Beech Underwriting Agencies, major sponsorship partner of the BDRHoF
is delighted to announce that plans are in place for an expanded Bench Racing session at the Gala's new venue, the fabulous Sheraton Skyline Hotel
at Heathrow. Bob Muravez, Fred Miller, Harry Hibler, Paula Murphy, Carl Olson plus some very special guests will be on the panel, and and the
legendary US motoring and drag racing journalist and writer Bob McClurg will be hosting the event.
BDRHoF Chair Stu Bradbury said "This is a great chance to get face to face with some legends of drag racing from the sixties and seventies and
movers and shakers of the sport in more recent years. We are offering the press the opportunity for individual interviews with panel members
during the morning of 19th November, before the Bench Racing session. There will also be a unique chance to mix with legends socially before,
during and after the Gala dinner."
Beech Underwriting Agencies Managing Director Geoff Stilwell said "We are delighted to have an expanded Bench Racing session this year as it
was one of the most popular events during last year's gala. The addition of Bob McClurg is fantastic; he has been active for almost fifty years
and interviewed all the legendary racers of the sport. The Gala has become a must for anyone remotely interested in drag racing and we urge
attendees to apply for tickets now to avoid disappointment."
The BDRHoF Bench Racing session sponsored by Beech Underwriting Agencies will take place from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm on 19th November
at the Atlantic Suite at the Sheraton Skyline Heathrow. Admission will be by ticket only. You can apply for tickets by sending an email to
[email protected] to register and confirm your place.
But hurry - the maximum capacity of the room is one hundred and it will be first come, first served. Be there!"
Web site updates. 30th July: It is the eve of a very special event for Norwegian drag racing: after months of extremely hard work by many
volunteers it is time for the Grand Opening of the completely rebuilt Gardermoen Raceway, next week's NDRG Drag Challenge Grand Opening (3rd-7th August). The EDRS
Pro Nordic Motorcycle Championship plays a major role in the Drag Challenge as it is round three of their Championship and it's great to see that the hard work of the NDRG
crew has been rewarded with a healthy entry in all classes. You can read more courtesy of our good buddy Remco Scheelings on the Drag Racing Europe Blog at
www.dragracingeurope.eu.
For 2016 there is a sign-on fee of £20. Junior racers wishing to take part in the Junior Fun Day will need to telephone the Santa Pod office on
01234 782828 (outside the UK +44 1234 782828) to book their race voucher. Entry forms (PDF format) can be downloaded by
clicking here. Forms submitted without payment will result in
the racer not being entered for the event.
For 2016, Santa Pod's chosen charity is Harry's Rainbow, which is committed to
supporting bereaved children and their families in Milton Keynes and the surrounding areas.
Swift snippets. 29th July: Thanks to Ian Marshall for forwarding us Version 1 of the official entry list for the FIA / FIM European
Finals which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 8th-11th September. You can check out the European Finals entry list by
clicking here. Entry at standard fee closes two weeks today,
Friday 12th August, after which entry, if accepted, may be subject to a Late Entry penalty. You can download the official entry forms from
the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. If you have any queries about
FIA / FIM European Final entry then please contact Ian Marshall at
[email protected] or call 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933
313625).
Good luck and stay safe to NHRA Lucas Oil Top Alcohol FC Champion Jonnie Lindberg who is contesting
this weekend's Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Divisional event in Topeka. You will be able to stay in touch with Jonnie's progress on Drag
Race Central at www.dragracecentral.com and on the excellent Lindberg
Brothers web site at www.lindbergbros.com.
Trakbak Racing and Track Group Europe have confirmed that they will again be providing a free high-def multiple-camera Web TV broadcast
from next month's NitrOlympX at Hockenheim.
European Top Gas Round 4 review. 29th July: Herman Jolink writes that the fourth round of Euro Serie
Super Twin Top Gas took place last weekend on the well-prepared quarter mile at Drachten Airfield in The Netherlands:
Qualifying after Friday and Saturday:
Fredrik Schack DK on 2622 V-Twin 7.560/274 kmh, on Sunday afternoon the Schack found some bent gear forks.
Herman Jolink NL on Ducati 1198 RS (1266) 8.406/250, on Friday Jolink ran 8.5, 8.406 and 8.419 and on saturday the chain broke for the first time in forty years.
Birch Andersen DK on 2622 V-Twin 8.646/239, the air shifter supply was leaking but Jesse Bohn and Birch repaired it with some car repair polyester from Team Jolink.
Chris van Nimmen B on 2600 V-Twin 8.719/240, Chris' bike finally runs well.
Jorg Lymant D on 2622 V-Twin 8.800/256, a good used bike from the USA.
Olaf Menzi CH on 2622 V-Twin 9.116/162.
Bernd Foit 9.294/175 with gearbox damage.
Miia Maria Vepsalainen Fin on V-Twin 9.500/224, an inlet valve broke on Saturday.
--- Not qualified ---
Dirk Watersloot B on V-twin 9.910/211, broken big end.
Tonnie v d Berg NL on Suzuki 1000 TL 9.949/205.
Marc v d Boer B on Blower V-Twin on E85 10.810/193 but after one run Marc took the bike out of Top Gas and ran it on Methanol in Funny Bike.
Ivana v d Berg on 3000 V-Twin 11.371/198, this was Patrick Kras' bike but Patrick broke his leg on his road bike so let Ivana ride his race bike.
Janne Malmberg S broke a piston in Hoskovice. Team Jolink gave Janne some addresses of people who could help to repair his 260 two Blower V-Twin, and to come to team
Jolink for helt to repair the bike in time for Drachten, but Janne decided to repair the bike at home in Sweden. Cord Albers D wasnot at Drachten as he had no crew. Martin Buhler
CH visited Drachten without his bike; the 1600 mechanical turbo V-twin (ex-Otto Bauer) was not ready as Martin had some issues with the Motec fuel injection. Martin will be at
the NitrOlympX. It is a pity that after we had twenty three riders at the Top Gas meeting there are not so many at the races but as always the most racers will be at Hockenheim.
E1 took place at 15:30 on Sunday: Schack 7.567/262 beat alternate Tonnie v d Berg 11.451/200; v Nimmen 9.074/230 beat Lynmant 11.554/200; Jolink 8.741/244 beat alternate
Ivana v d Berg 9.294/200 a new Personal Best for Ivana; Andersen 8.633/236 bye (Menzi was upset because eliminations started so late).
Semi-finals: Schack 7.476/270 beat v Nimmen 8.727; Jolink 8.732/243 beat Andersen 8.559/236 (Reaction Jolink 0.102 and Andersen 0.288).
Final: Fredrik Schack DK 7.475/275 (new PB ET) beat Herman Jolink NL 8.835/241. RTs Jolink 0.090 and Schack 0.161.
Euro Series Top Gas Championship after four rounds:
Schack DK 1885 points
Andersen DK 1030
Jolink NL 1130 (after just two races, the team is working on a new Ducati bike)
Malmberg S 570
Albers D 505
Lymant D 490
Caspari D 460
Miia Maria Vepsalainen Fin 370
Watersloot B 300
Bruhn D 300
van Nimmen B 250
van den Boer B 100
The next Top Gas round is at the NitrOlympX at Hockenheim on 19th-21st August and then the Mosten Race Days on 2nd-3rd September.
Web site updates. 29th July: Our good buddy Steve Moxley has had his FIA / FIM Main Event review published on the Eat My Ink web site
at www.eatmyink.com.
Many thanks to Andy Marrs of TSI Timers Europe for sending us the official
timing data from Bug Jam. You can check out the Bug Jam timing data by clicking
here or by clicking on the Timing Data link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.
We have a birthday on the Eurodragster.com team today. Please join Kirstie, Tog and Julian in wishing
Pit Reporter, Blog Editor, Links Editor and Photographer Simon a very Happy Birthday. Have a great day buddy.
DFDS ferry discount continues. 13th January: With the NitrOlympX approaching photo-journalist Andy Willsheer has been in touch to remind readers of
the deal between Santa Pod Raceway and DFDS for reduced-rate ferry crossings across the English Channel.
DFDS introduced two new ferries in February which greatly increased sailing capacity and frequency. You can check out the sailing schedule
at www.dfdsseaways.co.uk and download the booking form (PDF format) by
clicking here.
For more information about DFDS check out their web site at www.dfdsseaways.co.uk but
to benefit from this discount please be sure to use the form, not the web site, to make bookings.
Sprinting for George. 28th July: Graham Sykes writes that the highlight of the 2016 Sprinting calendar takes place on 10th-11th September
as East Kirkby hosts the George Brown Memorial Sprint for the second time in two years:
This year is going to be better than ever. This will be the sixth running of the event since the passing of George Brown and I have been lucky enough to have attended all
but one of them. The first George Brown Memorial Sprinter was held at Santa Pod in 1982. There were some pretty impressive bikes there including Ted Dunmow riding
Paper Tiger running 9.53/151, Brian Chapman on his 500cc Vincent Super Mouse running 10.02/139 and on Mighty Mouse the 1000cc Vincent 9.39/154.
FTD went to Angus McPhail on the impressive Jade Warrior which ran 9.19/147. The next George Brown Sprint was held at the Famous Esholt Park in Bradford in 1985
where Tony Brown entered on Super Nero. Esholt is the main drive way into Bradford and District Sewage Works, but non the less the venue has gone down in
Sprinting history as possibly the most spectacular venue at which the NSA have held a sprint with the famous Esholt Bump making bikes career skywards on one wheel
over the crest of the hill just before the quarter mile marker at well over 100 mph.
The next George Brown Sprint was held at Bovingdon, just off the M25, on 9th September 1990 and was well attended by all of the NSA. Tony Brown was again in attendance
on Super Nero, and ran 12.97/104. Derek Chinn was there on Pegasus and ran 11.76/115. Terry Homan on the 350 Rudge ran 10.84/105. The late great Dave
Houghton was there with his immaculate 500 blown Triumph (the very bike on the NSA logo) running 10.44/136 and FTD went to Steve Cope on his TZ 700/750 10.07/137.
It was mentioned that there was a lack of grip and therefore times were well down. Blyton Airfield near Scunthorpe was the setting for the 1991 George Brown Sprint. I didn't
attend this meeting and the event turned out to be a very sad day. Dave Houghton brought out his 500 Blown Triumph which was to be featured in an article in Classic Bike
magazine. Sadly it was to be Dave's last meeting as he tragically fell off his bike during a run and suffered fatal injuries. The NSA have never raced at Blyton since that day out of
respect. RIP Dave.
The last George Brown Meeting was held at East Kirkby last year and was a great success, attracting many riders from all over the country. So building on last year's event, and
on the back of Dragstalgia with all the legendary bikes and riders having already made their bikes ready for that event, this year's George Brown memorial Sprint is definitely one
to put in your diary. Heading the line up will be George Brown's Super Nero which has been taken from the National Motorcycle Museum and rebuilt ready for this event,
and it looks like George's son Tony Brown will again be taking on the riding duties.
We are planning on seven double-engined British sprint bikes attending - this is something which I don't think has ever happened at a NSA event before.
John Hobbs will be campaigning the famous Weslake double-engined supercharged Hobbit as well as riding the newly-rebuilt Olympus after a monumental engine
explosion earlier in the year. Colin Fallows' stable of bikes is making an appearance starting with Super Cyclops the double-engined supercharged Norton of Mick Butler
fame, which blew its rear barrels off at Dragstalgia. Black Cat, the Velocette and his Weslake all are being entered. Gary Norman has agreed to bring along his two double-engined
bikes, Denis 'Storming' Norman's Conquest double Triumph and Second Conquest double Norton. Ray Law is riding his double-engined supercharged Triumph and
Kevin Fields will be riding Icarus the ex-Roy Daniels bike which held the British Land Speed Record at an average of 191 mph.
Sheelagh Neil will be riding her late father Ozzie's Scott outfit. Sheelagh is one of the first members to have joined the NSA. On the back of his success at Dragstalgia, Chris Illman
will be bringing along the Methamon Vincent outfit once owned by Maurice Brierley and will no doubt be trying to better his times set earlier this year when Sheelagh Neil
teamed up with him in the sidecar. Terry Homan has said he will be bringing along Ramrod and hopefully Bill Orris' wonderful 350 Rudge along with Clive Waye's ingenious
Dragwaye, and is hoping to have better luck riding it than earlier in the year. Dave Clee will be there riding Shotgun along with the Baskervilles who will be bringing
along their newly-built supercharged Triumph which is bristling with innovation. I saw it on display at Dragstalgia and Neil Baskerville said that they are hoping to have it finished
and ready to run for this event.
I will be joining the three-wheelers on my record breaking 4000cc V8 Syko three-wheeler running nines on petrol. Trevor Duckworth will be bringing out both of his record-breaking
three-wheelers: the TZ350cc cycle car which was once owned by Irene Scargill and which holds many world and British records, and the ex-Mick Ellis three-wheeler which now has
a Rotax 604cc single fitted and which will be ridden by David Taylor. These bikes have never been run together and it is planned to run them side by side for the first time.
There is also a European contingent with entries from France. Hervé Saigne will be coming to join in the fun on his Triumph Sprinter. Clive Neale, who was a competitive rider
in his day, is coming all the way from Switzerland to join us and catch up with friends old and new. Finally Peter Williams has kindly agreed to bring along his legendary double-engined
injected Nitro Triumph Two Faced for the static display.
East Kirkby is the venue for the event and is itself steeped in history. The Air Museum is housed on the other side of the road and houses the famous Lancaster bomber Just Jane.
The track is good long and smooth, without a doubt it's one of the best grass roots sprinting venues in the country. It is based in the south of Lincolnshire putting it within easy reach for
most of the country (map).
We are intending to produce a souvenir programme of entrants so it is advised to enter as soon as you can, as this event may well be over subscribed.
There are free race entries for all Vincents and two special Vincent classes, 500 cc and 1000 cc. Anyone wishing to bring along a bike for display only
please contact me as we are putting together a static display of sprinters old and new. Everyone who enters a bike for either the static display or in any of
the racing classes will receive a competitor's NSA George Brown Memorial Sticker for their bike. Gate entry is £10.
If you wish to enter then you can do so by contacting Helen Greathead on 07921 712266 or E-Mail
[email protected] if you require any information required on the event
then please contact me on 07778 053506 or E-Mail [email protected].
All Super Pro ET cars running 9.90 or quicker must have an accepted lower engine oil-retention device (diaper). A belly pan may be used in lieu of a device attached to the engine;
the belly pan must extend from framerail to framerail and extend forward of the harmonic balancer and rear of the engine block and must incorporate a minimum two inch high (51
mm) lip on all sides unless specified in Class Requirements.
A non-flammable, oil-absorbent liner is mandatory on the inside the retention device.
If you have any further questions then please contact Frans at [email protected].
Geoff Stilwell adds a warning about travelling through Dover: "There are and there have been horrendous delays getting through customs in France, and by all accounts the
delays will continue. So I would recommend alternative routes if at all possible. This past week it has been taking sixteen hours or more to get through. The M20 has been backed up to Junction
10 with traffic waiting to get across."
NitrOlympX tickets to be won! 27th July: Eurodragster.com has teamed up with Hockenheim-ring Gmbh to offer two pairs of
weekend tickets to the NitrOlympX which takes place at Hockenheim on 19th-21st August and which features European
Championship and Sportsman racing together with US Fuel Altereds, the legendary Night Show which has to be seen to
be believed, and more.
To win one of the two pairs of NitrOlympX weekend tickets, answer the following question set by NitrOlympX PR
Christine Calwer:
UK Top Fuel Dragster racer Liam Jones fuels his dragster with 11.3 gallons of nitro at Santa Pod Raceway. How many
litres of nitro would he have to use at Hockenheim?
E-Mail your answer plus your name to [email protected] by 23:59 UK
on Sunday 7th August / 00:59 European Monday 8th August.
Conditions of entry
One entry per person to [email protected].
Entries to any other address will be disqualified.
Entry closes at 23:59 UK on Sunday 7th August / 00:59 European Monday 8th August.
Contest is open to Eurodragster.com readers in any country.
Winner is responsible for their own travel to the NitrOlympX and their weekend accommodation.
The decision of the Hockenheim-ring Gmbh and Eurodragster.com is final.
Good luck!
SPR seeking sub 10-second demos. 27th July: Calling all sub 10-second race car owners: Neale Saunders of Santa Pod Raceway is offering free
sign-on for teams who bring their cars to the following events:
Sunday 14th August: Mini in the Park
Sunday 21st August: Monster Truck Nationals
If your car runs quicker than 10.00 and you are interested in attending then please contact Neale as soon as possible at
[email protected].
Vegter's Bear hug. 27th July: The Netherlands' Vegter Pro Mod Racing are about to embark on a very special adventure.
At the invitation of Dragtimes, the driving force behind the Russian Drag Racing Championship, the team will travel to Russia in
early August to take part in two races of the Russian Championship at Autodrom Nizegorodskoye Koltco. Remco Scheelings writes:
This is a unique event to which David Vegter is really looking forward. "We got in touch with Dragtimes through our tuner Adam
Flamholc", he said. "They wanted us to race at their events and they did a perfect job of organising everything for us. Dragtimes
is a very professional organisation and their future plans for drag racing are very promising. It's a great adventure and a chance
you only get once in a lifetime."
Autodrom Nizegorodskoye Koltco is a full-size race track with a drag strip, located near Nizhny Novgorod four hundred kilometres east
of Moscow. The classes in the Russian Drag Racing Championship are totally different to those in the rest of Europe, and that's why
David will take part in the rear-wheel-drive category. The 3,000 bhp Vegter Pro Mod Racing '67 Camaro will have to face the ex-Flamholc
Top Doorslammer Viper of Dmitry Samorukov, but also far less powerful cars. Traction might not be as good as at most FIA European
Championship tracks, but Dmitry has already recorded quick elapsed times at tracks in his own country. "Dragtimes is a professional
organisation, you can see that in the way they deal with everything", said David. "They also plan to build a new drag race track like
Tierp Arena which can and will be used for international drag races."
Not much has been known about Russian drag racing in our part of Europe so far but Dragtimes want to change that as soon as possible.
The first time we heard about Russian drag racing was a few months ago, when Adam Flamholc sold his Pro Modified / Top Doorslammer
Dodge Viper to a Russian team, and the Swede was hired as their tuner. A few weeks ago the team had their first race outside Russia at
the FIA European Championship race at Alastaro, Finland. "Dragtimes contacted me a few weeks ago and at Alastaro we had a meeting
to discuss the details", said David. "We will take part in two races at Autodrom Nizegorodskoye Koltco on 6th-7th and 13th-14th August.
That fits our schedule, as the following week we have the FIA European Championship race at Hockenheim.
"Although Dragtimes have arranged a lot for us, there are always many things we have to do ourselves, such as applying for a visa. The bus and
race car are at Johnny Oksa's place at the moment. Next week we will fly to Finland, pick up the bus and drive to Nizhny Novgorod. There
will be a Russian guide waiting for us in Finland, and he will accompany us during our Russian trip. In between the races we fly back home.
After the second race we will drive the bus directly to Hockenheim. We have to take the same route as we did on our way to Russia, so we
have to go back to Finland first. From Hockenheim we will drive to Tierp Arena, as the week after the NitrOlympX we have round five of the
FIA European Championship. It's pretty hectic, but it's a unique opportunity so of course you accept such an invitation."
Vegter Pro Mod Racing is supported by Playboy Energy Drink, HKR Techniek, WVB Holland, PedalToTheMetal Musclecar Performance,
DutchBoxx Golfkarton en Sonic Equipment.
SCR weekend bike report. 27th July: Under glorious sunny skies Shakespeare County Raceway hosted Round 3 of the APIRA ET Bike and NAST
Gas Championships and Round 5 of the UK National 9.50 and 8.50 Bike Championships at its Mid Summer Madness Public Track Weekend.
Jerry Cookson writes:
APIRA received a very competitive fourteen-bike entry contesting the ET Bike series. With Joe Elliott leading the points race heading
into the round the quite rider from Deeping St James knew what he had to do to get a good place on the ladder early - preferably
number one, which he achieved. But in the second qualifier Joe wasn't banking on the other BMW 1000 RR in the hands of Bolton's
Wayne Bradley from stealing that position with a 9.023 on a 9.00 dial. Joe's earlier 9.017 (8.99) stood for second. Buckingham's
Peter Austin has been in great form of late on the family run Kawabunga ZX10R to qualify third at 9.684 on a 9.65 dial.
Also posting some competitive numbers were Dave Smart (9.884) for fourth, the Yamaha R1 in the hands of Leo Lester (9.587)
and a returning Chris Mott on his new 1300cc FBR Atak; 9.931 on a 9.50 dial for eleventh.
Round one opened with wins for Joe Elliott, Wayne Bradley, Fiona Moor, Peter Austin and Peter Harrison. Motty ran
well and truly under his 9.48 index and lost with a rapid 8.978 PB, which in turn handed the Suzuki SV1000 of Dave Smart a round
win to face Gary Hester later in the day.
Fiona Moor ended her day on the Team Elysion Buell on a red light against Peter Austin. Joe Elliott took an easy (!) 9.070 win on
a 9.00 dial after Peter Harrison's Ducati failed to show. Wayne Bradley used an easy 9.183 bye to book his place in the semi-final
while Dave Smart posted a 10.106 against Gary Hester's 10.868.
The semi finals turned into a battle of the breakouts and foul starts. Peter Austin took himself out of the competition with a -0.090
light against Wayne Bradley's 0.084 RT coupled to the bike's 9.026 on a 9.00 dial. Having come up against Joe's 1000 cc screamer
before, Dave Smart knew what needed to be done! But in the end a 9.783 breakout on a 9.85 dial eventually gave us an all-BMW
shootout for the trophy dash.
In the end it was all decided on the start light as Wayne reacted -0.021 too soon handing the win and the points to Joe; 8.921/159.50.
In the final of 8.50 Bike the ZX12 Kawasaki of Llanelli's Dave Thomas picked up his first win of the season against Jay Roe's Fossil Fuellers
GSXR; 8.659 to 8.753 while in 9.50 Bike the final came down to a straightforward shootout between Evesham's Brett Cordelle and
Somerset's Rich Sawatzki. With both riders trading times all day long in qualifying Brett eventually posted a 9.529 on the family-raced
Hysteria Racing Busa against a losing 9.607.
Alfie Udall was certainly on his game for this event posting a 9.490 in qualifying for NAST Gas which was later improved to a new 9.347
PB from the 1450 cc Harley Sportster in the final against the Honda SP1 of Robbie Dobbie who ran 10.113.
The next round takes place at Shakey's Open Sport Nationals on 27th-29th August and you will shortly be able to view the latest in the
points race via the OCS
Paint Points Standings page on Eurodragster.com.
Event entry update. 26th July:Gearhead Garage UK Top Sportsman(see below) starts this Friday (29th) at the Mopar EuroNationals
at Santa Pod Raceway and if you are quick you can still enter for the Fast Bracket, Heads-Up race or both. You can get the
entry form from the UK Top
Sportsman Facebook page, or contact Paul Marston by E-Mail at [email protected]
or on the phone on 07831 650230. You can check out the current 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.
Entry is open for the APIRA Open Sport Nationals, a round of the UK National Drag Racing Championships and ACU UK Drag Bike Championships
and other series, which takes place at Shakespeare County Raceway on 27th-29th August. The entry forms can be downloaded from the track's web site
at www.shakespearecountyraceway.com. Racers are
encouraged to pay their entry fee by Bacs rather than credit card or cheque, as this cuts down on administrative charges and time.
Shakespeare County Raceway's account details can be found on the entry forms.
Swift snippets. 26th July: If you are thinking attending next month's NitrOlympX at Hockenheim then have the front of your pocket diary or
an on-line unit converter handy and tune back for the next Eurodragster.com News update as we will have two pairs of weekend NitrOlympX tickets
to be won.
...got the T-Shirt. 26th July: This weekend the competitors in Gearhead Garage UK Top Sportsman descend upon
Santa Pod Raceway to do battle at the Mopar EuroNationals. Paul Marston writes that with some of Europe's very best and
most experienced Sportsman teams and drivers in attendance, plus some last minute entries still to be posted, it looks as if
the event will deliver some of the closest and hardest-fought action to be witnessed this year.
In addition to being Title Sponsor Mick Pusey, head honcho at Gearhead
Garage who incidentally is competing Grumpy's Dodge, has gone the extra mile and as a token of his appreciation and by way
of a Thank You to all the teams competing in his event has had T-Shirts designed and printed. Mick will be distributing the shirts free of
charge to all drivers. "Believe me, I have been around drag racing for a jolly long time and I know how much work, time, money and
self-sacrifice goes into getting to the track", said Mick. "And that’s before the really hard work even starts. The shirts are just a small
Thank You, a show of my appreciation to the racers for all their efforts."
John Tebenham has also stepped up to the plate and will be putting up an additional £250 cash bonus for the #1 qualifier for the
Heads Up eliminator. JT has already posted a huge additional cash prize of £1000 for the winner of the Heads Up race, over and
above the prize money from the Gearhead Garage UK Top Sportsman prize fund.
You can follow the Gearhead Garage UK Top Sportsman racing by coming to the Mopar Euronationals at Santa Pod Raceway this Friday
to Sunday. You' witness the very best in fast bracket racing - it's the toughest race of the season, with the toughest competitors, if you
wanna be the best you have to beat the best.
Many thanks to the Mopar EuroNationals organisers, Santa Pod Raceway staff and management and the SPRC track crew, all of the Paul Marston
Racing crew who will be running the event doing it all for free, and Zeon TV who will be filming the event for future broadcast on Motors TV. Thanks also to our
sponsors Gearhead Garage, John Tebenham, Jeff Bull Racing Engines, Engine Data Analysis, Drag Race Engineering, Damn Yankees American
Car Club, to our many supporters and friends who help make this happen. And last but by no means least the absolute stars of the show, the
UK Top Sportsman race teams and drivers who compete in Gearhead Garage UK Top Sportsman and Eurodragster.com, especially Eurodragster.com
we owe you all (Thanks, you're welcome - Ed).
Web site updates. 26th July: Colin Donisthorpe has updated his Flickr site with pictures from last week's Dragstalgia at Santa Pod
Raceway. You can take a look at www.flickr.com/photos/colin_donisthorpe.
You can check out our John Woolfe Racing-sponsored reports and
galleries by
clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any
Eurodragster.com page.
Hot-foot from Letsby Avenue. 23rd July: Just about everything which happened at last weekend's Dragstalgia was a highlight but one of the
undoubted great moments was the on-track début of Chris Manning's classically-styled slingshot The Villain. Chris got in touch
to tell us a few weeks ago the team were going to Dragstalgia as spectators:
AWe had asked Bryan Whitfield if Dragstalgia was possible, but he said that it was doubtful that The Villain would be finished. Bryan's place is well busy and we hadn't said that
we wanted to be ready for Dragstalgia so we left it at that and said "No problem Bryan".
A week later Tania got a text saying "Cinderella will be going to the ball!". Bryan and his guys really pulled one out of the bag. I drove to Bryan's to sort out the panel painting
and where the sign writing was going, went home and next time I went to Bryan's it was to pick up The Villain. Got it home and started to put the top half of the engine
and the fuel system back on and checked it over front to back. I told everyone that we knew that The Villain was going to make its début at Dragstalgia and with
our best friends crewing and helping it was turning out perfectly. Loaded up Thursday and went to Santa Pod on Friday. Being a brand new member of the Wild Bunch we were
pitted with them - including our team there forty one teams in the Wild Bunch alone.
Now for a plan. Burnout with a launch and get The Villain down the track, that would make a good weekend. Big Steve Dowler was on towing duty, so he dragged me to
the pairing lanes. Ragin' Ray White was Crew Chief, he fired The Villain up, and crewmen Terry and Paul Howarth saw me round to do the burnout. The burnout was not
that great, but since it was the first time I had ever sat in The Villain when it was moving under its own power it was bloody excellent! I was guided back to the line by Tania
and was all set, then I was shut down for having no arm restraints... totally my fault.
While Big Steve towed me back to the pits I saw people clapping and cheering which was great. By the time I got back to the pits my lack of arm restraints was already known
and some Wild Bunch members were all ready with restraints which I could borrow. A quick valve lash check and then went to fire up The Villain but the starter was
shrapnel and other pieces. I quickly scooted to the Tower to ask if they could put out an announcement for a starter motor, which they promptly did, and Dan Williams of
Williams Brothers Racing said that he had a new one in a box. After a bit of skullduggery the starter fit (crewing in Pro Mod obviously taught me something).
Next round and a crap burnout then reversed only to be shut down for some trans oil dripping. Gutted! Back in the pits we took a look to see where it was dripping from.
We thought we were going to miss the Cacklefest because we had to drop the pan and clean and reseal it,but fellow Wild Bunch member Paul gave me a hand and it was done.
On Saturday night we stayed up late chatting rubbish and lying, like you do.
Sunday morning, up early and the tank was topped up the oil heater turned on and we were ready. Ragin' Ray had to leave early on Sunday (something about getting a perm done)
so Terry up The Villain up and with Paul saw me round to the line. Burnout done and backed up, I was ready to pre-stage, Ian Marshall waved me foward and I pulled in to
the lights. The Tree came down, I mashed the throttle, came off it at sixty foot-ish, everything OK and back on it. It made a little movement to the right but nothing bad. Lifted then
back on and it took off straight as you like and across the stripe. It was such a good feeling, I can't wait to put in some full passes.
Thanks to Tania, John, Ray, Big Steve, Tel, Paul, Hazel, Bryan, the Wild Bunch and anyone else I've forgotten. And I think Dragstalgia is getting better every year!
European Top Gas Round 3 review. 12th June: The third Euro Serie Super Twin Top Gas race of the season took place
at Hoskovice in the Czech Republic last weekend. Herman Jolink writes:
After the cancellations at Drachten we went Hoskovice on the way home from the World Ducati Week in Misano, Italy which had eighty one thousand visitors from sixty six countries.
Piet Mom told us on the phone that Drachten had been cancelled because of the muddy pits and that Frederik Schack, Birch Andersen, Miia Maria Vepsalainen and Janne Malmberg
were going to Hoskovice. So we went too. Twenty three Top Gas teams said that they would attend races this year, there are a lot of great Top Gas races and I don't know why more
of the teams do not come. We have been going to Hoskovice since 2004, we love the friendly atmosphere and the very good concrete track. Yvona Kneblova and her team always
do a very good job. Test and Tune was available on Friday and we had nice sunshine on Friday and Saturday. Milan Kolacny lives near Praha but waas not at Hoskovice because
of some old issues which was a pity.
Qualifying after Saturday morning:
Fredrik Schack DK on 2622 V-Twin 7.852/268. Fredrik rode the bike very well, on some runs he was really leaning to hold the bike straight.
Janne Malmberg Se on 2600 two Blower V-Twin 7.918/257. New Personal Best for Janne who drove 1600 km to Hoskovice. Germany's Jurgen Braun (Modified Twin racer) and his wife
helped Janne st the start line.
Herman Jolink NL on Ducati 1198 RS (1266) 8.526/247, Herman's runs were all 8.5 and 8.6.
Birch Andersen DK on 2622 V-Twin with his wife as mechanic and his Crew Chief had family from Canada were there, 9.501/203. On one run the bike was leaking oil, the welding on
the oil tank broke for its whole length, repaired with polyester from Herman Jolink.
Miia Maria Vepsalainen Fin with a V-Twin engine newly prepared by her father 9.791.
Eliminations round 1: Schack 7.922/267 bye, Jolink 8.642/245 def. Andersen 9.829/194, Malmberg 7.890-238 kmh bye, another PB, Miia Maria broke.
Semi-final: Jolink 8.511/247 def. Schack 16.393/73 RTs Jolink 0.111 and Schack 0.203. Schack had a broken inlet manifold. Malmberg 7.971/233 bye
Final: Herman Jolink NL 8.493/248 def. Janne Malmberg SE broken piston.
Euro Serie Super Twin Top Gas Championship after three races:
Schack DK 1380
Andersen DK 725
Jolink NL 660
Malmberg SE 570
Kolacny CR 540
Albers D 505
Caspari D 460
Foit D 360
Lymant D 350
Jensen DK 340
Bruhn D 300
Vepsalainen Fin 260
Top Gas are racing at Drachten this weekend then at the NitrOlympX at Hockenheim on 19th-21st August and the Mosten Race Days on 2nd-3rd September.
To start us off there's a great entry for the next
exciting round of ET Bike, which this weekend is backed up with NAST Gas and the UK National 9.50 Bike and 8.50 Bike Championships. Joe Elliott
is so far having a ball in ET Bike with 200 points separating his rapid BMW from Peter Austin's Kawasaki and the other BMW of Wayne Bradley.
The National Sprint Association have posted a great line-up of machines for the weekend including John Young's Triumph Jap, Andy Boswell's Harley
Sportster, the Dragonforce Suzuki of Peter Ford and the Baker Honda 500 Sidecar of Clive Causer and passenger Martin Bracey. Completing the line-up
is the annual Kawasaki Triple Euro Weekend featuring a few seriously quick H2s from Germany and the UK. Last year there was a full sixteen-bike
eliminator with more of the same this year all looking to get there name on the Pro Joint Fabrications Eliminator trophy.
It’s another double header race weekend for the Wild Bunch in their twenty first anniversary season with the July Shootout and their annual Fancy
Dress parade; this year's theme is Hawaiian to carry on the tributes and celebrations for Scottie Durrant.
There's a full weekend of Run What You Brung for both cars and bikes including a test outing for Roger Goring's new Mustang-bodied Firestorm
Jet Funny Car as well as the usual Summer Bracket Gamblers Shootout on Sunday.
The track opens for RWYB at 10:00 each day. If you intend on taking part then you'll need a crash helmet and your DVLC licence at Signing On.
Details about RWYB, Bracket Gamblers and the event in general can be found at
www.shakespearecountyraceway.com.
Dragstalgia two-wheel highlights. 22nd July: Keith Lee wrotes that Dragstalgia was a brilliant weekend spent celebrating all that is good with nostalgia drag racing:
Great weather, great crowd, and great action - what more could we ask for?
It must be at around thirty five years since we have had so many double-engined bikes running, as no less than seven of them took to the track - with another capable of running
on display in the Historic Marquee. They may not all have been capable of running quickly, but that would be to miss the point, as part of Dragstalgia is to celebrate the machines
of the past. Just to see and hear them is really something special. Some of the bikes only ever appear for Dragstalgia, which is quite a challenge to man and machine.
The NSA Shootout was won by John Hobbs. He only made two passes on The Hobbit, taking the final with an 8.98/145 over Martin Willmott. Earlier, Martin had earlier
whipped his little 500 Triumph to one of his quickest ever times on the bike, 9.375/149, but broke the blower on the final run.
Highlights included a series of blower belt shedding runs from Jan Honee's 500 Jawa. So close to an eight-second pass, at 9.07, and an amazing 1.24 sixty foot time. The Methamon
outfit, with the ever young Sheelagh Neal in the chair, making its best launches ever. Jeff Byne hitting a very creditable 10.71/130 on his double Morgo Triumph. The only bad news was
seeing Pip Higham come off the Orient Express due to a mechanical failure. He was battered but happily was walking round the pits the following morning.
There were three special prizes, which were kindly donated by John Stein, of his book on the history of American Motorcycle Drag Racing. Thanks to Ian King, who chose the restored
ex-Derek Parnell Velo as his recipient of Most Interesting Machine, with Colin Fallows collecting the prize following his excellent restoration job. Moment of the meeting, chosen jointly
by Tog or Eurodragster.com and myself, ultimately went to the Pegasus team after all their efforts in bringing the iconic double Norton back to life once more. That really was
something to see for so many of us. Finally, Chris Illman was presented with the Services to Dragstalgia award for all his efforts liaising with the National Motorcycle Museum, and
providing some memorable moments on track with Methamon. Congratulations to all of the winners, and a big Thank You to all those who helped make it a super weekend - in
particular Neil and Ray Baskerville, aided by Terry Homan, who kept the wheels turning.
Unforgettable moment for myself, in a weekend of highs, was standing on the start line commentating alongside Jeff Byne's double Triumph as the mighty Spitfire roared right over
my head. That is some great organising by James Forster!
Swift snippets. 22nd July: Lee Johnstone and family say that it was with great sadness that they learnt of the passing of Pat Johnson. Lee
writes "A gem of a person, leaving us with fond memories and more than a laugh or two. Our deepest sympathies to Steve and family."
Courtesy of Eire's Junior Dragster team McDonald Racing Ireland, Eurodragster.com is in the house at Thunder Valley in
Bristol, USA where Liam McDonald is taking place in the Eastern Conference Finals Junior Dragster race. "You can't miss it, right on the start line,
forty feet by thirty feet", says Edel McDonald. "Bristol Raceway celebrated its fiftieth in 2015". Liam made test runs yesterday, today's plan is one Test
and Tune pass then the first eliminations. Edel adds that it is 45°+ in Bristol.
31st July is the deadline for entries for the British Drag Racing Hall of FameSydney Allard Media Awards for Photo and Written Journalism. This year the crystal trophies are sponsored by Mintex and Brian Taylor writes that some
fantastic photographs have already been received. "Get yours in now and don't forget the written journalism which can include books, articles and blogs",
says Brian. You can find full details of how to enter at
www.britishdragracinghof.co.uk/allard-award-entries.
Promising weekend cut short. 22nd July: With the quickest elapsed time of the Pro Modified field on the Saturday, second qualifying position and a first round win, the Netherlands'
David Vegter was on his way to a great result at Alastaro. But on Sunday a thunderstorm and rain showers forced an early end to round three of the FIA European Drag Racing
Championship.
Alastaro Circuit, situated in the middle of the beautiful Finnish forests, hosted the third round of the FIA European Drag Racing Championships. With plenty of sunshine and pleasant
temperatures, there were almost perfect weather conditions during qualifying for the FHRA Nitro Nationals. Until a few years ago traction was a problem at Alastaro, but since the track
was resurfaced it has become better every year, and now even low 6.0-second elapsed times were possible. David Vegter was the first one to prove it, and in the first round of qualifying
on Friday the Vegter Pro Mod Racing '67 Camaro stormed to 6.10 seconds, just behind reigning FIA European champion Michael Gullqvist and good for the number two qualifying position.
"There was a bit more in it, as I had some problems with the gearbox and couldn't shift to high gear properly", said David. In the second qualifier, the Camaro suffered severe tyre shake.
Having had a good first run, David lifted to prevent any damage and ended day one still in a great second position.
There were two qualifying runs scheduled for Saturday also. The first run was no improvement, but the fourth and last run was a great one. At 6.08 seconds at 384.7 kmh David not only
improved on his Friday performance but he was also the quickest Pro Modified driver of the day, and remained number two qualifier after four runs.
In the first round David had to face Rolf Simonsson of Sweden. The Dutchman was away first and in 6.17 seconds he advanced to the next round. "We had a safe set-up, as we knew it
would be difficult for Simonsson to match our numbers", said David about his first round win. But there was more good news, as Championship leader Michael Gullqvist pulled a red light
and was out of competition. This gave David, number five in the Championship, an opportunity to make up some ground to the leader. But shortly before the start of the quarter finals, a
thunderstorm and rain showers came in, leaving the Race Director no other option than to cancel the race at 15:30.
"Everything went very well", said David. "The Camaro was running straight and consistent, and my Reaction Times were also good. A great result would have been possible and we had
the opportunity to catch Michael Gullqvist in the Championship. It's a pity, but on the other hand I can only be happy with the way we are performing at the moment, also thanks to the
great work of tuner Adam Flamholc."
The FIA European Pro Modified Championship is now at its half way point. David is still fifth, but the Vegter Pro Mod Racing racer scored more points than any other Pro Mod racer
and came a bit closer to the top four in the Championship. The fourth round of the FIA European Drag Racing Championships takes place at the NitrOlympX at Hockenheim. With
60,000 spectators it is the most popular drag race event in Europe. The NitrOlympX takes place on 19th-21st August, but before then Vegter Pro Mod Racing have some other activities
planned.
Vegter Pro Mod Racing is supported by Playboy Energy Drink, HKR Techniek, WVB Holland, PedalToTheMetal Musclecar Performance, DutchBoxx Golfkarton and Sonic Equipment.
Should you have six eyes... 22nd July: We know that there are fans out there just about nut gone enthusiastic enough to run two or more webcasts at
the same time. Depending upon how many pairs of eyes you have SRIF, the Finnish Hot Rod Association and Eurodragster.com are presenting you with a
veritable cornucopia of on-line viewing this weekend and not a sou will it cost you.
The Summer Nats commences at Malmö Raceway at 18:00 European / 17:00 UK this evening and continues through to Sunday. You will be able
to tune in at www.ustream.tv/channel/malmo-raceway.
This year's regular Finnish Hot Rod Assocation webcasts quickly became a must-see and this weekend's offering is from the Blåkläder
Summer Nationals from Kalajoki. The FHRA coverage will be on-line tomorrow and Sunday at
www.livestream.com/fhra.
As you already know if you've been paying attention Eurodragster.com's Webster
Race Engineering / Nimbus Motorsport webcast will broadcast live video and
commentary / Nitro FM audio from Bug Jam 30 tomorrow and Sunday. You will be able to tune in by
clicking here or by clicking on the
John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.
Web site updates. 22nd July: It's great to see the Drakie's Americans web site active again with coverage of the Phantoms Hot Rod Hootenanny
in Stirling, Scotland. "This is only my second event of the year but loving getting back into it", says Drakie. "Hopefully the more time goes on the
more events I will be able to attend, although I don't think I will ever beat my best of twenty four events in one season!". You can take a look at
www.drakies-americans.co.uk.
Roll the clock forward to the Friday of Dragstalgia and we unloaded Havoc from the Apache truck (thanks again, Tim), into the Santa
Pod marquee alongside Rat Trap and the legendary Bradfords Fiat, driven for the last fifty years by one of the most personable racers
you could ever meet, Randy Bradford.
Round 1 - Friday evening: Hopes were high for the Havoc team after successful testing a couple of weeks earlier. A short thousand-foot
checkout pass showed the challenges of racing and the affect of different weather conditions. Cylinders which lit with ease two weeks ago, now
refusing to play ball. Hmmm...
Round 2 - Saturday morning: The Bubblegum Capri didn't stage so we were on a solo. Keeping cards close to chest for the moment, another
thousand-footer gave us a 6.87 - nearly a quarter of a second slower than a fortnight earlier on a supposedly similar set-up. Hmm... Easy this,
eh?
Round 3 - Saturday afternoon: The Bradfords. I've followed this car for an eternity and am well aware of its capabilities. Havoc would
need to run a healthy PB to compete, assuming that Randy and the team were on the ball. Two cylinders dropped at the hit, one picked straight
up and the other at a thousand feet by which time Randy was long gone.... 223 mph was encouraging but the ET wasn't good enough. Round 1 to the
Americans - good job Team Bradford.
Round 4 - Sunday morning: Rat Trap. Interesting one. Some may think that nostalgia racing is all about the show and that competition is
for Pro classes. I can tell you that Ron and Brian Hope (and family) are good friends of the Havoc Team but that once the straps are pulled
tight and helmets fastened, both teams will do all but kill for the win light! With that in mind, we were, once again, surprised by the generosity
of Ron, like Randy before him, knowing that we had fuel system issues, giving us a head start when the tree ran. He then did his utmost, despite
flying blind owing to a minor oiling issue, to run us down in one of the tightest races it has been our pleasure to be involved in. A Margin of
Victory of 0.04 seconds tells some of the story, Havoc taking the marginal win light on a holeshot.
Round 5: Cannonball final - Ramon. Number one qualifier status gave us lane choice and another holeshot gave us a chance but the impressive front
half of a blown-alcohol converter car was too much for the lame back half charge of the little altered. Congratulations Ramon.
We didn't think that we could top 2014. The spectator feedback indicates that from the perspective of many, we came pretty close in 2016. The
roll call of people to whom we owe thanks is huge but high-fives to Ron, Brian and the Hope family; Randy and all the Bradfords, Stewart, Lynn
and all at US Automotive, James and the whole organisational, track and safety crews at the mighty Santa Pod, all the media guys and particularly
Eurodragster.com (Thanks, you're welcome - Ed), to the Havoc crew who make it all worth it but perhaps most of all to the British
spectators who applaud, wave and smile (and buy T-Shirts!). Your support is extraordinary - thank you.
Can we do it again sometime?
The highlights just kept coming! 21st July: Dave McKenzie says that such a great show was put on by the Supercharged Outlaws at Dragstalgia
that he does not know where to start:
A great entry list with a good contingent from Germany and France to give an international flavour to the weekend. Some great side by side racing and burnouts all weekend,
the Outlaws put on a crowd-pleasing show. Commiserations must go to Keith Freeman who ended up hitting the wall. I thought he had saved it at first but then the car turned
sharp right and into the wall. In the Supercharged Outlaws pit area a collection was made for Keith’s rebuild.
The results were:
Paul Watts
Duncan Scott
Lee Gallimore
The winner of the Good Vibrations Motorsport Quick Reaction Time award was Paul Dale who pulled a 0.006 in the Acute Anglia. Paul received a cheque for £40.
Santa Pod awards:
Andy Hadfield (Twister) - Best Burnout
Roy Wilding - Best Appearing Team
Ian Merryweather - Best Appearing Car
And there's more!
Winner of the Cannonball Shootout: Ramon van der Weurf, a Supercharged Outlaw member
Winner of the Slingshot Showdown: Joe Bond, a Supercharged Outlaw member
Nearly a clean sweep of most of the awards available at Dragstalgia. A great effort by all the teams and the Santa Pod track crew for giving us a great race track.
Can we better it next year? It will be difficult but you can be sure we will be trying.
Check out the Supercharged Outlaws Facebook page for up-to-date news
and points standings.
170 years on track. 21st July: It was a moment to savour for throngs of fans at Dragstalgia; perhaps the most poignant moment in Santa Pod
Raceway's half-century of history.
The plan for the Dragstalgia historic drag race meeting had been to recreate the first run ever made down the Santa Pod drag strip: early on the
venue's opening day, Easter Monday 1966, Harold Bull and his little hand-built dragster, Strip Duster, powered by an engine lifted from a
Morris Minor, had traversed the length of the track, the first of countless thousands of runs to be made over the next fifty years. Recently,
Harold's son, Simon Bull, had built a perfect replica of the car under Harold's supervision (the original Strip Duster chassis is believed
still to exist somewhere in Germany) and would mark that inaugural moment in Santa Pod's history by piloting the car up the strip during
Dragstalgia.
Alongside would be another modern replica of an early racing machine. Ken 'Flathead' Cooper was a drag racing pioneer whose activities pre-dated
Santa Pod – his nickname arises from his predilection for Ford's workhorse flathead V8 of that era. Son Bradley Cooper had lately replicated one
of Ken's cars, again with his father's help, and races it at historic events. Simon Bull and Bradley Cooper would drive their respective mounts
side-by-side up the strip as a fitting Fiftieth Anniversary tribute.
That, at least, was the plan.
Yet as the two dragsters swung out from the pairing lanes and approached the start line, it was not the sons discovered at the controls but the
fathers themselves. At ninety one years of age, Harold Bull was about to become not only the first driver ever to traverse the Santa Pod quarter
mile, but now the oldest too. Ken Cooper, a mere stripling at just seventy nine, might well be next in line. Decades have passed since either had
last piloted a competition car.
Awaiting them on the line was Santa Pod's former Chief Starter, Stuart Bradbury, wielding the flags he had used in the days before the electronic
Christmas Tree starting system was installed. With a wave of the flags, the pair were under way. Age plainly does not dampen the competitive fires,
and what was intended simply to be an exhibition pass turned out to be anything but a meander. Harold Bull got the jump on his younger opponent and
appeared to be ahead at the finish line too. Since neither car staged in the modern manner, times and speeds were not recorded. In their heyday, both
racers were accustomed to clocking ten-second passes at over 130 mph. Their 2016 performances certainly looked respectable by comparison. Applauded
by spectators all the way to the finish, the pair received a further ovation from the track marshals as they pulled to a halt at the end of the
shutdown area half-a-mile beyond.
For those onlookers old enough to have watched Harold Bull and Ken Cooper in their prime as leading lights in the formative days of British drag racing,
this extraordinary match-up was an occasion none would ever have expected to see happen. Those too young to remember found themselves privy to a unique
moment of motorsporting history that they will do well to treasure for the rest of their days.
Friends reunited. 21st July: It seems incredible to think that the VWDRC Championship season is already beyond its halfway point, but this weekend's
Bug Jam is the fifth round of the seven-race series. For the Crawford Motorsports team, getting to know the new car has been the main priority along with
building the Engine Carbon Clean brand in the sport of drag racing and beyond. Jon Crawford writes:
As we approach the biggest event of the year, we are delighted to announce the return to competition of Sharan as part of a two pronged attack on the UK's biggest ever Sportsman ET field. Lining
up alongside Jon Crawford in the Engine Carbon Clean Golf will be the rising star of Super Pro ET, Chris Parker. Chris and Jon have been good friends for many years, and Chris' knowledge of the
theory and practice of bracket racing is second to none. Chris achieved the remarkable feat of taking the off the trailer #1 qualifier award at four consecutive events over the past year in the NG
Motorsports / Lucas Oils / Windscreen Wizards Dragster, and who would bet against a repeat performance this Saturday in a car which has been number one qualifier on two previous occasions?
Chris, who has crewed with both Jon and Matt Moxon in Sportsman ET for a number of years commented "After being a part of the team in an advisory capacity for some time, I'm really thrilled
to be asked to drive Jon's race-winning Sharan under the Engine Carbon Clean banner. Knowing it was going to be the biggest event of the year, Jon asked if I'd be interested in driving the world's
most unlikely race car. Of course my answer was a resounding "Yes I'd love to". Sharan and I should be a great marriage."
Both Sportsman ET and VW Sportsman have their biggest ever fields, with the possibility that one SP/ET and four VW/SP racers won't even qualify. With returning Champions Spencer Tramm and
Craig Wright as well as a positive plethora of Pro ET and Super Pro ET racers joining the fray, competition is going to be tight. With 1060 points potentially available in each class, this one race could
make someone's season.
The Engine Carbon Clean promotions team will be trackside for all three days of the event ready to meet and greet race
fans and Vee-Dubbers. If you are at the event, make sure you come along and find out all about the thirty minute detox for your car. Whether petrol or diesel, air-cooled or water, European or
American, ancient or modern, their patented Hydrogen Technology will help you rediscover lost power and restore torque to your engine whilst reducing emissions and fuel consumption to boot.
Their long-term commitment to drag racing is very much appreciated by both Crawford Motorsports and the VWDRC, and we know that fans of the greatest motorsport in the world have a unique
loyalty to those who support any racers in our endeavours. Pop along to their Facebook page and show your
appreciation, and whilst there, give the Crawford Motorsports page a Like as well.
If you can't make it along to the track, remember to keep up with all the action on Eurodragster.com's peerless live event coverage. Santa Pod Raceway's fiftieth birthday year is also Bug Jam's
thirtieth, and we are all bursting with pride at playing some small part in the greatest year-long party ever.
Swift snippets. 21st July: The picture at right, with the British Drag
Racing Hall of Fame logo in the background, shows a scene which appeared in a recent episode of Hollyoaks on the UK's Channel 4.
The episode bought in 1.75 million viewers so there was some good coverage for the BDRHoF. Watch out for more appearances of the BDRHoF brand,
organised by Prop Portfolio, on Emmerdale and Coronation Street when the script
demands filming in the garage areas of these soaps and others.
We would like to say a big Happy Birthday to our good buddy, His Worshipful Flatulence The Very Reverend Sir Neville Mottershead
ODE. Have a great day Nev.
Timing and stats guru Andy Marrs of TSI Timers Europe
has enhanced his tables of European Bests and FIA European Championships qualifying positions, results and round wins. "I was asked
if the spread of 0.151 seconds from #1 to bump in Pro Stock at Alastaro was the tightest ever in FIA competition", says Marrs, "and as you know
any such enquiry invariably leads to my spending way too much time with my head buried in spreadsheets! As it turns out it's not the tightest - in
fact it has been bettered three times just in Pro Stock. I've added a sheet to the European
Bests tables showing the tightest fields in FIA, and have added a row below each qualifying list in
Spreadsheetosaurus showing the spread at each event where there were enough
cars to have a bump spot."
Bug Jam Perfect Awards. 21st July: This weekend's Bug Jam at Santa Pod Raceway is the latest event in the 2016 Eurodragster.com
Perfect Awards Scheme. £100 is on offer for perfect performance.
This weekend's Eurodragster.com / Bad Habit Racing Perfect Light Award has been reset to £50 after it was won by
Nostalgia Super Stock racer Nic Williams at Dragstalgia. The money will be paid in cash to the first racer this weekend to record a Reaction Time of 0.000
seconds. The Perfect Light Award is available to racers in all classes during qualifying and eliminations, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect
Light of the event. If not won this weekend then the Award will be increased to £75 for next week's Mopar EuroNationals at Santa Pod Raceway; if it
is won then it will be reset to £50 for the Mopar EuroNationals. The Perfect Light Award is presented in association with Bad
Habit Racing (Cath and Tig Napier, Pro ET).
Decals are not mandatory for the Perfect Light Award but we would appreciate it if Eurodragster.com decals are carried. Eurodragster.com
decals are available from the Signing On office.
This weekend's Eurodragster.com Perfect ET Award supporting the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children has been reset to
£50 after it was won by Pro ET racer James Forster at the SPRC Summernationals. The money will be paid in cash to the first racer this weekend
to run an ET to the thousandth of a second on dial-in or index. The Perfect ET Award is available this weekend during qualifying or eliminations in VW Pro,
VW Sportman, Sportsman ET and Lucas Oil Junior Dragster (eliminations only), but will only be awarded for the first Perfect ET of the event. If not won this
weekend then the Award will be increased to £75 for the APIRA Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway in August; if it is won then it will
be reset to £50 for the APIRA Open Sport Nationals. The Perfect ET Award is presented by Derek and Fiona Flynn of Eurodragster.com sponsor
Gold RV in support of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; you can donate
to the NSPCC at www.nspcc.org.uk.
To be eligible to collect the Perfect ET Award, racers are required to carry Eurodragster.com / NSPCC decals(right), one on each side of
the vehicle. If you pull this weekend's first Perfect ET but are not carrying decals when the run is made then there will be no discussion; we will not
pay out and the next person to record a Perfect ET will get the money assuming that they are carrying decals. Eurodragster.com / NSPCC decals will be
available from the Signing On office first thing tomorrow (Friday) morning.
Bug Jam 30 coverage. 21st July: The Eurodragster.com team will be at Santa Pod Raceway to bring you all the news from Bug Jam 30 in association
with John Woolfe Racing.
Our coverage will consist of real-time reports and results from qualifying and eliminations (qualifying commences at 16:00 on Saturday) together with
a photo gallery at the end of Saturday and Sunday. The Webster Race
Engineering / Nimbus Motorsport webcast will broadcast live video and
commentary / Nitro FM audio so long as the track is open on Saturday and Sunday; please note that we will not be broadcasting on Friday. Thanks to
Doyousee.me for the provision of streaming services. Please ensure that you read, understand and
accept the conditions on the webcam landing page before clicking through to the broadcast.
You can check out our Bug Jam 30 Event Index, which also includes links to the official entry list and provisional running orders,
by clicking
here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com
page.
Despite being unable to put in a creditable performance over the weekend Derek Chinn and I would like to say a huge Thank You to the many
fans, old and new, who took the time to drop by our pit area to offer support for the double engine Norton fuel bike.
As the bike had been on static display at the National Motorcycle Museum for thirty-plus years, there were ultimately just too many issues
to overcome in the time available. Even so, we would still like to thank the Museum, Santa Pod Raceway, and everyone who helped particularly
Eddie Keighley, Graham Martin and Chris Illman for giving us the opportunity to bring Pegasus back to its natural home albeit only on a
temporary basis.
Blood on the Beach. 20th July: Whilst Bloodlines Racing compete in the UK National Super Pro ET Championship with Laura Turburville at
the wheel of the Bad Blood dragster, Dragstalgia is reserved for dad Ian to get in his driving fix:
It was decided by the team principals that Ian should drive their Beach Bomb injected slingshot this year and James Forster of
Santa Pod Raceway invited him to enter it in the Slingshot Showdown. The car hadn't run since its check out début this time
last year and True Blood was in the middle of getting a very famous Hemi transplanted into it (this is going to blow some minds).
Dragstalgia turned out to be the biggest and best year yet with 312 entries and hundreds of heroes and stars from yesteryear under the
blazing hot sunshine. The quality of the cars in all classes was phenomenal and many fresh nostalgia cars appeared for the first time.
We pitted up with fellow class competitors, Joe Bond, Jon Webster, Mike Oates, Mark Bishop, and Bob Hawkins, a pretty tough field!
Chris and Declan were at work until Saturday afternoon so ace team members Shaun and Rachel Nutter stepped in and not only crewed
but supplied a brilliant 1950s Ford Step-side as a tow truck.
Ian hadn't driven since Dragstalgia last year and so it was decided to turn down the rev limiter on the magneto and give the car and
driver a sensible check out pass first time. All went perfectly so the car was serviced and made ready for the second qualifier. This
time Ian replaced the full face nitro helmet with his trusty open face Ivo helmet and Tom Hoover's old fuel mask. He also had Don
Ewald's silver gloves and boots which Don said had been upside down and on fire at Lions back in the day! As the team got ready
in the pairing lanes a strangely familiar face appeared at the fence yelling "Drive safely young man"! It was Bob Muravez, aka Floyd
Lippencote Jr, great to see him at last!
The class was being run heads-up on a Pro tree, which came as a shock to some of the racers used to a Sportsman tree, and the special
nostalgia Tree was in use! On the green, and way too late, Ian stamped on the gas pedal and the car took off perfectly, no wheelies or
dramas this time. Unfortunately when the car got to to the last half of the track it misfired badly causing some concern. There was no
need to panic, some idiot (aka Ian) had forgotten to turn the rev limiter back up to 8000 rpm. The car did a respectable 9.0 at 140 mph
anyway so all was good and with full revs a low eight would be no problem. We all know John Force saw Elvis at 1000 feet, but Ian came back and said that he had a similar experience and saw photographer
Steve Moxley in the shutdown area taking chute shots. Ian said he waived so we await the photograph!
Meanwhile Joe Bond was setting the world on fire on his thirtieth birthday by demolishing the European record for methanol slingshots
with a 6.692, astounding! Guess who Ian was paired with for round one of eliminations on Sunday? Yup, Joe, a bit of a challenge there!
We got the call to the lanes for round one so all warmed our cars up. The Beach Bomb sounded great until at the end of the warm-up
when it mis-fired and went very lumpy. Ian jumped out, looked things over and told the boys to take the valve covers off quickly. There it was,
a broken lifter stand and jammed lifter, game over. A big shame but a fantastic weekend, one of the best races ever.
While the racing was over for us the work didn't end as Laura was doing back-up duty for our buddy Ramon van der Weurf who brought the
house down in his match races against the Fuel Altereds. Ian ran around like a maniac helping as many other teams as he could and at one
point was about to return to his workshop in Nottingham to fetch a part for Randy Bradford. Roy Wilding was a bit closer so he saved the day.
A team decision was made there and then that the motor would get pulled from the Beach Bomb and repaired to be sold later and
that the complete chromemoly chassis'd slingshot would be sold as a roller complete with new racing Powerglide for just £12,000.
So, if anyone want this beautiful bargain then get in touch with Ian at Turboville Racing, take it away, plop in the motor of your choice, and
join in the fun!
The whole team is recovering with a bad case of Pod Face but will be back out at the FIA/ FIM European Finals in September. Work commitments
prevent any appearance at the NitrOlympX this year but we wish Jerry Lackey the very best of luck.
While the racing was going on all weekend, team sponsor Nefarious Pinstriping were busy on the nose of Laura's dragster and did a stunning
job to finish this sinister car off nicely... check it out at the Finals!
As always Bloodlines could not function without the help of our great drag racing family (especially Ian and Laura's new relations Ray and
Lin Irish as their daughter Vicky married into the clan last month) so a quick list of thanks for all sorts at the weekend: Bloodlines Racing, Laura
Grace Turburville, Chris Wilson,Declan Baker, James Forster, Shaun Nutter, Brian Hope, Nick Davies, Rob Loaring, Syd McDonald, Mike Oates,
Norm Wheldon, Herb Andrews,Simon Nefarious Pollock, Kenny and Asa Gomez, Mick and Julie Hannah, Keith Lee, Pete, Barry Sheavills, Ramon
van der Weurf, Andrew Stones, Josh Bassett, Stewart Bassett, all the Pod track crew from Ian to Angie and all the pit runners.
She who must be obeyed. 20th July: Not able to run at the FIA / FIM Main Event due to lack of support in
Top Methanol Funny Car, Steph and Dave Milam put the altered body back on the She
Devil and went in search of more records at Dragstalgia:
We made a gentle check out pass to settle back in, 7.26/209.94. The second pass was against
Bubblegum Bob Glassup's Nitro Nostalgia Funny Car, so time to let the altered off the leash.
It might have been the long way round, taking out the 1000 foot markers on the way down,
but with a 6.1868 we set a new European record, just to add to the speed record of 234 mph
which we got at Dragstalgia last year.
We have to thank our long time sponsors Torco Oil, Nimbus Motorsport and NGK Spark Plugs
whose support helps us to perform at this level, and all the spectators and fellow racers who
come round with words of encouragement and appreciation. Finally thanks to all of the crew
who make our dreams possible.
Smith shocks at Dragstalgia. 20th July: One does not usually associate Santa Pod Raceway's historic drag racing event Dragstalgia
with the breaking of world records, but that didn't deter Jonny Smith, the motoring journalist and broadcaster owns and drives the
Flux Capacitor.
Dragstalgia's historic vehicle cast-list tends towards the big, brash, brawny and loud, but the Flux Capacitor is tiny and silent.
A short-lived flirtation with electric power intended to cope with the mid-'70s oil crisis, its 1974-vintage, Enfield 8000 bodyshell is entirely
consistent with Dragstalgia's retro theme, but the kiddie-car appearance should fool no one. Beneath the bright yellow shell lurks some
serious electricity, derived from a battery pack lifted from a Bell SuperCobra attack helicopter.
With so much heft on tap, the Flux Capacitor had to be strengthened accordingly, but it remains entirely road-legal – taxed,
insured and MOT'd. And amid all Dragstalgia's bellowing action this past weekend, it sped noiselessly to a new world best for a road-legal,
battery-powered car over the standing quarter-mile.
Before Dragstalgia, America held the world mark at 10.25 seconds, and Jonny's best was 10.51 seconds at 129 mph. By the event's end,
Flux Capacitor had demolished existing standards with an elapsed time of 9.869 seconds, with a top finish-line speed for the weekend
of 122.43 mph. Moreover, Jonny is convinced there is plenty more to come from his little golden zipper. In comparison, a 2015 Tesla Model S
has covered the standing quarter-mile in 10.9 seconds.
At Dragstalgia, Flux Capacitor was running against the clock as part of the event's Run What You Brung programme, but it will return
to full competitive mode at Santa Pod's forthcoming FIA / FIM European Finals, where it will race in Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator.
Satisfying the unique demands of that class are Jonny's next target: not only to clock further nine-second passes but also to complete the mandatory
twenty five-mile, public highway cruise required of Street Eliminator entries once on-track qualifying has finished.
British drag racing boasts two electric cars and each is now the world's quickest in its category. Sam and Olly Young's VW Beetle-bodied
Black Current – not road-legal – is the world's quickest and fastest full-bodied electric car at 8.711/151.58.
Two days in history. 20th July: Two days of July 2016 will go down as important milestones in the
history of European drag racing and the restoration of Europe's first dragster, Sydney Allard's 1961
Allard Chrysler owned by the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu.
Since 2007 the Allard Chrysler Action Group,
headed by Chairman Brian Taylor with Museum Trustee Nick Mason and Quarter Mile Foundation Chair Traci Hrudka
as Patrons, has been working hard to restore the machine from a static exhibit without an engine (but with many
broken and rusty components) to a fully working dragster. Raising funds and providing the expertise, their efforts
finally saw the strived for success at Beaulieu on 6th July when for the first time since 1964 the dragster was driven
under its own power.
This was followed up by an appearance at Santa Pod Raceway on Sunday when, driven by Alan Mann Racing's Martin
Dunks, the dragster completed the standing start quarter mile for the first time since it appeared at Blackbushe in
1964 – well before Santa Pod had been opened.
You can watch a YouTube video of the Beaulieu run by
clicking here and a video of
the run at Santa Pod by clicking here.
Here are some of the many congratulation messages received by the Allard Chrysler Action Group after the momentous event:
"The culmination of a marvellous set of achievements upon achievements; something you and the entire ACAG group have
continuously been doing since 2007. Congratulations are not enough and I would fully expect that Sydney would have had
plenty of superlatives to say" (Gavin Allard, Grandson of Sydney Allard)
"Awesome! I got the goosebumps.... So very proud! This is historic... Love, love, love it! I knew it would happen, no doubt
in my mind! I am so proud to be a member of this organisation... Hold your heads high. That was a huge endeavour"
(Traci Hrudka, Chair Quarter Mile Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio)
"Congratulations, and thanks to you and everyone that's helped to put this awesome piece of drag racing history back
into running condition" (Carl Olson, Former NHRA Vice President and FIA Drag Racing Commission Chair, California)
"Just wow again. Thank you so much. Such an important motor car now in operating condition. Just Brilliant. Well
done all of those involved over the years" (Doug Hill, Museum Manager and Lord Montagu's Chief Engineer, National
Motor Museum, Beaulieu)
"Brian that is fab-u-lous! I found it very emotional watching the videos. You and the guys must be extremely proud.
Thank you very much" (Andrea Bishop, Director of Collections, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu)
"Well done to all of you. Wish I could have seen it myself. Dad would have been pleased to hear and see it too"
(Alex Hume, son of Sydney Allard's Chief Engineer the late John Hume)
"You've done it! CONGRATULATIONS! Good show, all round" (Jon Lundberg, legendary American drag racing commentator,
California)
Old guys rule! 20th July: Mike Matthews writes that at Dragstalgia he witnessed the dream we all had in the 1970s:
An enormous field of quality race cars, quality rods and customs on show and racing. It had the enthusiasm and atmosphere which those of us
around in the 1970s dreamed about. Rodders and racers comparing ideas, superb organisation and racing in a great facility with Darryl and Colin
in the Tower getting the whole thing right. Thanks Brian Taylor and Stu Bradbury who I believe conceived and to Keith Bartlett who backed it.
How right was it? As a Custom Car ad rep in 1972, the Pod was Scene Central and CC was its mouthpiece. Enthusiasm was the E
we partied on. By chance I got a bit part at various race venues, the CC and Rod and Custom Shows to promote that. We all
dreamed the scene would get bigger and better. It sure got bigger, but splits in clubs, venues and promoters made you wonder whether it was
better, for race and rods separated and did their own thing. Lots of folks just drifted away.
I think this weekend righted all that. Sure, both have separate identities, but together they make a hell of a show and loads of the old faces
I saw there want more of the same please. Hats off to Brian, Stu and Keith. To quote the shirt a lot of folks wore: "Old guys rule".
Happy 75th Arthur! 20th July: Nigel Taylor writes that Arthur Bonner, builder of the Detroit Spinner Prefect back in the
1970s, turns seventy five today:
Detroit Spinner sponsors,supporters and friends would like to wish Arthur a very Happy Birthday and appreciate all the recent work
which he has put in to get his car back out this year.
Arthur brought the Prefect for £20 many years ago and built the whole car in his back garden, then he campaigned it at Blackbushe,
Long Marston and Santa Pod as well as a few others, including abroad, for many years. Arthur rolled the car at Long Marston a few years
later and ended up building a new chassis to return yet again under the Pontiac power.
The car was then sat up in Arthur's shed at the bottom of his garden for twenty years until Detroit Spinner Racing sponsors got together
to fund its return in 2014 with Arthur still in the driving seat (most of the time). His enthusiasm has been faultless!
In 2015 the Pontiac engine let go, and a move to a Dart motor was decided. We were all ready to go with the new motor at the start of this
year when a problem occured which meant we had to change the crank, cam, lifters etc. Again Arthur's work was faultless but as we rushed
to get ready for Dragstagia we had it running all spot on, then one gasket let us down. So we had to pull out to prevent wrecking the motor.
We now aim for the NSRA Hot Rod Drags with Arthur back at the wheel. Dedicated hard working drag racing nut Mr Bonner... Happy Birthday
top man! You know you're still twenty one years old when you're behind the wheel of your old car and it will happen again very soon. Thanks
again to everyone who has been involved in the project.
The provisional running orders are now available and can be checked out by
clicking here or by clicking on the
John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Please note as ever that running orders are subject to
change due to weather or track conditions or for any other reason deemed necessary by race officials.
No race vehicle motors are to be fired up before 09:00 or after 20:00 on any day of the event. Before 09:00 vehicles should
be pushed or towed to Scrutineering, not driven. Non-observation of curfew will result in exclusion from the event.
Junior Dragster and Junior Funny Car racers please remember the new rule about pushing vehicles back to the pits once through the arch beside
Scrutineering.
As well being made by pit marshals and via the PA, class call-outs will also be made on-line via App.net, which is available on both the App
Store for iPhone and the Play Store for Android. To receive class call-outs on smartphone download App.net, follow the instructions to create an account,
then search for and follow the SPRC channel. You will then start to receive notifications as messages are sent. It is recommended that you download
the app and follow the SPRC account prior to the event so that you start to receive notifications for the first round of qualifying.
The app relies on mobile network or wi-fi so you will need some kind of connection throughout the weekend for it to work.
Dragstalgia results. 19th July: Congratulations to the winners of the classes contested at the weekend's Dragstalgia
at Santa Pod Raceway:
Cannonball: Ramon van der Weurf 6.4263/212.09 def. Nick Davies 6.6121/223.40
Cannonball 3rd-4th: Bob Glassup 7.5356/162.47 def. Jim Draper 8.8667/113.63
Slingshot Showdown: Joe Bond 6.7571/210.82 def. Jon Webster 9.0892/80.51
Nostalgia Super Stock: Lee Chiles (11.21) 11.1781/121.39 def. Nic Williams (9.98) 9.9687/129.89 DQ red
Gasser Circus:Ray Turner (12.50) 12.6144/104.67 def. Ray Irish (11.39) 11.3617/116.71 DQ red
Outlaw Anglia: Jedd Guy 8.0177/164.85 def. Cliff Griffin no time broke
Wild Bunch Top 4: Alan Loten, Keith Crampton, Liz Malcolm, Terry Clifford
We await the Outlaw Street result.
Visiting firemen Ron Hope and Randy Bradford in the Rat Trap and Bradfords Fiat Fuel Altereds were not afraid to take on the local boys
and the results of those races were:
Ramon van der Weurf 64327/208.86 def. Ron Hope 7.6830/133.62
Nick Davies 6.7126/223.29 def. Randy Bradford 6.5059/219.30
Randy Bradford 6.4063/234.08 def. Ramon van der Weurf 6.4893/208.02 (win margin 0.0009 seconds, 3.7 inches)
Nick Davies 6.5992/220.16 def. Ron Hope 6.5378/231.66
Final Fuel Altered match race: Randy Bradford 6.5278/220.06 def. Ron Hope 6.5765/223.66
Congratulations to Pro ET racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor
Nic
Williams who took the £75 Eurodragster.com / Bad Habit Racing Perfect Light Award with a 0.0004 Reaction
Time in Nostalgia Super Stock eliminations. Congratulations also to the Special Award winners:
Low ET: 6.1868 seconds, Steph Milam, Cannonball
Best Appearing Car: Ian Merryweather, Banzai altered
Moment of the Weekend: Phil Moules and Richard Warburton, Willys Wars
Bike Moment of the Meeting: The return to the track of Pegasus
Best Appearing Team: Roy Wilding, Supercharged Outlaws slingshot
Best Burnout: Andy Hadfield Twister, Supercharged Outlaws
Best Wheelie: Gerry Treit, Willys Wars
Best Driving Job: Matt Cooper, Outlaw Anglia
Best Back-up Girl: Alison, Raphael Caruso Strudel Outlaw Flat Four
Spirit of Dragstalgia: Claire Meaddows, Wild Bunch Race Co-ordinator
The first recipient of the Spirit of '76 Award posted by Peter Crane and Santa Pod Raceway was British Drag Racing Hall
of Fame Chair Stu Bradbury to whom congratulations.
Congratulations are also due to Joe Bond who reset the best for a British-built blown-alcohol slingshot at 6.692 seconds,
to the Allard Chrysler Action Group for the return to the track under its own power of the Allard Chrysler Dragster (left),
and to UK legends and British Drag Racing Hall of Fame members Harold Bull and Ken Cooper for taking to the track in their slingshots.
You can check out our John Woolfe Racing-sponsored pit notes and
photo galleries by clicking
here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side
of any Eurodragster.com page, and courtesy of Andy Marrs of TSI Timers Europe you can check out the
official timing data by clicking here
or by clicking on the Timing Data link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.
Finally on a domestic matter we would like to thank everyone who got in touch about or commented on the
Event Coverage and Webster Race
Engineering / Nimbus Motorsport webcast
(which attracted 18,000 viewers). The new DowntimeCam featuring the Nitro FM studio proved very popular,
even when it was Oz on camera, and will now be a regular feature should there be downtime. Tog would also
like to say a personal Thank You to Kirstie, Simon and Julian for their unceasing hard work on photography
and pit notes throughout the three days of the event.
James Forster of Santa Pod Raceway writes: "I'd like to say a massive Thanks to everyone involved with Dragstalgia
including all the SPR staff and marshals. Every single role is crucial in keeping an event running so thanks to everyone who put in
a shift in some pretty tough conditions. I'd also like to thank all of the racers and teams who pull out all the stops for this event every single year,
it's often the little touches like dressing up that make all the difference and you guys really do put on one hell of a show. My only request would
be for more of the same for next year please!"
Swift snippets. 19th July: Michelle, Jay, mum, dad and everyone at Orange Pop Racing asked us to say a big Happy Birthday to UK Outlaw Anglia racer
Simon Barlow. "Happy Birthday Simon, have a fantastic day", they say.
Editor's note: Apologies for the lack of a news update yesterday; your News Editor had to deal with an emergency in his non-racing life. Don't fret,
it's not health- or maritally-related. Please keep the news coming to
[email protected] and we'll catch up on the next
news update.
Our coverage will consist of Simon's pit notes updated throughout each day of the event and a gallery of Kirstie's and Julian's photographs
at the end of each day. The Webster Race
Engineering / Nimbus Motorsport webcast will broadcast live video and
commentary / Nitro FM audio so long as the track is open each day, commencing with today's Run What You Brung which is scheduled to start at
12:00 midday. Thanks to Doyousee.me for the provision of streaming services. Please
ensure that you read, understand and accept the conditions on the webcam landing page before clicking through to the broadcast.
You can check out our Dragstalgia Event Index, which also includes links to the official entry list and provisional running orders,
by clicking
here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com
page.
Swift snippets. 17th July: Geoff Stilwell writes on behalf of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame to wish a very Happy 45th
Wedding Anniversary to Ron and Dianne Hope. Dianne is with Ron at Santa Pod Raceway this weekend. A very Happy Anniversary
to you guys.
Steve says that the dress code is "Loud. No black, no flowers, all donations to the Cats' Protection Gosport. The undertakers are Freemantle and their phone number
is 07769 314741.
"All are invited to a get-together for food and DRINKS at the Solent Hotel and Spa, Rookery Avenue, Whiteley, Fareham PO15 7AJ
(map). Their phone number is 01489 880000."
British Drag Racing Hall of Fame 2016. 16th July: The British Drag
Racing Hall Of Fame in association with US Automotive
continues into its tenth successful year and is pleased to announce the 2016 intake. Nominees are eligible by
dint of having raced, owned, designed, built, maintained, prepared, promoted, officiated, supported or
taken part in British drag racing in any capacity, having been involved for at least twenty years, or having made
a significant and recognisable contribution to the sport.
The 2016 inductees are:
PAULA MARSHALLProfile by Tog
Paula Marshall became interested in drag racing in 1986, attending races with a group of family and friends including then-boyfriend
Ian Marshall whom she later married. Paula and Ian soon volunteered to work at events at Santa Pod Raceway and starting in 1989
Paula filled almost every possible role at the track, from working in the Signing On office at both race events and Run What You Brungs,
to marshalling in the pairing lanes and collection area, to working on the fire crew. She started to race at the 1996 Cannonball at Santa
Pod Raceway, making test runs in Jon Webster's Comet before driving her own car, the Highlander Camaro, in Super Gas.
In 1998 Paula became Secretary of Santa Pod Racers Club. At that point she had no experience of the organisation of UK and European
Championship events but she was a quick learner and equally quickly earned the respect of racers and authorities both for her efficiency
and for a no-nonsense approach which became legendary. In a sport in which many people think that they know everything, Paula genuinely
did know everything. Whether obscure questions about rules, or queries from UK racers wishing to compete overseas or overseas racers
wishing to compete here, Paula knew the form and was always ready to inform, to assist, and to deliver.
Paula played a leading role in the formation of the current UK National Drag Racing Championship, whose first season was contested in 1999,
forging links between Clubs whose relationship had historically been uneasy. The UK National Championship is administered by Santa Pod Racers
Club and as well as working on regulations and paperwork on behalf of both SPRC and APIRA, she also organised the annual UK National
Championships Dinner Dance. She was one of the first to realise the potential of the internet and in 1999 set a precedent for providing event
entry lists and notices to racers for publication on-line.
Paula continued to race until the end of the 2000 season before stepping out of the car to have daughter Holley, who now races and who also
assists Ian both with SPRC administration and marshalling at race events. Paula returned to the track when Holley was a few years old to contest
a few events in Super Modified before finally hanging up her firesuit and concentrating on her duties as Club Secretary.
Paula was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2011, and although she faced up to the disease with her characteristic toughness she passed away on the
evening of 6th January 2013. There were tributes from all over the planet to the Club Secretary, the racer, the wife, the mother, the daughter, the
sister, and the friend. The sport as a whole in the UK and Europe, and all of us as individuals, will be forever in debt to Paula Marshall for her hard
work, for her friendship, and for the lifetime of dedication and service to the sport for which she is inducted into the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame.
ROB LOARINGProfile by Simon Groves
Rob Loaring is one of the most versatile and accomplished engineers in European drag racing. Working as ICE Automotive from premises at Silverstone,
he has won six UK Pro Modified Championships as Crew Chief or tuner, created a highly-respected engine building business, fostered the introduction of
new class regulations into the sport in the UK and built and run some of the sport's best performing and spectacular race cars.
Rob was in his late teens when he first ventured to Santa Pod with the Draper Brothers, carrying out minor roles on their first few cars. He then acquired
a dragster from them which became his grounding as a Crew Chief and tuner.
In the mid-eighties Rob made the momentous decision to work in drag racing for a living. The name ICE Automotive was coined as it was a suitable
length to place on his customers' hood scoops and fenders. The initials stand for Internal Combustion Engine. Pro Modified had just started by 1988
and Rob had an opportunity to work with Tim Cook on his '56 Chevy and, later, a smaller '55 Chevy. The class' technology was growing quickly, albeit
solely with nitrous engines, and the pair won winning the Championship in 1990 and 1991. Rob then joined with Tony Rose, who in July 1993 ran the
first six-second pass by a European doorslammer, for two years. Subsequently they both took the 1994 Pro Mod Championship. A further collaboration,
with Dave Mingay in 1995, gave Rob his fourth Pro Mod title.
Rob teamed up with current business partner Nick Davies in 1997, the pair winning the Championship in 1999 and 2000 with Nick driving. He drew up
plans for a heads-up doorslammer class which would be more affordable and yet be highly competitive - Super Modified. The class was an instant hit
and fields of eight cars were common during its ten-year reign.
During recent years Rob has developed turbo engines for Pro Mod and Street Eliminator and built the iconic Havoc Altered, which he and Nick
memorably raced against the legendary US Fuel Altered Pure Hell at Santa Pod Raceway's 2014 Dragstalgia. Rob also turned his attention to
Nostalgia Funny Cars and built the superb Apache for Tim Garlick and Perry Antoniou, and also found time to help with the recent restoration
work on the Allard Chrysler dragster.
It is for his continued determination to pursue engineering excellence and influence drag racing's development in the UK, along with his willingness to help
others that Rob Loaring is being inducted into the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame.
SANTA POD RACEWAYProfile by Robin Jackson
The history of Santa Pod Raceway began when John Bennett announced plans to establish a permanent drag strip on Podington airfield, near Wellingborough
at the British Hot Rod Association's 1965 Annual Meeting. A new company, National Dragways Ltd, leased part of the airfield and operated it as Santa Pod
Raceway – "Santa" to evoke visions of Santa Ana, scene of California's first commercial drag race in 1950, and "Pod" for Podington. The founding directors
were Bennett, Bob and Roy Phelps, Ted Peddle and landowner Ernie Braddock.
Staging its first event on Easter Monday 11th April 1966, it was the first permanent drag strip sited anywhere in Europe. For the first two seasons, the start
line stood close to where today's finish line is located, the current track layout being completed at the start of 1968. It is impossible to overstate the importance
of Santa Pod to the history of British drag racing, and arguably European drag racing as well. To every UK legend of the sport, Santa Pod has been the cradle.
And visitors from the homeland of drag racing have been in evidence from the beginning.
In June 1966 a team billed as the American Commandos headlined one of the earliest meetings. Led by Al Eckstrand it included the Ultra-Sonic AA/Fuel
Dragster driven by Bud Barnes plus the eccentric biker EJ Potter, The Michigan Madman. Bud returned in 1967. Since then, the numerous American luminaries to
have graced the track have included Don Schumacher and Paula Murphy, who together gave Britain its first, thrilling experience of full-tilt US Funny Cars in 1973.
Don Garlits raced at Santa Pod in 1976 and 1977. Other American stars include Ken Annesley, Marion Owens, T C Christenson and Danny Johnson on their bikes;
Sammy Miller and Al Eierdam with their rockets; Raymond Beadle, Gordie Bonin, Tony Nancy, Frank Hawley, Tommy Johnson Jnr, Darryl Gwynn, Leroy Chadderton,
Dale Emery, Gene Snow, Don Prudhomme and Al Segrini with their fuel dragsters and Funny Cars. And let's not forget Melanie Troxel in her Pro Mod. Scandinavian
racers became a regular and valued addition to the ranks as early as 1970. At this year's FIA / FIM Main Event, no fewer than sixteen continental European countries
were represented. Entrants from further afield have ranged from South African Arthur Christie who raced a fuel dragster on the track in 1971, to 2016's début
European appearance of a competitor from the thriving Arabian Drag Racing League, Pro Mod racer Hussain al Shammari of Kuwait.
Santa Pod Raceway has been run by three distinct management teams in its half-century of history. After John Bennett stood down in 1969, the Phelps family assumed full
control, with Roy Phelps accepting sole charge after father Bob retired in 1983. Don Brister and Bo Meftah acquired the venue in 1989 and the current team, led by
Keith Bartlett, took over in 1996. For fifty years of continuous, and sometimes challenging, operation Santa Pod Raceway has served as the bedrock and the heartland
of drag racing in Europe. It is for this signal and abiding achievement that Santa Pod Raceway is inducted into the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame.
BOB KEITHProfile by Brian Taylor
Although perhaps not so well-known as some American drag racers, semi-professional Bob Keith played an instrumental role in establishing the sport in
Great Britain. But his drag racing exploits started like many Californians back in the day when his father gave him a cherry 1940 Ford as his 1955
graduation present. That led to the next 20 years of his life being spent at drag strips across the USA driving a variety of vehicles.
His influence on drag racing across the globe leaped to a different level when in the early 1960s he became one of the first American drag racers to
contact Sydney Allard in the UK after reading about his exploits in developing the Allard Chrysler in American magazines.
Regular correspondence (hand-written letters in those days) resulted in Sydney insisting that Bob be included in the National Hot Rod Association
team that launched the sport in the UK during the 1964 Allard-promoted six-race Drag Festival. Still just semi-professional, but now with a blown
Small Block Chevy motor in a Tommy Ivo chassis and called Dos Palmas, he found himself in the company of America's top drag racing stars
of the era. What a thrill.
He sold his car to a UK team, helping them learn the techniques to get the power to the ground. The machine went on to play an important role in
establishing drag racing in the UK during the next few years under the name Asmodeus, then in the hands of American Bill Weichelt who took
the dragster back to the USA. Bob managed to track down this car in later years and Ray Evernham financed its restoration to original condition.
Bob captained the American team that raced at Blackbushe and Woodvale in the 1965 Drag Festival. By this time the Small Block had been replaced
with a blown Chrysler in a Kent Fuller chassis. The following year, with a Big Block Chevy, Bob captained a team which visited Australia. This car too
has been recreated and Bob is recognised as playing an important role in developing drag racing in Australia. He met his wife Lee there and they married
in 1967.
Bob kept in contact with many UK pioneers during the years that followed and returned to the country several times. He was very involved in the research
for Crazy Horses – The history of British Drag Racing. Sadly he passed away during the summer of 2015, but he remembered the period between
1964 and 1966 as the highlight of his career. It is for his involvement in launching drag racing into the UK in 1964 and 1965 that Bob is being inducted into
the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame.
Members of the Hall of Fame receive a 'Bootsie', a trophy encapsulating an image of the late Allan 'Bootsie'
Herridge, a man who put so much into British drag racing, together with an exclusive commemorative pin. They
join the élite list of inductees from previous years and will be listed on the official British Drag Racing Hall of Fame web site
which you can view by
clicking here or by clicking on the British
Hall of Fame link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.
The Hall of Fame trophies will be presented at the
Gala Awards Dinner at the Sheraton Skyline Hotel, Heathrow on 19th November. Ticket prices for the 2016 BDRHoF Gala Awards Dinner remain as
last year at £60 per person. Corporate tables of ten are available at £580. More details are available by
clicking
here. For advance booking of tickets contact [email protected] or telephone Stu
Bradbury on 01933 279102
At first glance the picture below left seems to show a slingshot with the top of the motor yet to
be installed, yet look closer at the picture below right and you will see that that the complete
engine is in place - that engine being a Rolls Royce Gem turbine previously used to power a Lynx
helicopter.
"I got the inspiration from Tim Arfons' Green Monster 19", Matt told Eurodragster.com. "I fancied
doing something different and I saw that car. I was having a slingshot built for my fiftieth birthday so
I asked Bill Felstead to modify it to accommodate the turbine. And I told him that he had six weeks to do
it! Bill had to rebuild the car. He saved the safety cell but had to extend the wheelbase to 220 inches.
"The Gem makes up to 1200 horsepower and turns a gearbox which can turn an axle. We are in the process of
modifying a TH400, if that works then we'll use a Powerglide to get a reduction in first gear. The rear
axle is a Ford nine-inch. The air intake is in front of me, i.e. at the back, and the huge exhaust is at
the front! I am talking to Roger Goring about installing a flame show on the exhaust."
The dragster, named The Fugitive - "Wanted for crimes against the piston engine" - has been started
once so far and testing will commence shortly, before a planned visit to the NitrOlympX. "To get it off the
start line you idle it to sixty per cent holding it on the brake, bring the throttle up until it won't hold
and then you have to launch!", said Matt. "Tim Arfons runs direct drive but it doesn't sixty foot. On paper
the car should run in the sevens but we are looking for eights to start with."
You will be able to take a look at The Fugitive on display at this weekend's Dragstalgia at Santa Pod
Raceway where Matt will also be running his Outlaw Rolls Royce which is now toting a twin-turbo 711 ci motor.
Matt asked us to thank Bill Felstead for building the car, Nigel Storer of Precious Metals for sponsorship
and help, Lee Revill, Dave Reed, Christian Carlo, and his long-suffering wife and daughters Danielle, Stevie
Jane and Summer Louise.
NitrOlympX: Important racer notice. 14th July:NitrOlympX Race
Director Jerry Lackey has been in touch with an important message for racers intending to compete in
Super Pro ET, Pro ET and Junior Dragster at that event:
Although we have not enforced the clause (in German and English) in our yearly invitations for the last three seasons, we must ask that all
racers in Super Pro ET, Pro ET and Junior Dragster submit two time slips from events this season. This is due to the tremendous number
of entries we have received to date.
As you all know, the NitrOlympX is not a four day event and in order to stick to our very tight schedule,we must limit the numbers in the
three largest sportsman classes. We use your time slips to choose those who run closest to their given index in order to give our spectators the
best field of cars in these classes.
If you have already sent in your entry form but did not read the clause in the invitation then please send your time slips by the fastest possible
method to ensure that they arrive by the closing date of Monday 25th July. You may use time slips from the same event if you do not have an
assortment from several events.
I will be attending Dragstalgia this weekend until about 14:00 on Sunday so you may want to give me your time slips direct, or even give me
your time slips from Dragstalgia.
All-Star autographs. 14th July: All-star autograph sessions during Dragstalgia
will afford drag racing enthusiasts an opportunity to meet some of the sport's past heroes and heroines, and will maintain the event's on-track
transatlantic flavour.
The autograph sessions will feature two significant figures from American drag racing history. The name Tom Hoover will also spark happy
memories for British fans from the 1980s. The visiting US Funny Car star and his Showtime cars were a Santa Pod fixture throughout
that decade and his legacy lives on with today's Bob Jarrett / John Spuffard Showtime entry. Joining Tom Hoover on Saturday only is
Bob Muravez, the legendary Top Gas Dragster racer of the 1960s, notably at the wheel of John Peters' twin-engined Freight Train,
and nowadays an occasional campaigner on America's Nostalgia drag racing scene. Famously, many of Muravez's Top Gas victories were
registered to his nom de guerre, Floyd Lippencotte Jr, after severe parental disapproval of his burgeoning racing career obliged him to adopt
a pseudonym.
Alongside the two Americans, important names from Britain's drag racing past are expected to include Gerry Andrews, Allan Bates (Sunday
only), Harold Bull, Russ Carpenter, Peter Crane, Roz Prior, Bill Sherratt and Brian Sparrow.
The autograph sessions are scheduled for 1:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday and will take place in the
British Drag Racing Hall of Fame marquee located near Santa Pod's
pitside grandstand. The marquee also houses a display of historic and Nostalgia drag racing vehicles, with Hall of Fame managers on hand
to explain the organisation's aims and activities.
The British Drag Racing Hall of Fame was founded in 2006 to recognise and celebrate the contributions of individuals and organisations
central to the sport's UK history. This year's roster of new inductees will be announced during Dragstalgia here on Eurodragster.com at
tomorrow / midnight Friday/Saturday. Since 2014, the induction ceremony has taken place during the Hall of Fame's black-tie Gala Awards
Dinner, to be held this year on Saturday 19th November at the Sheraton Skyline Hotel, Heathrow Airport. Further news about the Hall of
Fame, and information on obtaining Gala tickets, can be found at
www.britishdragracinghof.co.uk.
Fellow Travellers. 14th July: UK Wild Bunch racer Bob Hawkins always knew that Dragstalgia was going to
be a busy time for the Time Traveller team:
For the first time ever we've got two blown alky slingshots entered for a meeting. Young gun Tom Hawkins will be making his and the
new blown Time Traveller 1's competition début with the awesome Wild Bunch. As for myself, I'm going heads up with Time
Traveller 2 in Dragstalgia's first ever Slingshot Showdown.
I'm a bundle of nerves already! It was touch and go if we would be ready in time. A huge amount of work was needed to rebuild our Thunder Mouse
434 ci motor which had hydraulicked earlier this year. However, at last, we're good to go and we can't wait! A huge Thank You goes out to Crew
Chief Dave Williams and all of our crew, especially my brother Ted, for all their efforts. We wouldn't even be there without you guys.
To all: good luck, go fast and stay safe.
The Empire strikes back. 13th July:Havoc Fuel Altered pilot Nick Davies has been in touch prompted
by fellow Fuel Altered racer Ron Hope's comments in Monday's news
update. Before Nick gets to this week's Dragstalgia
he has some background:
At Dragstalgia in 2014, owing to unfortunate circumstances the Havoc Austin Bantam was given the opportunity to run with the world-famous
Pure Hell Bantam of Rich Guasco, driven by Brian Hope of the Rat Trap Hope family. It transpired that for the Havoc team it was
one of those runs that you get now and again when everything seems to come together... everything, that is, except the fact that the car in the other
lane drove off into the distance in the back half of the track. Who actually won the race that day was academic. The extra power that Pure Hell
had was not.
"Come on back, and we'll put it on fuel" was the adrenaline-fuelled offer to the Hope family from the Havoc team as a superficial incentive to
try to get a re-run of that extraordinary afternoon. Roll the clock on eighteen months and a phone call from the Santa Pod executive: "Remember
what you said? Well, they're coming!"
So, instead of dropping the compression and changing the blower, out went the Chevy and in went the Hemi Chrysler Donovan which had served
so well in the Chaos altered, with a number of modifications. Limited testing has proven so far so good, now here we are again at Dragstalgia.
It goes without saying that thanks are due to Ron and Brian Hope and to Stuart Bassett for coming back and giving us the incentive to make the
switch, added to the carrot of a potential world tour of our own. Thanks also to Santa Pod Raceway and to Randy Bradford for making the 50th Anniversary
meeting one to look forward to with great anticipation.
It only remains to be said to Ron Hope that we appreciate the tip about the nitro percentage. We really hadn't appreciated that you could run more than 100%.
Oh, you thought we could run that quickly in testing on a lower percentage? That's a big compliment! Remember we're the new boys here, so go easy
on us my friend. That having been said we are on our home track, with home support, so when you unload everything just make sure you've both
packed your A-game. Because, if everything goes to plan, you're gonna need it...
Dragstalgia: The Ever-Presents. 13th July: Eurodragster.com Pit Reporter Simon has been working hard researching and identifying potential Event Coverage victims
for this weekend's Dragstalgia
at Santa Pod Raceway, and made a couple of interesting discoveries along the way:
Looking at the entry list, there are eighty eight racers making their Dragstalgia on-track début at this year's event. And there are no less
than eighteen racers who, assuming that they sign on this weekend, will have attended all six runnings of Dragstalgia. The Dragstalgia
Ever-Present List is:
Joe Bond
Mark Bracking
Keith Crampton
Cliff Griffin
Andy Hadfield
Bob Hawkins
John Hobbs
Alan Loten
Clive Mechaell
Nervous Nick
John Reeve
Dick Sharp
Ian Turburville
Ray Turner
Rob Tyrrell
Paul Watts
Steve Wells
Nic Williams
You will be able to check out Simon's Dragstalgia pit notes as well as Kirstie's and Julian's daily galleries, the
Webster Race
Engineering / Nimbus Motorsport webcam, and right now links
to Santa Pod Raceway's official entry list and provisional running orders, on our John Woolfe Racing-sponsored
Dragstalgia Event Coverage 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.
A Perfect bonus for Dragstalgia. 13th July: We are very pleased to announce that Cath and Tig Napier of the UK's Bad Habit Racing Pro ET team, who sponsor the
Eurodragster.com / Bad Habit Racing Perfect Light Award, have again requested that we post the Award at this weekend's Dragstalgia at Santa Pod Raceway.
This weekend's Eurodragster.com/Bad Habit Racing Perfect Light Award has been increased to £75 after it went unclaimed at the SPRC
Summernationals, and will be paid in cash to the first person at this weekend's event to record a Reaction Time of 0.000 seconds.
The Perfect Light Award is available to all, whether in the organised classes or Run What You Brung, but will only be
awarded for the first Perfect Light of the event. If not won this weekend then the Award will be increased to £100 for next week's Bug Jam
at Santa Pod Raceway; if it is won then it will be reset to £50 for Bug Jam.
Decals are not mandatory for the Perfect Light Award but we would appreciate it if Eurodragster.com decals are carried, although we understand that
this may not be possible on period-correct vehicles. Eurodragster.com decals will be available in the Signing On office from Friday morning or from
the Eurodragster.com office in Race Control (entry via Spectator Bank side stairs only).
Russia's EDRS début. 13th July: The weekend's rained-out FHRA Nitro Nationals at Alastaro made history as the first European series race
with a Russian participant.
Russia's current national ET and speed record holder Dmitry Samorukov of the SMP Racing / Dragtimes team took #1 qualifying spot in Top Doorslammers, part of the European Drag Racing Series,
with a 4.128/270.69 kmh over the eighth mile. Dmity's Dodge Viper DT is Russia's quickest and fastest car and participates in 2016 Russian Drag Racing Championship. Famous driver and tuner Adam
Flamholc and the Flamholc Racing team are responsible for the preparation of the race car for national and international competitions.
"All of the cars ran as we hoped during qualifying except for Mats Eriksson's car", says tuner Adam Flamholc. "David Vegter qualified number two in Pro Mod, Thomas Stiefel number four, Mats number
eight, Håkan Persson number nine and Dmitry as number one in his Top Doorslammer!
"In the first round of eliminations we finally got Mats' car to go, and he won with low ET of the round. David and Thomas also turned on the win-light. Unfortunately it started to rain just after Pro Mod
ran, and they decided to cancel the event. So Dmitry never made any runs on Sunday, but I'm very satisfied with both his and the whole team's performance.
"Now I have one weekend off, then its time for my son Mattias and daughter Isabell to run their Junior Dragsters in Malmo."
Boot the Street Racer Champion. 13th July: Chris Murty writes that the The 39th Annual Street Racer Championship took place at
York Raceway on 3rd July and that a large field of passionate and enthusiastic racers competed for the £1000 winner-takes-all
prize:
Regular PDRC Championship racing took place on the Saturday of the race weekend with the Sunday now dedicated to the Street Racer Championship for the second year running, in response to the
re-emerging desire and commitment shown by racers to achieve the title Street Racer Champion. Such is the allure of the Street Racer Championship that not only had racers worked hard before the
event but on Saturday night and Sunday morning the pits were alive with racers toiling on their cars to ensure they had the best shot at the title. Some racers made small tweaks, whilst others went as far
as a near-complete engine rebuild.
The Street Racer Championship final was as always the last run of the day, and as the finalists waited at the top of the pairing lanes racers and crews stopped what they were doing to join spectators to
watch. The finalists were Simon Boot in the big, black, blown Bootlegger Camaro and Ian Walley in his turbo small-block powered Cortina. Ian had experienced engine problems during the weekend
and had been running the car on a fairly safe tune in the mid-tens. He had qualified third and his experience as a drag racer saw him through the early rounds of racing and a semi-final bye into the final.
Simon, who was in strong nine-second form and had qualified number one, met previous Street Racer Champion Russ Pursley in his Small Block powered Dutton in his semi-final. Russ had achieved Low
ET of the event with a 9.94 in the previous round. Russ spun the tyres off the line but shortly afterwards Simon's Camaro shed its blower belt. Russ pedalled and charged after him but couldn't quite make it.
Simon's 10.82/126 was enough to cover Russ' closing 10.84/139.
As the two finalists took to the track in the deciding round Simon impressed the crowds with a huge rolling burnout, clearly demonstrating his intent, with Ian adopting a much more measured approach.
Would the blower belt stay on the Camaro? Would Ian take the plunge and add just a little more boost for the final? There was no long burndown in pre-stage, both drivers keen to get the race underway.
The cars left the line together but Simon had taken the early lead by sixty feet. He stretched the lead out all the way down the track, crossing the finish line ahead of Ian by several car lengths to take the
39th Street Racer Championship title.
As has become traditional, the finalists returned down the track to the start-line for the presentation of the winner's laurel, bubbly, prize money and huge trophy. Thanks to Street Racer Championship
sponsors Blue Bar Catering, The Turbo Shop, KC's Hot Rod'n'Race Shop, Performance Unlimited and the PDRC, and to Aford Awards, York Raceway's official trophy partner.
Smax scores a win. 13th July: Ex-pat UK Top Fuel Dragster racer Smax Smith and the Leverich family rode the wave from Grand Bend, where the team
recorded their first four-second quarters and a new best speed of 295 mph, to Smax' local track Cayuga Dragway where he took the win and reset his
PB ET. Smax recounts the tale of another successful weekend:
Gary and Bob drove to the track on Friday morning to meet Aidan, Jake and Josh who were ready to service the car from last weekend. Dan like me had to work his day job!
I forgot to mention in the last race report that when we hurt our block we had also cracked our crank and good friend Barry Paton let me take a crank out of his spare motor so
we could race against him last Sunday. We ween't going to run until 5:00 pm on Saturday so had plenty of time to build our freshly repaired block from Engine Technology and build a spare
pair of heads. Gary was still perfecting the tune up working with Aaron Grant to get more fuel in down track and fine tune our timing curve. We partied on Friday night with our local band
Doghouse Roses in the start line bar (yes, it really is on the start line) then called it a nite at 3:00 am ready for race day.
I mixed the nitro and I was ready, hoping to go over 300 mph. We raced terry haddock who to our delight brought over great friends Dave Bryant and his missus, and Lee Webb from the
Shockwave team who were helping Terry to run his Funny Car as well as his dragster! Dave was happy as I made him a cup of proper English tea. Aidan got the car to the startline
and got me dressed and strapped in ready to fire up in front of a capacity crowd. Aidan motioned me forward and dropped his hand for me start our fierce burnout.
Staged against Terry, I was away first and rocketed towards the quarter for the win but our blower belt broke at 1200 feet. So I was slowing but when Aidan and Ronan came to get me they
were screaming 4.84! 4.84! That's my best ever, I ran 4.88 in Norway twelve years ago, but the speed was 297 mph - slowing! We ran 4.11 to 1000 feet so probably a 4.79 at around 310
mph had the belt not broken. I also ran 260 mph to the eighth in 3.2 seconds! The crowd went wild as ours was now the quickest and fastest car.
We were all adrenaline fuelled for the late night run in hopefully better air. We also had Todd Paton again in the final, I wanted to beat him after he beat us last weekend, and I wanted to better my 303 mph
run at Santa Pod in 2003. Burned out, thanks to Audrey who did a stellar job backing us up in the cold trying not to choke on all the nitro fumes and also trying to follow Aidan's direction. But the crowd
loved her boots. Waited for Todd to pre-stage but they were having idling issues and took almost a minute to stage. If it had been a race I would have had to have staged and timed
them out as we were burning up too much nitro. I got the better reaction time and beat Todd to 1000 feet on a holeshot but then ran out of fuel and banged the burst panels. Coasted to the quarter with a win
of a 5.04 to his 5.07 at only 260 mph. We were still ecstatic and had won our local Nitro Nationals!
We went back to dance the night away in the start line bar with the Doghouse Roses again. Then back to our pits and lit a fire. My youngest Az is a DJ and brought big speakers so played away to over
forty people in our pit. Lee said he had a great time and I partied until 7:00 am while the kids carried on. A great weekend!
Web site updates. 13th July: Our good buddy Remco Scheelings has been in touch to let us know that day one, final qualifying, and elimination reports
for the EDRS Pro Motorcycle classes are available on the Drag Racing Europe Blog. You can check out the day one report by
clicking here,
the final qualifying report by clicking
here, and the elimination report by
clicking here.
Remco has also posted two FHRA Nitro Nationals reports on the Autosport.nl web site. As ever there is a race report
and an off-track report, both of which are excellent and well-illustrated for those who don't understand Dutch. You can check out Remco's race report by
clicking here and the
off-track report by clicking here.
Introducing the Fiat... 12th July: US Fuel Altered pilot Randy Bradford is excited about his first racing visit on this side of the Pond when the
Bradford Fiat Topolino appears at this weekend's Dragstalgia at Santa Pod
Raceway.
As we have not seen Randy on these shores before we asked him for some background on the car and team.
"The Bradford family started racing in 1946", he said. "Brad Bradford and his father ran roadsters at the dry lakes during the late 40s and early 50s.
In 1963 Randy Bradford (son) started racing with dad. The first Bradford and Son drag car was a 1940 Ford truck which was 327 Chevy powered. The next
race car was a 1955 Chevy C Gasser which was run 1963-1966. This was a very competitive car and won many trophies at local drag strips in Southern
California, and won a gold cup race at Fontana Raceway.
"Fuel Altered racing began in 1966 with the purchase of a car from Lee LeBaron. This car was powered by an injected 427 Chevy on nitro with best
times in 1967 being 8.60/178. The injected car was a giant killer and they were runner up at three Fuel Altered shows in a row at Orange County Raceway
and won many rounds at all the tracks. During late 1967, the local promoters of Fuel Altered shows put pressure on injected altereds to add superchargers
and so the Bradford Fiat complied. This was also a success as Fuel Altered racing was at its peak in southern California.
"Randy was given the opportunity to join the army during half of 1968 and all of 1969 returning to drive March 1970. While Randy was in the army, Frank
Harris drove for Brad and they were very successful winning three Fuel Altered meets in a row and many winning weekends during the year. They were runners
up for the Bakersfield Smokers Meet in March 1969 against the winner Pure Hell. 1969 and 1970 were interesting years as the Bradford Fiat was called
to run the East Coast tour with Pure Heaven, Rat Trap, Leroy Chadderton and Wild Willie Borsch. The team of Bradford & Son raced all over the
country from May to September each year. In 1969 the race car was re-powered with a 392 Chrysler and with the use of better tyres and slipper clutches the
Fiat kept competitive running a best of 7.06/209 winning a Fuel Altered show at Fremont.
"During 1972 it was obvious that the Fuel Altereds were fading and Funny Cars were taking over. Randy and Brad decided to build a Funny Car. This car was
started but never finished partly due to the commitments and demands of family.
"In 1999, Brad and Randy began building a new replica of the original Fuel Altered. The new car was built to modern safety specifications, keeping the
original classic look of the old car. The new car was completed Oct 2000 and first ran at the California Hot Rod Reunion.
"We now normally run between six and eight events a year from NHRA National events and Nostalgia events to match races with other Fuel Altereds and of course the California Hot Rod Reunion.
To date we have run a best of 6.34/229.74. This year is our fiftieth anniversary of running the car and I am the last active Fuel Altered driver who drove in the 1960s."
Randy said that the team have had good reports about Santa Pod Raceway and about the local resistance group. "I heard wonderful people, a great racing track and lots of fun", he said.
"We have seen and heard about Nick and the gang with Havoc and we are looking forward to a little international competition.
"To the fans I would say thanks for having us here. All of the crew and I want to meet and talk with everyone."
Randy asked us to say Thank You to sponsors Egge Machine (supply of engine parts for all types of antique motors), Riolo Racing Engines for advice and support, and his engine building shop
Bradford's Motorsports as well as to his crew for all the work they do to make it possible, his ovely wife Susan Bradford, and Bob, Joann and Rachel Parker.
Editor's note: We heard from Havoc Fuel Altered pilot Nick Davies after Ron Hope's can-tipping recommendation yesterday and you will be
able to read what Nick had to say on tomorrow's news update here on Eurodragster.com.
Swift snippets. 12th July: Many thanks to Ian Marshall for forwarding us the final version of the MSA Pro
Modified part of the entry list for the Mopar EuroNationals, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on
29th-31st July. You can check out the Mopar EuroNationals Pro Modified and Gearhead Garage UK Top Sportsman entry
lists by clicking here or by
clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.
Gearhead Garage UK Top Sportsman entry is still open and you can get the form from the
UK Top Sportsman
Facebook page, or contact Paul Marston by E-Mail at
[email protected] or on the phone on 07831 650230.
Good luck to Eire's own Junior Dragster racer Liam McDonald who is headed to Thunder Valley in Bristol, USA for the
Eastern Conference Finals Junior Dragster race. "We are proudly representing Santa Pod Raceway at this event spread over a week", says Graham McDonald. "Thanks to Darren Prentice for the large Santa
Pod 50th banner and a special Thank You to Halfscale Dragster for building Liam's car for this event". Graham promises more news to follow.
Darren Prentice writes that Santa Pod Raceway have fully replenished their stock of VP C16 race fuel and that it is waiting for racers in the Pod Shop at the track or pre-order at
www.santapodshop.com. "As part of our ongoing partnership with VP Racing Fuels we have a new
race fuel on offer, MS98L VP Vintage which is formulated for older vehicles which relied on lead for engine protection. VP Vintage is a leaded fuel with an octane rating of 98. It
contains no ethanol and offers extra protection against detonation. It has a shelf life of up to two years in its original sealed container. Santa Pod Raceway are offering VP Vintage in a one-time
deal of only £40 per 19L pail. When it's gone it's gone."
Timing and stats guru Andy Marrs of TSI Timers Europe
has updated his 'Spreadsheetosauruses' showing qualifying positions, results and round wins for all FIA Championship events after the
FHRA Nitro Nationals. Marrs' tables are available on the Champions' Champions page which you can check out by
clicking here or by clicking on the Champions' Champions link on
the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.
Extra cash for UK Top Sportsman. 12th July: The organisers of Gearhead Garage UK Top Sportsman are very proud to announce that, as in 2015, there will be an extra cash bonus
awarded to the winner of the Heads Up race. This extra prize money is over and above the cash which is usually awarded to the winner:
Once again we have entrepreneur businessman John Tebenham to thank. Due to his work schedule John simply cannot commit to competing at this time but he is prepared to
invest his hard-earned cash into furthering heads-up doorslammer drag racing in the UK. JT provides a service to Sportsman drag racing which few hear about, by investing in
its future. But without JT and the good work he does, and not just with us, the sport of drag racing would be the poorer.
The cash is in our account and ready to be awarded! Stay tuned to Eurodragster.com as there may well be another announcement regarding even more money.
Gearhead Garage UK Top Sportsman is held at the Mopar EuroNationals at Santa Pod Raceway on 29th-31st July and is the richest, toughest, no holds barred, no rules other than
safety, Heads Up and Fast Bracket, televised Sportsman doorslammer event of the season. Everyone is welcome and entry is still open. Looking at the
entry list so far, the event is still wide open with regard to whom
you would pick as a favourite. Neither Friday's Fast Bracket Race nor Saturday's and Sunday's Heads Up Race has ever had a repeat winner.
Many thanks to all of our investors and marketing partners: Gearhead Garage, JT, Kenny Coleman at EDA, Gary Hall and the Damn Yankees ACC, Drag Race Engineering, London
Road Tyres, Eurodragster.com, Santa Pod Raceway management and, last but by no means least, the organising committee of the Mighty Mopar EuroNationals inviting us and
and for hosting Gearhead Garage UK Top Sportsman.
Santa Pod Raceway's gates will be open to racers only between 09:00 and 20:00 sharp this Thursday (14th). Please do not
travel to the track if you can't make it before that time, as you won't be able to get in. Gates then reopen at 08:00 on Friday.
We would also like to make a plea to all racers to keep vehicles in the pits to an absolute minimum. We have an enormous entry and
we lose pit space due to the Big Top marquees being set up for Bug Jam. We will make space available for trailers outside the pits.
We would also like to request that those taking part only in the RWYB on Friday remove all of their vehicles from the pits and back
into the camp sites once racing has finished on Friday to ensure that there is enough space for other competitors.
Message of Hope. 11th July:Rat Trap Fuel Altered racer Ron Hope and the team
are looking forward to returning to Santa Pod Raceway for this weekend's Dragstalgia
and to renewing their acquaintance with the fans.
Rat Trap last appeared at Santa Pod Raceway in 2014 and as well as Dragstalgia is scheduled to appear at this year's FIA / FIM European Finals
and the NitrOlympX at Hockenheim. Since Ron's last racing visit to the UK the team have attended three events in New Zealand, an event in Newfoundland, several
events in Canada, and between twenty five and thirty events across the USA as well as finding time for Ron be named an Honoree at last year's NHRA Hot Rod Reunion. As well as appearances with
Rat Trap Ron and the team contest five or six events annually with their Bonneville Land Speed Cars.
"Our events take us literally around the world", Ron told Eurodragster.com. "This year, in addition to our appearances at Santa Pod, we will be appearing in Canada and Germany. The events in
Canada and Germany occur on the same day but we are able to run at both by fielding three identical cars. So I will be racing in Germany on the same day as my son Brian is racing in Canada.
At the end of this year, we will be shipping one of the cars to New Zealand for three events during the early months of 2017."
Appearing at Santa Pod is a dream come true for Ron. "I love the opportunity of meeting and seeing all of the British fans", he said. "I have told the Bradfords to expect a wonderful race course
and terrific fans. I am also love Santa Pod because it is an historic race track. Celebrating fifty years makes this event even more special to me. Rat Trap and Bradford's Fiat are also
celebrating fifty years this year. I have been driving the car continuously for the past twenty one years and the joy of driving it has never changed. I may pay a bit more attention to things now
than in years past, but the joy remains the same."
At Dragstalgia in 2014 the UK's own Nick Davies raced Havoc against Brian Hope in Pure Hell and Ron says that he would relish the chance to run against the Bantam especially since
he heard that it is now toting a Fuel-burning motor and that Nick, Rob Loaring and the team made a 6.599 early shut-off look easy at the SPRC Summernationals. "In addition to being competitors,
they are also true friends and we are excited at the possibility of racing them", he said. "The one piece of advice I would give to the Havoc team is that they should put a little more nitro in
the tank, because they will need it."
As well as to Santa Pod Raceway Ron asked us to say a big Thank You to Geoff Stilwell of Beech Underwriting and to Lucas Oil, and he had a final message for the fans. "We are very pleased to be
returning to this international race venue and we look forward to the opportunity of meeting as many fans as possible", he said. "As a side note, we are leaving it up to Eurodragster.com to
organise good weather for this event (OK Ron, leave it with us - Ed)."
Swift snippets. 11th July: We have a birthday on the Eurodragster.com team today (Monday): please join Tog, Simon and Julian in wishing a very Happy
Birthday to our Photographer and Sportsman ET racer Kirstie Tramm. We would also like to say Good Luck in her new job to Eurodragster.com Contributing
Photographer and Heaven & Hell Racing and Earsplittenloudenboomer team member Grace Roaf. Hope it all goes OK Grace.
Web site updates. 11th July: Continuing the Nostalgia theme as Dragstalgia approaches, Dick Parnham has again
updated his Flickr site this time with shots of Clive Skilton in Pro Fuel action in the early 1970s. You can check out Dick's
pictures at www.flickr.com/photos/dickparnhamdragracing.
Thanks to Lena Perés for letting us know that FIA Pro Modified and FIA Pro Stock were this weekend sponsored by Jarl Holm (right)
and Island Race Cars. Jarl runs the race car business which specialises in doorslammers
and sponsored the two classes with $500 to the #1 qualifier to promote Island Race Cars and Strange Engineering. You can read more on the
Drag Racing Europe
Blog together with a visit to the beach.
Dragstalgia's two-wheel stars. 10th July: Keith Lee has been in touch with a look at the veritable cornucopia in store for bike fans at next weekend's
Dragstalgia at Santa Pod Raceway:
This year's Dragstalgia brings even more new entries to what has developed into an amazing meeting to enjoy nostalgia drag racing.
It has been a fraught run-up for a number of competitors in the run-up to Dragstalgia, with John Hobbs suffering his biggest blow-up ever on Olympus, which
did massive engine and frame damage. Thanks to help from many friends around the world, be has somehow managed to rebuild with a week to spare, so the
bike can make the field alongside his other ride, the double Weslake Hobbit.
One notable thing about the bike entry is that so many of them are the original machinery that was campaigned all those years ago - and still ridden by the same
riders. Some may not be able to be blasted flat out any more due to scarcity of parts, but part of this event is about enjoying another chance - or even a first opportunity - to
see early icons of the sport under power once more.
Talking of early machines and riders, the Methamon outfit will be back again. Chris Illman will pilot the red Vincent as usual, but the passenger this year will be
someone special. Way back when Maurice Brierley raced this bike in the mid sixties, he would enlist the help of a young girl who was a popular passenger with a number
of quick sidecar racers of the day. Her name is Sheelagh Neal, and she will be in the chair again this weekend!
The National Motorcycle Museum has once again been very helpful in allowing two star exhibits of their amazing collection of British machinery to appear at the event.
Those who were at Santa Pod last year will remember seeing the best show and go bike of its era on display. Somehow, after some thirty four years, the team have actually
got the Pegasus double Norton running, and fingers crossed we might possibly see it out on track! Also on display from the museum will be the record-breaking
Super Nero blown Vincent raced that was raced by George Brown.
Please do make sure to take a trip to the Historic Marquee during the event. Among the bikes on show, I am very pleased that for the first time we will have the original
giant-killer Brian Chapman, with both Mighty Mouse and Super Mouse on display. Joining him will be the late 60s Two Faced double Triumph of
Pete Williams. Also of interest will be the first engine and transmission units specially built for drag racing in Europe, the Baskerville-Miller BM900. The sport is noted
for some wierd and unusual bikes, and my very own entry in that first category will be on display. After it disappeared for nearly thirty five years, I was reunited with
my unique Triumph powered scooter, and have frantically been trying to get it in a fit state to display. On the unusual front, Terry Homan will have DragWaye
back again, but following a testing issue the blown VW entry may only be a static display.
John Stein, author of the the huge book Motorcycle Drag Racing: A History, which covers the American side of the sport, has kindly donated two books as
prizes. Ian King will judge the award for the Best / Most Interesting Bike, and I will pick the Moment of the Event on track together with Tog of Eurodragster.com.
With the possibility of no less than seven double-engined bikes on the strip, plus the World's quickest single cylinder bike, it is going to be a brilliant weekend - however
many wheels you prefer to see racing!
2016 Russian Championship kicks off. 10th July: The first round of the Russian Drag Racing Championship, which
was held on 25th-26th June at the Krasnoye Koltso race track in Krasnoyarsk, was as usual unpredictable.
On Saturday the weather interfered in the competition whilst on Sunday the track record was reset and a
newcomer and citizen of Krasnoyarsk podiumed in front-wheel drive class. An attempt was also made to reset
the national records for the quarter mile.
The first day was absolutely ruined by the weather: it was raining all day long. According to the rules,
no races can be made in such weather conditions so race officials decided to postpone qualifying until
Sunday. The second day was sunny, so runs started at 9:00 am. In almost ideal conditions, Dmitry Samorukov
set a new track record in his Dodge Viper DT of 6.548 seconds, which was 1.4 seconds quicker than the previous
record set by Vadim Timashev last year. The terminal speed was 362.90 kmh which was also the best result on
this track. These results were also better than the current national record, which was also set by
Dmitry in October 2015. The Championship administration company Dragtimes has made a submission to Russian
Automobile Federation in order to ratify the record and if it is then Dmitry will become a two-time record-breaker
in Russia. Other participants also improved their results.
Although the first event is usually difficult for the drivers and
their cars: different parts usually breaks during the pre-season tests, so they have not enough time to change
them or repair. The same situation occurred again, which is why only sixteen of the twenty six entered racers
attended.
Although the number of participants was lower, the races were quite frantic. Two women met in the Front Wheel Drive
semi-final: Yana Kholodkovskaya (Sotova) against Oksana Yakovleva. The two Honda Civics started at the same time,
but Yana misshifted and lost time. Oksana's car got ahead and won the race. Artem Demikhov was Oksana's opponent
in the final: his VAZ 2108 got ahead of her Civic at mid track and he won the race with ET of 9.833. This was a very
good result for an FWD car in Russia, one of few to break ten seconds. Second place went to newcomer and citizen
of Krasnoyarsk Oksana Yakovleva, third place went to Yana Kholodkovskaya from Tolyatti.
Artem Demikhov, FWD winner said "I am very glad to win, it's my longtime dream. It took half a year to
prepare the car, one week to adjust the settings and we got a serious project in the end. And now my dreams
about the win came true at the first event of the RDRC. I was able to break ten seconds. It's a very good result
for the FWD cars in Russia, especially for Russian built cars. Now I dream of going into the low nines. I will
try my best to do that in the coming races. Thanks to my team, and thanks to Dragtimes who organise and host such
excellent events!"
FWD runner-up Oksana Yakovleva said: "From one side, it was very hard, from the other I haven't realised it yet,
as it was my début. To tell the truth, I wanted to win and I could do it. But I do not have enough experience.
I had few test runs, the first using only half power then more and more. I just cannot deal with such a car right now,
but my boss Igor Baranov, last year's FWD Champion, is helping me with everything. He explains to me all the details,
controls my performance. I want to brag a little: during today's tests, I was 0.3 seconds quicker than Igor. He was
very happy, as he thinks it's great when the pupil is better than the coach. And Igor is a very good coach. I am
pleased to get second place at my home track."
The most unpredictable results were in All Wheel Drive class. Alexander Albin was not able to start in the quarter
finals due to technical problems with his Nissan Skyline GT-R, whilst Stanislav Lunev's car broke in the semi-finals.
The second semi-final had no winners, as both Aleksey Krivolapov and Oleg Krokhin made false starts. As a result,
Dmitry Mandrikov (Subaru Impreza) won the first place almost without any effort. Third place went to Stanislav Lunev.
There was no runner-up due to the drivers' failures.
AWD winner Dmitry Mandrikov said "I have quite mixed feelings. On one hand happy to win, on the other it was easy
and without serious effort. Very experienced drivers are participating in our class and they make few mistakes.
All of them have a huge background, and they can do a lot. I am pleased to run against them. But today some cars
were broken, some of drivers made mistakes and we got first place without any fight. So, it was very important to
cope with the excitement. I did that. I hope that in the coming races we will have real competetition with our
opponents. I like to be intoxicated by racing, when you feel the real euphoria – the taste of the win is different
in this case. Expect this season to be interesting!"
The participants in Rear Wheel Drive also faced technical problems. The transmission of Andrey Mulenko's Chevrolet
Corvette Custom Turbo broke at the start in the semi-final against Aleksey Onopchenko (Toyota Chaser). In the second
semi-final, Dmitry Samorukov (Dodge Viper DT) was much faster than Denis Ponomarev (Nissan Silvia). According to the
cup system, Dmitry had to race for third place, but he won the run without any effort due to the Mulenko's broken
Corvette.
The final of Rear Wheel Drive made the audience nervous: technical problems could appear at any time even on a
Viper Pro Mod, or a driver could make a false start. It didn't happen; Samorukov took the green, but had to get off
the gas after first 200 metres due to the short shutdown area. The result was 6.850/256.95. Second place in RWD
went to Alexey Onopchenko and third to Denis Ponomarev.
Dmitry Samorukov, RWD class winner, said "I was aiming for the win in Krasnoyarsk and I got it. Thanks to all
those involved from the Krasnoyarsk locals to our team and I. This win is very special for me: for two years
in a row I failed here. My cars were more powerful, but they did not want to win. Frankly speaking, this time
I was a little bit nervous also. I had a feeling something was gonna happen in the semi-final and it happened:
the car was so fast that it was hard to stop it, so it got some damage. As everyone saw I've finished with a
broken hood. But I overcame those feelings, my team fixed the problems, and the final run was ideal. Maybe this
was my most enjoyable win. The way you start the Championship influences the whole season."
Results of the first round of the Russian Drag Racing Championship
Front Wheel Drive (FSA class according to RAF classification)
** 4th places are assigned according to competition regulations, note 15.4
Rear Wheel Drive (US class according to RAF classification)
Dmitry Samorukov (Moscow), Dodge Viper DT
Alexey Onopchenko (Omsk), Toyota Chaser
Denis Ponomarev (Krasnoyarsk), Nissan Silvia
Andrey Mulenko (Omsk), Chevrolet Corvette Custom Turbo
Fazil Aliev (Valdivostok), Nissan Skyline
The second stage of the Russian Drag Racing Championship will take place in Nizhniiy Novgorod on 6th-7th August.
Swift snippets. 10th July: Robin Jackson writes that MSA licence holders who have received the Summer 2016 edition of
MSA Magazine will be pleased to see Louise Woodhams' article on Women In Drag Racing prominently featured. Ms. Woodhams attended
the FIA / FIM Main Event and interviewed several female racers and officials. Sad to say, Andy Willsheer's group photograph of more than one hundred
women involved in the event – for which they all trooped cheerfully to the start line at 08:30 on Saturday – was the only image not to make it into the final
publication. Last-minute editorial changes were cited as the reason. However, we should like to thank everyone involved in taking the trouble to create
the picture. Rest assured, it will find its way on to a printed page before the year is out.
Plans for our John Woolfe Racing-sponsored Dragstalgia Event Coverage are
not yet 100% finalised. A detailed live report may prove tricky because the event is run as a huge RWYB and so participants will not be logged
by name on the timing system nor will classes run separately. What we definitely have planned are pit notes, end-day galleries and
Webster Race
Engineering / Nimbus Motorsport webcast.
Stay tuned for the final word.
On the subject of Dragstalgia this year's inductees to the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame
will be announced here on Eurodragster.com at midnight UK on Friday-Saturday (15th-16th).
Priddle presented again at HoF Gala. 10th July: Back in March 2016 British
Drag Racing Hall of Fame member and European drag racing legend Dennis Priddle travelled to Gainesville in Florida to receive
his International Drag Racing Hall of Fame Award (the Andy Willsheer photo at left shows Dennis at Gainesville in March with 1960s Top Fuel racer Jerry Baltes (left) and Summit
Racing's Rick Green). Dennis is only the second European to receive this accolade, the other being Sydney
Allard. The British Drag Racing Hall of Fame, in association with the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame, is proud
to announce that the official European presentation of this award will take place during the 2016 BDRHoF Annual Gala Awards
Dinner at the fabulous Sheraton Skyline Hotel Heathrow on 19th November.
Dennis Priddle said "Receiving this award from Don Garlits in Gainesville was one of the proudest moments in my life and I was
so honoured to be in the company of many of the great names in world drag racing history. I must thank my friends Phil
Pead and Dave Riswick for making it possible. The only regret was that so many of the people who have helped me during
my drag racing career were unable to be there. So when the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame said that they would like to
re-present it at this year's Gala Awards Dinner it gave me the opportunity of celebrating the award with more friends and
European fans. I'm really looking forward to meeting up with people I have met from the USA and Europe and getting
involved in the Bench Racing Session, talking about my days in drag racing and seeing how they compare to stories from
the Americans on the panel."
Donna Garlits, Chief Financial Officer of the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing and very much a prime mover in the
International Drag Racing Hall of Fame, said "I am so pleased that the trophy will be presented again in Europe where
Dennis is so revered and respected. The function is such a prestigious affair and I know how hard everyone works to
make this occasion special for the award winners and the other guests - be they sponsors, organisers, promoters or
fans."
European drag racing's glitterati will be joined by American drag racing personalities including Don Schumacher, Paula
Murphy, Harry Hibler, Graham Light, Carl Olson, Traci Hrudka, Eileen Daniels and Tony Thacker. With more celebrities
yet to be announced it is going to be a very special day.
Ticket prices for the 2016 BDRHoF Gala Awards Dinner remain as last year at £60 per person. Corporate tables of ten are available at £580.
More details are available by clicking
here. For advance booking of tickets contact [email protected] or telephone Stu
Bradbury on 01933 279102.
Smax hits the beach. 10th July: After five events racing over 1000 feet with NHRA, ex-pat UK Top Fuel Dragster
racer Smax Smith and the Leverich family headed to Grand Bend in Canada for the IHRA Mopar Nitro Nationals over
the quarter mile:
This was a match race against Todd Paton, former Champion Bruce Litton and Ike Maier. We were feeling much better about our tune-up as we
seemed to have mastered our dropped cylinder issues, and we had our damaged heads repaired ready to build. We arrived on Friday to do final
prep for our night run against Todd Paton. There was a good crowd. We were a little concerned about having enough fuel so I mixed 86% nitro
(to use up what we had left over), filled the tank to the brim and advised the crew to tell the start line guys not to shut us off if they saw fuel leaking!
I did the shortest ever burnout and pre-staged then seemed to wait forever for Todd to stage! Got the light and we both ran side by side and both
shut off before the finish. Damn! Aidan came flying up the return road and said we ran 4.91 at only 272 mph. We were ecstatic! I had waited eight
years to run another four after driving the McDonalds' Top Fueller at Santa Pod! I did feel engine was a little unhappy and maybe it spooked me
and I lifted after 4.4 seconds. Todd ran 4.86/278 for the win.
Aidan had the clutch out in fifteen minutes and Jake had the bottom end apart in record time as Dan and Josh thrashed to rip off the heads. We
found that the crank was flapping, broke the side main bolts and pulled some main studs so we had to change blocks as this would require a
restud and line bore. The problem was that our other block was at a weld shop back in Michigan where Gary and Bob live. A pleading call
to the weld shop had the guy welding the block until 2:00 am while Bob drove back to get it hot off the press!
We planned to be at track ready to build the motor at 7:30 am but Bob had a sleep and didn't get back until 11:00 so we had a big thrash all
day. Our good friend Aaron Grant who is a Top Fuel tuner although only in his twenties, came to help along with his girlfriend Audrey who is
also our back-up girl (she has driven over 160 mph in a slingshot as well as backing up Bruce Larsens nostalgia car). Gary figured out we
needed more fuel down track. Aaron worked on our timing programme and between us we came up with a strong tune-up to run in the heat
against Bruce Litton in the evening because we missed the afternoon session by fifteen minutes.
IHRA President Mike Dunn came to our pits to meet me with the great Larry Dixon. Mike had read my biography and knew all about my
European exploits and being the first rookie to win the Top Fuel Championship. Larry was there with his father-in-law (who is also Tony
Pedregon's father-in-law) and he knew Bob Leverich - wow, small world!
In the evening session I burned out and staged and I got the light, rocketed off to a 3.30/248 eighth mile but broke the belt at 800 feet, whilst
Bruce had smoked his tyres and handed us the win - aces! It would have been another 4.9 run if the belt hadn't broken.
Sunday came around and we were up against Todd Paton again. I wasn't taking any chances, got the light and ran hard to the quarter mile
with a 4.92/295 but Todd ran quicker to a 4.86 but at only 286 mph. We were the fastest car of the weekend and I had the best lights so
mission accomplished... except that I knew I was close to 300 mph so yanked the chute lever too hard and it compromised the brake lever
so no brakes. I looked down and saw what had happened so I pulled the chute lever back but the cable was wrapped around the brake lever
so had I to peel that out of the way still doing close to 200 mph! Anyhow I didn't know where Todd was and I didn't want to roll it so I
opted to go into the sand, necessitating five hours of cleaning the car. Sorry guys!
Best ever at 4.91 and a 4.92, another 4.9 had the belt not broken, and fastest car of the weekend. Party time!
Editor's note: Smax asked us to point out that contrary to the otherwise excellent feature on Competition Plus he never claimed to be the
first to 300 mph in Europe; he said "Third" but he guessed that in a noisy environment it did not come out clearly.
Web site updates. 10th July: Continuing the Nostalgia theme as Dragstalgia approaches, Dick Parnham has
updated his Flickr site with shots of Tony Nancy's early 1970s visit to Santa Pod Raceway with what your News
Editor considers one of the best-looking rear-engined dragsters ever campaigned. You can check out Dick's
pictures at www.flickr.com/photos/dickparnhamdragracing.
Tomorrow will be another Test and Tune Day featuring three eliminations for Fast Eight cars,Top Eight bikes and Front Wheel Drive cars. If the first two meetings
of the year are anything to go by then it promises to be a busy day as the approach road to the track was gridlocked well before the gates opened. Early arrival is
advised as signing on is usually oversubscribed - there is an entry limit of two hundred entrant to enable everyone to get plenty of track time.
Away from the drag strip the increasingly popular Club display area is packed with a great variety of cars from all over the local area. At the last event more than
four hundred enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere of North Weald. A fully licenced bar, food outlets, trade stands and kids' rides are also on-site.
Entry at North Weald is still only £10 with under-14s free; £25 gets you as many runs as you can fit in. Helmets can be provided for car owners who
don't have one. North Weald Airfield is signposted locally from Junction 7 of the M11 and is just off the A414. The post code is CM16 6HR. Come along tomorrow
for some real grass-roots drag racing in a laid-back atmosphere.
Ålund at Alastaro. 8th July: It's time to round off the north-eastern swing of the 2016 FIA European Drag Racing Championship with the third race of the series, the 2016 FHRA Nitro Nationals
at the Alastaro Motopark, and the Jimmy Ålund Pro Stock Racing team is all set up, anxious to get back to their winning ways after an early exit at the Tierp Internationals.
Jimmy and the team have made no major changes for this race. "There is nothing new or fundamentally changed", says Jimmy. "We have a car with a strong bullet from KB Racing under the hood.
The car can win races and has qualified number one in the first two races but we need to work on our chasss set-up. We ran into tyre shake twice at the Tierp race and it cost us.
"This will definitely be a very exciting and challenging weekend for both racers and fans. Thirteen cars are battling it out for eight places in eliminations. The weather looks to be tricky as regards to rain
which means that we are not at all guaranteed four qualifying runs, so everyone needs to be at their absolute best from the first burnout."
Jimmy of course wishes to express his gratitude to his sponsors Summit Racing, Viking Industrimålning, Exclusive Cars, Sverigedemokraterna, KB Racing, Camaroskroten, Tradepac, POs Harley
Davidson, All American AB, CFM, Vadstena Klosterhotel, Stigs Axle and Parts, Hydraulakuten, VP Racing Fuel, and X Parts.
The HoF and half a thousand Astons. 8th July: Phil Cottingham writes that the British Drag Racing
Hall of Fame attended the Aston Martin Show at Burghley House near Stamford last Sunday:
The Hall of Fame team on the day were Angie Cottingham and I, Stu Bradbury and Robin Jackson. Around six hundred Aston Martins attended what was a very good day. Russ Carpenter's
Daimler-powered dragster was the main feature of our display; we were due to have three cars but one had to pull out with a broken gearbox and then Steve Neimantas, who was also due
to be there, was the victim of a ram raid on his premises days before the event.
We had many people visit our display, and a lot of interest in the dragster and drag racing in general, which should result in many new visitors to our drag strips. Many thanks to the Carpenter
family for bringing the dragster along.
Our next On Tour event is of course next week's Dragstalgia at Santa Pod Raceway.
Dragstalgia build-up underway. 7th July: Nigel Taylor writes that the Detroit Spinner Drag Racing Team are in the process of putting everything back in the
Prefect for its appearance at next week's Dragstalgia at Santa Pod Raceway:
The Dart motor has been treated to a new crank, cam, lifters and other parts. We are waiting on the lifters, but at least we can reassemble the block back in the car, put the heads, gearbox,
fuel tank and all of the other components back on whilst praying that the last bits turn up on time so that we can get it ready for Dragstalgia which takes place the weekend before original
builder / driver and current driver Arthur Bonner turns seventy five years of age... and here he is assembling parts, making them fit, laying on the floor, lining things up, cutting, welding and
drilling. He just doesn't stop where his old car is involved!
I have owned the Ford Prefect since 2013, when support from sponsors gave us the finances to rebuild it and get it back out on the track in 2014. Arthur was more than suprised when I told
him that due to my family commitments that I had no intention of driving it myself and that he would still be the main driver, along with a few of our sponsors as back up - this still includes
Graham Smith, Col Law, Michael Hawkins, Bob Hancox, Kelvin Helsdown, Paul Dale and Andy Frost. I would like to say a big Thank You to my long suffering wife Sophie and my children Elisha,
Mackenzie and Fletcher, who have put up with me doing this project for the last three years even though they still don't fully understand why I do it, and to all the sponsors who have got involved
in the project along the way.
Paul Dale, my adopted brother as we call him, is now running the Acute Angle Anglia in Supercharged Outlaws and after a lot of changing around of induction parts and a few headaches
is now running down in the low tens, without any nitrous at present so there is plenty more to come. Paul and his family, Steve and Pam Dale, Somer, Lou and Sommer would like to say a massive
Thank You to Wil Mackenzie and all the Supercharged Outlaws for welcoming them into the class and for all the amazing fundraising which they have done for Somer.
Swift snippets. 7th July: Good luck and stay safe to Mike Manners of Eurodragster.com sponsor
Cosmo Residences and Ulf Leanders who are contesting Top Alcohol Dragster and
Top Alcohol FC respectively at this weekend's K&N Filters NHRA Nationals in Chicago. Mike and Ulf go into action tomorrow (Friday) and you will be
able to stay in touch with their progress courtesy of Drag Race Central at www.dragracecentral.com.
Web site updates. 7th July: Richard Smith has been in touch to let us know that there were some nice treats at York last weekend, including the return of
the Firestorm Jet FC and Bill Sherratt testing his Yesterday's Dreams slingshot, both of which and more you can check out in his excellent gallery at
rdsmith.zenfolio.com.
One of Europe's most legendary drag races, the Midnight Sun Internationals, takes place this weekend at Pite Dragway just shy of the Arctic Circle
and thus blessed with perpetual daylight. You can read a preview on the
Drag Racing Europe Blog together with a review of the
Estonian Drag Racing Association's first
EDRS event.
Entry is still open for the Championship rounds of 8.50 Bike and 9.50 Bike (both UK National), Supertwin Gas and ET Bike / NAST
which take place at the Mid Summer Madness Public Track Weekend at Shakespeare County Raceway on 23rd-24th July. The entry
forms can be downloaded from the track's web site at
www.shakespearecountyraceway.com. Racers are
encouraged to pay their entry fee by Bacs rather than credit card or cheque, as this cuts down on administrative charges and time.
Shakespeare County Raceway's account details can be found on the entry forms.
Many thanks to Ian Marshall for sending an updated final version of the official entry list for Bug Jam, which takes place at Santa
Pod Raceway on 22nd-24th July (racing 23rd-24th). You can check out the Bug Jam 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.
The intention was to make it to the track on the Friday, but last-minute teething problems prevented that happening and so the abbreviated
team of Nick Davies, Rob Loaring and Scott Barnes arrived on Saturday morning. Plans were to try to validate the new oiling and fuel systems
and, if the car were to make it to half-track by the end of the weekend, the team would go home happy.
With Tim Garlick's Apache Nostalgia Funny Car sidelined with axle issues, Team Havoc displayed shameless opportunism, commandeering
the entire transport and pit support equipment of the sister car, pleading that they would be unable to fix the Funny Car until after Dragstalgia,
but would willingly store Tim's truck and ensure the batteries didn't go flat. "Thanks Timmy, we love you man!"
The early-Saturday under-awning pit warm-up underlined the entire crew's pathetic intolerance to a little dose of nitromethane fume, having to
shut off early and push the car into the open air much to the amusement of surrounding teams. Masks? Who needs em? All of us, evidently.
So, run one and lining up with the beautiful Nostalgia Funny Car of Bob Glassup all seemed fine. That is until the Tree ran and we managed to
put out more cylinders than we kept lit. Having decided beforehand to only go to sixty feet, or so, we towed back with a little head-scratching
knowing that we couldn't have gone much further anyway. Well with thanks, once again, to the all-seeing and recording (when the battery is
charged and operational) datalogger, a potential root cause of the fuel system glitch was identified and, with the other checks all giving the
thumbs-up, the team once again towed down for another test-hit. With a 1.11 sixty foot time, the team headed home with more positives than negatives,
ready for another crack on Sunday.
Sunday morning's post warm-up checks revealed an oil leak from the front crank seal. Not good. A decision had been made before the meeting that,
should there be any issues or breakages, the team would pack up and go home as two thirds of them were a little old and couldn't be bothered and the
remaining third would be outvoted. No spares would be carried. Of course, the best-laid plans are ignored in the heat of the moment so Team Member
One headed off back to Oxfordshire to retrieve a spare seal whilst Team Member Three took the smart option of having a quick scout around the pits
to see if anyone carried a spare. With thanks to Luke Robinson, a spare was procured and fitted just in time for the return of Team Member One with
the spare seal, amidst clipped instructions to "Get your race suit on, we have been called!".
A planned eighth-mile pass (might have gone slightly further...) and the altered behaved surprisingly well. The timing ticket showed decent progress
with an ET of 7.02 at 152 mph. Really? Apparently so... And that was it. The team were ready to pack up and go home happy, until the question was asked
whether they wanted another go when the finalists pulled down. Sure. Why not? Well, how about because of the oil leak around the valley. No worries,
it's not like there are only two of us – there are three! Blower off, valley plate off, re-sealed, re-assembled, back together and towed down. "Data
looks good, bearings and plugs look good - take it to a thousand feet. We need to know if we're in the ballpark of the Americans here". No worries.
A planned 1000' pass (might have gone slightly further...) and all felt good. In fact it felt better than at any time that the car had run with the
alcohol engine in. Longer gearing, 'glide clutch, two-speed, linear power delivery? Maybe a combination of a number of things. Before the Summernationals,
the quickest the car had been was 6.83 at 205 mph. The Maltese One Thousand Foot pass generated numbers of 6.59 at 174 mph. Really? Apparently so...
Apologies to the Top Fuel Bike guys who had to be shut off due to the ineptitude of the driver parking the car in the middle of the shutdown area and
making the marshals earn their evening beer by pushing the car to safety, but that's life.
A good weekend. Particularly so when a strip-down and service the following weekend revealed zero issues. Bring on Dragstalgia 2016 and let us at 'em...
Oh, and after all the Nationalistic trials and tribulations over the past few weeks in the sporting and political arenas, don 't forget to support The
Home Team by buying one of the amazing Havoc T-Shirts, available at the meeting!
Swift snippets. 5th July: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com (right) came with the words
"I spy I spy I spy". If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at
[email protected].
Many thanks to Yvonne Tramm and our own Simon for providing us with the post-SPRC Summernationals
points standings in the UK National and SPRC Championships. Again you can check out the latest points on our
OCS
Paint-sponsored Points Standings page by clicking here
or by clicking on the OCS Paint Points Standings link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.
Flamholc goes east. 5th July: Sweden's Adam Flamholc has been globetrotting again but in an easterly direction providing support and
consultancy to Russia's Dragtimes organisation. Adam writes:
The Dragtimes Organisation wanted me to help them run a Pro Mod-style car in this year's Russian Drag Racing Championship this year. I talked to Rasmus, Kent and Mike from
my team about it, and we decided to do it! A lot of stuff had to be organized in a very short period of time to get a car to them, tools, spares, a working transport vehicle and so on.
We made it happen and in May we had their Viper turn-key, ready for the season!
Since Dmitry Samurokov never had been in a blown Pro Mod car we decided to go to Tierp Arena, to let him get familiar with the new car. Dmitry did exactly what I was hoping
he should do, and ran 4.18s to the eighth, first time out! After the test at Tierp the bus, car and everything else was transported to Moscow in Russia. Dragtimes used the car for
display at a couple of car shows and meetings.
In the last weekend in June the team and I flew over to Moscow for the first time, and from there to Krasnoyarsk in Siberia for round one of the Championship. In the first run we
lost traction after about two seconds, but from there on, we went faster and faster. The second run was a new track record, we qualified as number one, won the event and ran new
Russian ET and speed records of 6.548 seconds and 362.9 km/h. You can see a video on YouTube.
Racing is racing no matter where in the world you are... Things were a bit different in some ways, but every single person I talked to was very friendly and helpful.
Ansi Pinola from Finland prepped the track, and did a great job. Kristian Nyström, also from Finland was there and helped the guys and I with a bit of everything.
The biggest problem on the track (and all their tracks) is the shutdown area.. They only had around 400 metres from the finish line to the end of the track. Another thing
we had to deal with, was that they where only allowed to prep 201 metres. But together we made it work! There were many up sides as well. Like their TV show! Excellent
production, with many cameras, interviews and so on, a fresh way of thinking.
The next event will be four hours from Moscow on the first weekend in August, and if everything goes as planned there will be three or four Pro Mod / Top Doorslammer teams from Europe
there! David Vegter, Håkan Persson, Lenn Lindell and Mats Lusth are preparing their cars for a batle in the East!
Thanks from me to Andrey Veremeev, Dmitry Samorukov, Alexander Ocheretin, Anastasia Starostina, Tigran Seferian and everyone else in and around Dragtimes for giving me the opportunity
to play a part in building drag racing in Russia!
We loaded up on Thursday evening, headed for the 07:30 Douglas to Liverpool Ferry then trundled on down the M6 to Shakespeare County Raceway, arriving mid afternoon.
We pitted next to Roy Wilding (thanks for saving the space Roy), up and carried out the checks in readiness for the Saturday start.
Saturday morning began with a fitting and moving tribute to Scottie Durrant, spectators and racers lining both sides of the quarter mile for almost it's entire length. RIP Scottie.
Unfortunately the rain showers teased with us all day Saturday, in and out of the pit bay until late in the afternoon when we were two cars from fire-up when the final shower
shut the track for the day.
Sunday, although cloudy, turned out to be good up to 4:00 pm. Running in the Supercharged Outlaws, we were first up against Andy Fadster in Twister. After problems with his
race motor at a previous event, Andy wedged his eight-second 'street' motor between the frame rails. We got the jump on Andy off the line and continued to pull away at sixty
feet, 1.372 to Andy's 1.64. Banzai netted a 9.26/150 with a half track lift due to the barrier coming close. This was due not to traction issues but to driver blindness causing a lift
of the throttle! Note to driver: Rainex visor before runs!
In an attempt to equal the score Andy and Twister went up against us again for the second run. Two tenths better reaction from Andy proved that he meant business, but an arrow
straight launch and the grunt of the Hemi pulled the Topolino to a 1.395 sixty to a Twister 1.574. Traction problems halted any recovery from Twister as it crossed the centre line
at the one hundred foot. An attempt at a blocking manoeuvre if ever we saw one! Banzai netted an 8.88/154. To say that we were over the moon would be an understatement.
The third and final pass of the weekend we ran a solo. Arrow straight, 1.35 sixty foot, 5.66/124 at the eighth, 8.84/150 at the quarter gave hints at consistency.
Although the car has run twice with a similar combination at our local track at Jurby on the Isle of Man, a prepared track was where we wanted to be. Shakey supplied and we took
advantage with the three good runs in on Sunday. We came away well chuffed.
We would just like to thank everyone, spectators and racers alike, for all the appreciative comments; Shakespeare County Raceway for dealing with the British weather as best as
possible and giving us great track to race on; the NSRA for putting the event on and awarding us with one of their Quick Six trophies, and my crew Lee Merryweather, Steven Russell,
Malcolm and Beverley Forbes and last but not least my better half Selena Merryweather who made it all happen.
We now look forward to the big one, Dragstalgia! See you all there.
Banzai is the subject of a great feature in the current issue of Custom Car magazine so be sure to pick up your copy.
Stripduster qualifies #1 at Dragstalgia. 4th July: In drag racing, the V8 is king and there is no substitute for cubic capacity. So says the received wisdom. Yet it is not strictly true, either today – when all manner
of powerplants propel all manner of vehicles up the track – or in the earliest days, when eight-pot locomotion was a comparative rarity on the British scene.
Indeed, when Santa Pod Raceway opened for business 50 years ago on Easter Monday 1966, the very first car to traverse the quarter-mile packed all of 948cc into its four-cylinder engine.
Harold Bull's Strip Duster was a slingshot dragster powered by an engine lifted from a Morris Minor. It was an immaculate miniature version of the thundering V8-motored dragsters
which had so impressed and inspired Harold when an all-star team from America had toured Britain two years earlier, though there was nothing miniature about the car's performance. With
constant modifications and improvements made over the next few years, Strip Duster would not only win races against opponents at Santa Pod but would set world records against
the clock at the Elvington records meeting in Yorkshire which still stand today.
When Harold Bull and his fellow BMC-powered arch-rival, John Whitmore, pulled to the Santa Pod start line, fans would hurry from all parts to watch. The same response is anticipated when
Strip Duster recreates its maiden Santa Pod voyage at Dragstalgia, the venue's annual historic revival meeting taking place
from 15th-17th July.
When he made that inaugural trip up the track, Harold was already 41 years old. Half a century later and still living at Wymington within earshot of Santa Pod, the self-taught, expert engineer and
tool-maker has supervised the construction of a perfect Strip Duster replica by his son, Simon, who will pilot the car on its Dragstalgia outing. The original Strip Duster, now
modified beyond recognition, is believed still to exist somewhere in Germany.
Dragstalgia brings forth a veritable treasure trove of historic drag racing machinery. Some 300 cars and motorcycles of all shapes, sizes and vintages will be in attendance over the July weekend,
many in action on the track and others displayed alongside. Top of the bill and visiting from America will be the spectacular Fuel Altereds, Rat Trap and the Bradfords' Topolino, along
with a bygone era's array of Dragsters and Funny Cars, Altereds and Stockers, plus bikes of many classes and kinds. There'll be no mistaking the moment, however, when Simon Bull guides Strip
Duster on its historic passage up the fabled quarter-mile.
For further information on Dragstalgia and to book tickets, please visit www.santapod.com or telephone 01234 782828. Tickets may
be booked on-line and printed at home. Kids go free – under-16s are admitted free of charge, up to three per paying adult – and overnight camping is also free with weekend tickets. As always
there is open access to the pits for a close-up view of all the machinery in the show.
Vegter: A lot to feel good about. 4th July: The Netherlands' Vegter Pro Mod Racing are proud to announce DutchBoxx
Golfkarton as a new partner. The Heerenveen-based company have joined the Dutch Pro Modified team with immediate effect and for at least two years. Remco Scheelings
writes:
DutchBoxx Golfkarton are the leading Dutch manufacturer of boxes and corrugated packaging. With six modern production lines, the produce in-house a complete range of boxes
and custom-made packaging. In addition to American folding boxes and shipping boxes DutchBoxx also produce plates, wrap packages, standard packaging, sleeves, pallet boxes,
XXL sizes, and corrugated cardboard interiors, available in both large and small orders. DutchBoxx not only offer a wide range of products, but these packages can also be provided
with prints. DutchBoxx combine fast delivery with the option of both "stock" and "just-in-time" delivery. A great company where the customer comes first. You can find more information
about DutchBoxx Golfkarton on their web site at www.dutchboxx.nl/golfkarton.
"We are very happy and proud to represent such a great company that makes such high quality products", said David Vegter, driver and driving force behind Vegter Pro Mod
Racing. "I'm looking forward to great co-operation and I'm sure it will be successful for both DutchBoxx and our team. The two-year deal gives us both a good base to work from
and we can make a long-term plan for our co-operation. We are very happy to represent such a great company on and off the track."
DutchBoxx Golfkarton join Vegter Pro Mod Racing partners Playboy Energy Drink, HKR Techniek, WVB Holland, PedalToTheMetal Musclecar Performance and Sonic Equipment
at a very successful time as Vegter Pro Mod Racing have had a great start of the season: during the second round of the FIA European Championship at Tierp Arena, David reset
his Personal Bests to 6.002 seconds and 390.5 km/h, qualified fifth, and advanced to the semi-finals.
After the season-opening round at Santa Pod, the state-of-the-art drag racing facility at Tierp Arena, 100 km north of Stockholm, was host of the second round of the FIA European
Drag Racing Championship. With extremely fast Scandinavian teams on the entry list, the Tierp Internationals had a very competitive Pro Mod field. Unfortunately, qualifying was
badly affected by the rain and so the four planned sessions had to be rescheduled to two qualifying runs on Friday evening. On a green and cold track David recorded an encouraging
6.36 seconds, at least good enough to qualify for eliminations. In the second run, David had a problem with a fuel leak, causing the tyres to spin at the start line. With the 6.36 seconds
from the first run David was number five qualifier, a good result in the seventeen-car field. But David knew there was more to come.
"We have a new short block, and with the tuning Adam Flamholc has in mind, we can improve dramatically", he said after qualifying. "We changed the chassis set-up this season and the car feels
much better now."
In the first round against Freddy Fagerström, David immediately proved that it wasn't wishful thinking. In a great run the Vegter Pro Mod Racing '67 Camaro stormed to a winning 6.003
seconds at 389.9 km/h. David not only reset his personals best from 2013 (6.05 seconds), but the 6.003 was also the best ET of the first round. In the quarter final David had to face the
always-consistent Bruno Bader, winner of the first race at Santa Pod. David and Brunp both suffered traction problems at the start line, but the Dutch racer got control of his Camaro and took
the win light in 6.41 seconds. In the semi-final David had to face Mats Eriksson, the number one qualifier and last year's runner up in the Championship. Mats had a much better Reaction Time
and although David's 6.002 seconds at 390.5 kmh were quicker and faster than Mats' ET and speed, it was not enough to beat the Swede. With a 6.002 at 390.5 km/h David again reset his
Personals Bests and was the third quickest and fastest Pro Mod at Tierp Arena.
David knew that he had lost the race at the start line and that made him angry, but he knew that he could only be happy with the way the team and car performed. "The car immediately rolled
into stage and at the same moment a warning light lit up", he said. "I lost my concentration for a moment and then you know it's over. But, after all, we did a great job and I'm very happy with
the way both the team and the car performed. The ETs and speeds were very good and we have one of the quickest and fastest combinations in the field. We are extremely happy with our
performance in Sweden. This a real boost for the coming races."
David is fifth in the FIA European Pro Modified Championship points standings after two races. The third race of the championship is this week's FHRA Nitro Nationals which takes place at
Alastaro, Finland between Thursday and Sunday.
One more off PMR's bucket list. 4th July: Historically your News Editor always got the moose, but Paul Marston tells us that it is now his turn:
I recently said goodbye to my beloved 1967 Camaro street / strip car which got me back into National Championship Drag Racing in the Street Class of Custom Car Street Eliminator in
the 1990s along with fellow Damn Yankees car club member Gary Petley, Ray White, Billy 'The Kid' Macdermid etc. The '67 Camaro had sat for some time in perfect preservation but had
not been driven for about twelve years other than trips to the MoT station and back. I count myself as very, very lucky to have owned her for so long. I have been very careful with my Camaro and
never cut her up and kept her as stock as I could other than a 50 0bhp Super Gas-spec 396ci BBC and the corresponding upgrades to cope with the extra horse pressure.
I was equally as careful when it came to selecting a buyer for her. She was sold to a very good friend who will cherish her and use her as she was intended. As the last two vehicles I sold
came to rather unfortunate ends (a long story for another time) I made sure that the Camaro which I owned for twenty eight years did not suffer the same fate. I know it's just a chunk of
metal but you do become attached to them.
The Camaro was not sold for any particular reason other than it was simply not used. An opportunity arose a few weeks ago to purchase a race car of a type which has been on the top of
my Bucket List for a long time: Jon 'Moose' Hollingworth's twin-turbo Big Block-powered Street Eliminator Mk5 Cortina which now resides at PMR HQ in Romford. I did think that I was
going to have to import one from the States as they are pretty thin on the ground in Blighty. Nevertheless when it came up I was interested enough to go for a look-see. Now it is fair to
say that this will be a very long term project as the race car will need to be completely repurposed before it can be used, but I could see the potential and the car comes with a great pedigree.
It ticked all the boxes, plus it receives technical support from John Sleath Racecars who built, designed, mapped, developed and supported the Cortina all its life. I am pleased to say that this
will continue and that we are looking forward to working with John Sleath Racecars with this project.
It is the fault of Bill Felstead of Fester Race Cars that I bought it, as Bill has always been harking on that with so much power you need a lot of control. It must be fuel injected, small Big Block,
88mm turbos, data logger, etc, etc. To put it simply this Cortina has it all, in fact it's very similar tp although not as powerful as fellow UK Top Sportsman competitor and former title sponsor
Matt Wright's mighty Rolls Royce. The aim of the project is simply to remove weight which is now not required and to see how fast it can go with slicks and a wheelie bar. There is no rush, no
agenda as I honestly did not expect to be given this wonderful opportunity. It costs nothing to think, and before we start on this one it will receive a lot of thought before any firm decisions are
made. This will be a challenge as our knowledge of turbo cars, although not non-existent, is on a different level. It will be a fascinating journey.
You simply cannot over-emphasise the explosion of very fast power-adder doorslammers, in particular turbo drag race cars, in the States. It is astonishing and has there has been huge growth
in cars, crowds and events - seeing is believing. For example, an event called Lights Out at SGMP Georgia earlier this year had nearly seven hundred competing teams and so many spectators
that the police shut the Interstate for three exits and closed the doors at SGMP with a fifteen-mile queue outside. That just paints a small picture of just how fast this kind of racing is growing.
It is coming over here. It will take time, but the Gearhead Garage UK Top Sportsman event has these kind of cars showing up in greater numbers each year. So if you want to see the very fastest
Sportsman Doorslammer competitors compete in the richest, fastest, no rules other than safety, heads-up and fast bracket races which are televised, then you need to be at the Mopar EuroNats
on 29th-31st July, either to compete against the best or to watch the show. You can download the entry from the
UK Top Sportsman Facebook page, or contact us by E-Mail at
[email protected] or call me on 07831 650230.
Swift snippets. 4th July: Paul Warne has asked us to say a big Thank You to everyone for the kind words and support after the
death of doorslammer legend Dave Warne. "A big thank you to Eurodragster.com for putting the notices on for us and for the flowers", he adds.
You are very welcome, Paul.
Bernie Newbury has put his immaculate nine-second VW Beetle up for sale due to family circumstances. If you are interested in
a spectacular and rapid VW then you can take a look under Cars For Sale in our Jeff
Bull Race Engines-sponsored Swap Meet.
Michel Tooren and the Pro Dutch Racing Pro Modified team had another
fantastic weekend at the SPRC Summernationals, beating Personal Bests and making it to the final against Eurodragster.com sponsor
Andy Robinson. You can check out the team's review (Dutch-language
PDF) by clicking here.
As Dragstalgia approaches (see above) a reminder that this year's inductees to the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame
will be announced here on Eurodragster.com at midnight UK on Friday-Saturday of next week (15th-16th).
We have two birthdays today. First up, a Happy Birthday and hugs to Santa Pod Racers Club official Kathy Taylor.
Have a lovely day Kathy. Happy Birthday also to street-legal Comp Eliminator racer Andy Frost. Have a great day Frosty.
Also on the subject of birthdays we would like to wish all of our friends and readers in the USA a Happy 4th July. Have a great day guys.
Fifty Shades of Summernationals. 4th July: UK Sportsman ET racer Andy Dibley has been in touch with a review of last week's SPRC Summernationals at
which he and Eurodragster.com Photographer Kirstie again made a two-pronged attack:
There was a complete change in track conditions for elimations on the Sunday. I stuck with a 13.85 as I went into round one against Jemma Hale. My rivalry with Jemma goes
back to last year's UK National Finals lat which I missed out on top spot after a misjudged top end pedal. I wasn't going to let her Jemma away with it again. I just managed to p
ut my front wheel ahead going through the top end to take the win by 0.016 seconds. Kirstie drew Alan Medley in the first round in his Captain Caveman Racing Oldsmobile Omega.
Alan was running mid twelves which meant tha Kirstie was being chased. Both cut good lights and Kirstie was almost bang on the money but at the top end, in fear of breaking out,
she just got off it enough to give Alan the win by 0.0018 (2.37 inches). Sadly that was the end of the Summernationals for Kirstie.
In round two I ended up meeting Jane Mcready in the Clueless Racing Ford Escort Van, a lovely turned out van! Jane cut a 0.5 light to my 0.08, she also sadly missed a shift going
from first to fourth resulting in my catching her before the eighth and just idling through the top to take the win.
In round three I drew Gill Medley in the other Captain Caveman Racing vehicle, a big white Jeep Cherokee! Gill was a former event and Dial-In Day winner and is definitely one to
watch. Sadly I lost that race on the start line pulling my first ever red in MSA competition! Gill won the next round against Alan but sadly broke out in the finals against Ricky Hale.
Half way through the season and the points table is really tightening up at the top. Both cars will be back out in a few weeks' time for Bug Jam which is a great meeting for Sportsman
ET with a lot of guest entries from other classes joining in the fun!
Flaming June! 4th July: Many thanks to Nervous Nick for forwarding us Sean Milsom's review of the Gasser Circus' outing at last week's NSRA
Nostalgia Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway:
The event had much to offer the drag racing fan, with a good turnout from Outlaw Anglia, Supercharged Outlaws, the Wild Bunch and the first
running of the Tri-Chevy shootout for 1955–1957 Chevrolets. Plus, of course, the highlight of the programme (in my humble opinion): the
second round of the 2016 Gasser Circus Championship. Seventeen cars had entered including two new entrants for 2016 in the form of The Money
Pit Ford Pop panel van of Derek Gibson and Martin Bishop and his Bad'n'Blown Ford Pop. We were also treated to the welcome return of Ken
Brookes in his 1957 Chevrolet Roaring Rat, Chris and Beverley Hill with their 1956 Chevrolet Gas Guzzler, now with a new injected 427 Big Block
engine and Mick Allen with his small block Chevrolet powered Henry J (a rare car in this country, having been built by the Kaiser Motor Company
in America in the early 1950s).
I don't know whether Antonio Vivaldi ever visited Stratford on Avon in late June, but if he did and on the evidence of last weekend, I'm pretty
sure that's where he got his inspiration for The Four Seasons. OK, it didn't snow but we got simultaneously soaked and sunburnt, were either too
hot or too cold and had some pretty impressive thunder storms – all on Saturday when we had hoped to be putting in some qualifying runs. The
track crew worked hard all day to try to keep the track dry and by mid-afternoon, it looked like we would get a run in so we all pulled round
into the fire-up road; we would be racing after the cars in The Wild Bunch class.
And then, with about eight Wild Bunch cars left to run, the computer which controls the timing lights spat out its dummy and stopped working.
So we all had to sit and wait for the now customary Ctrl-Alt-Del attempt at a fix followed by several attempts at rebooting the hard drive.
After twenty minutes, the start line crew decided to let the remaining cars run with a fla -start, as would have been the case in the 1950s / early
1960s. That was not really going to help us, as we needed to record a time against our dial-in to set our place on the elimination ladder for Sunday,
so it looked like we would have to run anyway and then draw names out of a hat to populate the ladder.
Fortunately, as the first pair of cars came around to do their burnouts, the computer decided to play ball and the timing lights came back on so
normal service was resumed. Except, unfortunately for Steve Dixon in his High Roller Ford Falcon which wouldn't start and Mick Allen in Horrid Henry
who needed a bump start due to starter motor problems. As it turned out, with only one attempt at qualifying due to the weather, that would mean both
cars would not be eligible for eliminations on Sunday as Steve had not recorded a time and Mick had needed assistance to start his car; our rules require
the vehicle to get to the start line under its own power. Also out would be Derek Gibson in The Money Pit who had not run quick enough to qualify.
There was even worse news for Louise and Mike Noble who suffered severe engine damage in qualifying in their historic 1957 Chevrolet Honky Tonkin'. At
best this is the end of their racing year; not good news for a really nice couple who work really hard to fund their racing.
In qualifying, I ran a disappointing 10.519 second run on a 10.05 dial-in which was good enough for seventh place and meant that I would be racing
Martin Bishop in his Bad'n'Blown Ford Pop in Round 1. I dialled-in at 10.25 and ran a 10.32 against Martin who broke out with an 11.97 on a 11.98 dial-in
giving me the win into round two of eliminations which would once again be against the lovely Katie-Jayne Booth in her Mighty Mouse Ford Pop. Katie-Jayne
earlier ran a new personal best of 10.4 seconds so this was going to be another tough race.
There was more disappointment and early departures in eliminations for Lee and Jerry and Honky Tonkin' 2 when a needle valve in one of their carburettors
stuck open, flooding the engine such that it would not start for round one and also for Ken Brookes when the fuel pump on Roarin' Rat started to fail in
round two. There was also another learning opportunity for us all in round two when the Strevetts in their 1941 Ford Coupe faced off against Brian Gibson
in Identity Crisis. Racers need to show their dial-in on the back of the car, usually in shoe-white on the rear screen. The track crew then transfer that
into the computer and the dial-in is then shown on the finish-line gantry; it is up to the driver and crew to check that the dial-in on the gantry is shown
correctly; if it isn't, the driver should not stage the car until it is corrected. Unfortunately for the Strevetts, they did not notice that their time of
11.91 seconds had been incorrectly entered as 11.1 seconds and they staged as usual. Given that their car runs consistent 12.1s (they were number one qualifier
in the first event, number two qualifier at this event), this mistake gifted the win to Brian.
For round two I lowered my dial-in to 10.15 against Katie-Jayne with a 10.49 and we pulled round to do our burnouts, then into stage. We would be away
at virtually the same time, with Katie-Jayne leaving just before me. Slowly into stage, followed by a brilliant race! It was soon clear that we were
both trying too hard as we both broke out and went quicker than our dial-in, me by 0.075 seconds and Katie-Jayne by 0.085 seconds. Unfortunately for
Katie-Jayne she also went early on the lights putting a cherry on the tree and giving me the win into the semi-finals. This would be against Brian Gibson
in his Dodge Dart Identity Crisis, or at least it would have been if the weather gods had not intervened with a light shower at just before 4:00 pm turning
into persistent rain and bringing the race meeting to a close before we'd been able to conclude matters.
Congratulations to the semi-finalists for their efforts: Brian Gibson in Identity Crisis, Chris Hill in Gas Guzzler, Merv Barnett in Psychedelic Relic with
Yours Truly taking the final slot. More congratulations to those running Personal Bests this weekend: Chris Hill in Gas Guzzler, Katie-Jayne Booth in Mighty
Mouse, Mick Allen in Horrid Henry and Nick Brooke-Langham in Nogbad the Bad (and also congratulations on getting through to round two with an 11.60 on an
11.60 dial-in!). Best of all though were Lee and Jerry in Honky Tonkin 2 who ran 8.75 seconds at 156 mph, the quickest-ever time in Gasser Circus history!
Well done guys!
The top five in the Gasser Circus point after round two are as follow:
Ain't Misbehavin' 750
High Roller 650
Barnett and Grant 630
Mighty Mouse 620
Green Onions 520
Despite the frequent interruptions from the weather we managed to have a great time at the Nostalgia Nationals. Round three will be at Dragstalgia at Santa
on 15th-17th July; come along and cheer us on, we'd love to see you.
Web site updates. 4th July: Our good buddy Steve Moxley has again been hard at work flying the flag for drag racing with an SPRC Summernationals
review on the ACU web site at www.acu.org.uk.
There are a few days to go before the EDRS Pro Nordic Motorcycle Championship holds its second race of the season at Alastaro Circuit in Finland. After a great opening round at
Tierp Arena, the leaders will try to increase their leads in the Championship whilst the rest of the pack will try to catch up with the leaders. Samu Kemppainen, Kalle Lyrén,
Rikard Gustafsson and Henri Kolehmainen were the winners in Sweden, while the finals in Super Comp Bike and Super Gas Bike were rained out and so these categories will have
their first race winners at Alastaro. Who are the favourites to end their Sunday afternoon upside down in the water barrel? You can find out courtesy of Remco Scheelings
on the Drag Racing Europe Blog by
clicking here.
Swift snippets. 2nd July: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com (right) came with the words
"I spy I spy". If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at
[email protected].
Congratulations to Martin Hill who clocked 300.19 mph in the Fireforce 5 Jet Dragster at the Retro Show at Santa Pod Raceway today
(Sunday), the first 300 mph terminal speed by a Jet Dragster outside North America - and there have not been that many 300 mph Jet Dragsters
there. The ET was 5.249 and you can be sure that there is a lot more left in there yet.
31st July is the deadline for entries for the British Drag Racing Hall of FameSydney Allard Media Awards for Photo and Written Journalism. This year the crystal trophies are sponsored by Mintex and Brian Taylor writes that some
fantastic photographs have already been received. "Get yours in now and don't forget the written journalism which can include books, articles and blogs",
says Brian. You can find full details of how to enter at
www.britishdragracinghof.co.uk/allard-award-entries.
Many thanks to Ian Marshall for sending the final version of the official entry list for Bug Jam, which takes place at Santa
Pod Raceway on 22nd-24th July (racing 23rd-24th). You can check out the Bug Jam 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.
No news update yesterday (see Editor's note below) so we were unable to say a big Happy Birthday to our good friend and
Podington Pea Diana Macrae. Hope you had a great day DD.
We have had enquiries from eagle-eyed readers who noticed the removal of next week's FHRA Nitro Nationals from our
John Woolfe Racing-sponsored
Event Coverage schedule. As we had neither the time off work nor the funds to go to Alastaro
the original plan was to repeat previous years' remote coverage of results and pictures sent to us by people on the ground. However FHRA
will be posting results to their own web site in real time and there will also be a free webcast so it seems only fair to us that, since they
are doing the hard work, FHRA's web site should get the visitors. The Facebook thieves and their acolytes will perforce have to spend next weekend
pretending that FHRA do not exist, rather than Eurodragster.com.
Editor's note: The lack of a substantial news update since Friday has simply been down to your News Editor being shagged out and needing
some Me Time after two busy race weekends on the trot, one of them out of the country. We are now working on the news backlog and it will all be
posted on tomorrow's update. Please keep the news coming to
[email protected].
Today (Friday) is the anniversary of the death of Eurodragster.com Staff Member Ed O'Connell. You can honour Ed's memory by eating a
full English breakfast, or by having fish and chips and/or pizza for lunch and/or dinner. "All three" is an acceptable option.
Editor's note: Full news service will be resumed over the weekend and we have some great stories for you. We still have room
for more so please keep the news coming to [email protected]
and we'll squeeze it in.
This weekend's Eurodragster.com/Bad Habit Racing Perfect Light Award has been reset to £50 after it was won by
Sportsman ET racer Stephen Cherrett at last weekend's Bug Jam. It will be paid in cash to the first racer at this weekend's event
to record a Reaction Time of 0.000 seconds. The Award will be available in Pro Modified and Gearhead Garage UK Top Sportsman
but will only be awarded for the first Perfect Light of the event. If not won this weekend then the Award will be increased to
£75 for the APIRA Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway in August; if it is won then it will be reset to £50
for the APIRA Open Sport Nationals.
DFDS introduced two new ferries in February which greatly increased sailing capacity and frequency. You can check out the sailing schedule
at 
27th July: The Netherlands' Vegter Pro Mod Racing are about to embark on a very special adventure.
At the invitation of Dragtimes, the driving force behind the Russian Drag Racing Championship, the team will travel to Russia in
early August to take part in two races of the Russian Championship at Autodrom Nizegorodskoye Koltco. Remco Scheelings writes:
Not much has been known about Russian drag racing in our part of Europe so far but Dragtimes want to change that as soon as possible.
The first time we heard about Russian drag racing was a few months ago, when Adam Flamholc sold his Pro Modified / Top Doorslammer
Dodge Viper to a Russian team, and the Swede was hired as their tuner. A few weeks ago the team had their first race outside Russia at
the FIA European Championship race at Alastaro, Finland. "Dragtimes contacted me a few weeks ago and at Alastaro we had a meeting
to discuss the details", said David. "We will take part in two races at Autodrom Nizegorodskoye Koltco on 6th-7th and 13th-14th August.
That fits our schedule, as the following week we have the FIA European Championship race at Hockenheim.
PAULA MARSHALL Profile by Tog
ROB LOARING Profile by Simon Groves
SANTA POD RACEWAY Profile by Robin Jackson
BOB KEITH Profile by Brian Taylor
Members of the Hall of Fame receive a 'Bootsie', a trophy encapsulating an image of the late Allan 'Bootsie'
Herridge, a man who put so much into British drag racing, together with an exclusive commemorative pin. They
join the élite list of inductees from previous years and will be listed on the official British Drag Racing Hall of Fame web site
which you can view by
10th July: Today's eliminations at the FHRA Nitro Nationals were called mid-afternoon
due to bad weather. The day, and the racing, started well but a thunderstorm and rain left race officials with
no option but to call it.
Donna Garlits, Chief Financial Officer of the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing and very much a prime mover in the
International Drag Racing Hall of Fame, said "I am so pleased that the trophy will be presented again in Europe where
Dennis is so revered and respected. The function is such a prestigious affair and I know how hard everyone works to
make this occasion special for the award winners and the other guests - be they sponsors, organisers, promoters or
fans."
To celebrate the 40th Anniversary of that very pass - and of course Santa Pod's 50th - Peter has decided to team up with Santa Pod Raceway and put
up an award dubbed the Spirit of 76. The Award will go to someone who has played a major part in creating and shaping the Nostalgia Drag Racing
scene of today, someone who has faced a major challenge and succeeded against the odds as Peter did in 1976, someone who has demonstrated extreme
commitment to drag racing in this country, or simply someone who goes that extra mile to achieve their goals or to help others within the sport. For example,
many racers did just that after the robbery at that event in 1976, returning their prize money and or even gaving financial help to keep Santa Pod afloat.
5th July: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com (right) came with the words
"I spy I spy I spy". If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at
Bernie Newbury has put his immaculate nine-second VW Beetle up for sale due to family circumstances. If you are interested in
a spectacular and rapid VW then you can take a look under Cars For Sale in our 
2nd July: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com (right) came with the words
"I spy I spy". If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at
