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Drag Racing Unplugged XXIII
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With the 2021 season over we are, for the twenty third year in succession, pleased to bring you the finest stories from the year's News on Eurodragster.com - and other snippets which we didn't publish at the time. We open with the Stories of the Year of the Eurodragster.com team... Simon's Story of the Year14th November: Ain't No Saint, the unique Volvo P1800 gasser built by Lee Johnstone and raced by him and his family won the Hot Wheels Legends Tour. The car came to worldwide fame as a result of the promotion by Hot Wheels across social media, and the prize is a Hot Wheels model of the vehicle to be marketed worldwide.Kirstie's Story of the Year6th September: The Doorslammers returned with a big field of UK based cars and overseas participation from Bruno Bader, who was the Pro Doorslammer winner. In the Fast R Street Final, there was a staging duel in the final which we timed at four minutes, the eventual victor, after cars being sent back by starters Ian Marshall and David Warren to cool down, being Dave Mace over Andy Bond. We counted the number of personal bests across the event which came to a dazzling 50.Julian's Story of the Year11th September: The late Stuart Bradbury, founder of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame, was elected to the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame based at the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing, Ocala, Florida. He became the third Brit to join the IDRHOF, with Sydney Allard and Dennis Priddle.Diana's Story of the Year19th July: The STP Summernationals saw Annie Wallace's debut in Pro Modified. After testing on Friday, Annie went on to record six consecutive personal bests in the race and won the event with a 6.1333/229. Her achievement was sufficient to attract attention from BBC Three Counties radio. The official Street Eliminator record was reset at 6.990 by Mark Todd in his Six Appeal Aston Martin, whereas Stuart Crane and Steve Venables blasted the record books for Funny Bike and Super Street Bike respectively. Jordan Kenway was despatched off his Comp Bike but made a rapid return.Kieran's Story of the Year20th September: The NSRA Hot Rod Drags took place at Santa Pod Raceway. The event will always be remembered for the first Outlaw Anglia six second pass from Jedd Guy, who won the event in a thrilling final against Colin Millar. Robin Read with his Spirit of Le Patron ran new bests of 6.5215 and 209.02. A huge variety of NSRA members also took to the track in RWYB action with the traditional Dirty Dozen awards to the coolest cars....and the rest of the 2021 Drag Racing Unplugged collection in chronological order... (click on date to go to original story) 6th January: The new owner of the iconic Boston Brawler '33 Willys Gasser, Blaise Lewis, revealed the car's new look following a revamp by original builder and owner Jimmy Hibberd of Valley Gas Speed Shop. Blaise said I found a 392 Hemi from a guy I sold it to in 2010. He fitted it to a ride-on mower for his son's 18th birthday. "Basically I bought back all the stuff I sold him all those years ago." The Brawler appeared in September at the Goodwood Revival Meeting where it made a big impression and was featured in Dave Dick's photo gallery.7th January: Multi-championship winning racer Mikael Kågered announced his retirement from drag racing. He said I've had a great career in drag racing. Thanks to our sponsors we had very few budget constraints. My team have been fantastic, my sponsors also have been with me for a long time." 8th January: Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall kindly supplied advice for racers wishing to compete in the European Union. "Now that the UK is no longer a part of the EU, racers looking to compete outside of the UK will need to deal with many new regulations to be able to move their race vehicles and transportation around Europe. Included are some pointers to items racers may need to consider before looking to travel to European events." The advice was followed up on 12th February with advice by Ian King on ATA Carnet requirements. 13th January: Santa Pod Raceway unveiled a full 2021 season of events and revealed that in a normal year, 400,000 people pass through Santa Pod's gates to attend more than 75 events. At that stage there was uncertainty about the 2021 season, however racers were given reassurance that in 2020 Santa Pod worked hard to become a truly Covid-secure venue and successfully operated many events throughout the continuous changes in government guidelines. 19th January: Expat Norwegian Top Alcohol Dragster racer Julie Nataas with Randy Meyer Racing (RMR) announced she will chase the 2021 NHRA TAD title in her third full-time season with RMR in the Oslo Tapet & Gulvbelegg (OTG) A/Fuel dragster. At the time, Julie had collected two national event victories and four regional event wins. She earned the NHRA North Central Region championship in 2019, the same year she was named to the Drag Illustrated 30 Under 30 list. By the end of the 2021 season she had repeated her Regional Championship with another four wins making 8 in all.. 30th January: Santa Pod Raceway announced a collaboration with and Melbourne Raceway to launch an all new street car event in the form of Street Weekend, to crown King of the Street. In a tip of the hat to the coveted Hot Rod Drag Week in the USA, the similar format required drivers to set and submit a time at Santa Pod Raceway in Northamptonshire before driving around 200 miles to Melbourne Raceway in York to set a time on day 2 before returning back to Santa Pod and setting a final time on the 3rd day. Times from the 3 days would be totalled together and the racer with the lowest TOTAL ET will be deemed the winner. Sadly, the event was cancelled when the third lockdown occurred, and has been left off the calendar for 2022. 6th February: UK Tech Crew member Clive McReady announced the restoration of the Oxford Builder Jaguar engined altered. 8th February: Eurodragster.com started publishing a series of stories from Pioneers of UK Drag Racing, published in co-operation with John Hunt and Nick Pettitt. During the first season, we featured stories from Derek Metcalf, Bill Haynes, Mick Wheeler, Tony Anderson, Keith Stacey and crew member John Smith. We're pleased to mention that a second series is being readied for publication in 2022. 12th February: Nottingham-based Benito Chiarella announced that he had acquired the Chevy Camaro Pro Mod from the late Johan Westberg's family and was embarking on a complete rebuild for a UK Pro Modified debut next year. The car will be racing under the Straight to The Point banner, first used by dad George in the 1990s. 18th February: The Santa Pod Racers Club Riders and Drivers meeting was held in virtual form and can still be seen on Youtube. Although we were not to know it at the time, due to Covid restrictions, it was announced on 26th March that the Springspeed Nationals was re-scheduled to the third week in May, the Festival of Power postponed to the end of June and the FIA/FIM Main Event replaced by VW Breakout, a non-permit event involving several nostalgia classes as well as VWs. Also announced at the Riders and Drivers meeting were the Perpetual Award trophy winners from 2020, as the club's annual Dinner Dance was cancelled due to lockdown. 24th February: Super Pro ET racer Andy Thetford revealed his Black Pearl, a complete rebuild of the Obsession Motorsports Camaro with twin turbo big block power. 26th February: Swedish Top Doorslammer racer Caroline Strand announced she was investing in a new Corvette C7 doorslammer, powered by a BAE 526ci screw blown combination. The car did not reach competition in 2021 so we look forward to seeing her out with it in 2022. 6th March: Eurodragster.com sponsor Lee Child announced details of the first Spitfire Raceway event for 2021, with racing held behind closed doors by pre-entry only. Once restrictions had been released, the event count grew back to four (all 2020 events were cancelled apart from 8th February) with five dates being announced for 2022. 11th March: Outlaw Anglia announced Renegade Racing Fuels as title sponsor and over 45 members signed up to race in six rounds for 2021. A week later, we were pleased to be sponsored by the class, the first time that had occurred in the history of Eurodragster.com. 12th March: Williams Bros Racing in expansion and hiring mode, along with a shortly to be launched web site, announced their support of Competition Eliminator which now includes Stock and Super Stock race cars running quicker indexes than 12.15. They posted money for winners and runners up. Later in the year they sponsored the Big Bracket at the Doorslammers. 30th March: Lucas Oil Products and Cannon Motorsport celebrated their tenth anniversary. Neil Midgley would go on to win at the Festival of Power. 7th April: We previewed the entries for Eurodragster.com Junior Drag bike, following the announcement that bike supporters Projoint Fabrication (Sharron and Jerry Collier) and Nitrojunkie UK (Lizz and Kev Charman) were posting cash for race winners, closest to dial and championship winner. The JDB club held raffles during the year which raised enough money to pay for their 2022 ACU licenses. There were three debuts in the class in 2021, with more expected for 2022. 13th April: Lee Child announced that Dakota Raceway at Smeatharpe Airfield, Devon, would open its doors for the first time in 2021 on 24th April. Three further events were able to be held in 2021 (2020 had been affected by the lockdown with events only possible on 14th March and 3rd October). Five are planned for 2022. 21st April: The NitrOlympX at Hockenheim was cancelled for the second successive year. At the same time organisers announced 26th-28th August as the 2023 dates. They'll be back... 23rd April: The Fueltech Nitrobike Showdown was announced. Based in Finland but including a round in Sweden, the series pits Top Fuel and Super Twin racers against one another in mixed fields with 18 racers signed up at the beginning of the season. The round at Mantorp Park, held over the eighth was a big success but, of the five rounds in Finland two at LSK Business Park, Kauhava were cancelled and the other three suffered weather issues. 29th April: Fuel Altered and Pro Modified racer Nick Davies came up with the idea of Old School Classic Altered Racers or OSCAR. Rules include maximum wheelbase of 110", mandatory clutches, 25% engine setback, 8-71 blowers and nitro permitted. Six cars are in preparation. 1st May: The Doorslammer Tour was announced, involving Swedish tracks Kjula, Malmo, Mantorp and Hudksvall. The continuance of a 500 person limit for spectators proved difficult for large scale events to be put on in Sweden, and the resulting events were of a smaller scale than previously seen. 3rd May: Zerbst airfield held a run what ya brung organised by AMC Dessau which with four other dates would prove to be the only track action in Germany in 2021, however German teams made their way to Clastres in France for the Association Trophee Dragster. 10th May: Nostalgia Superstock stalwart Pete Walton announced he is building a '64 Plymouth Savoy for 2022 competition. With a number of new builds and existing cars coming into play in the class's six rounds of racing, to be increased to seven in 2022 with the addition of a round at Melbourne Raceway. 23rd May: The STP Springspeed Nationals, the first permit meeting of 2021, was held, but bad weather limited action to two qualifying sessions with the prize fund was carried forward. There were several racing debuts at the event, and a welcome return for Andy Clifford in his Snake Eyes slingshot. 30th May: VW Breakout, in the slot usually occupied by the FIA/FIM-E Main Event, included a great Run What Ya Brung contingent including VWs, Wild Bunch and Outlaw Street as well as competition in NEM Plant Nostalgia Super Stock, VWDRC Heads Up, Gasser Circus, Renegade Outlaw Anglia and Supercharged Outlaws. 2nd June: Photojournalist Mark Gredzinski announced his latest book which will cover his photography from the 1980s. In later posts, Mark revealed he has scanned 5000 images of which 300 will go into the book. Anyone knowing Mark's work will be anticipating a fine volume when it comes out in 2022. 4th June: Chris Skinner gave us the detail on of TAZ Racing, the group of run what ya brung racers he helps organise. Any ID of RWYB racers is most welcome, and TAZ Racing's stable run both quick and consistently. 7th June: After planning a full season, it was with much regret that the FIA Championship was cancelled for the second successive year. Keith Bartlett, Chairman of Drag Racing Europe said that even a two-round FIA Shootout Cup will not be possible to hold owing to the Covid-19 restrictions with travel and quarantine regulations. In December the FIA announced approval of a six round championship for 2022. 17th June: The first sight of a Top Fuel car in 2021, driven by Stig Neergaard over the eighth at Mosten Raceway as the track held a test and tune, attended by European racers some of whom had not made a pass since 2019. Mosten hosted its traditional event later in the year, renamed Rock N'Race at which Stig and Rikard Gustafsson both ran under 4s in the eighth. 20th June: Melbourne Raceway hosted a No Prep race with 37 cars making the call, some driving enormous distances. It was also Eurodragster.com's first visit to the Yorkshire track where we concluded a sponsorship deal for the track with Straightliners Events. Former editor Tog ventured up North too. 27th June: The rescheduled Festival of Power included runs by Top Fuel racers Susanne Callin and Antti Horto, five Funny Cars racing in a Cannonball format, several jet cars and a full programme of national racing with Kev Slyfield winning Pro Modified. The record books for Funny Bike, Super Street Bike and Comp Bike took a hammering from Stuart Crane, Steve Venables, with Louis Davies and Sean Mills in Comp Bike. 30th June: Word came in that Billy Gane had braved the travel restrictions and crossed the Channel to compete at the Association Trophee dragster race at Clastres on 19th-20th June. Billy was the winner in a 20 strong Super Pro ET field, winning the final when Fabien Dubois in his dragster was unable to make the call. 6th July: A drag racing display at Brands Hatch's American SpeedFest drew fans. The headliner was John Tebenham's Fabulous Lightning McQueen Corvette Pro Modfied accompanied by a number of Nostalgia Superstock vehicles. JT commented: "Amazing weekend at the American SpeedFest, massive thanks to Don and Alex the man at Brands. Rain every morning for an hour and then hot, hot, hot. Met some great ex racers (Nick especially) and a pro mod race team soon coming back... It had everything for everyone, do it next year, you will love it, we did." 7th July: Expat UK Stock/Super Stock racers Carla Pittau and Rick McCann made it from their Tierp base to Hudiksvall where they took part in an eighth mile race. Carla commented: "It felt as if we’d been to prison and were suddenly released without charge. Or if we’d been kidnapped and then let go without ransom. Or maybe we were still locked up in the cellar and this was all a dream." Although they both went out early, Carla won a trophy for best RT and both were back among friends again. Carla and Rick made it to five races in 2021 including the Sundsvall mid-Sweden Final in late August, where Carla won the category. 8th July: Straightliners announced they had secured Armstrong Raceway also known as Dishforth Airfield for racing with the aid of bike racer Jason King. Whilst Dishforth is due to be open to 2031, its use for drag racing and sprinting provides a fantastic addition to other tracks in the North of England. An event was promptly organised for 31st July to 1st August event which became round 5 of the Straightliners championship, Mark Flavell running his Funny Car to provide, as ever, a great photo opportunity. 12th July: Dragstalgia 10 was completed. Highlights included Tim Garlick winning the Dragstalgia Cannonball with a string of 6.2s in his nostalgia Funny Car, and Jedd Guy setting a new Outlaw Anglia ET record of 7.0145. Lowlights were the 'Frantic' Jaguar V12 Altered, seriously damaged after a stuck throttle incident in the startline area, Chris Manning's 'Villain' slingshot scraping the wall in the shutdown area, Rob Brindle's Outlaw Anglia coming to rest on its side at the top end, and Neil Townson's shattered '32 Ford Body. The latter two cars were repaired, the first two were however sold on but it is hoped they will reappear in the future, the Villain going to Matt Holllins and Alan Skipp. 19th July: Former altered racers Steve Clarke and Nigel Rigen, aka Good Guys Racing, announced that after a break of 40 years they would be returning to the track in a rebuilt Topolino altered with blown alky Big Block Chevy power. The car's debut at the Hot Rod Drags went smoothly, with an eight second timeslip for Steve in his first run with it. 23rd July: Nitro Revival sponsor Geoff Stilwell announced he was abandoning attempts to run his Lucas Oil 7707 Fuel Roadster at Bonneville Speed Week due to travel restrictions. He did confirm that "The battle for the first to 300mph between me and Ron Hope is still on although Ron has a not-so-secret weapon in the services of Shane Tecklenburg to tune his 755 roadster which will be capable of running 300mph." 26th July: Lydden Hill Race Circuit dipped its toe into No Prep racing and former News Editor Tog volunteered to overcome his allergy to circuits and went along to enjoy some grass roots racing. Kent based Taz Racing were strong supporters of the event along with Mick Sharpe whose roadgoing 1971 Dodge Dart made its racing debut. Plaudits to Paul Marston for arranging the event during an American Car themed Custom Cup event. 26th July: Bug Jam was a huge success with the festival atmosphere preserved after many of the previous restrictions had been lifted. Top Fuel appeared with Susanne Callin running three consecutive three second passes, a remarkable achievement. Ida Zetterstrom started her licensing procedures and showed great flair in handling her car, tuned by RF Motorsport. Running with a select number of national sportsman classes, Andy Bond re-set the Street Eliminator speed record. 29th July: We reported on a reunion at Blackbushe Airport of Surrey Pioneers including a meeting of many drag racing historians and journalists. The gathering of those who had told their stories to Eurodragster.com was well attended, garnered Custom Car coverage courtesy Keith Lee and was masterminded by John Hunt whose history in the sport goes back to the 1970s. Nick Pettitt videoed the gathering and a second series of British Drag Racing pioneers is planned for this winter. 30th July: Williams Bros Racing debuted one of the most desired cars in Stock/Super Stock racing in the US, a COPO Camaro. Legal for Competition Eliminator in the UK, Nic Williams quickly got down to the mid 8s and secured the championship with it. 2nd August: The Mantorp Park Drag Revival featured 14 nitro fuelled bikes for the Fueltech Nitrobike Showdown. Vesa Lipponen was the #1 qualifier with a 3.96 over the eighth. Despite the class being split into two ladders there was insufficient time to complete eliminations. 2nd August: The Mopar Euro Nationals had the largest Nostalgia Super Stock field ever, with 46 cars qualified. Chris Goodale was the victor and revealed he is restoring Russo's Rat, a Top Street Chevelle from the early 1970s that he bought 20 years ago. In Pro Modified, Nick Davies won with a string of low sixes, his first five to come at the Euro Finals. 4th August: We reported on the car classes at the Mantorp Park Drag Revival which included four Top Methanol cars and 13 Pro Xtreme/Top Doorslammers. Magnus Larsson's Funny Car got the better of the trio of three A/Fuel dragsters, whereas former FIA Pro Modified champion Jan Ericsson emerged victorious in Pro Xtreme. 15th August: Tierp Arena in Sweden held its first race in two years. Despite a lower than hoped for entry of 190 vehicles there was a good representation of competitors in most classes – apart from Top Fuel. In Pro Modified Jan Ericsson ran the only 5.7s time recorded in the class in Europe in 2021, whereas Estonian racer Andres Arnover ran a 5.88 only to suffer a fire on a subsequent run which sidelined him for the remainder of the season. A trio of Pro Mods from the Netherlands made the journey to compete, giving hope that international competition will return in 2022. 20th August: Adam Gleadow brought out his Motor Psycho fuel altered for the first time since a complete rebuild. A soft 150ft launch went smoothly, and Adam has said he will be making runs at Melbourne Raceway in 2022. 22nd August: We reported on sponsor Andy Robinson's new Anger Management 2.0 Pro Modified Camaro which made its debut at the Doorslammers. With major sponsorship from NGK Spark Plugs the car looks great and whilst the build was on after the previous car crashed at 2018 National Finals. The debut went well and the car scored its best of 6.125/224 at the National Finals. 23rd August: The STP Greenlight Nationals at Santa Pod Raceway, remodelled to include all sportsman National Championship classes, was halted by rain which prevented the running of finals despite a huge effort by the track crew. Junior Drag Bike racer Samuel Hope won on his debut race. Earlier in the event, Al Williamson's Howlin' Hauler had taken a trip across the track and into the left hand barrier and Al vowed to get the pickup back on track for next year. John Tebenham gave his 'Crew Killer' Pop its most extreme burnout yet which just crossed the line in Pro ET resulting in a quiet word from Race Director David Warren. 28th August: Cath and Tig Napier of Pro ET team Bad Habit Racing backed up the Perfect Light Award they have so generously sponsored since 2013 with a specially designed decal which was awarded to every racer who has won the award. We thank Cath and Tig for continuing to sponsor the Perfect Light Award, as we do Andy 'Fadster' Hadfield for the Perfect ET Award and Bob Roberts for Bob's Photo Finish Award. 31st August: Rocket bike racer Eric Teboul announced his first track appearance since 2019 having modified his bike to incorporate a new, larger, rocket engine. He had previously tested the bike in his back yard. Despite retirement hints, Eric indicated he will be back in 2023 to attempt to go quicker and faster still. 12th September: Norway's Gardermoen Raceway hosted its final race of the year, all on a smaller scale than before but attracting some international competitors. Sadly Super Twin star Hans Olav Olstad suffered an explosion which left him severely injured and requiring a lengthy rehabilitation process. Hans Olav's progress on this path has been excellent and we wish him the best for 2022. 13th September: The Euro Finals was a huge success, the biggest European event since 2019 and a large field. New records were again set in Street Eliminator, Super Street Bike and Comp Bike. Ida Zetterstrom won a Top Fuel match race with Susanne Callin and Steve Ashdown was the Funny Car winner. Bruno Bader doubled up from the Doorslammers in Pro Modified. 16th September: Hudiksvall Raceway in Sweden hosted the Doorslammer Tour finals including an eight car Top Doorslammer field. The Doorslammer tour was set up by three tracks not aligned with Speedgroup EDRS to promote racing, however we couldn't find any points championships or Facebook posts following publication of their rules on 23rd April, nor were our messages responded to. So we can't tell readers if there is a series next year or if Huddik, Kjula, Malmo, and Mantorp will be aligning to it. Answers on a postcard… 20th September: Duck All Prep, promoted tirelessly by Lee Child made its debut at Melbourne Raceway. Divided into a number of classes, the competition was a success and other established race classes Gasser Circus, Nostalgia Superstock and Supercharged Outlaws are planning on visiting the Yorkshire venue in 2022. 27th September: The STP National Finals decided the UK and SPRC Champions for 2021. The Street Eliminator records were reset yet again, by Andy Bond. The event also included presentation of the British Junior Dragster Club Awards. Among visitors to Santa Pod, Andy Willsheer spotted Top Fuel racers Maja Udtian and Liam Jones with newborn daughter Matilda enjoying her first meeting. 28th September: The Malta Drag Racing Association announced that the Maltese government is to build a new racetrack at Hal Far incorporating an improved drag racing facility. The project is to be funded by the Malta government through its National Development and Social Fund which is to sell passports to non-residents of the islands. The project had been lobbied for during several years but it was the president of the Malta Motorsport Federation, Duncan Micallef who got the concept across the line with the government. 2nd October: Also taking place the last weekend in September was the Sywell Classic for which Jerry Cookson provided information and Darren Skidmore photographed the event during which Chris Skinner had his Taz Racing Fiat 126 on its rear bumper. 6th October: Dakota Raceway hosted its October event in atrocious wind and rain but still managed to get the event finished thanks to the efforts of track crew and promoter Lee Child. 8th October: We profiled Kjula Raceway at Eskiltuna Airport, Sweden which hosted four sportsman class races in 2021 and plans the same in 2022. The final event of the season attracted a record 179 competitors and we were grateful to Henrik Lindberg for letting us show his photographs. 11th October: At the GTi Festival James Rhodes won the VW Heads up race which included 25 competitors and three qualifiers in the nines, with Jacob Bailey getting his first run over 150mph. The VWDRC have gone from strength to strength in 2021 and have assembled a £20,000 prize fund for 2022 with dedicated track days on 18th March, and 9th-10th June as well as lifestyle and championship events. 28th October: Straightliners announced that drag racing would be returning to Jurby Motodrome on the Isle of Man in 2022, with two dates planned one coinciding with the Isle of Man TT. 13th November: King Racing and Cannon Motorsports announced a collaboration involving two of the coolest nitro fuelled bikes, the Gulf Oil machine and the Super Twin, with Neil Midgley as the rider of both. Fillipos Papafilippou, known to race fans as 'Fast Fil', announced two weeks earlier he was selling the Gulf Oil Top Fuel bike and taking a break from racing to finance his daughters' university education. 13th November: The MDRA finals at Hal Far, Malta had the quickest four cylinder Mk1 Escort in the world break the six second barrier by Clint Fenech and Lixxu Racing. The race had a clutch of visitors from the UK who were captured by our photographic contributor Andrew Green. One of them, Drag Race Europe director Keith Bartlett, signalled his intention for an FIA race to be held at the refurbished Hal Far in 2023. 16th November: Geoff Stilwell with the Lucas Oil 7707 landspeed racing team made licensing runs at Lake El Mirage in his '27T fuel roadster and confirmed he will be racing both there and at Bonneville during 2022. 22nd November: We reported on the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Gala Dinner held on 20th with a transcript of acceptance speeches, even including bits which in the excitement of the occasion the recipient omitted to deliver. Congratulations to Jeff Byne, Dave Wilson, Nick Davies, Ian King, P&G Racing (Pelle Lindelow and Gunnar Elmqvist) and John Price for their induction and well done to the BDRHoF management team for putting on such a splendid occasion. 29th November: Swedish racer Monica Öberg announced her Top Fuel operation is up for sale, bringing to an end a 35 year career in running in the premier class in the sport with partner Dan Soderberg. 1st December: The Wild Bunch held their 25th Annual Prize Presentation at the end of November with biggest winners being Rob and Pete Brown with their Rebel slingshot winning each of the Championships held by the nostalgia club. The Don Garlits 'Spirit of Drag Racing' Award went to the Coulsell family, mainstays of the category and the sport. 1st December: Double Sportsman ET racer Dan Holloway revealed his new build, a '33 Plymouth altered with a Big Block Chevy engine, destined for a Pro ET debut in 2022. 9th December: Nostalgia Funny Car racer Tony Betts was announced as spokesperson for the class in the UK, which prompted us to have a look at the class and anticipate new cars in the works for the future, from Martin Maxwell and Simon Hayward. In memoriam - those we have lost in 2021: John Charlton - Midlands based drag bike racer in the 1970s Keith Alder-Barber - joint owner of the Heavy Chevy Mike Key - photographer for hot rodding and drag racing magazines and books, hot rodder Ollie Burn - owner, tuner and driver in Top Fuel, Pro Comp and Fuel Altereds Ton Pels - nitro bike owner, tuner and racer from Netherlands Doug Thorley - US Funny Car pioneer Jilly Lowe - partner to bike racer Len Paget Jürgen Landvogt - pit marshal at races in Germany Dennis Priddle - UK Drag Racing legend, Top Fuel and Funny Car racer Dave Rowlands - track marshal and Wild Bunch racer Gerasimos Filippatos - Greece-based AWD car racer Aad Möntemann - drag bike and sprint racer in the Netherlands and UK Kevin Cerasale - hot rod builder, gearbox specialist and crew member Dick Cruse - Top Alcohol dragster driver in the 1980s Dale Edmonds - Cannon Engineering team member and owner of DRE Carbon Composites Vince Shaw - Racer, crewman and engineer Ian Warren - 9.90 and 10.90 Bike racer George Bebikan - Street car racer Dal Denton - US Funny Car, also Top Fuel racer and crew chief Arthur Christy - South African drag racing pioneer and AA/FD racer at Santa Pod's 1971 Internationals Tina Hambidge - wife of Comp Bike racer Paul Hambidge Jonny Young - ET Bike racer John Brown - Shakespeare County Raceway and Santa Pod Raceway amenities worker. 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