Event entry update. 30th August: Thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall for sending us version 6 of the official entry list for Not The European Finals Presented by STP. You can check out the entry list by clicking here. The entry closing date has been extended to next Tuesday, 1st September, with the final version of the entry list being published on Wednesday 2nd September. You can find the official on-line entry form via the Entry Forms page of the Santa Pod Racers Club web site here. Tommi photo mix. 30th August: Many thanks to Mike Collins for providing an exclusive Hot Gossip photo mix for Eurodragster.com readers, courtesy Street Machine, of Tommi Haapanen's passes at Kauhava on 22nd August, the first runs by a Top Fuel car in Europe in 2020, which you can see by clicking on any of the images below (pdf format, 5MB): Mike writes: 'Anita told me 'This is just for fun'; those words put a big grin on my face...what an image, Tommi rubbing his hands with glee, seemingly on cloud nine at the thought of being turned loose in Anita’s FIA Championship Winning, 10,000HP Top Fuel car - his first Nitro Fuelled ride in more than six years! Blåkläder Summer Nationals from Kauhava. 30th August: The Blåkläder Summer Nationals at Kauhava Raceway in Finland was a weekend filled with great racing, fast times and several personal bests, reports Lena Peres: 'The second of three Summit Racing EDRS Series events was up and many racers had gathered to get the racing feeling and meet, at least a few, of the European racing family. Fast times at a good event that was attended by team Anita Mäkelä, who this time handed over the wheel to her husband Tommi. He ran a personal best of 3.97/422 km/h, which shows he is still in business. Johnny Oksa, Juha Ollikainen and Ida Zetterström was just some of all well known names who were present. The weather was as usual in Finland, warm and sunny with interruptions for a few rain showers. But the track staff was quick to make the strip ready again and by the whole impression was that it was a very good and nice event'. Top Fuel racer Tommi Haapanen (see above) made three full runs in wife and four-time FIA TF Champion Anita Mäkelä's Top Fuel Dragster and all three were great passes. The last time Tommi had been in a Top Fuel car was in the 2014 FHRA Nitro Nationals, driving the team's spare car with Anita running at the same event. This time, the whole team focused on Tommi and the result was three great passes, showcasing their quality and the track's grip. Anita said after the runs 'Tommi ran two 3.9 second times and still knew how to drive at 489km/h. After the three runs we are out of nitro and are happy to go home! We would especially like to thank Anssi Pinola, Jarmo Grönman and the whole FHRA Official track crew and officials! You made a great track on which it was great to race, and thank you for the great atmosphere! The team wore shirts emblazoned with 'Lagana Strong' in tribute to Dom Lagana who is in hospital with serious injuries following a road accident on 9th August. Among other quick classes, several nitro burning and funny bikes ran together as a Top Fuel Bike class. The qualifying positions, with terminal speeds in kph made by each, were: Vesa Lipponen (Team Detonation Super Twin), 6.095/382.03 Samu Kemppainen, (Skullracing Super Twin), 6.519/336.42 Jari Saarela (Funny Bike), 6.822/324.51 Jere Laaksonen (Funny Bike), 6.909/266.74 Torsti Kettula (Walkka MC Super Twin), 6.922/302.08 Kari Rautanen (Grande Catastrofe Racing Funny Bike), 7.193/317.07 Mikko Rajaniemi, (Sirpa Top Fuel Bike) 10.708/129.26 The winner was Jari Saarela who ran a 6.879/324.22 when Vesa Lipponen could not start in the final. Pictures (clockwise): Tommi Haapanen (Heikki Malinen photo), Jari Saarela (TFB winner), Andres Arnover v Jere Rantaniemi (Top Doorslammer), Vesa Lipponen (TFB), Ossi Oikarinen (Pro Street), Jaakko Lauhasmaa (Top Doorslammer) (all Pekka Rouvinen photos). Other notable runs were made in Top Doorslammer by Jere Rantaniemi (who has competed in FIA Pro Mod competition) who ran a best of 4.090/300.12 and Andres Arnover from Estonia who ran consistently in the 4.1s and best was 4.114/305.78. Next quickest in TD was Jarmo Nyberg on 4.289 followed by Jaakko Lauhasmaa on 4.37/271.54, and Mika Eloranta on 4.519/260.81. The winner was Jere Rantaniemi on 4.125/278.11 over Andres Arnover who left on Jere by two hundredths at the start and recorded 4.165/299.5. In Super Street Bike, three riders, Toni Suokas, Vesa Ruhanen, and Ida Zetterström, competed and Ida improved on her six second performance in the previous race, running an amazing 6.885/338.300 in qualifying (new Finnish record and second quickest SSB in Europe) and a 6.905/346.95 to defeat Vesa Ruhanen's 7.311/322.44 in the final. Many thanks to Pekka Rouvinen and Heikki Malinen who provided our photos. Other coverage is from Reijo Karkkainen (photos) and live streams for each of Saturday and Sunday. We have extracted the timing data from the FHRA's excellent results service which you can download in Excel spreadsheet format by clicking here. NTEF entry deadline extended. 28th August: Thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall for sending us version 5 of the official entry list for Not The European Finals Presented by STP. You can check out the entry list by clicking here. The entry closing date has been extended to next Tuesday, 1st September. You can find the official on-line entry form via the Entry Forms page of the Santa Pod Racers Club web site here. Nostalgic for NitrOlympX? 28th August: This weekend would have been the NitrOlympX at Hockenheim, a showcase of European Drag Racing, which Andy Willsheer wrote memorably about in his feature on the event The Hockenheim Experience. As a reminder of what the event means to so many people around the world, we have linked our event pages for 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 to official video coverage which has been preserved in various locations. Where there is complete coverage of the night show within a lengthy broadcast we have stated the starting point in lieu of an index point. The video, created by Trakbak Racing and Track Group Europe for 2014-17 to a very high standard, which was then continued by Hockenheimring GmBH in 2018 and 2019, gives great memories of the races and iconic night show. Whilst it is sad that 2020 has had to be cancelled due to Covid-19, we are delighted that the 2021 edition of the NitrOlympX will be taking place on 20th-22nd August, so put those dates in your diaries! Photo of Stig Neergaard © Andy Willsheer Happy Hudvik test. 28th August: The little town of Hudiksvall is known as ”Glada Hudik” in all of Sweden. It means Happy Hudik. Last weekend, HMK - Hudiksvalls Motorklubb hosted a test on 22-23 August on their eighth-mile track which was attended by several Swedish drag racing stars. The track has history. Although Hudiksvall Raceway was used for drag racing in the 1970s it fell out of use for a number of years as it was used as Hudiksvall Flygplats, a regional airport flying to Stockholm, from 1977 onwards. However these flights ceased in the 2000s and by 2017 a group of racers had assembled to restore it. The asphalt surface course was relaid, with an intended racing groove of 5 metres. The first meeting, a street race was in July of 2017 with a test and tune in September of that year. Benny Strand, Pelle Hallgren, Ulf Olsson, Henrik Brink were the main team with others and Andreas Arthursson was the first pro team to test there. Photos courtesy Cenneth Schiller (clockwise): Micke Gullqvist, Stefan Ernryd, Lasse Sjöderlund, Anders Edh, Andreas Sjödin, Jerry Solfeldt. In May 2018 another test & Tune took place and for Summer Week on 19 July 2018 Sörens electricity power & Montage AB put up SEK 10,000 to anyone who could set a new track record of 201 m. This was increased to SEK25,000 at the 1-2 September event where Anders Edh recorded 4.1296/295.89. For 2019, Hudiksvall Raceway was granted a race in the Top Doorslammer series on 31st May-2nd June. Andreas Arthursson had reduced the track record to 4.0484/302.69 at the Test & Tune on 4-5 May. Further Test & Tune events were run and the facility started to get attention in the Swedish motorsport press. For 2020, buildings were delivered and installed and underground wiring was installed in June. A Test and Tune had been held in May, Sweden choosing not to have a lockdown but still restricted to less than 500 people at one event so only 22 teams attended. In June this increased to 44 teams, and last weekend 83 vehicles were signed on, the largest event since reopening. Many of the names were familiar, Michael Gullqvist, Andreas Sjödin, Lenn Lindell, Jimmy Ålund, Stefan Ernryd, Robert Arthursson, Tommy Leindahl, Krister Adeen from the car ranks and Mathias Bohlin, Kalle Lyren, Anders Blanck and Peter Svensson from the bike riders. For many of them, this had been their first runs in their vehicles for over 10 months. We are grateful to Hudiksvalls Motorklubb for the results of the Test & Tune: Car Test & Tune          Saturday Sunday Bike Test & Tune        Saturday Sunday Stock Super Stock       Saturday Sunday Jr Dragster Test & Tune Saturday Sunday JT calls the shots. 28th August: Super Pro ET and Pro Modified racer John Tebenham had a great time with the Crew Killer Pop at the STP Greenlight Nationals but had to make an announcement after the rain-off: 'It was bonkers, absolutely bonkers (Colin)...We thought there was a burnout trophy up for grabs , so we went for it. The one on the test day was about six seconds past not really being on top of the situation. You have to give it to Ian and crew. I almost hit the middle barriers and got it away and then thought it was going through the wall, then it went up on two wheels and thought it was going over . A quick look, no fluid reverse up - and run. I spoke to Ian and they all thought it was going over. Paul Marston is quick on his toes, we have a great shot of him jumping out the way'. Sadly JT says the rain-off means his prize money in pro ET won't now be paid. 'I stated that all finals have to run at the same event on the final day and no prize money in the case of rain offs. They were our rules, which is a shame but a championship has to be earned. So I am sticking to the rules BUT I have spoken to a group of sponsors who are more than keen to help out next year, and we need to decide the rules. I promise you if the three rounds had run I would have paid. If anyone has a problem with this, come and have chat in my pit obviously 2 m apart'. Photo © Julian Hunt Event entry update. 26th August: Thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall for sending us version 4 of the official entry list for Not The European Finals Presented by STP. You can check out the entry list by clicking here. Entry closes this Friday, 28th August, after which entry, if accepted may be subject to a late entry penalty. You can find the official on-line entry form via the Entry Forms page of the Santa Pod Racers Club web site here. Swift snippets. 26th August: We have a birthday on the team tomorrow (27th August). Please join us in wishing a big Happy Birthday to Eurodragster.com photographer Julian. Have a great day buddy. The Mad Welshman has updated his Flickr page with two large albums from the Nostalgia Drags at the start of August. You can see Mad's photos by clicking here. Paul Bryan has posted 153 photos from Saturday of the STP Green Light Nationals. Paul says 'It's great to be back at the Pod for a race meeting. Many thanks to everyone at the Pod for the outstanding work to comply with Covid-19 requirements, the work must’ve been immense, and for that we were treated to a great weekend of racing. I only managed the Saturday, but it was a pleasure, albeit the wind was a tad lively! Paul has posted his photos on his Flickr album which you can see by clicking here. You can also find them on Facebook, as Paul says, 'if you love the joy of tagging and sharing'. Jim Kelly asks a question. 26th August: Our good friend Jim Kelly, former writer and photographer for Super Stock & Drag Illustrated, retired executive at longtime Eurodragster.com sponsor VP Racing Fuels, and author of his motorsports memoir Fuelin' Around, has spent his new career continuing to pen a series of military novels. His most recent titled The Lost Pulse was published last Autumn. Earlier this year he was the interview subject in Drag Illustrated. The latest and third in a series of thrillers will be launched soon, with a yet-to-be-revealed title. Jim says: 'Here's the elevator pitch. A very talented Special Agent at the FBI has exceptional intuition but when his investigations take him too close to the mo">st powerful in DC he gets framed and is given a choice - go to jail or take your talents elsewhere. From Base Camp on Everest to London, Moscow, Washington, and the beaches of Thailand, while those closest to him are killed off, he’s in and out of all sorts of trouble trying to find their killers while protecting the bullied and abused'. With the next novel complete and the sequel nearly finished, for 2021 I may jump back into a motorsports project, but fiction this time, a thriller set in the racing world. Perhaps I'll develop a protagonist who travels to races all around the world and the twist will be - he's a spy or perhaps a contract killer for the CIA or MI6. My question for you is - should the main character be a driver or a journalist? Let me know. STP Greenlight Nationals Finals will be run. 24th August: Many thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall for the following announcement about the finals at the STP Greenlight Nationals which didn't take place due to rain: 2020 has and continues to be a strange year, however following the rain off of the Green Light Nationals, and as we were running the event outside of the normal permit, we get to do something we could normally not do. Under normal circumstances, when an event is finished, it’s finished, the points are calculated to the round of eliminations we got to in each class, and that’s it. Now, however, all of the classes that ran at the STP Green Light Nationals, which will also run at Not The European Finals, will run their respective finals in a special Friday night session. We will have the Fuel cars and Jet cars .and other demo vehicles, but also run all of the finals to complete the STP Green Light Nationals. Points will then be allocated to winners and Runner Up, and trophies will be presented. The several classes that don’t appear at the Not The European Finals will have their finals run at either VW Breakout for the VW/OFF finalists, and the National Finals for Nostalgia Super Stock; these will be run during the first round of qualifying at each of the respective events. Please note though that the prize fund for all of the classes at the STP Green Light Nationals will be paid as normal this week, with the two finalists in each class sharing the winner and runner up funds; this will be paid through the bank transfer system as normal. STP Greenlight Nationals halted by rain. 24th August: With only the final rounds to run, a successful STP Greenlight Nationals fell prey to a deluge and continued rain, and the hard-working track team were unable to dry the racing surface in time. Up to that point the event was a success, with four qualifying sessions for all classes completed on Saturday and some close racing on Sunday. Among the outstanding moments, in Street Eliminator we saw Mark Todd in his Aston Martin run a best of 7.014/209.84 after several runs in the 7.0s and Jason Weir taking his Plymouth Suburban to a best of 7.9622/175.75. The excitement extended to Track Worx Comp Eliminator where Kev Slyfield in his Pro Mod T-Bird ran a fantastic 5.9767/239.48. In Leeks Landscape Funny Bike, Stu Crane got his new turbo setup to a 6.912/198.03. The Exhibition class contained three nitro bikes, a nostalgia Funny Car and the new ex-Rickie Smith Pro Mod Camaro of Bobby Wallace. As ever you can see our race coverage by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Congratulations to 9.50 Bike racers Alan Morrison (pictured left) and Craig Wright who respectively won the Eurodragster.com/Bad Habit Racing Perfect Light award of £125 for a 0.0007 light and £50 from the Eurodragster.com Perfect ET award sponsored by Andy Hadfield and the Twister Racing Team. We believe this is the first time ever that both awards have been won in the same pairing. The awards will be reset to £50 for the Not The Euro Finals on 11th-13th September. Thanks to Adam Bentley and David Anniwell of Santa Pod Raceway's timing team for forwarding us the official STP Greenlight Nationals timing data which you can check out by clicking here or clicking on the Timing Data link in the main menu. Courtesy of Adam and David's timing data we can confirm that 8.50 Bike racers Steve Howe and Ross Morrison are the winners of the Bob's Photo Finish Award posted for the race by longtime Eurodragster.com supporter and sponsor Bob Roberts. Steve and Ross will each receive £50 from Bob for the 0.0027-second finish line margin, which equates to 7.1055 inches, or 180.48mm in new money. Tickets on sale for Not The Euro Finals. 24th August: Following discussions with local authorities and successful social distancing at the STP Greenlight Nationals, Santa Pod Raceway have announced that spectator tickets for Not The Euro Finals are on sale which you can purchase by clicking on this link. All tickets are available on a first-come, first served basis and can only be purchased on-line. Multi-day tickets include camping, with three day tickets including admission from 2pm on Thursday and three nights' camping. Not yet official, but announced over the PA as an intention by Santa Pod Raceway CEO Keith Bartlett, are more events to be held in October and even November, weather conditions and Covid-19 restrictions permitting. One suggestion he made was for a 'Baby Doorslammer' event. It would certainly be welcomed by many European teams that have been equally deprived of racing as UK teams have. Dragtastic 2 at Melbourne. 24th August: Many thanks to Nelson Parks-Kelli for bringing to our attention the next two events at the re-surfaced Melbourne Raceway, which has now got a brand new grandstand thanks to a work party during the weekend. Dragtastic 2 is on 5th-6th September with racing starting at 9:30am on Saturday 5th. The event is open to all bikes and cars on both days. It includes RWYB (Run What You Brung) so if you fancy coming and just driving or riding on our runway and having fun, then enter online and turn up, simple! Straightliners classes are available to anyone looking to make up points. This event is open to the public but camping and spectator tickets are limited! All tickets must be bought on-line at this link. The following event is on 10th-11th October and full details will be published at straightliners.events. Nelson writes: Melbourne Raceway (formerly York) is one of the most renowned drag racing strips in the UK; set-up in the late 70's this track could tell a few stories. The original organisers of this prestigious runway and a family who dedicated decades of their lives running it were the Murty family, who deserve the upmost respect and recognition for the work they did, looking after the track and running the events. With a loyal and dedicated community following, Melbourne Raceway is without doubt a very loved and adored drag-strip that has played a part of so many racers and enthusiasts lives for decades, some people came here with their grandfathers, grandmothers, mums and dads and began racing here themselves where their own children have followed and the cycle continues. Unfortunately Melbourne Raceway closed down in 2017, a heart-breaking development for the community. Straightliners have stepped up to the plate in the hope of helping the community rebuild and bring back Melbourne Raceway; it is incredibly important to the UK racing community and it deserves to be preserved and kept open for racing. Melbourne Raceway has been such an important venue and the backdrop to some incredible moments in drag racing, it is a part of racing heritage in the UK and it deserves its rightful place as the North of England's premier drag-racing venue, we aim to bring it back to life by working with the community. Photo credits: New grandstand by Harvey Bosomworth, Melbourne Raceway by Phillip Tomlinson after original by Jeni Dale. Racer notes from STP Greenlight Nationals. 24th August: With pit notes not really possible due to social distancing, we are grateful for racers who have posted accounts of their weekend on social media from which we have gathered the following notes: The Storm Drag Bike team, with rider Lorcan Parnell, said 'Our quickest run on Saturday (6.9291/195.54) didn't count and Mick had to make an emergency clutch repair last night. We hoped the wind would die down on the Sunday which it did however after just making it to the qualifying session this morning the inlet cam (one of Brian Johnson's old ones) broke in the burnout'. Stu Crane from Warpspeed Racing (Funny Bike) showed a picture of a damaged slick and as the team had no spare, he had to withdraw from eliminations having run 6.912/198.03 in the final qualifying session on Sunday. However Warpspeed Racing was ecstatic that Stu's teammate Mark Smith (pictured) ran a new PB of 7.173/179.97 and reached the Funny Bike final. Outlaw Flat Four racers Danny Pike (pictured) and James Wotton went alongside one another and ran nines in the final qualifying session on Saturday, and Danny improved to a new PB of 9.530/146 in round two. David Swift was in his new car; he sadly had gearbox issues during qualifying but still put in some 10 second passes, with plenty more to come from the car as he gets it dialled in. Nostalgia Funny Car racer Andy Raw suffered clutch dust issues as this video link shows, thanking Tony Betts for the loan of an oxygen bottle. Andy also brushed the wall but the only damage was to the headers. Andy also announced he is expecting to become a grandfather in January, his daughter Chloe and son in law Nick being the expectant parents. He commented 'It was a great weekend, so nice to be back at the track, yes we learnt a few things and we are very very happy with the set up'. Top Fuel Bike racer Al Smith had a disappointing weekend at the races, according to bike constructor and crew chief Phil Baimbridge. He said 'The blower belt's teeth were ripped off on hi/s first Saturday run and what was left of the belt was badly frayed, damaging the cam belt and the crank sensor. Then after oil smoke on the second run the team took the cylinder head off to find that # 1 liner had cracked and dropped, the top ring destroying the top of the piston with the debris mashing up the exhaust valve seats. The Rocket is planned to be out again at "Not the European Finals"'. You can read a full account by going to Phil Baimbridge's PBR Top Fuel Bike page. The Nitro Daimler powered dragster Spirit of Le Patron made its debut with Robin Read driving and got down to the numbers quickly, running a 7.0742/189.74 in his first full pass and only his third run in the car. Robin wrote: 'It's been a long journey to get this far, one I would not have been able to complete without the support and assistance of those close to me. It was never going to easy taking things to another level , I'd also promised myself that Spirit would not borrow any parts from Little car. 'After the run we found some issues with the magneto drive and control, also some things within the clutch that required investigation, so we will look at them in the workshop'. You can see a full account of Robin's build up of Spirit of Le Patron by becoming a member of his group Robin Read Drag Racing Street Eliminator racer Mark Todd commented From being out with a broken rocker to a handful of 7.0-7.1’s into a strong headwind we will take that. I’d like to thank my crew, Nick Davies for the loan of a rocker, Dennis At EDA for leaving his wife’s 40th birthday meal to grab the engine build sheet to check valve to piston clearances, Matt Wright for travelling to his unit to check what he had and anyone else that phoned or messaged to help source a rocker. 'The racing is only a small part of this hobby, it’s the friends and community that make it what it is'. You can read about Mark's quest to run a six in his turbo Aston Martin by going to his Six Appeal page. Swift snippets. 24th August: Claire Meaddows writes to wish partner ‘Crazy’ Chris Hartnell a very Happy 60th Birthday for tomorrow, 25th August, with Lots of Love from her, Lee & Sarah, Liam, Tj & Bella, Mike, Mark, Jade & Ben plus Barney. Last year, Chris and the team celebrated the 25th Anniversary of ‘Backdraft’ and 50th Anniversary of the car’s debut as ‘Malibu Express’, with a welcome return to racing after a break of a few years. Chris has already been out racing again this season, and had a fantastic event at the ‘Nostalgia Drags’ at the beginning of August, and sends thanks to everyone at Santa Pod for making that great event possible! Chris celebrated with an 8.73 second run very close to his PB, a couple of 150mph+ passes, match racing son Lee for the first time in 15 years, plus a few double wheelies to boot! Chris really enjoyed racing again with the Wild Bunch and plans to race at next month’s Hot Rod Drags, for some more wheels up fun! Alice of AF Photography has updated her Facebook page which you can see at this link. Happy 60th Richard! 21st August: A very Happy 60th Birthday to 9.50 Bike eight-time National champion Richard Sawatzki from his wife Debbie and all of us at Eurodragster.com. Richard is also nearing a landmark of 1000 runs in competition at Santa Pod Raceway. Longtime readers will know that, once the curiosity of stats guru and Honorary Eurodragster.com Staff Member Andy Marrs has been piqued, he will find an answer however much work it takes. A throwaway comment about who has made the most passes down the track prompted Marrs to go through his data and find the answer for Santa Pod Raceway: 'Two weeks and many, many hours of spreadsheet blindness later I've cobbled together an answer. I only hold data going back to 1995, and the older the data is the less accurate it is. Also, a fact of which I was already aware, timekeepers aren't the best spellers. Racers variously entering as Steve/Stephen/Steven, Dave/David, Pete/Peter etc have made accuracy somewhat testing. 'That said, the runaway leader - something to which he is used - is Richard Sawatzki. Richard did another 29 runs in 2019 which when added to his running total of 943 puts him at 972 runs at Santa Pod. This is at permitted events only, as I don't have data for RWYBs'. We wish Richard the happiest of Birthdays which he will undoubtedly celebrate in competition at this weekend's STP Greenlight Nationals. Funny Bike money up for grabs. 21st August: Thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall for sending us details of additional prize money for Funny Bike at this weekend's STP Greenlight Nationals: Funny Bike racer Dale Leeks contacted SPRC looking to sponsor a class for this weekend, as Dale would normally be racing his Warpspeed Racing Funny Bike and would have paid an entry fee, Dale decided to Sponsor the Winner of Funny Bike at the Green Light Nationals 2020 for the sum of £250 or the same as his entry fee would have been. Dale and his company Leeks Landscapes are also class title sponsors for funny bike in 2020 and will carry over into 2021. Should you be looking for Dales services, details of his company are below. The Leeks Landscapes Group is a hub of companies founded and run by Dale Leeks, consisting of: Leeks Landscapes: Leeks Landscapes undertakes all aspects of Landscaping from domestic to commercial. From one-off small projects to large scale commercial projects in all forms of landscaping, e.g. driveways, patios, land sculpting, formal and soft landscaping. Leeks Landscapes also specialise in custom swimming pool construction from concept to completion; Leeks Civils and Groundworks - specialises in all aspects of groundworks from single project oversite preparation to full commercial groundworks, road construction, drainage, concreting, car parks, drainage and much more; and Leeks Waterscapes: stems from company director Dale Leeks's extensive knowledge in the aquatic sector. Before founding the Leeks Landscapes Group, Dale has project-managed such projects as the waterway construction in the Olympic Park to the one mile long pumped rock fall stream at the prestigious Wisley golf course. Leeks Landscapes specialise in ponds, lakes and fluvial water construction and remediation. SPRC would like to thank Dale for his continued support of Funny Bike in 2020 and look forward to his return to competition soon. Feature: 1982 Cannonball. 21st August: After the first Cannonball race was held in July 1981, SPR owner Roy Phelps knew he was onto a good thing with the drama and competition of the first event. The second running of the event in July 1982 had eight funny cars that were closely matched, and the drama was partly supplied by a malfunctioning timing system that gave the Santa Pod Raceway crew kittens over the course of the event. Sammy Miller brought his rocket dragster Oxygen to the event and ran new outright quickest European ET marks during the event. Our latest historical feature, supported by Lucas Oil Products describes the event in detail and includes over 50 photographs from it as well as a full scan of the event programme and links to video coverage by drag racing historian Nick Pettitt. We are grateful to drag racing historian and director of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Jerry Cookson for supplying archive material. You can see our feature by clicking here or by clicking the features, interviews, tributes link from the main menu. Photo of Sammy Miller in Oxygen © Doug McDiarmid Swift snippets. 21st August: In his latest instalment of his autobiographical blog, John Hunt describes his experience in running the Drag Racing Nuts organisation in the 1990s, using a trader's trailer at two raceways and a number of car shows to raise money for the benefit of injured racers. You can read John's blog here or by clicking on Racer Blogs in the main menu. Our coverage of the STP Greenlight Nationals has expanded to photo galleries on the Friday test day thanks to Julian Hunt, Diana and Eurodragster.com sponsor Bob Roberts. We also plan to bring you the best times recorded on the test day courtesy of etslips.co.uk. To see our STP Greenlight Nationals coverage, click here or go via the link we will place on the Home Page from tomorrow. STP Greenlight Nationals racer announcement. 20th August: Thanks to Santa Pod Raceway Events Manager James Forster for the following important racer announcement for this weekend's STP Greenlight Nationals: This is a last minute plea for help to the racers and racing community ahead of this weekends event. We are under constant scrutiny at the moment with visits from the Local Authority every weekend and this weekend will be no different. Therefore, we are asking for your co-operation to ensure that Santa Pod can continue to operate in these testing times. Our requests are as follows: There will be a riders and drivers meeting at 7.30pm on Friday night in the main grandstand. We would like to see as many riders and drivers there as possible and please remember to follow signs and socially distance when in the grandstands. It is more important than ever to follow the instructions of our pit marshals when you arrive. The pits have been turned on their head for this weekend and we have some extra requests. For instance we need to have barriers on the front of every pit bay to prevent spectators approaching the vehicles and crews. If you have any barriers or bunting or tape at home or anything you can use to improvise– please bring it with you to help us satisfy these requests. Where you are unable to bring any barriers along, we supply fencing to the teams that don’t have barriers. Please remember to socially distance. We know that racing is a sociable activity but we must follow the current government guidelines to ensure that we can continue to race. Please do not mingle in pits that aren’t yours! Please be conscious of working on your vehicles with team members from different households. If you are going to be working in close proximity to one another please bring and wear your own face coverings (and any other applicable PPE) whilst in that close proximity. The staging and pairing lanes are a particular area of concern. They have been made extra wide so please follow marshals instructions when pulling your vehicles down the lanes and DO NOT group together whilst waiting to run. Extra efforts will be made to keep waiting times to a minimum. When returning back to the pits, please DO NOT walk back up the staging lanes, rather vacate the area at the zebra crossing and return to the pits via the public route. We appreciate all of your efforts so far but we need you to continue to help us, to help you. Please follow all on site instructions and government guidelines. Hutchinson and Dibley renew with Sportsman ET. 20th August: Thanks to Andy Dibley who passed to us an announcement for all Sportsman ET fans: This weekend sees the much anticipated return of competition drag racing in the Sportsman ET category. Coming up to 11 months since many of the racers last turned a wheel in anger on the track, the class is once again brimming with talent and some new faces. The annual Dial-in day was held back in March and one of the new racers at this event is Carl in his Tesla. While quiet on track, he definitely impressed us all with his performance on the day and scooping his entry to the Green Light Nationals to try his hand at some seasoned bracket racers. Last year's Champion Dan is returning in a new car for the class, his 'No Fox Given' Ford Mustang. This has been proven to run into the 11s so will be interesting to see how Dan goes from being chased, to chasing! We also look forward to former Super Pro ET / Supertwin Top Gas racer Derek Flynn is also joining the class in his 'Bullet' Audi S4 for the weekend. Hutchinson and Dibley Ltd are once again sponsoring the class and number one qualifier trophies for this year's events. Each trophy will be presented to the racer sitting at the top of the qualifying ladder come the beginning of eliminations. In addition to trophies, Karen and Jon McGarrigle of Freedom Racing will also be offering up £50 prize money to the racer with the lowest total reaction time during qualifying (full rules to be posted on the Sportsman ET Facebook Page). Both would normally be racing in Sportsman ET but due to shielding from Covid 19, they are sitting this season out, we look forward to seeing them back at the track soon. Picture: Dan Holloway, 2019 Hutchison & Dibley Sportsman ET Champion in his 'No Fox Given' Ford Mustang © Kieran Jenkins STP Greenlight Nationals bulletin. 19th August: Many thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club secretary Ian Marshall for forwarding details of the arrangements for this weekend's STP Greenlight Nationals at Santa Pod Raceway: All racer tickets will be left at the main gate for collection; there will also be your allocation of crew passes; please make sure all crew members are carrying them when entering restricted areas. The usual signing on procedure has changed. All riders and drivers are required to show either their DVLA driving licence (or similar for foreign competitors) at signing on; race licences will also be accepted for all classes, but must be either a 2019 or 2020 licence. You will not be required to sign on as you have already electronically done so with your entry form, once you have shown your licence to a member of the secretariat team in the signing on office, you will be given a wrist band that must be attached to your wrist prior to leaving the office and must stay there for the remainder of the event, you will also receive a sticker that must be placed in a prominent position on the front of your race vehicle; this will help to identify the signed on racers. The Fire Up Marshal may also check that your wrist band is attached to you from time to time; in the event that yours is damaged, please return the old one to the signing on office, where you will be supplied with a replacement. There will be no scrutineering at the event, however we reserve the right to have a vehicle checked by either a member of our Tech Crew or by our Bike Scrutineer should a vehicle cause us concern; we will have two members of the Tech Crew and one Bike Scrutineer on site for the duration of the event; should you have any questions, they will be contactable through the signing on office at the base of the Control Tower. It is vital that the social distancing measures in place across the UK are maintained; if you visit the shop please wear a mask, try were possible to maintain the two metre distance between yourself and those from other family groups. This is important at all times; we are being, and will be supervised by Bedfordshire County Council, who are helping us to get a sense of normality back to our racing; we need this help from them, and of course you. The staging lanes are a particularly high area of concern for the Staff and Council; should the racing be held up for an oil down or something similar, please keep up the social distancing measures, and should a Marshal, Steward or member of Security ask you to move along then please do so, it is vital we keep within the regulations the Council require from us. The pit layout has changed to meet the Council requirements, so it may be that you are in a completely different area to what we would normally expect, please work with us and the Pit Marshals. Access to the track on Thursday is for those Racers who have entered the Friday Test Day, if you have not pre-entered please do not arrive until Friday morning. The main gates to the track will open at 8am on Friday 21st August 2020. Friday 21st August 08.00-18.00 Signing on office opens (see requirements above) Saturday 22nd August 07.30-19.00 Signing on office opens (see requirements above) 09.30 Track open for qualifying/eliminations Saturday 23rd August 08.00 Signing on office opens 09.30 Track open for qualifying/eliminations Finally, it’s such a great thing to be able to welcome back a great number of racers, crew members and racing family back to Santa Pod, please help us to help you, and have a fantastic weekend. To all of our racing family overseas who sadly could not make it this time, we look forward to seeing you all back at the track very soon. 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. Ian has sent us the final version of the official entry list for the STP Greenlight Nationals. You can check out the entry list by clicking here. STP Greenlight Nationals Perfect Awards. 19th August: £275 is up for grabs at this weekend's STP Greenlight Nationals courtesy of Eurodragster.com and our sponsors. This weekend's Eurodragster.com/Bad Habit Racing Perfect Light Award has been carried forward and rises to £125 (including a £50 bonus from Eurodragster.com) after there were no claimants at the Nostalgia Drags. The money will be paid to the first racer at the event to record a Reaction Time of 0.000 seconds. The Perfect Light Award is available in all classes during both qualifying and eliminations, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect Light of the event. The Perfect Light Award is presented in association with Cath and Tig Napier of Modurstang Pro ET team Bad Habit Racing. 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 in Signing On or from Eurodragster.com staff. The Eurodragster.com Perfect ET Award supported by Andy Hadfield and the Twister Race Team has been set at £50 . The money will be paid to the first racer at the event to run +0.000 on index or dial-in. The Perfect ET Award is available in Another Small F Super Pro ET, Modurstang Pro ET, Hutchinson & Dibley Sportsman ET, B Fast R Super Comp, Dave Grady Super Gas Shootout, Lucas Oil Junior Dragster (eliminations only), VW Pro, VW Sportsman, NEM Plant Ltd Nostalgia Super Stock, NMCN 8.50 Bike, Atlantic Fluid Tech 9.50 Bike, Junior Drag Bike, Scorpion Motors Supertwin Top Gas, and Accelerate for a Cause and a Cure ET Bike, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect ET of the weekend. The Perfect ET Award is presented in association with Andy Hadfield aka Fadster of the Twister Race Team. Decals are not mandatory for the Perfect ET Award but we would appreciate it if Eurodragster.com decals are carried. Eurodragster.com decals are available in Signing On or from Eurodragster.com staff. Bob's Photo Finish Award, which is presented in association with Eurodragster.com sponsor Bob Roberts, will award £50 each to the racers involved in the closest race of eliminations at this weekend's event. The closest race will be decided upon distance rather than time since, for example, 0.001 seconds at 230 mph is further than 0.002 seconds at 110 mph. For this reason the official timing data will need to be consulted so the winners will be announced here on Eurodragster.com as soon as possible after the event and the winners will then be contacted for their preferred method of payment. Bob's Photo Finish Award is open to all classes during eliminations only and although Eurodragster.com decals are not mandatory we would appreciate if it they are carried. Eurodragster.com decals are available in Signing On. Burnout king all slicked up. 19th August: Pro Modified and Super Pro ET racer and Pro ET series sponsor John Tebenham says his slick crisis has been resolved: Great announcement yesterday, with camping on we are going. Crew Killer has brand new slicks fitted thanks to a new tyre sponsor. I haven’t told them that we only have a two meeting tyre life with the little white Pop. We are doing a great offer this weekend, a T shirt and poster offer for £5.00 while stocks last as we want to show our new sponsor a sea of blue shirts. The engine is just about ready for Fabulous Lighting McQueen so we might even make the next meeting with both cars (man that’s a lot of work). I now know why nobody else in Pro Mod runs a second car. But I have the biggest crew. See you Friday for the test day. Double exposure from AF Photography. 19th August: Alice of AF Photography says she will be offering a new product, double exposure images: The offer is a cost of £15 per car for up to three different angles for any racer at the STP Greenlight Nationals this weekend. I'll be there Friday through to Sunday, either come and find me in the VW Pro pits with the Misfit Fastback (VW Pro #16) or contact me beforehand to pre arrange; my Facebook page is AF Photography or email me on [email protected]. Ideally panels need to be removable but it's not essential, it will be carried out with social distancing in place and payment via PayPal is preferred. Web site updates. 19th August: The latest update to the Flickr web site of Mad Welshman is of trackside pics from the Mustang Owners Club of Great Britain (MOCGB) test day at Santa Pod at the end of July, featuring some invited 'non-Mustang' friends/racers too. You can see Mad's photos by clicking here. Our Kieran has made an update from the Ford Show Lite 2020 to his Youtube channel which you can watch by clicking here. Also featured on Kieran's channel are the first of several videos from the Private Test Day held on 17th August featuring a 1987 Fiat X1/9 owned by Chris Fell. Kieran says 'It's powered by a turbocharged Honda K20A2 that's making 560HP at the flywheel and 490HP at the wheels in a car that weighs in at 850KG'. You can see the result by going to the Mk1 Kieran video channel by clicking here. Contributing photographer Callum Pudge has added 295 photos from Saturday's Run What Ya Brung and the Private Test Day on 17th August to galleries which can be seen on Callum's Facebook page. '55 Chevy auction update. 19th August: The ex-Steve Hall '55 Chevy Pro Mod auction mentioned in the news last Saturday started at 2pm today. As of 4:30pm the high bid is £28,000. So potential bidders have until 2pm on 20th August to make their final offer. We look forward to announcing the racer making the winning bid. SPR galleries, results. 18th August: The Santa Pod Raceway Private Test Day organised by Scott Lewry of Yam Yam Racing and Gary Gooding of Team Extreme Racing took place yesterday under mainly dry skies. There was an entry of around 80 vehicles that paid a share of the track rental in order to make unlimited passes on the prepped track. Thanks to Adam Bentley and David Anniwell of Santa Pod Raceway's timing team who thanks to Adam's ETSlips.co.uk site has given us information to enable us to establish who were the Top 20 racers of the day by best ET: Our Kieran was in attendance at the Jap Show Lite on the previous day as well as the Private Test Day and we have posted galleries from both days at our John Woolfe Racing-sponsored event coverage page which you can reach by clicking this link or going via the John Woolfe Racing event coverage link in the main menu. Among the entries was the adored '57 Chevy Snow White, previously owned by the late Roger Butterworth and Graham Smith which is now in the hands of Steve Mitchell, who made some launches in the machine. RRC build gallery: Mk2 Zephyr. 18th August: This beautiful Ford Zephyr Mk2 arrived in the Eurodragster.com sponsor Robinson Race Cars workshops already converted to a two door with a brief to bring its comfort and performance up to modern standards. In our latest build gallery, brought to us courtesy fellow Eurodragster.com sponsor Bob Roberts, the photos showing how much fabrication work became necessary on the shell and body panels of the car. Bob says "Just like many old cars when work started it became apparent that all was not well under the nice paint job. There was quite a lot of rust and much of the body had to be repaired or replaced. Given a general lack of suitable panels many had to be created from scratch and others taken from a suitable donor car". Power was provided by a 400 inch Ford Cleveland with ally heads and MSD fuel injection giving around 450hp, but the car was destined for mainly road use with air conditioning installed. You can see Bob's gallery in our feature in association with Lucas Oil Products by clicking here or go to our Features, Interviews, Tributes index via the main menu. Road closure on Jap Show Lite day. 15th August: Thanks to reader Steve Billings for notifying us that the B569 between Irchester and Wollaston (indicated in red on this map) is closed from 08:00pm/20:00 till 06:00am/06:00, over the night of the 16th. Late leavers from Jap Show Lite may find they can't get back that way and should use alternative routes. Ex-Steve Hall '55 Chevy re-emerges. 15th August: Luke Stevenson brought to our attention the online auction of the Ex-Steve Hall '55 Chevy built by Eurodragster.com sponsor Robinson Race Cars on Wilsons Auctions. The car was a recent subject of a Build Feature in conjunction with Eurodragster.com sponsor Bob Roberts. this link including one form of photographic ID (Driving Licence or Passport) and one form of address (Utility Bill or Bank Statement). Terms and conditions are on the Wilsons Auctions web site. The lucky winner of this nil-reserve auction will get the 2013-built race car which has run a best of 6.56/216 and has been featured on the front cover of Custom Car. The car disappeared from the scene and was feared to be broken up, however the picture, the provenance of which is unknown, depicts it in excellent condition. Swift snippets. 15th August: Jonnie Lindberg has announced that a GoFundMe appeal for Dom Lagana and Richie Crampton, injured in a road traffic accident last weekend and both in hospital since then has been organised. The appeal, set up by Gary Pritchett, can be seen by clicking here, and some European racers have already contributed as Dom attended Santa Pod on various occasions to provide advice to Anita Mäkelä's Top Fuel Dragster team. Top Fuel racer and reigning FIA Champion Anita Mäkelä has announced that her husband Tommi Haapanen will be making test passes at the Blåkläder Summer Nationals, LSK Business Park Kauhava, Finland on Friday and Saturday 21st-22nd August. We plan to bring you a report on this event a couple of days after its conclusion. Eurodragster.com sponsor for Nitro Revival Geoff Stilwell has asked us to relay his congratulations to new piston-engined Land Speed Record holder George Poteet and the Speed Demon team, who set the new record of 470.016 at Bonneville Speed Week. The new record, 22mph faster than Danny Thompson's from last year, was set in the Speed Demon team's turbocharged big block Chevy-engined streamliner. You can read more about this amazing achievement on Tony Thacker's Torq Talk blog. Geoff has said that if travel restrictions allow he will travel to Bonneville in October to run his B/Fuel Roadster in an attempt to set a new class record, with a challenge delivered to Ron Hope to be the first of them past 300mph. Camping for STP Greenlight Nationals. 14th August: Many thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall for sending a clarification on camping for the STP Greenlight Nationals weekend. 'Following the announcement from Santa Pod Raceway, regarding the Jap Show Lite event and overnight camping, SPRC and Santa Pod Raceway would like to assure racers coming along to the STP Greenlight Nationals that this announcement does not affect the event on the 22nd-23rd August; this is based on currently available information, however, should there be any further changes, we will of course get in touch with all racers through Eurodragster.com and whatever other channels are deemed appropriate at the time. 'In essence, the event is still going ahead as planned'. Event entry update. 13th August: Thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall for sending us the final version of the official entry list for the STP Greenlight Nationals. You can check out the entry list by clicking here. Late entries, if accepted, may be subject to a penalty fee. You can find the official on-line entry form via the Entry Forms page of the Santa Pod Racers Club web site here. Eagle eyed readers will have noticed that Pro Modified racer Bobby Wallace has entered the Exhibition class in a Chevy Camaro ZL-1; we understand this is a brand new Jerry Bickel car with a current nitrous combination. Thanks also to Ian for forwarding us version 1 of the official entry list for the Not The European Finals. You can check out the entry list by clicking here. Racers should note the closing date for this event is 28th August. Camping off for 15-16 August. 13th August: Santa Pod Raceway have announced that there will be no camping at the Jap Show Lite this weekend. 'We have been working closely with the local authorities and unfortunately recent developments have meant that it’s a service that we’re unable to offer this weekend. We understand the disruption this may cause to your weekend with us at JapShow Lite and apologise for the inconvenience caused. We are continuing to work with the local authorities to ensure that our site, and events are as COVID secure as possible to ensure the safety of our customers'. Rest assured the event is going ahead; if you would still like to attend the event for both days, simply retain your weekend ticket which will allow admission for both Saturday and Sunday. Ticket holders have been sent an email with full details. Wayne's Nostalgia Drags. 13th August: Many thanks to Wild Bunch racer Wayne Colliver who has sent an account of a memorable Nostalgia Drags. I took my dragster to the Nostalgia Drags, getting there late Friday night and pitting next to my brother Antony who was hoping to do his first runs in his blown SBC Bantam altered! We were due to run early Saturday morning, so fired it up to warm the engine. Whilst spinning it over I heard a strange noise but the engine fired and ran, but number seven cylinder was cold, so it was time to investigate. I took the valve cover off and one of the rockers was sitting at 90 degrees to where it should have been - then I noticed that the push rod was missing! Off came the intake manifold and I found the push rod and the lifter sitting in the lifter valley; they weren't damaged but I noticed that the casting around three of the lifters had small bits chipped away! I checked the valley for particles, but none were there so drained the oil, had a good look through that but still nothing, so I decided to take the sump off and found some grit sitting in the bottom of the sump and gave it a thorough clean and refitted it. Meanwhile my brother Phil had found that the valve cover gaskets were split, so off he went to try to source some, he came back with a pair kindly donated by Mark Coulsell with some sealant from Chris Hartnell, thanks guys! By this time we had missed three of the four scheduled runs; we tried to make the last one but missed by 20 minutes, but at least we were ready for Sunday so we fired it up just to check for leaks. I thought I would flash test the converter which I fitted since Dragstalgia last year, bloody hell it worked great, upon letting go of the transbrake button the front end of the car jumped up around 8", I won't do that again in a hurry! My brother had a few issues with his altered during Saturday but we were both good to go for Sunday! First run sunday was another slow 60ft due to the idiot driver messing up the launch, but the car ran 11.04@137mph so with a new pb by half a second so I was still happy! I sat out the second run as I wanted to go down with Antony to see his first ever run in his altered; he just idled up the track which was all he wanted to do to make sure steering etc was a good, so he was happy too! I pulled round for the third run and did a better burnout and then actually got my launch right! The car launched properly and had the wheels up and just pulled hard and I even used the chute for the first time ever! I knew it was faster than it had gone before but was shocked when the crew told me it was 9.50@139mph with a 1.3 60ft! I was elated! Finally the car is running as I'd hoped (actually quicker than thought it would) so I checked the engine over, all was good so for the last run me and Antony were gonna go side by side! He pulled round first, I did my burnout and we pulled up to the line; the marshals held us for a bit then when we were staying I had brain fade and booted it, again wheels up and I actually thought it was a quicker run but I left before the tree run so no time/speed. Antony gave it a couple of stabs at the throttle and ran a 16@80mph so he was happy with that. All in all, the weekend was very enjoyable and to top it I got the Wild Bunch best appearing car trophy! I would like to thank my sponsors Scrap metal services and Apex lifts for their support! Bored of retirement, or lost the plot? 11th August: Thanks to crew chief and Pro Modified colour commentator Lucy Moore for sending in a piece on her dad Roger Moore's acquisition of Bob Brooks' Yellow Metal Racing Funny Bike: When dad (Roger Moore) decided to retire from driving the Pro Mod Dodge Viper, it was a tough decision. However the timing was right and we left on a high. We kept an open mind about a return to racing but it was off the cards until or if we sold the Viper. The prospect of moving to a bike class had been mentioned and we’d been looking at the Yellow Metal funny bike for a little while. The detail on the bike is astounding. In an unexpected twist of events, the Viper sold during the COVID 19 lockdown and we were able to consider other avenues. After getting in touch with Bob Brooks, it soon became clear the YMR funny bike was going to be our next challenge. The support from Bob and Debs as well as Phil Crossley has been outstanding and we wouldn’t have got this far without them! Dad appointed me crew chief, a role which I am proud to have taken on, and we set about trying to understand how on earth we would race this mad machine. We decided to keep the first outing as low key as we could (a challenge in the drag racing world!); Dad wanted to avoid a huddle of Pro Mod racers gathering to watch his first outing. The first run with the bike was nerve wracking and exhilarating to witness. Dad says he was grinning the whole way down the track after his 1.17 second 60ft! He was surprised at the stability of the bike at speed and is enjoying getting his 1/4 mile fix again. Another three runs down and he’s looking more comfortable, the good 60fts keep on coming! With a RWYB track, it is always difficult to keep the traction further out so we suffered with some tyre shake in later runs. However I still think dad would consider that easier to manage than the towing at low speed. It's taking some getting used to that there isn’t as much to do between runs as there is on a Pro Mod, there’s actually time to sit down! However, the fuel consumption is nearly the same per run on the bike as the Viper. Now the focus is to keep making steady progress and of course, go faster! Image courtesy and © Callum Pudge Report from Kjula. 11th August: The Mälardalen Open #3 Blacksmiths Nats #2 took place at Kjula Raceway, Eskilstuna, Sweden on 8th-9th August and was streamed and widely photographed. The race was attended by Time-Tree and results can be seen at dragracing.eu. Eliminations were completed and the track recorded 872 time slips for the 152 racers taking part. Notable performances were from Pro Street runners Preben Bærentzen (7,6561 no.1 qualifier), Eva Widgren (7.8588 no.2 qualifier) and Christian Lundin (7.9682, no.3 qualifier). In the Test n' Tune category, Kim Petersson's Team Blackshadow & Rimstar new turbo LSX-engined Chevy Beretta ran a great 7.1287/306.38kph Photos of the event have been posted by Henrik Lindberg Photography, Chrisfoto.se and Dan Dasse Evertsson. Clockwise: Henrik Asp (Henrik Lindberg photo), Kim Petersson (Henrik Lindberg photo), Benke Eriksson (Chrisfoto.se photo) and Mikael Fredriksson v Peter Andreasson (Chrisfoto.se photo). The next scheduled Kjula Dragway event is the Mälardalen Open #4 on 19th-20th September. Lindberg wins, U.S. Nationals plans in doubt. 11th August: Congratulations to Swedish Top Alcohol Funny Car racer and double NHRA Champion Jonnie Lindberg for winning the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, North Central Division, event at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis. Jonnie qualified no.1 at 5.469/268.81 and then defeated DJ Cox Jr. in the final with a 5.539/267.75. Part of the reason Jonnie got back into his TAFC which he has owned since 2013 was that he was going to give Aussie Top Fuel Dragster racer Richie Crampton a 40th birthday present drive in it at the US Nationals, as documented in a NHRA video posted last Wednesday. That plan now looks to be in doubt now following a road accident involving Richie's '57 Chevy Wagon (as seen at Drag Week 2018) which left Richie and Jake Sanders in hospital with non-life threatening injuries, and driver in the accident Dom Lagana with serious injuries. Jonnie was not in the car at the time. Fans will know that Dom Lagana and Jake Sanders have in the past acted as tuners and advisers to Anita Mäkelä's Top Fuel Team. Our thoughts go to Dom, Richie and Jake as we hope for a full recovery. Micke Nilsson's 100th Final. 11th August: Our good friend and photojournalist for EDRS Lena Perés reports that Super Comp and Super Pro ET racer Micke Nilsson celebrated his 100th Final at the EDRS round at Tallhed Dragway in Sweden last weekend. Micke, aged 60 and from Borås near Gothenburg started his team, known as MiNiRacing, in 1994 and took over driving duties in 1997. To get to 100 finals has involved a few championships as well, as exemplified by the no.1 on the side of his four link dragster, self-built in 2010 using a Mark Williams chassis and rear. You can follow the EDRS race series' points by clicking here. The next EDRS round is in Finland at Kauhava Raceway on 21st-22nd August. Hawk Racing announce Gedore Tools sponsorship. 11th August: Team Hawk Racing, the Nitro Funny Car team of Mark and Jackie Hawkins, are pleased to announce sponsorship support from specialist torque wrench makers Gedore Tools. An exclusive deal has been struck with Team Hawk Racing for supply of specialist torque wrenches, supported by the extensive range of Gedore specialist automotive tools, to the team’s all round trackside servicing, for outside events and workshop use. Mark and Jackie Hawkins are owners of the Hawk Racing, Gladiator-named Nitro Funny Car driven by Jason Phelps. Having used the specialist torque wrenches during the closed season to prepare the car for racing in 2020, the team have not been able to use them in anger. They plan to return to the track as soon as racing resumes. As owner, crew chief, and engineer of 40 years’ experience, Mark said, ‘Team Hawk Racing have recently acquired two specialist torque wrenches through www.gedore-torque.com, to torque the engine’s valley stud nuts correctly. Having now used the wrenches, we have found them to be very ergonomically friendly and a very high quality tool. We look forward to using Gedore tool kits and chests at Santa Pod Raceway where Gladiator will be racing. Gedore Tools celebrated their 100th anniversary in 2019. Managing Director Kieron Smith said ‘Gedore Tools for Life are delighted to be supporting Team Hawk Racing with our extensive range of specialist automotive tools and look forward to seeing the car perform at Santa Pod Raceway’. When ordering please quote Team Hawk Racing. You can see the full range of Gedore Torque tools with technical information at www.gedore-torque.com. Gedore Torque Ltd is based in Bramley, Guildford, Surrey, GU5 0AL. For sales, contact 01483 894476. Ordering of Gedore Tools is available on line from gedoreuk.com or e-mail [email protected] with any queries. Gedore UK Ltd is based in Marton Street, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 1TF, telephone 01756 706700. Images: Jason Phelps in Gladiator Funny Car ©Eurodragster.com, Torque Wrench: Gedore 2641526 (series 200) Dremaster Z 16.40-200 Nm Kenneth Söderström. 10th August: We were shocked and very sorry to hear of the death of former Pro Stock racer Kenneth Söderström. Kenneth came into Pro Stock in 1999 after a period in Competition Eliminator. He ran the FIA European Championship for 10 years taking 2005 off to build a new car after an accident at Santa Pod Raceway at the 2004 Euro Finals having previously suffered a crash at Alastaro in 2001. His best championship finish was fifth. We remember Kenneth as a quiet racer who was honest enough to admit to the rare errors he made in his driving. He was also determined to have the car perform at its best potential and be competitive with the class leaders. After he retired from racing he ran an engine rebuilding business as well as his main leisure activity of fishing. Michael Malmgren said on behalf of the European Pro Stock Association: We all feel a deep sadness that Kenneth Söderström has suddenly passed away, way too early in life. Kenneth drove a family operated car, you could say, as brother Håkan handled the tuning. They didn't have the biggest budget, but always gave it all they got and was always a threat. I remember I raced Kenneth in the first round at Santa Pod many years back and felt like this will be no problem, but wow, how wrong I was, he had a big hole shot over me and I was out, if I recall correctly he went all the way to the final. For me Kenneth was a very cool, kind and relaxed guy, no stress, but at the starting line was always a threat. In Pro Stock we always try to keep it as family between teams and share a good laugh, and we also always try to help each other if parts are needed. I feel I can say from all of us racing Pro Stock back then, when Kenneth was active, and also racers active today that knew Kenneth, that we feel deep grief at his passing. May he rest in peace. Event entry update. 10th August: Thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall for sending us version 6 of the official entry list for the STP Greenlight Nationals. You can check out the entry list by clicking here. Entry closes on Wednesday, 12th August, after which entry, if accepted may be subject to a late entry penalty. You can find the official on-line entry form via the Entry Forms page of the Santa Pod Racers Club web site here. Ian also reminds racers of the closing dates for the events in the 2020 series. These are: STP Greenlight Nationals: 12th August Not the Euro Finals, presented by STP: 28th August STP National Finals: 11th September Melbourne Raceway reopens. 10th August: After a huge effort on fundraising by Straightliners' Trevor Duckworth and his team for relaying the racing surface to 1/8 mile, Melbourne Raceway re-opened on Saturday 8th August, and looked resplendent. Over 75 racers seized the opportunity to be among the first along the newly laid surface and the reviews were ecstatic. Many on social media expressed their happiness at the Raceway being re-opened and their thanks to Trevor and his team for the work they had done over the last months in making the opening a reality. Jerry Collier attended and said 'Wow, what a fantastic day at Melbourne raceway. This man Trevor Duckworth and his amazing team have only gone and done it. The first day the track was open and what a day it was. Just bloody fantastic and it’s only going to get better. Everything Trevor does for our sport and the racers is amazing and thank you. You’ve made us look forward to racing again. Well who’s with me in thinking there’s isn’t a better candidate for a new member of the British Dragracing Hall of Fame! Once again Trevor thank you for everything you an your team do.' Photos and credits (clockwise): Straightliners; Mark Flavell (Gregg Havler picture); Graham Sykes; Mason Griffiths and Nik Wilson (Callum Pudge pictures) Trevor Duckworth wrote: And just like that...a new era for Melbourne Raceway, drag racing in the north comes home to this iconic track. A venue is once more alive, an incredible turn out so far this weekend and a credit to each and every single person that has been involved, from a pound to ten thousand pounds, each and every one of you contributed. This is not one single person or a single group of people who achieved this, the whole project has been a culmination of all walks of life with a passion and love for racing who got behind Straightliners Events to help save Melbourne, and with a snip of the scissors we are open, the lights are ready for staging and we are racing! What a wonderful day for drag racing in the Uk...a beautfiul hot day, faces old and new, the best crew in the business and the sounds of engines roaring down a brand new drag strip...living our best life! Those who couldn't make it said they would be back at the first opportunity, and the next race after this weekend is planned for 10th-11th October. You can see a list of the racers and their best 60ft times here, and to be informed of future events at the track you can go to the Straightliners web site by clicking here. Ford Show galleries and SPR snippets. 10th August: Many thanks to Diana and Kieran who have supplied galleries of the Ford Show Lite supported by John Woolfe Racing. To see the galleries click here or click on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the main menu. There were some outstanding runs and debuts at the Ford Show Lite and the preceding day's Run What Ya Brung. Elaine Hancock's Lethal Zephyr Reinvented went to both days for Elaine to get familiar and also for her to upgrade her license. She made a number of passes and her best ET was a 9.747/153.13 on only her second, which was quicker than she had been before. Other notable runs were from Chris Todd who in his Subaru powered rear wheel drive Ford Fiesta broke into the eights for the first time to go 8.91/157. Our Kieran ran his Mk1 Fiesta to a PB of 13.6/100. Former Pro Modified racer Roger Moore brought the Yellow Metal Funny Bike to the track for the first time at the RWYB and wasted no time in becoming familiar with the machine. Roger's daughter and Pro Mod colour commentator Lucy Moore has promised an account of how her Dad made the transition from cars to bikes. Web site updates. 10th August: Uk Drag Racing News and Nostalgia has had over 300 photos of the Nostalgia Drags uploaded to it by webmaster Jon Spoard. You can see Jon's photos by clicking here. Photojournalist Andy Willsheer has produced a report on the Nostalgia Drags and Colin Millar's record runs for Tony Thacker's Torq Talk site. You can read his report by clicking here. Former Eurodragster.com photo editor and photojournalist Roger Gorringe has produced a photo feature on SPR's Nostalgia Drags for US publication Drag Racing Edge which you can read by clicking here. VeeDubRacing webmaster Simon Letkey has updated his Facebook page with an album of 80 photos from the VWDRC Drag Days. You can see Simon's photos by clicking here. Simon is also updating his Youtube channel with a number of videos from the two day event. VWDRC Drag Days results. 7th August: We attended the first day of the VWDRC Drag Days and found the atmosphere relaxed and the times electrifying, as some of Europe's quickest VW racers were present. The top times recorded over the two days were: Hubert Strengberger (Austria, HST Audi TT):7.7709/182.06 Markus Welte (Germany, TTK Performance VW Golf): 8.2515/177.81 Markus Hegna (Germany,Turbo Impression VW Golf): 8.8172/167.26 David Lee (MRC Tuning VW Golf): 9.0375/157.91 Jose San Martin (France, FRT Motorsport VW Golf): 9.1848/160.72 Julian Bayer (Germany, VW golf): 9.4302/145.21 James Forster (Plymouth Duster): 9.6386/138.18 Dan Jacobs (Audi RS3): 9.7084/142.91 Richie Webb (VW Beetle Cabriolet): 9.8028/123.84 Today Hubert Strengberger (pictured) was involved in a high speed incident which put him on his roof at the top end of the track. He is completely uninjured and reportedly said the only thing that hurts is his wallet. 'I got out of the car unharmed and would like to thank Oliver Zsakai who built the full tube frame and the Santa Pod crew and medical staff for their help', he said. Our gallery of 75 photos from Thursday by Kirstie is at this link. With many thanks to Adam Bentley and David Anniwell of SPR's timing crew, you can now download a file of both day's run data in Excel format by clicking on this link. Coverage can be seen by clicking here. Venom at Greenlights 7th August: Many thanks to Tony Betts for sending an update on his plans for the next big meeting: Nostalgia Funny Car team Venom are pleased to announce, subject to meetings continuing, they will be at the STP Greenlight Nationals. It has been a long year with many changes. Venom has a new fuel system and ignition setup thanks to John Wright, along with a new supercharger from Jeff Fowler in USA and adapter plate. I decided to downsize the artic unit to a single goose neck trailer so that I can drive it. We also have a goose neck caravan. These will all be clad in Venom livery. The trailer has set us a few problems that have escalated into a complete re-clad of the exterior and interior, complete rewire and new electric brakes all round. We are all looking forward to getting back on track and burning some nitro. Flyin' Fyfer's thanks. 7th August: Outlaw Anglia racer Colin Millar has written with his thoughts post-Nostalgia Drags which we're sure everyone involved will agree with: I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at Santa Pod Raceway for putting on such a fantastic event at the weekend, thanks to Ian Marshall and all the crew that keep us safe, I may be going very fast but i feel safe and secure and what a track they gave me to put on a show, a personal thanks to Keith Bartlett for making the event happen as I'm sure its a huge undertaking behind the scenes in these very difficult times, the Outlaw Anglia family had a ball and we hope that we entertained and allowed us all to keep our focus on happy times and fast racing, again thanks to all involved within Santa Pod Raceway. Powerflow's Lethal Zephyr reinvented. 7th August: Powerflow Exhausts chief David Smith says another car, with not a little history (previous owners included Ray White and Lee Cohen), has been added to their stable: We’ve been really busy over in our Powerflow Exhausts Alcester workshops and not just carrying out modifications on our Pro Stock Pontiac. It all started 3 years ago when we met Elaine & Dave Hancock. She was racing her Civic in Sportsman ET, really enjoying herself and winning trophies. The only problem she had (if you could call it a problem), was it just didn’t sound like a V8, and she couldn’t do impressive burnouts! We got to know Elaine and Dave really well over her first and second race seasons, and many conversations were had in regards to either building or buying a V8 powered drag car. Over the closed season, the Altered came up for sale, which we bought, then carried out significant amounts of work on it including paint and a sponsorship from my company Powerflow Exhausts. The Altered has done everything that was asked from it and ran the same numbers over and over again with a personal best ET of 10.2. So you would have thought Elaine would be more than happy with her new purchase. Apparently not... Here’s where it all started again! It was everything she had asked for and more, except... It didn’t have doors! Really? Womens' prerogative to change their mind apparently! So again, after many conversations it was decided that she would run the Altered for the next 2-3 seasons and we would then look out for a door car that would be suitable for her. However, that plan went straight out the window when a certain car popped up for sale on Facebook! The conversation went like this: David : Look what’s just gone up for sale... Elaine : Wow, that’s awesome... David : Shall I buy it? Elaine : Do you think I’d be able to drive it? David : Yes. How about this. I’ll buy it, rebuild it etc and you can buy it off me when it’s done. You could sell the Altered to part fund it? Elaine : F*** yes! Buy it...OMG I can’t believe it. I’m sooooooo excited! A week later it’s in my workshop and I’m compiling a list of the parts needed for the build including a 2000hp rated Reid transmission ordered from Andy Frost, Steve Schmidt BBC engine, bespoke parts from Wayne Allman of Intergalactic Custom Shop, a Tony Morris Carburettors methanol fuel system, and a full custom built wiring loom built by the guys at Smithy’s Speed Shop. Plus many many shipments from Summit, Jegs, JW etc which actually become an absolute nightmare when the Covid 19 pandemic hit us... Six months or so later, (apart from a shake down, and ironing out any gremlins) we're finally done. ‘Lethal Zephyr Reinvented’, is now owned and driven by Elaine Hancock, and looked after by her crew chief Dave Hancock and the my technicians from Powerflow Exhausts Alcester & Alcester Auto Services. I really hope this will finally tick ALL the boxes now (fingers crossed!). It’s a V8, can do big smokey burnouts, and it’s a doorslammer with great history behind it! All of us at Powerflow Exhausts Alcester, Alcester Auto Services, SSS Exhausts, SSS Remapping & Smithy’s Speed Shop would like to wish Elaine and Dave all the very best with the new car. I’ve had so many people phone me and turn up at my workshops nosing around to see what I’ve been up to. I’ve never felt so popular ! The garbage I’ve had to think up on the spot to keep this under wraps is shocking! So the news is finally out and the rumours and me talking garbage can stop. Here it is. ‘Lethal Zephyr Reinvented’... Elaine is hoping to campaign the new car in Comp Eliminator and Super Pro ET when she’s got to grips with it. I’m sure she will be made very welcome. I had the bonnet repainted and pin striped (or big brush striped) by an outside company due to time restraints. I thought they could deliver the quality and design I’d asked for. Unfortunately not.....this is part of the build that hasn’t gone to plan. It’s awful! If anyone knows a very good, proven pin striping guy, please send them my way ASAP! Pro Dutch Racing back on track. 5th August: Suddenly there is plenty of work for Pro Dutch Racing again. Michel Tooren and his team will be in racing action no less than three times within a time frame of five weeks. The reopening of Santa Pod Raceway has paved the way for the Pro Dutch Racing '71 Plymouth Barracuda to be put to the test both in competition and on test days. The team's first appearance is scheduled for the weekend of August 22 and 23,followed by two weekends in September. For a long time, it looked like 2020 would be a lost season for the European drag racing fans and teams. Due to the corona pandemic, tracks temporarily had to close and competition was cancelled. This even resulted in the FIA European Drag Racing Championship being cancelled for this year and Motorsport UK removing the Pro Modified title fight from its calendar, two championships that Pro Dutch Racing had set its sights on for 2020. Fortunately, many countries have overcome the problems caused by COVID-19 and have got the virus better under control for weeks. Meanwhile, various circuits have opened their gates again and the first races have been held. Similarly at Santa Pod Raceway, firstly without an audience, but recently also with spectators, all this of course with strict adherence to all conditions established by government and track. The Santa Pod Raceway calendar will feature three events in the coming weeks that Pro Modified cars can take action, a possibility that Pro Dutch Racing are grasping both hands. “We have new parts on the Cuda and quite a lot of changes. We would like to test these this year and that possibility has now suddenly arisen. Assuming we can have a normal season again next year, we can test new things now, possibly make adjustments in winter and then we will be well prepared at the start of 2021”, explains Michel Tooren. The first race for Pro Dutch Racing is the STP Greenlight Nationals on the weekend of August 22 and 23. On the Friday before the event there is a test day where Pro Dutch Racing hopes to make its first few runs of the season. Because the Pro Modified class is not competing, Michel Tooren will take action in the STP Greenlight Nationals in the 'exhibition class'. This opens up the opportunity to complete as many test runs as the team wishes. The first real competition for the Pro Modified class is scheduled for 11th-13th September, the date that had been on the calendar for the FIA European Championship. The event has, with a British sense of humour, after the cancellation of the FIA European Championship, been renamed NOT The European Finals. Almost all classes that would have competed in the traditional European Finals will be there to make an appearance. In the Pro Modified class around ten European teams are expected and thus the class in which Pro Dutch Racing is active is the main feature of the extensive race programme. Two weeks later, September 26th-27th, Pro Dutch Racing can again be seen at Santa Pod Raceway during the STP National Finals. Here too the Pro Modified class forms the fastest category and main attraction of the event. Michel Tooren and Pro Dutch Racing have had to wait a long time, but in the end it is now time for action and the engines can be started. “"We are looking forward to it enormously. In March we were almost ready for the new season when COVID-19 put a spanner in the works. In the months that followed, we continued to work on the Cuda and all the adjustments to the chassis and engine were recalculated and reviewed many times. The preparation may never have been better. Now we can do all that final testing and testing the new parts in a competitive setting, ”said Michel Tooren, who can't wait to put his helmet back on and take the green light. In the current uncertain times, the three events continue with the reservation that the corona measures of the authorities involved will not be tightened up again. Calendar for Pro Dutch Racing: STP Greenlight Nationals, August 22-23, 2020 NOT The European Finals, September 11-13, 2020 STP National Finals, September 26-27, 2020 Jayne burns out. 5th August: Back in our news item on 6th April, Jayne Kay revealed her turbocharged funny bike which initially will be competing in the ET bike class. Jayne has sent a report of her progress to date: We fired the bike up over the weekend in preparation for the STP Greenlight Nationals in a few weeks' time. We then burnt out a few clutches during the week trying to get the burnout right but we got there in the end, obviously I let my Dad have a go first! Our new paint job looked pretty cool out in the sunshine too! I just want to thank the people who helped answer questions on Facebook and Phil Crossley for coming down and giving us a hand with everything too! You can check out the video of Jayne's bike on her YouTube channel. Records sheet updated. 5th August: Thanks to honorary Eurodragster.com member Andy Marrs for updating the UK and European records sheet which shows Colin Millar's new Outlaw Anglia SPR Track Record of 7.114, which is also a backed-up record for the Outlaw Anglia class association. You can see the UK and European records sheet by clicking here. Web site updates. 5th August: We spotted that Ashley Dale who has run his photography website www.adimages.co.uk for a few years has more recently recorded personal best times and speeds recorded at Santa Pod Raceway since the track was re-laid in concrete at the start of 2018. This separate site is at www.dragstats.org.uk which shows personal bests for a wide variety of classes, with index classes only including times above the class index. The Mad Welshman has updated his Flickr gallery with pictures from the first public event of the year, Retro Show Lite. You can take a look by clicking this link. VWDRC Drag Days coverage. 5th August: There will be live coverage from the VWDRC Drag Days taking place on 6th-7th August at Santa Pod Raceway. On both days, the technical problems of last weekend having been fixed, SPR will be broadcasting a Lite Streaming feed from the start of racing at 9:30am to 5pm. Eurodragster.com will be running a live report by Simon on 6th August with an end-day gallery courtesy Kirstie. To see the coverage go to this link which includes the final entry list. The VWDRC says there will be two days of testing and a little competition both Bracket and Heads Up. This is behind closed doors due to COVID-19 so you will be able to see coverage on Santa Pod's feed and also via the VWDRC web site. SPRC notices. 4th August: Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall has been in touch to say 'A big big thank you from Santa Pod Raceway and Santa Pod Racers Club to all of the racers that helped us out with slicks, collected or delivered. They are currently being put to good use and have replenished our stocks a little, but if anyone has used Drag Slicks they still need to get rid of, please get in touch. Ian also said 'the ticket allocation for the Greenlight Nationals, Not The European Finals and National Finals will be as normal for your class at any given National Event; Exhibition entries will be sorted by Santa Pod, but will be as per your normal allocation'. Talking of used tyres... 4th August: In remarkable timing in reference to the SPRC announcement Pro Modified and Super Pro ET racer John Tebenham has announced...he has used slicks and, at the same time, needs a tyre sponsor: We are just getting our little white Crew Killer Pop all ready for the Greenlight Nationals. I’m getting not many runs to the tyres, well burnouts really. Look up Ford Pop burnout in the rain. Paul Marston and Luke Robinson have been getting the Pop ready for some mad burnouts. I am just making plans to add a third car to our stock. I have a few options it’s one of four cars available, I can’t wait. The black pile in the photo was rubber from under the wheel arches after two meetings! Racer information request. 4th August: For some years we have admired the site www.dragracing.eu which includes detailed racer information for teams competing in Scandinavia. In order to report the sport in the UK accurately, we are seeking up to date information on race vehicles competing in the UK. This brings us to the Racer Information Request form. We would be very grateful if racers could kindly provide information on this text based form, which will be handed to commentators at the track and used in Eurodragster.com reports. The benefits to racers are help in promoting their team and sponsors - and accurate reporting of your racing operation. To complete the form, download it by clicking this link complete it on your device (it will open on phones, tablets and computers) and then e-mail it to message it to [email protected] or attach it in a message to Simon if you use Facebook messaging. Nostalgia Drags results. 3rd August: Congratulations to the winners at the weekend's Nostalgia Drags at Santa Pod Raceway: Supercharged Outlaws: Class awards: Gary Parkes, Andy Park, Andy Hadfield. Best time: Joel Kerr 7.0012, runner up Robbie Grabham 7.5301 Outlaw Anglia: Best time: Colin Millar 7.1148, runner up Scotty Crookston 7.5886 Wild Bunch: Callum Swinchatt +0.0375 average over dial, runner up Brian Watson +0.0564 Willys Wars: Best time: Dave Day 9.5950, runner up Phil Evans 9.9248 Uk Nostalgia Superstock: Jack Bishop (9.91) 9.9911/127.33 def. Richard Layram (12.75) 12.7998/104.55 Gasser Circus: Overall winner Nick Barnett Nostalgia Pro Stock Bike: Claire Rule 9.4334/119.16 def. Richard Peachey 9.2469/138.67 Congratulations to Colin Millar whose 7.1148 was a new Outlaw Anglia ET record, backed up by an earlier 7.1499. Thanks to David Anniwell for passing us the official timing data for the event which you can check out by clicking here or clicking on the Timing Data link in the main menu on any Eurodragster.com page. You can check out our John Woolfe Racing-sponsored Nostalgia Drags reports, results and galleries by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the main menu of any Eurodragster.com page. As a bonus you can see Kirstie's choice of 102 of her photos from the event at the Eurodragster.com Facebook page. Event entry update. 3rd August: Thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall for sending us version 5 of the official entry list for the STP Greenlight Nationals. You can check out the entry list by clicking here. Entry closes on Wednesday, 12th August, after which entry, if accepted may be subject to a late entry penalty. You can find the official on-line entry form via the Entry Forms page of the Santa Pod Racers Club web site here. Russ's racing blog. 3rd August: Wild Bunch Racer Steve Heaven is supported by his Dad and former racer Russ Heaven. Based in Spain, Russ was unable to attend the race, but managed to update his blog which makes for an entertaining read. Enduring a number of problems, the team managed, with some borrowed parts and advice over the phone from Russ, to get their slingshot dragster down the track three times. Read much more at Russ's blog which has now reached an amazing 128 episodes since he started it in 2013. Web site updates. 3rd August: Updating his Flickr site with photos from Saturday of the Nostalgia Drags is Paul Bryan. Paul says: There are 166 photos in total. It was great to be back after almost eleven months and along with others would like to commend everyone at the Pod for the hard work in achieving what was required for this event to run with spectators in attendance. I felt everyone involved including the teams, racers, spectators, contractors all played their part in making a great and safe event for all. Also to Colin who personally went along the spectator bank to apologise for the lack of commentary due to a piece of faulty sound equipment (top man). Of course they replaced the duff stuff, then we had Colin’s dulcet tones for the reminder of the day firstly with his heartfelt words for the dear departed Stu Bradbury which received a warm round of applause from all the crowd. I can’t wait till the Greenlight meeting later in the month. Also posting from the weekend was sometime Eurodragster.com photo contributor Callum Pudge who posted a Facebook album of 379 photos, a large proportion which are tagged with the name of the driver; you can enjoy these at Callum's Facebook page. Drag racing historian Nick Pettitt attended the race and you can see his video footage at his Youtube page. Earlier news