congratulations to: 2016 Services to APIRA and Shakespeare County Raceway: Sue Davis, Sherron Guise, Dave Massam Long Standing Services to APIRA and Shakespeare County Raceway: Gerry and Joan Cookson March Meet update III. 5th March: Our good buddies at Bangshift.com are webcasting this weekend's March Meet from Bakersfield. You can to tune in to the free webcast by clicking here. Bakersfield is -8 hours on UK time and -9 hours on European time. 
Congratulations to Nick Davies, Rob Loaring and the Havoc team on a new Personal Best speed of 234.49 mph in qualifying, coupled with a 6.349 which was good for fourth spot. Gary Willy writes that a new clutch pack was put in before yesterday's qualifier. Geoff Stilwell adds that Havoc has top speed so far in the Fuel Altered class. 
In round one of eliminations Nick faces Keith Wilson in the Witch Doctor. Geoff writes that the car is all good and the team are ready. Pictures courtesy and copyright Gary Willy and Tony Thacker March Meet update II. 4th March: Our good buddies at Bangshift.com are webcasting this weekend's March Meet from Bakersfield. You can to tune in to the free webcast by clicking here. Bakersfield is -8 hours on UK time and -9 hours on European time. 
Nick Davies is currently third in Fuel Altered qualifying with a 6.57 at 223 mph in the dark. Geoff Stilwell writes that there were long delays due to a number of oildowns. "The track was getting slick and was only 68F and the air temp was down to 60F", he says. "Nick pulled a fantastic burnout and before we knew it he had run a 6.57/223. No lights at all in the shutdown area! That time currently puts Nick in third, and we have another qualifying session today. "Ron Hope in Rat Trap had to shut the engine down as it blew a spark plug clean out of the cylinder head. But it is all repaired and ready to go today." Gary Willy writes: Friday it got real for the Havoc team at the forty ninth running of the legendary March Meet. Going into the first qualifier after a test launch on Thursday Nick now had the layout of the track, run off area and procedures and as always the team were calm professional and businesslike. If it had gone to plan there would have been two qualifying sessions for Nitro Funny Car and Top Fuel slingshot and a single qualifier for the Fuel Altereds. In the first session of Funny Car, twenty eight cars lined up in the lanes and the number one qualifier was the McAttack car of Mick McIntire Jr with a record-breaking ET of 5.549. Ten Fuel slingshots joined the party. As the day progressed with a couple of major oildowns and a car clipping the wall the schedule started to slip away. At 5:00 pm they were still just getting through the last of the 7.0 Pro class. With thirty eight plus Nitro Funny Cars and Dragsters to get down the track everyone knew it was going to be a late night. The first Fuel Altered fired up at around 7:00 pm and we had fourteen Fuel Altereds going into the black of night for their first qualifier, the Havoc car getting to the line at around 7.30 pm and coming out sounding strong and ready for business. A good burnout and the car was then nicely backed up by Paula Clayton and brought to the line by Rob. Nick ran 6.57/223 putting the Havoc team an outstanding third qualifying position everything the Havoc team could wish for as we go into today's qualifying. Advanced backing for Gough. 4th March: Returning UK Super Pro ET racer Simon Gough is pleased to announce AWS Racewear as a sponsor: When I started racing a few years back I was having some issues finding a suit which not only fit me but which I actually liked. I came across a company called AWS Racewear in Ashford in Kent. I found the company excellent to deal with and they helped me out with not only with my suit but with crew shirts also. I am now on my fourth suit made by AWS and I'm still as happy with them as I was when they made my first. Nick runs a very tight ship and has the very best staff. They use the best materials to keep in line with FIA and SFI standards. They can also look after gloves, boots and helmets. I am very pleased to say that AWS Racewear is now on our list of sponsors this year. I would like to thank Nick and all his staff for yet another great looking suit and hope to see them in the pits this year. You can find AWS Racewear's web site at www.advanced-wear.co.uk. March Meet update I. 3rd March: Our good buddies at Bangshift.com are webcasting this weekend's March Meet from Bakersfield. You can to tune in to the free webcast by clicking here. Bakersfield is -8 hours on UK time and -9 hours on European time. 
Nick Davies' first run in the Havoc Fuel Altered gained the team their best-ever sixty foot time of 1.05 seconds. Nick pedalled and then shut off as the car made a move to the left, clocking an 8.0-second time; Geoff Stilwell tells us that the move was due to an issue with the right slick which has been sorted. 
Geoff adds that the engine checked out fine after the run and that Nick, Rob and the team are looking forward to today's qualifying. Pictures courtesy and copyright Geoff Stilwell, Gary Willy and Dale Fackler UK event entry update. 3rd March: Further to last Sunday's report of the UK Riders' and Drivers' Meeting Jerry Cookson writes that the official entry forms for the APIRA Springspeed Nationals, which takes place at Shakespeare County Raceway on 29th April-1st May, are now available to download from the Downloads page of the Shakespeare County Raceway web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk. Entry forms for the APIRA Open Sport Nationals will be posted in due course. Entry forms for all of this season's events at Santa Pod Raceway are available via the Information link of the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. Tet has to sit it out. 3rd March: UK Top Fuel Dragster racer Tethys has been in touch with a response to those who have asked about his 2017 plans: It's a somewhat expected turn of events - for me, at least - that I have fans! I thought I'd clear things up here. The simple answer is that I won't be racing this year. This is not through lack of desire, nor even the perennial lack of money which plagues racers. No, it's because at the end of last year, the universe decided to roll out the big guns and use its favourite way to ruin someone's day by giving me cancer. In January, I had surgery to remove a tumour. The initial indications are that the operation was a success, and the prognosis is good. But dealing with it has been occupying a large amount of my time over the past few months, and something had to give. That something was racing. I would like to hope that I'll be back in a race car again in the future, once things have settled down a bit, but for now my health is my main priority. All being well, I plan to be at the track for at least the Main Event and maybe other meetings, so do come and say hello. But I won't be driving, and will just be there as a spectator. Good luck to all those taking part this season. Our very best wishes to Tet for a rapid and full recovery. The Englishmen abroad. 2nd March: Geoff Stilwell of team sponsor Beech Underwriting has been in touch from Bakersfield where Nick Davies' and Rob Loaring's Havoc Fuel Altered is getting ready to meet the public: Nick, Rob and Scott arrived in LA safely on Tuesday evening and drove straight to Bakersfield. The aim is to run the car in free practice today: to quote Nick "We are not here to make up the numbers!" 
For his own part Geoff is proud to announce that Iskenderian Race Cams have come on board to sponsor him and to help him to achieve his LSR goals in 2017. "I delivered to Brian Hope at Rat Trap Racing the new cam which Isky ground for me a couple of weeks ago", he says. 
Geoff also showed us what NHRA racers get up to when they are not racing; in this case flying. Funny Car racer Tim Wilkerson made it possible for legendary US racer and British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Ambassador Bob Muravez to take a flight in this beautiful piece. Gary Willy writes from Bakersfield that although competition will be tough with as many as twenty four Fuel Altereds in attandance the Havoc team are certainly match fit: 
We caught up with the team late yesterday afternoon and all was well with a couple of small alterations needed on the car for tech inspection. Hopefully the car will be out for a shakedown pass today as the team as the team get the car dialled into the track, 
The track preparation at Famoso facility is second to none thanks to the efforts of the Bowser family and track management. Alders offer transmission dyno. 
2nd March: Richard Alder of Eurodragster.com sponsor Alders
Automotive tells us that the company has recently installed a transmission dyno:
We found that more of our customers were asking if the transmissions could be tested after undergoing a rebuild and with increased sales on our race transmissions we decided to import a transmission dyno from the USA. This dyno will allow us to check all of our popular American and race transmissions before delivery. We can run the transmission and check transmission pressures, shifts and cooler flow. This has given our customers peace of mind that they can buy with confidence knowing that their transmission has been dyno-tested before delivery allowing them to focus on their race meeting. The photo shows one of our full-race Powerglide transmissions on the dyno. You can get in touch with Alders Automotive via their web site at www.aldersautomotive.co.uk or call 01323 848448. UK electronic rule book update. 1st March: Ian Marshall has been in touch to let us know that there has been a problem with some of the USB sticks containing the 2017 UK rule book distributed to Santa Pod Racers Club members: It would appear that we have a coding error and that the rule book is not present on those sticks already sent out. The remaining memory sticks are being re-tested and all of the information copied again to ensure that all of the information is present. For those members who already have a memory stick, please note that we will be sending a locked PDF file to you via E-Mail by the end of the week. You can then save it to the memory stick if you so choose, or keep it as a separate file. We apologise for the error but we will have it sorted out as soon as possible. If you have any queries then you can contact Ian at SPRC on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or E-Mail [email protected]. FIM Europe SSB Round 1 entry open. 1st March: Alexandra Tóth has been in touch with an update on the first round of the 2017 FIM Europe Super Street Bike Cup, which this year takes place at the Car and Bike Celebrity of May event at Kunmadaras in Hungary on 29th April-1st May: Our race series in Kunmadaras turns twenty years old this year, so we have many surprises and new features at the event. In addition, FIM Europe has approved Street Freestyle as an official European branch of motorsport, and has given the rights to Hungary to organise a one-round European Cup which will also take place at Kunmadaras. So all in all we will have many new interesting programmes and two European Cups in Kunmadaras between 29th April and 1st May, and everybody is welcome. The official entry form and Supplementary Regulations (PDF format) can be downloaded by clicking here. You can find out more about the event at www.kunmadarasmotorsport.hu. Welcome Dyno Unlimited. 1st March: We are very pleased to welcome Belgian Top Methanol Funny Car racer Danny Bellio's business Dyno Unlimited as a sponsor of Eurodragster.com News. 
Dyno Unlimited is located in Houthalen-Helchteren, Belgium, and can handle engines which are naturally aspirated, turbocharged,
supercharged, gasoline or alcohol, carburettor, mechanical injection or EFI, from a regular street engine up to a 4000 horsepower
race engine. Danny writes:
The benefit of putting your engine combination on the dyno is that you get a base tune-up in a safe manner instead of risking breaking parts on the track. Potential engine or tune-up problems can be spotted and mended before damage occurs. We rent out the dyno unit with an operator, engine mounting, water cooling if needed, and logging sensors. The customer will need to bring their own oil, spark plugs, tools, service parts if needed, and mechanic if servicing is needed in between test pulls. The customer will also need to provide a test plan, what is expected from the dyno and how they wish to test their engine. The dyno can be rented per hour with fee dependent on the type of engine being tested. Engines which need to be serviced between pulls require mechanics to be present although we can also provide the service, parts, and tuning aids and tips at additional cost. What we offer is a safe base tune-up in an environment where the engine is constantly being monitored in real time and any problems can be spotted before damage is done. If you are interested our service then please contact us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DynoUnlimited or E-Mail us directly at [email protected]. 1st March is the start of Eurodragster.com's sponsorship year. We are very pleased to say that almost all of our sponsors have renewed for this season and a big Thank You to all for their continued support. Sadly we are saying goodbye and thank you to long-standing Eurodragster.com sponsor and recently-retired Top Alcohol Dragster racer Mike Manners' company Cosmo Residences, and to 2016-17 sponsor GF Innovations. Please show your appreciation of those who support Eurodragster.com and our sport by considering our sponsors when shopping for anything from a race vehicle to parts, services or support. Earlier news |
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