Fuel Funny Car SFI update. 31st December: Geoff Martin of the UK Tech Crew has asked us to alert Fuel Funny Car owners / racers to a chassis revision for existing SFI 10.1E cars. ©Eurodragster.com You can find more details via the Home Page of the SFI web site at www.sfifoundation.com or directly at www.sfifoundation.com/TechAdvisory12-21-07.pdf (PDF format). This revision applies only to Fuel FCs. Swift snippets. 31st December: UK Pro ET Sponsorship Co-ordinator Carl Burton says that the 2008 Pro ET Sponsorship Scheme is well underway. "Letters have been sent out to sponsors and racers to renew their involvement", says Carl. "I have however noticed that I am a couple of addresses short, so if anyone wishes to take part in the scheme in 2008 but has not received a letter then please E-Mail me at [email protected]". ©Eurodragster.com We would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to Sean Bowe. Hope you have a good day, Sean. Web site updates. 31st December: With some time on our hands (relatively) during the Christmas / New Year period we have installed a new site search facility on Eurodragster.com, courtesy of those nice chaps at Google. You can now search Eurodragster.com for any word or phrase. The search covers our entire News archive back to 1998, all of our Event Coverage, and all of our Features, Interviews and Tributes. To try out the site search, click here or click on the Site search link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. ©Eurodragster.com In the latest entry in his exclusive Racer Blog, Dutch Top Fuel Dragster racer Lex Joon looks back over the 2007 season and gives a few clues about the MPM Oil-backed team's plans for 2008. You can read Lex's Blog by clicking here or by clicking on the Racer Blog link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Paul Lisle has updated his Drag Racing Anon gallery site with more "Golden oldies" which you can access via Photos then History 1 at www.dragcaranon.co.uk. 2007 SPRC Perpetual Awards vote V. 30th December: Once again Santa Pod Racers Club and Eurodragster.com are teaming up to give Eurodragster.com readers the chance of input to the SPRC Perpetual Awards, which will be presented at the joint APIRA/SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy presentation on Saturday 2nd February 2008. For seven of the eight 2007 season awards, a shortlist has been decided upon for which votes can be submitted by E-Mail. There are eight awards in all: this week's category is Most Promising Newcomer. Nominations are now also being accepted for the Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy. The votes of Eurodragster.com readers will be taken into consideration when the SPRC Committee decides upon the winners. Nominees for Most Promising Newcomer have impressed whilst contesting their first full season or making their on-track début in 2007. The SPRC Committee's shortlist, in alphabetical order, is as follows: Mark Bishop, Pro ET Go to vote Nick Holland, Comp Bike Go to vote Nigel Holland, Sportsman ET Go to vote Lee Hollis, Sportsman ET Go to vote Jason Macan, 9.50 Bike Go to vote Mark Perkins, Street Eliminator Go to vote To place your vote, go to the official SPRC Perpetual Awards page which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the SPRC Perpetual Awards vote link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page. ©Eurodragster.com The Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy, for which votes are also now being taken, was first awarded to Santa Pod Raceway's late Chief Marshal, Alex Brachtvogel, in 2001 to mark his outstanding contribution to Santa Pod Raceway and the sport as a whole. After Alex's death the trophy was named in his memory and continues to be awarded for contribution to drag racing. There is no shortlist for the Alex Brachtvogel award. Nominations are invited from Eurodragster.com readers for racers, race officials, track and safety crews, club officials, media, or anyone else who has contributed to the sport. Last year the trophy was awarded to SPRC Chief Marshal Steve Horn. Again see the official web page for more details or E-Mail your nomination to [email protected] specifying SPRC Alex Brachtvogel Trophy nomination as the subject and your nomination in the body of the E-Mail. Voting is per category, so if you voted for the Most Professional-Appearing Team last week then you can of course vote for Most Promising Newcomer today, and so on. For each of the Awards, one vote per E-Mail address per nominee will be accepted: multiple votes for the same nominee from the same E-Mail address will all be disqualified. Please note that blatant attempts at organising mass votes - for example asking workmates or forum members to vote en masse - are easily identified and all such votes will be disallowed as they have been in previous years. Concerted attempts at vote-rigging will result in the nominee being removed from the shortlist. The next category will be the James Edgar Memorial Trophy. Web site updates. 30th December: The official web site of the Carter Motorsport / Andersen Racing / Lucas Oil Top Fuel team has been updated with a report of the team's recent work day to prepare the show car for its first appearance of the year at Autosport International at the NEC in Birmingham in a couple of weeks' time. The full story can be found at www.andycarter.net/article-109.php. ©Eurodragster.com Andy of Never Again Racing writes that a five-minute video showing a year's work on his 1968 Impala is now available on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq15pfQgC04. How do you follow that... 28th December: Konrad Ree says that Paul Ingar Udtian and the Islanders Drag Race Team are looking forward to contesting Top Methanol Dragster again in 2008 after Paul Ingar's highly-competent début season. For Konrad it started in March of this year with a call from Paul Ingar: Paul Ingar asked me if I would be interested in being a member of his team. He told me he planned to race in Top Methanol Dragster. Because he had run in Super Comp for many years I asked Paul Ingar if he had others with some experience from bigger classes, and he told me that Thor Larsen had also been asked and said yes. He also said that he was working to close a deal with the man of European Top Methanol Dragster, Dave Wilson, to buy his Nemesis car complete and ready to run. We had talked about this in 2006 but I didn't expect anything to happen because I hadn't heard from Paul Ingar since the Finals in 2006. But of course if we could get the car from Dave and start testing it would be great, and I didn't need much time to think about it. A few days later the call came that Paul Ingar had done a deal with Dave, and that he would help to get us started. We would also get the opportunity to be with Dave and his incredible team to watch and learn throughout the Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod. We didn't just watch, we were allowed to work with Dave's team and learned a lot that weekend. Many thanks to Dave and his team for a great weekend. ©Eurodragster.com Our aims for the season were to run for a licence and get the car to run about six seconds on the quarter mile. We started with the licencing runs some weeks before Main Event. The best run was a 6.09 and Paul Ingar was off the throttle before the finish line, wow! We did have some small problems so we decided to go get more practice. We went to Finland to try and learn more, we made two runs with a 5.8 and qualified for the race. In the first round the engine stopped after the burnout. It was our fault that we had a mechanical failure and we had to leave the car on the track to let Peter Schöfer run. Sadly the race was cancelled because of rain. For the next race we headed for Mantorp, and what a weekend! All of our runs were in the 5.7s, what was happening? We were doing something right, but we had some problems with the pistons and had to go back to the old pistons which we changed just before the race. We also had to change three sleeves - thank you to Peter Schöfer and Gittli for being so kind and lending us two sleeves and also to Dave Wilson who lent us one of his so that we could rebuild the engine. It turned into a long night but the smile was back in the morning when Paul Ingar took out Krister Johansson in the first round of eliminations, again a 5.7. Sadly there was some staging problems in the second round when Paul Ingar was up against Dave, and that led to Paul doing something he's not used to, being slow on the Tree. But we think that Dave was quite happy because he had some problems and ran a slower ET, but drag racing is first to the finish line. Congratulations Dave you eliminated Paul Ingar, but we were still happy because we had new Personal Bests this weekend. Then it was just the Finals at Santa Pod and we qualified with another Personal Best, 5.64. Unfortunately we had problems with a blower explosions in the first round of eliminations and the season was over. But with a 6.09 licence run and then 5.8 in Finland, 5.7 in Sweden and 5.64 at the Finals we think we are on the right road, so we are realy looking forward to 2008. There are too many to list but we would like to thank everyone for all the help and tech tips. We hope you have all had a great Christmas and that you have a Happy New Year. We hope to see you all in 2008. Swift snippets. 28th December: Formerly the subject of a spy picture mystery here on Eurodragster.com, here is Peter Walters' 2008 ride which he says is finished apart from detailing and chrome. Having moved up from Junior Dragster Pete will be campaigning this dragster (click on picture for larger version) in Super Pro ET next year. ©Eurodragster.com As part of his work on his forthcoming book Crazy Horses, which will chart the history and culture of drag racing in the UK, author Brian Taylor would be pleased to hear from any reader with historic photographs which they think might be worthy of inclusion in the book. If you have any such pictures then in the first instance please do not send them, but E-Mail a description to Brian at [email protected] and he will get back to you. Affairs of the heart. 28th December: As if he needed it, Danish Top Methanol Funny Car racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Dan Larsen tells us that he has had another reminder that drag racing is not a cheap business. "Just getting to the races is a big expense, if you try to follow the FIA series in Finland and Sweden and twice in England", says Dan. "Now the DASU write that the annual medical examination is not enough, but that we now need to go to an ECG expert for an exercising ECG which takes about an hour. Of course this is not free, DASU say that it will cost €350-470 in Denmark or you can go to Germany to get it cheaper. If you are not lucky enough to have a cardiovascular specialist next door, you will need to find one and get an appointment but in any case you waste a whole work day. ©Eurodragster.com "The FIA have made this instruction for those who are over forty five years old. It is possible that it is a good idea for F1 or other longer lasting and more exhausting circuit races. But we are only racing for only a few seconds. I think this is another rule which indicates a lack of insight and interest in drag racing; personally I think the FIA should look into other important matters such as prize and travel money which have not changed in seven years. We don't need more expense just to follow rules which mostly belong to other motorsports." Web site updates. 28th December: Our good friend Alan Currans tells us that 2007 was his fortieth year visiting Santa Pod Raceway. To commemorate this momentous feat of endurance Alan has updated the Acceleration Archive with a page of sixty pictures taken at the Pod during 2007. You can access this visual feast via the What's New page at www.theaccelerationarchive.co.uk. ©Eurodragster.com John Hutchinson has updated his Webshots album with ninety pictures from this year's FIA European Finals. You can check out John's pictures at good-times.webshots.com/album/560978201gZSMnn. Drag Racing Unplugged IX. 24th December: As has become traditional on our last pre-Christmas update, we have posted a page of the best quotes from this season's Eurodragster.com Event Coverage including Roger, Simon, Kirstie and Tog's personal Quotes of the Year, together with other one-liners we didn't publish at the time. We are pleased to present Drag Racing Unplugged IX, the 2007 collection. ©Eurodragster.com Click here to view Drag Racing Unplugged IX, or click on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page. Enjoy! 2007 UK Champions' Champions. 24th December: Simon has been hard at work looking through nine years' worth of UK National, MSA British and and ACU UK Drag Bike Championship points and has produced his 2007 UK Champions' Champions table. Simon has posted rankings by Championship and Event wins and Top Twenty points scorers based on total points won between 1999 and 2007. Rules are straightforward. An event must be completed for a win to be registered; wins are ranked by those scored by a particular driver or rider, whereas points are scored and ranked on a team basis. Turner Racing lead the way in Top Methanol (using points counted towards the SPRC Championship) with six Championships and twelve wins for Rob and heading the points tally over second-placed Dave Wilson. Over his entire career, Rob has won the UK Championship nine times. In MSA Pro Modified Andy Robinson heads the number of race wins and is fast catching Gordon Appleton for aggregate points. Whilst Andy is credited with one Championship during the period under review he also won the 1997 and 1998 Championships in Pro Modified. Former Super Modified racers Ellis Racing continue to lead the points to equal Danny Cockerill for Championships won with a total of two each. Danny still leads the wins with a total of seven to date but Andy Kirk the currently active racer with the most wins needs two more to catch him. Tim Adam continues to have a substantial lead in Super Comp points and event wins, with Chris Johnson tied with Tim on two Championships each. Tim also leads the number of Championships in Super Gas with four, against Frank Mason’s two, while Frank is still well ahead in event wins and points in that class. In Super Street, Mike Bentley and Team Rat Rage are now joined by Bob Lees with two Championships each. Leigh Morris is ahead on number of wins and Bob Lees has now overtaken Leigh to have the greatest points tally. In Super Pro ET, Steve Green, Martyn Jones and Ian Tubb have two Championships each. Barry Giles leads wins with ten in total, and Steve Johnson has replaced Martyn Jones at the head of the aggregate points. Pro ET is still headed by Team Heaven & Hell and Team Top Banana with two Championships each. Team Heaven & Hell lead in the points, with Bob Doyle and Team Top Banana driver Lee Huxley having six wins apiece. In Sportsman ET, there is no change from last year with Al and Linda Platt's Team Rainy City Lightning being successful in 2003-5 and ahead in the points and Championships, and Rick Denny leading the number of wins at seven. This year's Champion Lee Huxley of Team Cando, lies in nineteenth place in overall points scored. In Junior Dragster Nick Mugridge has pulled clear by becoming the first racer in UK drag racing history to have won the Championship twice. Nick, who leads the points tally with a 40% greater total than second-placed Tom Watts, now has nine wins in total. Fred Furlong is still the only 9.50 Bike rider to score more than one Championship in the class over the last eight years. Fred has re-assumed the points lead over Geoff Connor while Jamie Sneddon still retains the record for number of wins at seven. Rebel T with driver Clayton Round has won a hat trick of Championships in the Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association. Rebel T's lead over second-placed Extreme Racing with driver Bob Glassup has been extended to 850 points. Over the qualifying period Steve Pateman has been dominant in Street Eliminator with four Championships, fourteen event wins and a points total that is 34% higher than second placed Ian Hook (points for Street Eliminator are scored since 2000). In ACU Top Fuel Bike, Steve Woollatt has seven Championships since 1999 and eighteen wins to his name, and leads the points tally with a 98% greater total than second-placed Ian King. In his career, Steve has won an incredible eleven Championships. Neil Midgley retains his lead in all categories for ACU Funny Bike as does Dave Beck in ACU Pro Stock Bike. In ACU Competition Bike, Phil Leamon is now the only rider to have won two Championships over the period and remains ahead in wins and points. Graham Dance remains ahead in all categories in ACU Super Street Bike. You can check out this year's Champions' Champions tables, including Andy Marrs' analysis of the FIA and FIM/UEM Championships, by clicking here or by clicking on the Champions' Champions link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Some Christmas viewing. 24th December: As we are about to take our Christmas break we thought that the least we could do would be to leave you plenty to look at if only to make up for that mound of utter crap which is Christmas TV, at least in the UK. We've given you Drag Racing Unplugged, we've given you the Champions' Champions, and thanks to some of our contributors and readers we also have some picture galleries to help to keep you going until we come back: ©Eurodragster.com First up is Ray White's Zephyr Pro Mod undergoing moulding work at Absolute Mouldings. You can see the work on Ray's car by clicking on the picture at left above or by clicking here. Not long ago we brought you the news that legendary UK altered Stripteaser has been brought back to the UK by Andrew and Sandie Gibb for restoration. The work is already underway at Fester Race Cars in Romford and you can check out a large number of pictures documenting the arrival and inspection of the car and the start of restoration work by clicking on the middle picture above or by clicking here. Finally, Andrew Waters and Sarah Foster kindly sent us a few shots of 2007 FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion Urs Erbacher in action in the USA in October and November. You can take a look at Andrew and Sarah's shots by clicking on the picture at right above or by clicking here. Eurodragster.com's Christmas break. 24th December: We will now be taking our Christmas break, and assuming that there is anything to tell you we will be back during the day on Thursday (27th December). Keep those news items coming to [email protected] and we will post them on Thursday. In the meantime we have compiled what we consider very reasonable requests to Father Christmas, together with our New Year resolutions, which you can hold us to: ©Eurodragster.com Top of Simon's Christmas list: A new camera for use around the pits. Top of Roger's Christmas list: It would be great if all racers could add their race numbers/name on the machine so that they are visible front, back and sides. It would alleviate the headaches for every photo-journalist trying to ID the racer for race reports or photo filing. Top of Kirstie's Christmas list: A drive in Quantum Leap, or my own Big Block Chevy-powered Super Pro ET car so I can kick Everitt and Tramm arse! Top of Peter's Christmas list: Twelve months without backache. Top of Tog's Christmas list: Another tranche of Personal Bests. Simon's New Year resolution: To read and understand the instruction booklet for my new camera. Roger's New Year resolution: To continue enjoying life. Kirstie's New Year resolution: To work harder towards my race car fund which I will achieve by shopping less. Peter's New Year resolution: To take less photographs. Tog's New Year resolution: To name and shame people who give us grief. Simon, Roger, Kirstie, Peter and Tog would like to wish all Eurodragster.com readers and their families the very Happiest of Christmases, and to thank everyone who has sent us personal Christmas wishes and cards as well as those on our on-line Christmas Card. See you on Thursday - have a good one, everyone! A Christmas fable. 24th December: Sometime in early November Santa looked around his packed warehouse and realised that he had no chance of making all the necessary deliveries with his old 8 RP sleigh. After a bit of thought he knew that the answer was his own Pro Mod car, more speed: more space for presents and more fun. He of course rejected Top Fuel, faster but not so much room for gifts; in fact he chose a Dodge Daytona because it had so much space. ©Eurodragster.com Having come to this decision Santa rushed over to the Andy Robinson Race Cars workshops and placed his order for a complete chassis with an extra tough Mark Williams eleven-inch axle to carry the extra load. For such an important customer Andy and the team put all their efforts into finishing the car in time because they knew that if they missed the date then it would be their presents which got left behind! The photo shows the car being handed over on December 20th, all ready for the elves to spray Reindeer Red. The only worry is that Santa's suit doesn't look as if it's got SFI certification. So if you hear the raucous sound of a blown alcohol motor on Christmas night then either it's Santa making a delivery or you're dreaming about your next ride. 2007 SPRC Perpetual Awards vote IV. 24th December: Once again Santa Pod Racers Club and Eurodragster.com are teaming up to give Eurodragster.com readers the chance of input to the SPRC Perpetual Awards, which will be presented at the joint APIRA/SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy presentation on Saturday 2nd February 2008. For seven of the eight 2007 season awards, a shortlist has been decided upon for which votes can be submitted by E-Mail. There are eight awards in all: this week's category is Most Professional Appearing Team. Nominations are now also being accepted for the Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy. The votes of Eurodragster.com readers will be taken into consideration when the SPRC Committee decides upon the winners. The Most Professional-Appearing Team trophy rewards not just the presentation of a race vehicle but the team's overall approach to racing. As well as a well-turned-out car or bike, the Committee have considered such aspects as the appearance and attitude of team personnel, the organisation and appearance of their pit area and support equipment, and their readiness when their class is called. The SPRC Committee's shortlist for Most Professional-Appearing Team, in alphabetical order, is as follows: Kev Charman and the Mistress Minx team, Comp Bike Go to vote Lawrie Gatehouse and the Chaos team, NFAA Fuel Altered Go to vote Ian King and the TVR Power team, Top Fuel Bike Go to vote Wayne Nicholson and the Lucky Devil team, Super Pro ET Go to vote Nigel Payne and the Sticky Situation team, Super Modified Go to vote To place your vote, go to the official SPRC Perpetual Awards page which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the SPRC Perpetual Awards vote link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page. ©Eurodragster.com The Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy, for which votes are also now being taken, was first awarded to Santa Pod Raceway's late Chief Marshal, Alex Brachtvogel, in 2001 to mark his outstanding contribution to Santa Pod Raceway and the sport as a whole. After Alex's death the trophy was named in his memory and continues to be awarded for contribution to drag racing. There is no shortlist for the Alex Brachtvogel award. Nominations are invited from Eurodragster.com readers for racers, race officials, track and safety crews, club officials, media, or anyone else who has contributed to the sport. Last year the trophy was awarded to SPRC Chief Marshal Steve Horn. Again see the official web page for more details or E-Mail your nomination to [email protected] specifying SPRC Alex Brachtvogel Trophy nomination as the subject and your nomination in the body of the E-Mail. Voting is per category, so if you voted for the Best Appearing Bike last week then you can of course vote for Most Professional-Appearing Team today, and so on. For all of the Awards, one vote per E-Mail address per nominee will be accepted: multiple votes for the same nominee from the same E-Mail address will all be disqualified. Please note that blatant attempts at organising mass votes - for example asking workmates or forum members to vote en masse - are easily identified and all such votes will be disallowed as they have been in previous years. Concerted attempts at vote-rigging will result in the nominee being removed from the shortlist. The next category will be Most Promising Newcomer. Editor's note: If you don't agree with the content of the shortlists, could you please find someone other than us for the rude E-Mails thank you. Swift snippets. 24th December: It's amazing what people will do for six cans of beer. We were deluged with responses, almost all correct, when a six pack was put up for the first person to identify the car at right published as a spy picture last Tuesday. Rod Weller was the first uninvolved party to identify the FC as UK Super Pro ET racer Mark Flavell's new ride for the 2008 season, formerly Trev Capewell's Top Methanol FC. In fact Rod went into quite some detail to prove the identity of the car. We have passed Rod's details on to Mark; thanks to everyone who wrote. ©Eurodragster.com UK Top Fuel Bike racer Steve Carey tells us to expect news of the changes to his Purple Princess 2 Top Fuel Bike. "We decided it was time to try and make it go straight", says Steve. "That way we will only do a quarter of a mile instead of three quarters of a mile each time it goes down the track!" Web site updates. 24th December: Eurodragster.com Photo Editor Roger Gorringe has updated his Nitro Exposure web site with a couple of vintage pictures and news of his contribution to Brian Taylor's forthcoming history of UK drag racing. Check it out at www.nitroexposure.co.uk. ©Eurodragster.com Mystery solved! 23rd December: Just as we expected, the Mystery Slingshot about which Dick Bodily enquired on Friday's news update has been identified by Eurodragster.com readers. As soon as we saw Nick Pettit's name in our mailbox we knew that the mystery was likely over, as there is no bigger expert on the history of drag racing in the UK. "The car was Dean Butler's Flathead-powered digger which was driven by its original 1960s builder Charles Bang at the 2004 NSRA Nostalgia Drags when he was visiting the UK", says Nick. "I think Sid Slattery had a couple of races with it in his Jag slingshot. There's a mention in the September 2004 edition of Custom Car magazine". Don't forget that Nick markets a huge range of Nostalgia DVDs which you can check out at www.timetraveldvds.co.uk. ©Eurodragster.com Not far behind Nick with the same answer was Ray Irish. "I think maybe the Mystery Slingshot could be the one which showed up at the Nostalgia Nationals in 2004", says Ray. "Owned by an historic racing car fan, it was built and driven by the original owner Charlie Bang from (I think) Tennessee and was powered by a V8 Flathead motor. I had a long chat with Charlie in the staging lanes and he told me that the slingshot was shipped over from the States in a container along with the owners historic racing cars. I remember it was fitted with a radiator for cruising the pits." Swift snippets. 23rd December: Not exactly a spy picture but UK Super Pro ET racer Chris Orthodoxou likely goes along with Oscar Wilde's thoughts on what is worse than being talked about. Chris was not immediately forthcoming on the implications of this picture but we're sure that he'll tell us when he's ready. ©Eurodragster.com Sharron Collier has been in touch to ask us to say a big Happy eleventh Birthday for yesterday (Saturday) to UK Junior Drag Bike racer Scott Collier. "We are so proud of Scott and we love him tons", says Sharron. "Next year is his fourth drag racing season, and as you probably know he has retained his JB1 title for the second year. Next year he is out on his 125cc machine, as he is now eligible to use the bigger engine. Stormy Mark 2 is alive and well and sitting in our garage waiting for a decent day to test! Meanwhile Dad Pro Stock Bike is still not ready...priorities eh?" The ultimate in go-faster bits. 21st December: Now back in the UK after signing a deal to go Top Fuel with Knut Söderquist in 2008, Derek Flynn of Eurodragster.com News sponsor Gold RV says that he still can't quite believe it. "We are all very excited at the prospect", says Derek. "After agreeing the deal with Knut, the grin is back and it just won't budge! In our race report from the UK National Finals we were so frustrated at not getting our five in the Top Methanol Dragster, and I said "Ah well bring on the clutch and few other go-faster goodies". When I wrote that, I didn't think that the go-faster goodies would include nitro and a Top Fuel Dragster, but thanks to a news item on Eurodragster they do now! "In just four years - although it seems like ten - my team have had to cope with so much. This will be our third class and fourth different car and our biggest challenge yet! I would like to thank all the Go Gold Crew for all their help, support and tireless efforts - without them none of this would have been possible. We are hoping to add to the team a few new members with Fuel experience, and I hope to be able to announce them soon. "Every year I say that "Next year will be another steep learning curve for the team and I", but I am sure that we shall rise to the challenge again and we just cannot wait to compete at the pinnacle of our sport. We shall approach next year one step at a time. First and foremost we have to get licenced, which is a tough task in its self, as we have to achieve two runs of 5.40 or better and at least one run in excess of 260 mph, both of which eclipse my previous bests. When we get licenced the next goal will be to qualify at an FIA event, which again is going to be no mean feat going by this year's TF performances. These I am sure will improve again in 2008, so we will probably have to run a very low five or probably a four to get in, mind-blowing! ©Eurodragster.com "I would like to thank Knut for his confidence in us and allowing us the opportunity to run in his latest Top Fuel Dragster. The car looks great and Knut assures us that it is capable of competing at this top level, let's hope it does not take us too long to long to learn how to do it! There are just so many people I would like to thank for helping us get to this point, so I will say a huge thanks to everyone who has helped us in, on and around the tracks to date - you know who you all are; especially the track crews at all the tracks we have raced, again without you guys and gals none of this would be possible. Thanks also to everyone in Top Methanol Dragster who have helped us this year; thanks to Andy Robinson for all the help and support, and last but by no means least thank you Tog and all at Eurodragster, your support of the sport and us racers is just fantastic (Thanks, you're welcome - Ed)! "I would also like to add, for anyone looking to get into drag racing: go to the Super Pro pits like I did five years ago. You could not wish to meet a nicer bunch of people, who will do almost anything to help you join the class, get you started, keep you running and ensure you have a really great time. Thanks guys. I am sure this is the same with most classes but once a Super Pro'er always a Super Pro'er! Finally a Merry Christmas to everyone and a fast and safe New Year to you all." A Monster year. 21st December: UK Junior Dragster racer Zak Johnson and his family have been in touch to say a big Thank You to everyone who helped to make 2007 his best racing season yet: Firstly thank you to our sponsors: Chris, Clayton and Gill Round, and Ken and Bev Coleman of EDA. Thanks must also go to Grant Norris of Future Publishing, cheers mate. Zak has performed excellently for a very wide audience including appearances at Mini In The Park, FastFest, Ultimate BMW, Performance Vauxhall, Bug Jam, Donny Custom Car Show and many more - and that's not including the Championship rounds! Many people at these events had never seen a Junior before and were very surprised, both by the speed and by Zak's age. A lot of these events warrant a massive thank you to Darren and everyone at Santa Pod Raceway. Their hard work brings us back year after year and hopefully for many more to come. ©Eurodragster.com Zak finished fifth at the end of the season, but considering that the first two rounds were lost due to the car not performing as it should, and the horrible weather, we call that a result up north! We are counting the days until we pack the rusty but trusty Transit and head down the M1 for more action-packed racing. These Juniors really keep you on your toes. One last big thanks must go to Eurodragster.com for keeping us all informed all year (Thanks, you're welcome - Ed) - if you weren't there what would be my home page? Also cheers for the hotel, all year in the back of a van then a real bed at the Flame and Thunder...bliss. Finally, after many runs in the Monster Junior Racing dragster it's time for a engine rebuild, so Geof get ready for that phone call! Do you know the Mystery Slingshot? 21st December: Eurodragster.com reader Dick Bodily has been in touch with a Christmas mystery, although given the excellent reputation of our readership for answering queries we suspect that it will be a mystery no longer by the end of today: About five years ago, before my interest in drag racing was rekindled, I was at a Silverstone Historic meeting when much to my surprise I spotted a dragster parked amongst D types and Listers in the paddock. I recognised it as a typical shortish wheelbased early 1960s slingshot from my visit to a Dragfest meeting at Chelveston way back in 1964 or 1965. Strangely it was equiped with some sort of cooling system complete with a radiator. Soon its owner appeared, a biggish middle aged bloke with an American accent, and he explained that it was his "Conversation piece paddock runabout which he had brought over with his race car". As if to prove the point he started it up and took it for a spin around the paddock! ©Eurodragster.com Although obviously detuned it sounded quite strong so I asked him if he ever ran it on a drag strip. He said that although he had owned it some time his local strips only catered for modern stuff and that he had never tried it out on a strip but would like to. I suggested that he contacted Santa Pod Raceway because I had heard about Ru What You Brungs being held there. I was wondering if anyone knows any more about this mystery car or its owner, or if indeed if he did get to try it out. There you go, folks. If you know any more about this then drop us a line at [email protected]. Swift snippets. 21st December: We will be taking our traditional Christmas break on Christmas Day and Boxing Day (Tuesday and Wednesday of next week). Our last pre-Christmas news update will be posted on Christmas Eve and will as ever include this year's Drag Racing Unplugged and our Christmas lists, as well as the latest pictures of the restoration of Stripteaser and shots of the moulds coming together on Ray White's Pro Mod, together with the next SPRC Perpetual Awards category. All news items and Christmas Card greetings received by 21:00 this Sunday will be included in the Christmas Eve update. ©Eurodragster.com Holger Camilleri writes from Malta to ask us to say a big Happy Birthday for last Tuesday to Elias Vathias of the Greekdragster.com web site. "I have worked with Elias for the last four or five years and I have to say that it is a great honour working with him", says Holger. "His dedication and passion for drag racing especially in Greece is special, resulting in his web site. So, from me and all Greekdragster.com visitors, users and friends, we hope you had a great birthday full of happiness and good health. Take care my friend and keep up your wonderful work!" Flynn's Christmas dream comes true. 19th December: Top Methanol Dragster racer Derek Flynn of Eurodragster.com News sponsor Gold RV has got "The best Christmas present I could wish for" after signing a deal to contest the 2008 FIA European Top Fuel Dragster tour. Derek responded to Knut Söderquist's news item here on Eurodragster.com on 24th October and the deal to drive the newest member of the Carbon By Design Top Fuel stable was signed at Knut's workshop this morning (Wednesday). ©Eurodragster.com "The car is an awesome piece of kit", says Derek of the Mats Eriksson-built Top Fueller which made its first runs in Harlan Thompson's hands in Bahrain last year. "I just about fit into it so Knut is making some adjustments. We hope to have the car in our workshop in February and then I plan to make licencing passes at the Easter Thunderball. Then I will run the whole European Tour." "It's looking good", said car owner Knut Söderquist. "Derek and his guys are serious, which is important. We are getting the car ready, moving the pedals because Derek has such long legs, and putting on a wheelie bar as required by the rules - nothing major." We will bring you more from Derek, including photographs from his visit to Knut's workshop, very soon. Swift snippets. 19th December: The latest spy picture to reach the offices of Eurodragster.com comes with a challenge: "A six pack for the first person not involved with the team to guess it right". If you know any more, or if you would like to send any spy pictures of your own, then drop us a line at [email protected]. If you are the first to identify the car then we will pass your details on to the racer concerned for your prize. When we spoke to Knut Söderquist about Derek Flynn we asked how he was getting on with the Funny Car World Series. "It's been very quiet but I can assure you that we are not sitting twiddling our thumbs", said Knut. "We are working very hard and talking to several tracks. In fact I have even been talking to a track in Bangkok and they want us to take two or four cars there next year. When we are ready you will be the first to know." Elias Vathias writes from Greece that the fifth and final round of the 2007 Hellenic Championship takes place at Serres this weekend. "The weather is expected to be really cold with an estimated temperature range of -3 C to +7 C", says Elias. "We will be there as usual to cover the race on Greekdragster.com and we will send you information as soon as possible". You can check out the entry lists by clicking here for cars and clicking here for bikes. ©Eurodragster.com Not-unconnected with the above, Elias has asked us to express his deepest sympathies to the family and colleagues of Malta Drag Racing Association President Anthony Borda who died earlier this week. "We met Anthony during our first excursion to Malta in 2004 when Makis Nefrem and Filippos Papafilippou raced their cars", says Elias. "Anthony was a huge man with a very gentle heart. He accommodated and took care of us when we were there. He spoke a lot about his efforts to improve drag racing in his country and to bring a European drag race to Malta. We remember that he was everywhere, in the track correcting the timing sensors when needed, at the award ceremony after the race, co-ordinating the whole place! We are very proud that we had the chance to meet and live with Anthony. Thank you!" Brian Taylor has been in touch to ask if any reader can help with pictures of Paula Murphy performing a flame burnout in the STP Duster during the Petersen Publishing Internationals at Santa Pod Raceway in 1973. "I was commentating at that event and I did the voice over on the film Draggin' in Olde England (not my choice of title) which covered the event", says Brian. "I can only recall Don Schumacher’s flame burnout in the Barracuda. Paula recalls being surprised when the flames came during the burnout as Fat Jack had not told her. I would appreciate some help and obviously a pic would be great". If you can help then drop Brian a line at [email protected]. Further to her news item of 8th December, Sharron Collier tells us that Bill Baxter has recovered his unique H2 bike which was inside his trailer when it was stolen. Everything else in the trailer is gone, but Bill was only really interested in getting his bike back. Laffin all the way to Auto Aero 08. 19th December: The two things guaranteed to arouse the interest of engineers everywhere are high speed and loud noise. Visitors to Auto Aero 08 (FIVE, Farnborough, 6th-7th February 2008) have the chance to get up close to a piece of homespun engineering brilliance that features both in plentiful measure. On display at Auto Aero 08 will be an incredible rocket-powered drag racer, Laffin Gas. Powered by four hybrid rocket motors, Laffin Gas was developed and built by a UK-based team of engineers and self-confessed speed freaks, headed by husband and wife Carolynne Campbell and David Knight, along with Fred Thomas and a dedicated team of specialists and helpers. The hybrid rocket motor developed by the Laffin Gas team uses the unlikely combination of cardboard and cooking oil, which is burnt in a high-pressure stream of Nitrous Oxide gas to create a hypersonic exhaust flow. Using the unique bio-fuel solution developed by the team, Laffin Gas' four engines are theoretically capable of developing an incredible 12,000lbs of thrust - more than enough to propel the car to record-breaking velocities. Hybrid rocket technology employs a combination of liquid and solid fuels, and is the technology which powers SpaceShipOne - the world's first privately built space vehicle. Styling themselves "The Fred Dibnahs of rocket science", the Laffin Gas team have made impressive progress in developing hybrid rocket technology to the point where it is a highly effective, clean-burning and comparatively safe propulsion system, ideally suited to drag racing. Phil Valentine, managing director of show organiser ETES, says "The combination of ingenuity, vision and engineering skill shown by the Laffin Gas team is a perfect illustration of all that's best in UK engineering. We are really pleased to welcome the team to Auto Aero, and we expect their presence to generate a lot of interest." Auto Aero 2008 is part of the highly successful Southern Manufacturing and Electronics Show, an event which historically draws a high percentage of its visitors from the aerospace and autosport engineering community. Running alongside the Southern Manufacturing Show, Auto Aero delivers a highly-focused marketplace for these businesses. Key product areas on display at Auto Aero will include surface engineering and coatings, composites, low cost tooling, digital manufacture, engine components and assembly integration. Auto Aero 08 runs on 6th and 7th of February 2008 at the new FIVE exhibition facility alongside Farnborough International Airport in Hampshire. FIVE offers plentiful free car parking, superb access by road, rail or air, and an excellent selection of local hotels and restaurants. Entry to the show, and the seminar programme, is free. To register online for tickets, or to find out about exhibiting at the show, simply visit www.industry.co.uk or call 01784 880 890. ©Eurodragster.com Web site updates. 19th December: Street Eliminator racer Bill McDermid has updated his Billy The Kid Racing web site with a race report, pictures, 2008 schedule and more. Check it out at www.billythekidracing.co.uk. ©Eurodragster.com 2008 UK Riders' and Drivers' meeting. 17th December: Many thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall for letting us know that the 2008 joint SPRC/APIRA UK Riders' and Drivers' Meeting will be held on Saturday 19th January in the Kimberley Suite of the Diamonds Centre, otherwise known as Rushden and Diamonds' football stadium, in Nene Way in Irthlingborough (click here for a map). The meeting will commence at 11:00 am and must finish by 1:00 pm. Tea and coffee will be available, for a small fee, on arrival. Please note that the meeting has been brought forward a few weeks from its traditional weekend because of the early Easter and thus the early start of the UK season in 2008. Items to be discussed include the 2008 UK National Championship (ratification of dates as well as Championship matters), event entry fees and pitside electrical supply, and prize funds, as well as Any Other Business. ©Eurodragster.com "Racers are invited to submit items for the agenda", says Paula, "but please note that your item will only be discussed if you actually attend the meeting." If you have any items for the agenda of the 2008 Riders' and Drivers' Meeting then please send them to Paula Marshall by Friday 11th January: Paula Marshall Santa Pod Racers Club PO Box 12 Rushden Northamptonshire NN10 0ZU E-Mail: [email protected] Lucas join our list. 17th December: We are very pleased to welcome Lucas Oil Products as a sponsor of Eurodragster.com News. Lucas Oil Products was founded by Forrest Lucas and his wife Charlotte in 1989. Prior to that, Forrest was a truck driver for over twenty years. He and Charlotte were also the owners of a nationwide long haul trucking fleet. They experienced first hand the need for better lubricants and fuel treatments to maintain their own fleet. Given their personal experience in the trucking industry, Forrest and Charlotte started Lucas Oil Products with the simple philosophy of producing only the best line of lubricants and additives available anywhere. Since its inception, Lucas has steadfastly adhered to this corporate objective. Through innovative product research and development, along with aggressive marketing programmes, Lucas has established itself as a top selling additive line in the American truck stop industry. ©Eurodragster.com Lucas is also one of the fastest growing additive lines in the consumer automotive industry. A premium line of oils, greases and problem solving additives has helped to firmly establish Lucas as a prominent figure in this marketplace. Lucas also produces a heavy duty line of products for the industrial and agricultural markets. President Forrest Lucas sums it up: "Our forté is to make better products for industries and specialised situations that are not having their needs completely satisfied by other oil products and, believe me, the major oil companies have left a lot of weak spots. We have an excellent staff and a world of technology which we have gained through years of research. Together we have done a great deal in a short period of time and we intend to do a lot more." We would like to thank Lucas Oil Products for their support and would particularly like to thank Les Downey and Andy Carter for their help with this deal. We are particularly pleased to attract another high-profile company to our large portfolio of sponsors and we are sure that our readers will show their appreciation by choosing sponsors of Eurodragster.com when deciding upon purchases. You can find the Lucas Oil Products web site at www.lucasoil.co.uk or by clicking on the logo at left. 2007 SPRC Perpetual Awards vote III. 17th December: Once again Santa Pod Racers Club and Eurodragster.com are teaming up to give Eurodragster.com readers the chance of input to the SPRC Perpetual Awards, which will be presented at the joint APIRA/SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy presentation on Saturday 2nd February 2008. For seven of the eight 2007 season awards, a shortlist has been decided upon for which votes can be submitted by E-Mail. There are eight awards in all: this week's category is Best-Appearing Bike. Nominations are now also being accepted for the Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy. The votes of Eurodragster.com readers will be taken into consideration when the SPRC Committee decides upon the winners. The SPRC Committee's shortlist for Best-Appearing Bike is as follows: Les Harris, Tilly III Supertwin Gas Go to vote Stephen Moon, Comp Bike (rider Conrad Skett) Go to vote Chris Mott, Cupit & Mott Racing Supertwin Gas Go to vote Shawn Rodman, Gramfer Supertwin Fuel Go to vote Chris Stebbings, Supertwin Gas Go to vote Steve Woollatt, The Dealer Top Fuel Bike Go to vote To place your vote, go to the official SPRC Perpetual Awards page which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the SPRC Perpetual Awards vote link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page. ©Eurodragster.com The Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy, for which votes are also now being taken, was first awarded to Santa Pod Raceway's late Chief Marshal, Alex Brachtvogel, in 2001 to mark his outstanding contribution to Santa Pod Raceway and the sport as a whole. After Alex's death the trophy was named in his memory and continues to be awarded for contribution to drag racing. There is no shortlist for the Alex Brachtvogel award. Nominations are invited from Eurodragster.com readers for racers, race officials, track and safety crews, club officials, media, or anyone else who has contributed to the sport. Last year the trophy was awarded to SPRC Chief Marshal Steve Horn. Again see the official web page for more details or E-Mail your nomination to [email protected] specifying SPRC Alex Brachtvogel Trophy nomination as the subject and your nomination in the body of the E-Mail. Voting is per category, so if you voted for the Best Appearing Car last week then you can of course vote for Best Appearing Bike today, and so on. For all of the Awards, one vote per E-Mail address per nominee will be accepted: multiple votes for the same nominee from the same E-Mail address will all be disqualified. Please note that blatant attempts at organising mass votes - for example asking workmates or forum members to vote en masse - are easily identified and all such votes will be disallowed as they have been in previous years. Concerted attempts at vote-rigging will result in the nominee being removed from the shortlist. The next category will be Most Professional-Appearing Team. Swift snippets. 17th December: Urs Erbacher, Dave Wilson, Freddy Fagerström; Micke Gullquist and Jimmy Ålund were presented with their 2007 FIA European Championship trophies at the prestigious FIA Gala in Monaco on Friday 7th December. Dave Wilson, who must have his own tankard behind his Monaco hotel bar by now, tells us that a good time was had by all and that "All the usual hooligans were present". ©Eurodragster.com Many thanks to Gittli Koller for letting us know that the 2008 European SFI Inspection Tour will take place between 6th March and 10th March. We will bring you details of the venues as soon as we receive them. We would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall. Paula should be taking a break but as you have seen above she has been hard at work letting us know about the Riders and Drivers Meeting. So, Paula, you are under orders to take the afternoon off and have a great birthday. No news update yesterday (Sunday) so we couldn't do these on the day, but very Happy Birthdays for yesterday to Stuart Morrice (21) from brother Collin and mum and dad, to Werner Habermann (50) from Timo, Dennis and all the Werner Habermann Racing team, and to John Cross (we don't dare say). Hope you had great days, guys. We will be taking our traditional Christmas break on Christmas Day and Boxing Day (Tuesday and Wednesday of next week). Our last pre-Christmas news update, which will as ever include this year's Drag Racing Unplugged and our Christmas lists as well as the next SPRC Perpetual Awards category, will be posted on Christmas Eve. News items received by 21:00 next Sunday (23rd) will be included in the Christmas Eve update. European Championships DVD review. 17th December: One of the few good things about any off-season is the release of the official FIA and FIM/UEM Championships Season Review. This year the Season Review has again been released in a double DVD set and Santa Pod Raceway were kind enough to send us a copy to check out. Tog and Kirstie took a look and here are our thoughts: The menus allow you to choose the class and then the event, which is a clever idea. Although we here at Eurodragster.com love everything which goes down the track, we realise that a lot of fans have their own favourite class, and selecting by class does make it a lot easier to follow each Championship. Presentations to camera are by Darryl Bradford and Isla Hampson, with John Price adding commentary to races. Darryl continues to improve and on this year's coverage is particularly good at explaining, or persuading racers to explain, some of the technical aspects of the sport such as fuel systems in Top Fuel Dragster and shifting gears in a Pro Stock. For new viewers Pricey's commentary injects a note of authority, and for the rest of us his voice accompanying the racing is as comfortable as that old pair of slippers without which we would be lost. This year's coverage again includes some of the qualifying, which we again applaud. Race coverage is pretty exhaustive with the exception of Pro Mod, some of whose first round races are again missing, presumably for timing reasons. Picture quality is very good, and the editing is pretty much faultless with no four-second Pro Mods or Top Fuellers jumping back towards the start line as the camera changes. There is a good amount of on-board footage from a variety of viewpoints, and some of this footage is breathtaking. All of the usual trackside angles - start line, downtrack, top end and shutdown area - are covered although we noticed that there was less of the start line footage from portable cameras this year - shots such as the dramatic camera sweeps up the length of a Top Fuel or Top Methanol Dragster are much missed. Sound quality is also good although the engine noise, having finally been brought up in volume last year, seems to have dropped down again this year. ©Eurodragster.com Graphics and captions are of high quality and just as importantly are accurate. We would put in a plea for captions of ETs and speeds on next year's coverage because they are only sometimes visible on scoreboards and not always mentioned in the commentary - and it is the sheer speed involved in drag racing which can most easily be related to by the new viewer. Off the track there is a good mixture of pitside, top end and start line interviews. Our favourite interview was with Top Methanol FC racer Arvid Grødem, who is a big fan and supporter of Eurodragster.com, because he pretty obviously wanted the Eurodragster.com sticker in shot on the inside of one of his spill plates. Thank you Arvid! Isla carries out most of the "How do you feel" / "How did the race go" interviews, which she carries off perfectly well, although hopefully next season she will find or be given a few different questions for some variety. The DVD set is available now from various outlets around Europe and is very reasonably priced, providing great value for money in whichever currency you pay for it. Several hours of drag racing on four and two wheels will keep the fan going through the off-season and the presentation by class and the inclusion of the technical aspects will also make a very solid introduction to the sport for the new viewer. For a list of distributors click on DVDs at www.powerracing.eu. Nilsson, Pers get Nostalgic. 15th December: Longtime race car owner Johnny Nilsson will be returning to the drag strip in 2008 with a Nostalgia Fuel Funny Car, which is to be driven in the USA by Patrik Pers. "It is twenty two years since I last raced a Funny Car", says Johnny. "It was an alcohol Funny Car and Kent Persson was behind the wheel once in Phoenix and once at the World Finals at Pomona in 1985. Then in 1999 Kent was back in the seat again in my Top Fuel car. Now that I'm older it feels the right thing to do is to build a Nostalgia Funny Car and it will be a nice comeback to race with the big boys in Bakersfield in October. ©Eurodragster.com "This time it's Patrik Pers behind the wheel. He is a very good driver and a nice person to be around. Patrik and I have been in the USA for two weeks at Victory Race Cars looking at the new car. It will be ready at the end of January and I will go back in February to take it to my new workshop in Sylmar, California. We will be going back to put everything together for a couple of tests before the race in October. "My longtime friend Jim Dunn in Los Angeles will build the two new Brad Anderson engines and will also assist us at the races.  I would also like to say a big Thanks to Gary Burgin, Jeff Gaynor, Jim Dunn, and Ron at Victory Race Cars for all their help with the new car." 2007 Christmas Card opened. 15th December: As promised we have now opened our 2007 Christmas Card, a page which gives you the chance to send seasonal greetings to your fellow racers, fans, officials and Eurodragster.com readers. You can check out the Christmas card by clicking here or by clicking on the 2007 Christmas Card link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. ©Eurodragster.com If you would like to send a Christmas greeting then drop us an E-Mail at [email protected] and we will post it on the page. Anthony Borda. 14th December: We were shocked to hear from the Malta Drag Racing Club of the death of their President Anthony Borda. "You could say drag racing was Anthony's passion next to his loving family", says a release from the MDRA. "He worked so hard for our track and club, without his ambition and support from the rest of the members of the club we would never have a track like we have for a small island like ours. "Anthony's wish was to someday have all the best cars from all over Europe come and race here. Who knows, maybe that wish will come true and I am sure that Anthony will have the best seat to watch the race. "Goodbye our dearest Anthony. Rest in peace, you will never be forgotten." We never had the pleasure of meeting Anthony but he was a longtime and solid supporter of Eurodragster.com and always ensured that we were kept up to date with the latest developments on Malta. This was a man who clearly cared very much about drag racing and about the MDRA and it is certain that the sport will be the poorer for his loss. Our deepest sympathies to Anthony's family and friends and to the Malta Drag Racing Association. Erbacher confirms US extension. 14th December: 2007 FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion and Eurodragster.com News sponsor Urs Erbacher has confirmed that he is to start 2008 with a number of race dates in the USA before returning his dragster to Europe to defend his FIA title. Urs has also retained the services of US tuner Wayne Dupuy, who tuned Urs to a 4.5-second pass in Las Vegas in October, to call the shots for both his US and European tours next year. "We had a team meeting on Tuesday", says team member Andrea Wucher. "Urs informed us about his plans for next year. He will start in the US with up to five races, depending on the shipping schedule as we have to be back in time for the FIA Main Event and would like to test at Santa Pod before that race. Urs loved to race in the US and the Americans loved him too, but we will run the European Championship as we would like to defend the title in Top Fuel. "At the moment all the crew guys are checking their schedules, as this means a lot more travelling and more or less double the number of races as this year. There are different ways of achieving this. Our season will start again in a few weeks, which means a lot of preparation to do in a short time. The dragster will updated to the new NHRA regulations in the next few weeks, supervised by Wayne. ©Eurodragster.com "As soon as our preparations are completed we will let you know how many races we can run in the US to be back in time for the Main Event. Glenn Mikres loved racing in Europe and enjoyed being part of the European drag racing scene. We will see what Wayne thinks when he hits European drag racing soil." Urs himself is looking forward to 2008 with some confidence. "We are making a lot of changes to the car", he says. "We are making it lighter it make it more competitive with the cars in the USA. We need to lose thirty pounds off the dragster and I need to lose another thirty pounds - that is the hard part of the game. "This year we are changing to a ninety per cent nitro combination because it is now legal both in the USA and Europe. We're looking forward to going much quicker in Europe because we now have the same power as Andy Carter and the other guys. We want to change to the new eight-stand clutch as well so we have two great European Championship nine stand clutches for sale with their parts. "I think that it will be easy to beat Andy Carter's 4.6 this year because he ran that with ninety per cent nitro and that's easy. We really want to win the Championship again in 2008 and put the European record in the 4.5s. "I would like to take my whole crew over to the States to work with me at the NHRA races but at the moment they need to look at their jobs and it's not certain that they can come. For Wayne it’s his first time in Europe but with our data and his longtime know-how it will not be a problem. "I think that this is important for European drag racing as a whole, too, because now a lot of people know a little more about European drag racers." You can read Wayne Dupuy's comments about working with Urs on the NHRA web site at www.nhra.com/content/news/25954.htm. PMR's engine deal. 13th December: Paul Marston Racing have announced that they have acquired the rights to continue the development of Super Modified contender Nigel Payne's 2007 spec naturally-aspirated motor. Nigel's team are pursuing raised port Big Chief naturally-aspirated set-up now which in their opinion have made it a more attractive package unedr the proposed Super Modified rules for 2008. "Paul Marston Racing would like to wish Nigel and his Sticky Situation team every success with their exciting new project", says Paul Marston. "We hope that we will see them hit the ground running at the first round of 2008, Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod Raceway." ©Eurodragster.com Nigel and the team were keen not to see all their hard work and painstaking development go to waste, and keen to see their newly-developed technology stay within Super Modified for everyone's benefit. "I would like to thank Nigel Payne for such a selfless act of generosity and openness", says Paul. "With all Nigel’s research and development work both in data and in hardware it's a real asset to our young Super Modified Team. We already have an engine development package in place and will now run both in tandem. We can use the data and parts, along with the new rules, as a basis to design the spec for our 2008 Super Modified Programme. You just cannot put a price on the development work that Nigel has passed on to PMR - it will save us both time and money, particularly time. We are not expecting to field an entry until mid to late 2008; this development will not change the schedule drastically but will hopefully aid us in becoming competitive more quickly. It also gives Nigel and the team an opportunity to compare their 2007 naturally-aspirated combination 2008 Big Chief Big Block Chevy set-up. "We have a steep hill to climb in the effort to catch the nitrous Super Modified teams, but with two naturally-aspirated Automatic teams to learn from one another, the odds are improving." Powerpoint DVD review IV. 13th December: Powerpoint Communications, purveyors of high-quality drag racing DVDs, have released more of their 2007 titles and have been kind enough to send a set to Eurodragster.com for review. Here are Simon's thoughts on the sixth DVD: 2007 Super Mod Wars is for fans of the UK Doorslammer class that has been carefully constructed to ensure close racing. The start of pre-season testing shows our esteemed News Editor taking a 173 mph pass as a passenger in Rob Smallworth's '55 Chevy with a huge smile on his face on his quickest run that day. Rob's pre-season testing concentrated on the launch rpm and clutch settings, which can be done a number of times given available track time. The Easter Thunderball revealed a lot of teams having rebuilt and increased power. Tim Garlick switched to Chevy power with ICE as his engine builders and was on the numbers from the start, running a 7.671 in the final where he red-lit for the first time ever. Event winner Andy Kirk had a lot of chassis work and a new anti-roll bar on the Camaro. Andy Chilton was out after a lot of work by Andy Robinson on the chassis, but on a steep learning curve. Rob Smallworth's pre-season testing paid off with a pole position 7.615/177.13. In eliminations Craig Gibbs pulled a big wheelie to go out in a close race with Tim Garlick. One notable victory was Nigel Payne in the normally aspirated Vette taking out Andy 'Fred' Hone's nitrous Scorpio on a holeshot. At the Big Bang Nigel Payne said he would be happy with a 7.7 from the automatic 'Vette which moves away from the line quickly, but it wasn't to be. Rob Smallworth suffered a big nitrous explosion which launched the hood scoop skywards. Photographer Peter Donaldson stands his ground admirably. Paul Mander blew the tyres off in his first qualifier and ran his first seven in round one. Craig Gibbs developed a mysterious misfire after running a 7.794, but sorted it and improved to a 7.720 in eliminations. The final was the much improved Tim Garlick winning against Andy Hone. The Springspeed Festival at Shakespeare County was eventually a rain-out but Andy Hone ran a 7.551 class best ET (not backed up) and Andy Kirk reset the mph record at 181 mph. The SPRC Summernationals was down to one shot qualifying and we see replayed the drama of Craig Gibbs trying and failing to get down the track. The final was once again Tim Garlick seeing red against victor Andy Kirk. Bug Jam was rained out on Friday and only one qualifier run on Saturday, in front of a huge crowd. Paul Marston joined the party in the Calibra. Tim Garlick finally won against Andy Kirk in the semis and then experienced a problem against a smoky Andy Hone. ©Eurodragster.com The Open Sport Nationals at SCR saw good weather and the flora and fauna in full bloom. Andy Chilton explained that 2007 is a learning year, but would probably have preferred to miss the bit when a rod came clean through the block on a scary ride. There are some great camera shots at the top end which deserve to be included in more frequently as they are from angles not otherwise seen. Rob Millward is interviewed while acting as last-minute crew to Andy Hone and effecting a late night thrash with a borrowed engine. Tim Garlick and Andy Kirk again faced up in the final with Andy making it 3-0 in finals and spoiling Tim's Championship hopes. At the UK National Finals, Rob Smallworth returned after motor repairs and realising the best time to sit out is actually the off-season. Lee Kirk made a surprise appearance for dad Andy's birthday and to experience him winning his first Championship and run a 184 mph new Personal Best. Paul Mander beat Andy Kirk and Tim Garlick with a 7.86 but Andy Kirk's points lead was unbeatable by this stage. In the final Andy Hone, who had previously set the ET record at 7.5241, shut down giving Paul Mander his first event win. The DVD is in 16:9 format and accurate captions appear for each race with qualifying positions, ladders and points totals as well. Full footage of all race rounds and notable qualifying rounds are included. Another fine production, then with excellent presentation by Paul Venners and interviews by David Coleman. This DVD of Super Mod Wars can be acquired for £15.95 plus £1.50 post and packing from www.quartermilehigh.com. Swift snippets. 13th December: Holger Dueholm of Streetfire Promotion has been in touch to let us know that that the 2008 Danish Nationals, due to be held at Vandel, is definitely cancelled. "This is due to the fact that we have not been able to sign a satisfactory contract with the owner of the airfield", says Holger. ©Eurodragster.com The latest spy picture to reach the offices of Eurodragster.com came accompanied with a note reading "The bike may be shy but the rider isn't!". We think that narrows it down to one person so we won't do the "If you know any more" bit, but if you would like to send any spy pictures of your own, then drop us a line at [email protected]. We will be opening our annual Christmas Card page this Saturday (15th December). If you would like to send a Christmas greeting for inclusion on this page then please drop an E-Mail to [email protected]. Web site updates. 13th December: Brian Taylor has produced another entry in his Blog charting the progress of his forthcoming book Crazy Horses which courses the history and culture of drag racing in the UK. You can check out Brian's very interesting update on Alan Currans' excellent Acceleration Archive at www.theaccelerationarchive.co.uk. ©Eurodragster.com Thanks to Gary Cottingham for letting us know that the official web site of the Carter Motorsport / Andersen Racing / Lucas Oil Top Fuel team has been updated with a report of the team's work weekend and end of season celebration, which took place in Denmark during November. The full story can be found at www.andycarter.net/article-108.php. 2007 SPRC Perpetual Awards vote II. 11th December: Once again Santa Pod Racers Club and Eurodragster.com are teaming up to give Eurodragster.com readers the chance of input to the SPRC Perpetual Awards, which will be presented at the joint APIRA/SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy presentation on Saturday 2nd February 2008. For seven of the eight 2007 season awards, a shortlist has been decided upon for which votes can be submitted by E-Mail. There are eight awards in all: this week's category is Best-Appearing Car. Nominations are now also being accepted for the Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy. The votes of Eurodragster.com readers will be taken into consideration when the SPRC Committee decides upon the winners. The SPRC Committee's shortlist for Best-Appearing Car is as follows: Mark Bishop, Vegas Hustler Pro ET altered Go to vote Terry Clifford, Ratcatcher Resurrection Wild Bunch slingshot Go to vote Marck Harteveld, Voodoo Hemi Super Comp Plymouth Roadrunner Go to vote Liz and Iain Malcolm, Jus'4'Fun Racing Pro ET dragster Go to vote Chris and Clayton Round, Rebel 'T' NFAA blown-alcohol altered Go to vote Jason Weir, Pro Suburban Street Eliminator Plymouth Suburban Go to vote To place your vote, go to the official SPRC Perpetual Awards page which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the SPRC Perpetual Awards vote link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page. ©Eurodragster.com The Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy, for which votes are also now being taken, was first awarded to Santa Pod Raceway's late Chief Marshal, Alex Brachtvogel, in 2001 to mark his outstanding contribution to Santa Pod Raceway and the sport as a whole. After Alex's death the trophy was named in his memory and continues to be awarded for contribution to drag racing. There is no shortlist for the Alex Brachtvogel award. Nominations are invited from Eurodragster.com readers for racers, race officials, track and safety crews, club officials, media, or anyone else who has contributed to the sport. Last year the trophy was awarded to SPRC Chief Marshal Steve Horn. Again see the official web page for more details or E-Mail your nomination to [email protected] specifying SPRC Alex Brachtvogel Trophy nomination as the subject and your nomination in the body of the E-Mail. Voting is per category, so if you voted for the Obsession Motorsport Sportsman of the Year trophy on Saturday then you can of course vote for Best Appearing Car today, and so on. For all of the Awards, one vote per E-Mail address per nominee will be accepted: multiple votes for the same nominee from the same E-Mail address will all be disqualified. Please note that blatant attempts at organising mass votes - for example asking workmates or forum members to vote en masse - are easily identified and all such votes will be disallowed as they have been in previous years. Concerted attempts at vote-rigging will result in the nominee being removed from the shortlist. The next category will be Best-Appearing Bike. Editor's note: A big Thank You to Roger for delving into his 2007 photo library and fetching these pictures in double-quick time. Lindgren doubles up for 2008. 11th December: Sweden's Northern Raider Comp Eliminator team started the 2007 season with a lot of problems but still managed a measure of success, says PerErik Lindgren. PerErik will be going after the Stock title as well as the Comp Eliminator title in 2008. "Both of the engines were in bad mood about delivering power, and the transmission, the A-1 Proflite, did not think twice about making the mechanics work overtime", says PerErik. "The season went on like that to about Mantorp Park at the end of July before everything rocked and rolled. There we went to the final but didn't overcome Peter Sattler's dragster, then at the NDRS Finals at Alastaro we were in the final round when the rain came, and at Malmö the win was ours after defeating all of our competitors. ©Eurodragster.com "All in all, we clinched the Swedish Championship in Competition Eliminator and came second in the NDRS Cup (seven points off the winner!). So to conclude, it was a magical summer. We live very much in the north of Sweden, so get to events can be a big adventure, but I will not tire you with my stories (Oh, boo - war story-loving Ed). "For 2008 we have bought a Stock car from Esko Raisvuo in Finland. I'm going to do a Rampy and drive a Pontiac Ventura GTO 2 -74 in Stock alongside our efforts to go all the way in Comp. A lifelong desire is to get to Santa Pod and show the English and European gents what Competition Eliminator is all about. So cheer up, maybe we will be seeing you in 2008." Ready to fill the Arena. 11th December: How does thirteen, almost one hour long, noise and smoke filled, rubber burning and high octane shows in front of around 6,000 people in an indoor arena at the world's largest motorsport show sound? That's just one part of the all-encompassing 2008 Autosport International Show at Birmingham's NEC in January 2008. The guys and girls from UK Super Gas and Junior Dragster team Panther Racing UK have been in touch to let us know that they're really looking forward to playing their part to raise the profile of drag racing in the UK particularly, all made possible by the team at Santa Pod Raceway. ©Eurodragster.com Driver Conrad Stanley and Crew Chief Trevor Graves say that the team's possible involvement in the show was being discussed by Team PR Wayne Corbitt and Darren Prentice of Santa Pod all the way back in March this year. "It's clearly taken a lot of organising, with what promises to be a great show", says Trevor. "We're excited to be involved with Andy Frost, Andy Robinson and the Juniors in the Live Action Arena and would like to take this opportunity to say thanks to the Santa Pod team for the invitation", says Conrad. "We'll look forward to seeing everyone there." Swift snippets. 11th December: The latest spy picture to reach the offices of Eurodragster.com shows part of what we are pretty sure is a 1980s Camaro. Apart from cryptic comments about a new arrival and "A sister for..." we've got very little to go on. If you know any more, or if you would like to send any spy pictures of your own, then drop us a line at [email protected]. A bit late for our Christmas Gift Mart but Comet Clothing sponsor the sport so we'll let them off. Jill Lisle tells us that Comet have now got in stock some of the new range of So-Cal Chris Froggett design T-Shirts, 2008 calendars, and a new sales section of various designs. Take a look at www.cometclothing.co.uk. ©Eurodragster.com The awards ceremony for the Bavarian Motor Sportsmen took place in the Bayrischen Hof in Munich last Saturday, writes our good friend Gittli Koller of German Top Methanol Dragster team Peter Schöfer Racing. "Once again, Peter Schöfer was presented with a golden plate to honour his performance in motorsports and his third place in the 2007 FIA European Championship", says Gittli. As well as producing the last issue of Reaction Times, editrice Lorna tells us that her Christmas present to the National Association of Supertwins is a new web site which you can find at www.supertwins.co.uk. Web site updates. 11th December: Eurodragster.com Photo Editor Roger Gorringe has updated his Nitro Exposure web site with pictures from four weekends in the USA, adding galleries from the the Primm Valley Resorts National Sand Drag Association Fall Nationals and the exhilarating Autoclub NHRA Finals at Pomona to the California Hot Rod Reuinion and NHRA Las Vegas events, as well as the complete UK National Championship calendar and the Veidec Festival at Mantorp. There is also some end-year news and a picture on the Home Page which made web developer Nigel Holland exclaim "Wow, what the hell is that?" which echoed Roger's thoughts many years ago when he saw the machine in Hot Rod magazine. Check it out at www.nitroexposure.co.uk. ©Eurodragster.com Pete Roberts has updated his web site The Pod - A Look Around with an excellent set of on-track pictures from the 2007 season including a shot of Urs Erbacher which is one of the best pictures of a Top Fueller at speed your News Editor has seen in over thirty years following the sport. You can check out Pete's pictures at www.podlook.co.uk/album/index.html. Ven's early Christmas present. 9th December: 2007 ACU UK Super Street Bike Champion Steve Venables has treated himself to an early Christmas present in the form of a new ride for 2008. Ven has done a deal with Barry Henson of Velocity Racing in the USA for the first 2008 Pro Street Suzuki Hayabusa to be built (right, click on picture for large version). "I imported Barry's 2006 Championship-winning Hayabusa for this year", Ven told Eurodragster.com. "Barry supplied a spare motor and data and we came out all guns blazing. When we ran a 7.45 at the first test it gave us a lot of confidence. We managed to win the first race at Easter and in fact we only missed the finals of one race all year and that was after we turned round so fast that we made a mistake in the clutch. We ran a low ET of 7.32 and a high speed of 198.55 and won the ACU and SPC Championships and we were runner-up in the APIRA Championship. "At the start of November I went to Gainesville for the AMA/Prostar Finals where Barry was putting a base setting in my new bike and I was setting up a bike which Barry has sold to a racer in South Africa. Barry went 7.3 on my new bike but I had a few problems before I could even run. I had a problem signing on because they wouldn't take my UK licence. I had to get an NHRA licence and that meant a medical - and that was just so I could test. Then I had to join AMA and Prostar. ©Eurodragster.com "The bike I was riding (left, click on picture for another view) was unfamiliar but we had to get it set up before it was shipped to South Africa. I qualified tenth in the biggest and quickest ever Pro Street field. I got through round one of eliminations and then went up against Mike Slowe in round two - the UK Champion v the US Champion! I knew that I had to do something special to get past Mike so we loaded the bike up but we gave it too much and I just smoked the tyre. "Barry has done the initial baseline of my new bike, and I will be going back to the USA in February to test and get it set up how I need it. I will start the 2008 UK season on the 2007 bike and then I'll bring in the new bike when it is set up and I'm happy with it. "I have to say a huge thanks to Barry Henson and Velocity Racing for the endless supply of parts, for his enthusiasm, and for being on the end of the phone at all hours, even when he's out somewhere with his family! Thanks also to Crescent Suzuki for help with spares, to Debben Performance for going above and beyond building engines, and to Lee Child of LA Racing Parts for product support. Finally thank you to the guys at Velocity Racing for taking good care of me and to all the racers and fans in the USA who really appreciate it when we go out there." Swift snippets. 9th December: Norwegian Top Fuel Dragster racer Thomas Nataas will be sitting out the 2008 TF season. "For me personally, four Championship rounds is not enough", Thomas told Eurodragster.com. "I've got past the joy of just driving the car, for me it's the competition I want and exhibition events do nothing for me. All the Top Fuel teams have stepped up their performances and professionalism in the last few years, the class has gone to another level, and I myself am ready to put more money in. I will come back into Top Fuel when there are six rounds. I am still working with Rune Fjeld and I will be in the pits with the team next year, and I may drive a Fuel Funny Car for fun next season." ©Eurodragster.com Further to Mark Flavell's news item on Friday, Markus Münch has been in touch from Germany to let us know that a six-round open German Super Pro ET Series is planned in 2008. "Planned races are at Luckau in April and July (to be confirmed), Wittstock in June is fixed as well as Turtmann in July and Drachten in August" says Markus. "There are still question marks over the Hockenheim date, but Vandel in Denmark will be on the calendar. Patrick Kaiser of Hubraumbrothers is working on the sponsor pool and the details for the races, and some British racers have already been in contact, maybe some will come over for a race. In Germany we have ten racers who will participate in the series. Sweden's Andréasson Motorsports Top Methanol FC team are attending the PRI Show in Orlando, Florida this weekend. Anders Magnusson tells us that the purpose of the trip is to represent Kamasa Tools in North America, taking the sponsorship to the next level and approaching the US market. Leif and the team can be found in booth 3041. Demo vehicles sought. 9th December: Paul Marston Racing have once again been asked to organise the drag racing display at the 2008 Oval Racing Expo at Arena Essex Raceway (next to Jct 30/31 of the M25) on 19th-20th January. "The organiser has asked for one or two race cars to display inside the marquee on Saturday and Sunday and two or three race cars for one or possibly two demos on the tarmac oval on Sunday", says Paul Marston. "Please bear in mind the time of year and that facilities at Arena Essex are basic, so you want to bring a practical race car for the conditions to have some fun and do demo burnouts etc. ©Eurodragster.com "The show also features a full race meeting of the Rolling Thunder Series in demo race form. There is also a Swap Meet on the Sunday, and Paul Marston Racing will hopefully be handing out both the Santa Pod and Shakespeare County Raceway 2008 calendars. "For further details about exhibiting, making demos, or booking Swap Meet pitches please contact me at [email protected] or on 07831 650230." A Bash for charity. 9th December: Scottie and Gina of the UK's Tiki Munki Racing Wild Bunch team have asked us to say a big Thank You to everyone who helped support their second Hot Rodders Xmas Charity Bash which was held at The Bull Public House in Theale last Saturday. "£502.62 was raised for the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance, totally beating last year's total of £191.00!", says Scottie. "The band, Trashville Slammers, were excellent and enjoyed by all, and even DJ Klunkster (aka Klunky of tat2-u, Reading) managed to throw out some good rocking tunes, and a big thanks to Dicky T for acting as compere for the evening! The evening's entertainment all went down a treat! ©Eurodragster.com "Thank you for raffle prizes to: Jill Lisle, Comet Clothing; What Katie Did, Pangbourne; Nealie Retro Photo, Oxon; Colin and Paul T-Shirts, London; Jimmy and Ellie - Valley Gas, Newbury; Charlie Chivers, Carterton, Oxon; Santa Pod Raceway, Northamptonshire; Shakespeare County Raceway, Stratford Upon Avon; Andy and Kate of Robinson Race Cars, Reading; Gordon Appleton, Wheelgame Racing, Tadley; Mc Building Services, Tilehurst; NC Engineering, Tilehurst / Wraith Mc; Scottie and Gina , Theale; Andy Keep Electrical Contractor, Tilehurst; Eddie Of DS Racewear, Bristol; Leigh Turland at CAS, Leighton Buzzard; KP Seconds, Devon; Graham Hairdressers, Tilehurst; Bennett Racing, Essex; American Car World; Pat Gibbons, Theale; Lizzi Lewins, Theale; Vicky and Phil, Theale; Sarah and Darryl, Dash Racing, Tamworth; Daz, Thatcham; and the Wicked Lady team. "Thanks to the Trashville Slammers, Klunky and Dickie T for entertainment. Thank you to all who attended, and to all those who donated fantastic prizes for the raffle. See you all again next year for, hopefully, a bigger and even better bash!" Web site updates. 9th December: Dean White tells us that a new Outlaw Anglia forum is up and running on the class' official web site at www.outlaw-anglia.co.uk. "All previous postings have unfortunately been lost, and you will need to register to use the new forum", says Dean. ©Eurodragster.com Peter Walters has been in touch to let us know that his Peter Walters Race Design E-Mail address is not currently working; so of you need to get in touch with Peter then please use [email protected]. 2007 SPRC Perpetual Awards vote I. 8th December: Once again Santa Pod Racers Club and Eurodragster.com are teaming up to give Eurodragster.com readers the chance of input to the SPRC Perpetual Awards, which will be presented at the joint APIRA/SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy presentation on Saturday 2nd February 2008. For seven of the eight 2007 season awards, a shortlist has been decided upon for which votes can be submitted by E-Mail. There are eight awards in all: this week's category is the Obsession Motorsports Sportsman of the Year Trophy. Nominations are now also being accepted for the Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy. The votes of Eurodragster.com readers will be taken into consideration when the SPRC Committee decides upon the winners. One vote per E-Mail address per nominee will be accepted: multiple votes for the same nominee from the same E-Mail address will all be disqualified. Please note that blatant attempts at organising mass votes - for example asking workmates or forum members to vote en masse - are easily identified and all such votes will be disallowed as they have been in previous years. Concerted attempts at vote-rigging will result in the nominee being removed from the shortlist. The Sportsman of the Year trophy is presented by Obsession Motorsports in memory of the late Terry Gibbs, a fervent supporter of Sportsman racing who himself raced before becoming a race and show promoter. The trophy is awarded to an individual who typifies the spirit of Sportsman drag racing either as a racer themselves or as someone who works to support Sportsman racing. The first recipient of the Sportsman of the Year trophy was Matthew Wright. The shortlist for Sportsman of the Year is as follows: Carl Burton Go to vote Jeff Bull Go to vote Paula Marshall Go to vote Spencer Tramm Go to vote Paul Watson Go to vote Jon Webster Go to vote To place your vote, go to the official SPRC Perpetual Awards page which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the SPRC Perpetual Awards vote link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page. ©Eurodragster.com The Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy, for which votes are also now being taken, was first awarded to Santa Pod Raceway's late Chief Marshal, Alex Brachtvogel, in 2001 to mark his outstanding contribution to Santa Pod Raceway and the sport as a whole. After Alex's death the trophy was named in his memory and continues to be awarded for contribution to drag racing. There is no shortlist for the Alex Brachtvogel award. Nominations are invited from Eurodragster.com readers for racers, race officials, track and safety crews, club officials, media, or anyone else who has contributed to the sport. Last year the trophy was awarded to SPRC Chief Marshal Steve Horn. Again see the official web page for more details or E-Mail your nomination to [email protected] specifying SPRC Alex Brachtvogel Trophy nomination as the subject and your nomination in the body of the E-Mail. The next category will be Best-Appearing Car. Features: SEMA Show, NHRA Banquet. 8th December: The latest in our occasional series of Features in association with John Woolfe Racing, and the last in a set of reports from his recent trip to the USA, are Roger's reports from the SEMA Show and the NHRA Powerade Awards Banquet. ©Eurodragster.com You can check out Roger's SEMA Show report and pictures by clicking here, and his NHRA Powerade Awards Banquet report and pictures by clicking here, or by clicking on the Features, Interviews, Tributes link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Unique bike stolen. 8th December: Sharron Collier of the UK's Jade Racing Pro Stock Bike and Junior Drag Bike team has been in touch with news of the theft of a unique bike in the USA and has asked UK readers to keep an eye out: Billl Baxter, one of America's H2 'gods' has had his race trailer stolen from outside his house in Texas. His record holding H2 was inside, along with all his race kit. The thieves even took his garden furniture! We know it is a very small world when it comes to drag racing, and this bike is definitely a one-off machine. It recently broke a world record for quickest H2, running 8.33 seconds, normally aspirated. Anyone in the two stroke community has heard of Bill Baxter and his rider Joe Bird, and the H2 community around the world is devastated by this theft. If anyone sees anything on any web site, offering parts for sale etc. would they be so kind as to let us know. We're not sure if the thieves know anything about bikes, if they do they would surely realise they could not sell this bike without arousing suspicion. Or maybe they know nothing about bikes, don't realise how special it is and will try and sell it thinking "It's just a motorbike". We are hoping someone somewhere will see an ad for it, and would be immensely grateful if everyone could keep their eyes peeled. You could not wish to meet a nicer guy than Bill, who actually made the trip across the water earlier this year to come to Shakespeare County Raceway and meet up with all us English members of the Kawasaki Triples Club, who are some of the nicest funniest people we know. All of us here in England want to do everything we can to help a fellow racer. If anyone sees anything for sale which seems a bit odd, maybe the seller seems a bit vague about any details, please let us know at [email protected]. More pictures will be posted soon on our web site at www.jaderacing.com. ©Eurodragster.com Drachten Super Pro trip mooted. 7th December: If you were tuned in to Eurodragster.com News last Friday then you will have read about the possibility of drag racing returning to Drachten Airfield in The Netherlands in 2008. UK Super Pro ET racer Mark Flavell, who organised a very successful trip to Drachthen in 2006, is already planning to lead a similar contingent of UK racers toting their party heads for the planned race on 11th-13th July. ©Eurodragster.com "Super Pro ET will be a Championship class at all three dates on the Drachten calendar", says Mark. "There are moves afoot to establish ET racing in Germany and most of Europe from what I can gather. I understand that the Germans are setting up to run a multi-track Super Pro Championship and intend to include the July Drachten Internationals as part of it, but remember all are welcome. All classes are well supported. "It sounds to me like a race and a half. Keep an eye on the eXplosion web site at www.explosiondragracing.com as the club are very pro-active in developing the venue and they think big. Dave Higgs at Allsports Logistics is your man for ferries again, so bear him in mind when the provisional date is confirmed. There is a gaping hole in the UK Championship race dates, with nothing going on in July. If you’d like to spend a summer weekend like this then let me know at [email protected] and I'll keep everybody informed about who and what!" Swift snippets. 7th December: Pete Kellett of Eurodragster.com News sponsor B & B Specialist Automotive & Leisure Services has been in touch to let us know that Junior Dragster racers Joe Kellett and Matthew Seamarks will be appearing in the Live Action Arena at Autosport International in January. Pro Mod racers interested in running in the 2008 MSA British Drag Racing Championship are invited to a meeting at Santa Pod Raceway at 2:00 pm on Saturday 19th January. The meeting will discuss development of the Championship. If you plan to attend then please let Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall know before 10th January at [email protected] or on 01933 313625. The UK's Showtime Fuel Funny Car team are looking for a new crew member for the 2008 season. The crew member will be responsible for the top end on one side of the motor. For more details check out the Drivers/Crew Required section of our Jeff Bull Race Engines and Performance Parts-sponsored Swap Meet. ©Eurodragster.com Nigel Fox would be interested to hear from any reader who has pictures of or information about the Lotus Elan BRM raced by Bill Marshall in the 1970s. "I have the car and am restoring it", says Nigel. "It's purple, big arches, very 1970s, and has a Phase 3 BRM engine". If you can help then please drop Nigel a line at [email protected]. Photographer and graphic designer John Eyre and photographers Klas Björkman and Pawel Flato have produced a new book packed with pictures from Mantorp Park, Tullinge Raceway and nostalgia races at Kjula. You can find out more about Northern Fuel on the Svensk Dragracing web site at www.dragracing.se. Santa Pod Raceway's deadline for the order of merchandise for Christmas is Wednesday 12th December. You can get your goodies from www.santapod.com. We will be opening our annual Christmas Card page next Saturday (15th December). If you would like to send a Christmas greeting for inclusion on this page then please drop an E-Mail to [email protected]. Web site updates. 7th December: UK Street Eliminator racer Andy Frost has updated his Blog with the latest developments in the Red Victor pit. Check it out at www.redvictor1racing.co.uk. ©Eurodragster.com Santa Pod Raceway's web site has been updated with a review of the 2007 season, which you can find at www.santapod.co.uk/e_season_review07.php. SPR step up Autosport presence. 5th December: Santa Pod Raceway have expanded their traditional presence at Autosport International which takes place at the NEC in Birmingham on 10th-13th January 2008 (public days 12th-13th January). As well as the usual SPR display on Saturday and Sunday, SPR will be represented elsewhere in the show and in a first for the UK drag racers will be pulling burnouts indoors in the Live Action Arena. SPR also have ten pairs of Autosport tickets to give away. Santa Pod Raceway's official press release explains further: Don't miss the Santa Pod Raceway stands at Autosport International 2008 - they're packed with a selection of the finest and fastest machines on earth! The main drag racing stand on Saturday and Sunday but new for 2008 will see another display of performance and modified cars in the exclusive PistonHeads Hall on Friday/Saturday and Sunday. Don't miss several burnout demos in the Live Action Arena over all four days. You'll witness wild rubber burning action from MSA British Drag Racing Champion Andy Robinson's Pro Mod and Conrad Stanley's stunning Pontiac Firebird. They will be joined by the fastest street-legal car in the UK - Andy Frost's Vauxhall Victor, plus some of our Junior Dragsters. Autosport International (Saturday/Sunday) - Hall 11/Stand 18410 Top Fuel Dragster: Drag Racing's premier class is represented by former FIA Champion Andy Carter with his 300 mph Top Fuel Dragster. Sponsored by Lucas Oils, this 8000 bhp missile is capable of over 300 mph in less than five seconds and Andy will be happy to enlighten you about his experiences behind the wheel! Jet Funny Car: Martin Hill's world record breaking Jet Funny Car has in the past clocked a spectacular 336 mph at Santa Pod and never fails to impress the crowds. Powered by a Pratt and Whitney engine from a Skycrane helicopter this fire-breathing beast guzzles 120 litres of aviation fuel per appearance on the track! Showtime Funny Car: This beautiful car débuted at Santa Pod in 2007 and turned many heads. Wild runs with speeds reaching 300 mph. Completing the line-up will be Santa Pod's very own Top Fuel Bike - a 200mph two-wheeled monster and a high spec Drift Car. Unlike dragsters, these cars prefer sideways action and regularly perform in Santa Pod's own drift arena. Santa Pod also welcomes the younger race fan and has proved to be a very popular venue with families. If you visit the stand this year then bring your camera and have a very special souvenir picture taken with "Nitro" our dragon mascot whilst sitting in Santa Pod's very own Junior Dragster. Don't forget to visit the merchandise trailer for some great Santa Pod gifts and souvenirs plus get the latest season DVDs hot off the press. PistonHeads Show (Friday/Saturday/Sunday) – Hall 12/Stand 12790 Santa Pod Raceway's second stand at Autosport International 2008 is located in the PistonHeads show area and has a different focus to the main drag racing stand, featuring the very best modified cars from Santa Pod Raceway's burgeoning Japanese car scene and modified car events. Heading up the display are three very influential cars from the HKS Drag Series: The first race series exclusively for Japanese cars. The three cars featured won their respective class in the Championship's inaugural year, and represent the very fastest and most powerful modified cars on the planet. These turbocharged monsters kick out more power than a modern Formula 1 car and will leap to astonishing speeds much faster too.  Steve Whittaker – XS Power Mk 3 Toyota Supra: Steve's 1,000 bhp Toyota Supra is a purpose built drag car that can hit over 170 mph in just 8.0 seconds, and yet utilizes the original Supra three litre, six cylinder engine! Steve won the HKS Drag Series "Pro" class in 2007. This car is currently the fastest Japanese car in Europe. Johnny McKeon – Endless Nissan Skyline R32: Johnny topped the HKS Drag Series "Street" class with this car in 2007, and has run nine-second quarter mile passes at almost 150 mph in fully street legal trim. The car uses the original 4WD system and six cylinder engine and produces around 1,000 bhp. Scott Whitelaw – CPL Racing Honda Civic Type R: Scott's Civic won the HKS Drag Series "Front Wheel Drive" class in 2007 and also set UK records along the way. The car uses over 500 bhp to hit 137 mph in 10.6 seconds, and achieves all of this with just four cylinders and the original Honda two-litre engine. The HKS Drag Series Cars are joined by the Marangoni Toyota Yaris. This car has hit the covers of glossy magazines with its good looks, but it packs a serious performance punch too, with a specially tuned MR2 engine that is mid-mounted and tweaked to over 300 bhp. Just as well it's got some decent tyres on then! Finally, check out our Ultimate Street Car show vehicle, an exercise in extreme styling that represents the non-performance side of the modified car scene, and shows off the talents of the very best ICE and bodywork specialists in the UK. The car's identity is yet to be revealed at the time of going to press, but you can guarantee she'll be a stunner Before you leave either stand, pick up your free copy of "The Guide to Santa Pod Raceway" and all the 2008 events on your free poster/wallplanner. We look forward to welcoming you on the weekend. Santa Pod Raceway has ten pairs of tickets to give away and you can win a pair by answering the following question: Which driver will be displaying his Lucas Oil sponsored Top Fuel Dragster on the main Santa Pod Raceway stand? E-Mail your answer together with a contact telephone number to [email protected]. The closing date is Wednesday 2nd January. Winners will be drawn at random. Good Luck! You can find out more about Autosport International on the Show's official web site at www.autosportinternational.com. ©Eurodragster.com Swift snippets. 5th December: The UK's Gary Page will be back in the seat of a Fuel Funny Car in 2008 courtesy of a sponsorship deal with exhaust manufacturer Mongoose Exhausts. Gary expects to contest four or five events in Kenneth Lorentzon's Pennzoil-backed Fuel FC. "Thanks to Sue Collins of Mongoose Exhausts, to Kenneth, to Paul Townsend for kicking my arse, and to John and Karen for continued support", says Gary. For a moment we thought someone had had it away with Marius Blackburn's altered but this nice-looking piece is on its way from Florida to the UK to contest Pro ET in the hands of Phil Toppin. "I'm going to be the one to catch" says Phil, "all I can say is look out Pro ET". ©Eurodragster.com Carolina Classics have expanded still further with the launch of a Mail Order Hot Line on 0845 602 5490 (calls only charged at approx 3.5p a minute). "Speak to our new parts man Lee, and quote reference "Nigel and Eurodragster" and 20% discount will be given on all regular service parts, and we will do our best price possible on performance and rare parts", says Nigel Taylor. "For all showroom, technical, service and enquires other than parts please call Nigel Taylor on 01264 321170, but don't forget to quote Eurodragster." A tenuous link for a European drag racing web site but the young lady was the subject of a Eurodragster.com interview, and the UK's Andy Bissett is her clutch guy, so our very best wishes for a long and happy future to Ashley Force on her engagement to Danny Hood. We would like to send our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of US Jet legend Art Arfons, who passed away on Monday. Art is one of those without whom the Jet scene would be somewhat different and probably less developed today, and his contribution to the sport and to thrust-powered vehicles generally will never be forgotten. As you may have noticed we have replaced our database of Home Page pictures. There are two hundred in all; even though we have checked and rechecked the database and data file it's possible that an error has got through so if you get a blank frame on the Home Page then please drop us a line with details at [email protected]. Powerpoint DVD review III. 5th December: Powerpoint Communications, purveyors of high-quality drag racing DVDs, have released more of their 2007 titles and have been kind enough to send a set to Eurodragster.com for review. Here are Simon's thoughts on the fifth DVD: The Nitro Warriors DVD is loud and fast. The Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association in its third year has continued to develop apace with step improvements in performance, less attrition and closer competition. The racing in 2007 was more intense thanks to a rule change to provide a true final at each event, based on aggregate times. Paired runs pitch cars with similar performance against each other making for close races. With points also scored for burnouts, this series is geared for both show and go. Straight into the action, the Easter Thunderball saw a personal best performance from Jim Usher with a 6.781/206.43. Legendary Fuel Altered pilot Dave 'Nasty' Benjamin was present to help with tuning advice for the nitro machines which paid off in spades. Not to be outdone, double Champion and event winner Clayton Round ran his first six and a personal best of 6.905/193.22 at this meeting. Frank Bennett ran a 6.910/195.67 and Bob Glassup was in the low 7.0s as well. A hugely auspicious start to the season, then. At the Springspeed Festival the weather shortened proceedings but the lack of runs was compensated for by the thrill factor. Bob Glassup's massive wheelie is shown from multiple angles and described by Bob in detail. There was an exciting moment with Joe Bond crossing over into Jim Usher's lane; Jim was not at all fazed in the subsequent interview. Venom opened its account strongly with Tony Betts running a 6.687 at only 182.72 for the class record. Back at Santa Pod for the SPRC Summernationals and again this was a truncated meeting. The Wrattens' Dirty Harry 4 made its 2007 début with a potent methanol combo, faced off against Frank Bennett in the final and won the event with a 6.948/194.8, a tremendous début effort. Gary Page made a one-off appearance in Chaos at this event. The Nostalgia Nationals at SCR was even more severely rain affected and not one car went down the track. The Open Sport Nationals more than made up for it though. Bob Glassup was combining wheels up launches with 7.1 ETs, a real crowd-pleaser. John Wright did a brilliant driving job when Chaos dug in after big tyre shake and later ran his first six in the car, a 6.743/218.31. Neil Townson's beautiful Northern Spirit and Pete Radcliffe's T made their NFAA débuts. Tony Betts lowered the class record further to 6.473/215.70. ©Eurodragster.com At the Hot Rod Drags it was good to see Kenneth Feldthusen over from Sweden in the Northrace altered running a best of 6.66/196. The race was run under sunny skies and as Paul Venners explains the Run What Ya Brung nature of the meeting results in track conditions being just slightly more marginal than at UK Championship events. But they forgot to tell this to John Wright who ran an awesome early shut-off 6.335/189.83. The UK National Finals at SPR saw the début of Matt Wright's nitro burning Who Dares Wins which looks highly promising for 2008 and has a chassis is legal for Nostalgia Funny Car as explained by constructor Bill Felstead. Jim Usher had a scary moment when his oil tank exploded, not something you need in any car, let alone a Fuel Altered. Tony Betts improved further to a 6.440/215.52. In a mini-feature, Ollie Burn describes the process of between rounds maintenance at the track. Series organiser Lawrie Gatehouse commented that in spite of the poor weather the series came on in leaps and bounds. The points were close and Frank Bennett and Joe Bond were both snapping at Clayton Round's heels. Dennis Wratten's win showed he will also be gunning for the Championship next year, but Clayton is to be congratulated for his hat-trick of Championships. The soundtrack captures the cackle of nitro motors and the blower whine of the methanol cars vividly. Camerawork benefits from added shots with up to four angles being shown. You can experience the best-ever season of the NFAA for £15.95 plus £1.50 post and packing from www.quartermilehigh.com. Web site updates. 5th December: If he'd left it much longer then next year's FIA European Finals would be upon us, but our good buddy Anders Envall has finally posted the eagerly-awaited final chapter of his account of his trip to the UK for this year's FIA European Finals. This last report and pictures cover Anders and family's departure from Santa Pod Raceway and subsequent tour around the south east of England including a trip to the offices of Eurodragster.com and an epiphany at the local Harry Ramsden's. Check it out via News or directly via Races at www.blackout.nu. ©Eurodragster.com Leanders go into production. 3rd December: Just in time for Christmas, Swedish Top Methanol Funny Car team Leanders Brothers Racing have started to market some of the items which they have designed, developed and produced over the last year. "First is a complete awning for racing trailers", says Jörgen Leanders. "It comes as a kit with brackets for the trailer and a lightweight all anodised aluminum frame with milled ends, together with a lightweight PVC awning. The framework is designed with extra clearance to allow for bodies being lifted on and off jacked-up Funny Cars and tall dragster wings. The awning is already mounted on Kjell Sjöblom's and Jöran Persåker's and our trailers amongst others, and will also be mounted on John Spuffard's new Wilson DD. The complete kit with everything you need will be yours for just 39000 SEK plus VAT, €4300 or £3000. No VAT will be charged abroad if you have a VAT number. "Leanders Bros are currently developing more racing products and our biggest project right now is a 11" clutch in a three-disk version for alcohol Funny Cars and maybe dragsters, coming later this year is a two-disk version with starter gear for Pro Mod application. The two types of clutch will, after SFI approval, be extensively tested on multiple cars during 2008. Two new clutches will be on display at the PRI show in Orlando, USA, one in the Haas booth and one at IronCad. "Our 10" clutch project during the 2007 season worked just great mechanically but we made a decision to go bigger when two disk Pro Mods need more surface area and we believe that we will benefit from that as well, and we think it will be better if the two types are as alike as possible. ©Eurodragster.com "The major factor which make Leanders Bros possible is our cooperation with our current sponsors IronCad and Haas Automation Europe. IronCad is a powerful, easy to use CAD software which proves itself every time we use it. With this CAD system I can make super realistic 3D drawings from ideas in my mind without extensive CAD training. IronCad, is as it says on our car, the fastest way to 3D. Haas Automation Europe has provided our company with an EC 400 two pallet horizontal machine which we use for all our milling. The Haas CNC machine is easy to operate and is very user friendly". You can find out more on the Haas CNC web site. Supercharged Outlaws 2008. 3rd December: Dave McKenzie has been in touch with the provisional 2008 calendar for the UK's Supercharged Outlaws: 19th-20th April: Shakespeare County Raceway (non points-scoring) 31st May-1st June: Shakespeare County Raceway, Round 1 sponsored by Fester Race Cars 28th-29th June: Santa Pod Raceway, Round 2 sponsored by LA Commercial Kidderminster 12th-13th June: Fairford Air Tattoo (static display) 2nd-2rd August: York Raceway, Round 3 sponsored by Roy Wilding Race Cars 8th-9th August: Shakespeare County Raceway, Round 4 sponsored by BG Services Ltd 27th-28th September: Shakespeare County Raceway, Round 5 At the moment I have twelve cars looking at running with the Outlaws in 2008 and two of those are nitro cars, I will give you a run down on the teams as soon as I have the full spec from each team. We are looking to have an excellent season in 2008, if you are interested in running with the Supercharged Outlaws next year then drop me a line at [email protected]. ©Eurodragster.com We have also had our presentation night, shared with the Wild Bunch at Drayton Manor on 24th November. On behalf of the Supercharged Outlaws I would like to thank Chris and Claire and the whole of the Wild Bunch for a fantastic night. Prizes awarded were: Series winner: Lee Gallimore, Red Mist altered Runner up: Dave (Fuzzie) McKenzie, Thing 5 altered Best new car: Brian Gandy (altered) Participant tankards: Roy Wilding, Frank Griffin, Tony Smith, Des Taylor, Ian Hanson Our sponsors for 2008 are Fester Race Cars Romford, LA Commercials Kidderminster, BG services Mechanical and Electrical Cradley Heath, and Roy Wilding Race Cars Oldbury. Swift snippets. 3rd December: Hans-Jørgen Hitz tells us that the start money places in Top Fuel and Supertwin at the Mosten Race Day are now full, but that entry is still open to all TF and STF racers with prize money of 25000 Dkr, 15000 Dkr and 10000Dkr available. You can enter at www.mosten-mc.dk. Racers already entered are Jaska Salakari, Rickard Gustafsson, Ian King, Finn Asserbo and Peter Ström (TF) and Tommy Möller, Eric Frank, Ronny Aasen, Cato Waale and Vidar Ravndborg (STF). The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com shows what we are told is a Super Modified Camaro being prepared for the 2008 season. Our mole tells us that the car has another two or three weeks in the workshop and then will be off for painting. If you would like to send your own spy pictures, then drop us a line at [email protected]. ©Eurodragster.com Mark Watkins and Nik Kerswill of UK Super Street team Forge Motorsport have asked us to say a big Thank You to crew Dave Watson, the old man of the team, who after five years of service is sitting out 2008 to take it easy and spend time with his family and fiancée. "The problem we have now is trying to remember to do all the jobs on the car that Dave did", says Nik. "He did the important stuff such as tyre pressures and making sure the car is fuelled, as well as looking after Mark and he needs looking after! If we get things wrong next year the car either won't run straight or will go nowhere at all. Cheers Big Fella, hope you get some quality time." Answering the call. 3rd December: If you were tuned in to Eurodragster.com News on 15th November you will recall that the Sound Editor of forthcoming feature film Doomsday got in touch to ask for sound recordings of race engines. One of the several who responded was Rob Lim, who removed the rocket engine from his roadster and let the 351 ci Mustang engine do the talking. "I did the end of season Fireshow at Crail Dragway, which involved lighting the bonfire with the car's rocket engine", says Rob. "So I was unable to do the Gumball 3000 Live Action Arena performances at the MPH Motorshow - sorry Max! When I saw Eurodragster's appeal for suitable-sounding cars it was ideal timing! Calling the nunber given revealed that Doomsday is an apocalyptic thriller starring Bob Hoskins which is due for release next spring and features a massive Road Warrior-style car chase. ©Eurodragster.com "I set about removing some of the car's rocket systems and set off for Millbrook Proving Ground to use the car's 351 cubic inch Mustang V8 for my best Mad Max impression. The soundtrack recording went very well, with the total of four suitable-sounding cars prompting Michael, the sound editor, to say that he was very pleased with the response generated by Eurodragster." You can find Rob's web site at www.roblimracing.com and a Feature on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5ZZ7IXugno. Web site updates. 3rd December: In the latest entry in his exclusive Racer Blog, Dutch Top Fuel Dragster racer Lex Joon looks forward to the 2008 season. You can read Lex's Blog by clicking here or by clicking on the Racer Blog link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. ©Eurodragster.com A sixth page of the Lawrie Gatehouse Collection has been added to Alan Currans' excellent Acceleration Archive and this update is an all-bike affair with the accent very much on the US stars of the 1970s. "Anyone who was anyone is there", says Alan. "Danny Johnson, Marion Owens, Ken Annesley, 'Grandaddy' Joe Smith, Tom Christenson and Russ Collins. The UK riders are not forgotten with pictures of John Hobbs, Johnny Munn, Terry Revill and John Clift. Oh, and in keeping with the international theme I had better not forget Jos Smit and Henk Vink from Holland. There are also a couple of articles written by Lawrie on the 1975 US Nationals and Russ Collins' awesome triple Honda machine". Check it out at www.theaccelerationarchive.co.uk. 2007 Christmas Gift Mart. 1st December: If you are looking for a Christmas gift for the racer or race fan in your life, for yourself, for that special person or maybe even for your partner then we are pleased to present some ideas to get the ball rolling. These offers are in the order in which they were received: First up are our good buddies from Powerpoint Communications who have released a tranche of 2007 drag racing DVDs in the last few weeks. If you have been tuned in to Eurodragster.com News in the last couple of weeks then you will have read Simon's reviews of just four of these high-quality, well-produced and reasonably-priced DVDs. There is something for everyone from the Open Sport Nationals to the Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association, from Super Modified to Street Eliminator, the Mopar Nationals to the Hot Rod Drags. For more details or to order your DVDs check out www.quartermilehigh.com. The official 2007 FIA and FIM/UEM European Championships DVD (which will be reviewed here shortly - Ed) is now available from several outlets around Europe. Again high-quality and well-produced, the double DVD is reasonably priced and makes a good memento of a very strange season which turned out OK in the end. For your nearest stockist check out www.powerracing.eu. Santa Pod Raceway's online shop has been updated with the latest additions to the track's extensive and unique merchandise catalogue. Whether you're looking for a woolly hat for that upcoming ski-trip, a toy for your car-mad kids, or a Christmas present for the hard-to-buy-for drag fan, or indeed the above-mentioned European Championships DVD, you can browse for it at www.santapod.co.uk/m_categories.php. Santa Pod Raceway can also help to make your child's Christmas with driving packages available for SPR's two Junior Dragsters at £139 including VAT. For more information call Charlie at Santa Pod on 01234 782828 or E-Mail [email protected]. If you're a Pro ET fan then Andy Rudd has produced an excellent 2008 Pro ET wall calendar. The calendar shows next year's race dates and is bordered with great shots of the Pro ET racers. Proceeds from the sale of this calendar go into the Pro ET sponsorship fund. The calendar is priced at £2 plus 50p P+P and can be ordered from Carl Burton, Gravel House, 2 Wisbech Road, Coates, Peterborough PE7 2DG. Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor Andy Robinson Race Cars still have Ringers Gloves available. "Kate won't stock the red ones like Santa uses so we only have basic black in sizes from Small to Extra Large", says Bob Roberts. "They can be ordered through our E-Bay shop at stores.ebay.co.uk/Andy-Robinson-Race-Cars or direct via the Contacts page at www.robinson-race-cars.co.uk. Don't forget that these gloves are not just for garage use, they're also good for gardening, housework and as a fashionable accessory for evening wear." With another year of Mopar action over, you can seek refuge in the coming winter months in the 2008 Moparuk.co.uk twelve-month full-colour Mopar calendar from photographer Dave McBride. Size is 297 mm x 297 mm in full colour, spiral bound and printed on high quality paper. Stocks are now very limited. For full details or to buy online, go to www.moparcalendar.co.uk or send a cheque for £10 per calendar to D. McBride, 4 Plough Corner, Sydenham, near Chinnor, Oxfordshire OX39 4LF stating Mopar Calendar on the envelope, and don't forget to include your own details. Does your husband (wife, partner, daughter, son, pet, neighbour...) give you hell sometimes, and maybe sometimes heaven? Looking for a Christmas present for him / her / them? How about some Heaven & Hell Racing apparel? UK Pro ET team Heaven & Hell have sweatshirts, T-Shirts and hats, designed by Darren West of Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor Power Race Graphics, for sale on their web site: click on Merchandise at www.heavenhellracing.com. Take a look - your present woes may vanish whilst helping the team with their 2008 programme. ©Eurodragster.com "Dear Santa, I have been a very good boy this year and so would like any of the below from Mr Turboville at www.turboville.com. I would like some nice Simpson pit shoes, even comfier than a pair of slippers! Wait, maybe some super-cool Impact sport shoes or even street-sports for extra cred! A nice, shiny, new crash helmet from Simpson or better still Impact, maybe a Nitro with the nostalgic air filters on the front! Forget Christmas TV, get me a fantastic Top Fuel World Championship DVD from the ADBA! The weather is getting nasty, don't want my pride and joy going rusty in the shed, better drop some ACF50 down the chimney! Got to keep my hands warm and clean so a couple of pairs of 'Nitro-Knucks' mechanic's gloves would be ace! Toys, gotta have some toys! Just wish I had one of those really amazing die-cast, collectable models of Doug Vancil's Top-Fuel Harley. It's nearly two feet long, has amazing detail, you could swear it would run! This is a blue chip investment, can't fail to appreciate and is a thing of extreme beauty. Honest mum! Clear the mantle piece! Maybe a monster 1/16 Funny Car from the same people! Or some neat 1/24 scale dragsters including the front engined rails from 1320. You could always get me a nice Mr Spokehead T-Shirt as a stocking filler. Or maybe a Simpson or Pro-Drag T-Shirt if there are any left! A baseball cap wouldn't go amiss! Mom says she wants one of those chrome plated, Sure-Shot, turkey basters! You can use them for lots of things from cleaning the oven to starting your nitro-sled! Enough drag racing stuff, need some entertainment other than Cliff this Christmas so how about a complete, brand new, sealed, box set of the fabulous Babylon 5 series, with all the trimmings and extras! Lots to choose from on Turbo's Christmas wonderland site! My New Year Resolution? Well, to sponsor Turbo's efforts to run a six and compete against the best in Europe of course! Regards, Roger Racefanatic" Paul Marston Racing have plenty on offer for Christmas starting with passenger rides for £199. "Forget the rest this is the one! A lifetime opportunity, the fastest accelerating cars on earth, passenger rides available now in the UK. 700+ bhp monsters, 0-60 mph in 1½ seconds. There is nothing faster, more memorable and more exciting than this amazing experience. Held at Santa Pod Raceway, the home of drag racing. You get the full works - burnout, launch and full pass. Held on selected days between March and October. Passengers should be over sixteen years of age, under twenty stone in weight and under 6' 6" tall. Casual clothing, soft soled shoes only please". If you fancy driving a race car then driving courses are available at £545 + track fees for a half-day course and £849 + track fees for a full-day course. "An opportunity to drive the fastest accelerating race car you can imagine, nothing prepares you for simply how fast these race cars really are! Held at Santa Pod Raceway, the home of drag racing. You get the full works - burnout, passes in the car and possibly culminating in a full pass. Held on selected days between March and October. Passengers should be over eighteen years of age, under twenty stone in weight and under 6' 6" tall. Casual clothing, soft soled shoes only please. A full UK or European driving licence is required. Paul Marston Racing are also lucky enough to be able to offer a limited range of PiranaZ hard-core clothing and apparel and their wicked decals. If you are looking for a competitively priced, extra special Christmas present, that is truly unique please contact us at [email protected] or call 0208 597 4575 or 07831 650230." Automotive artist Steve Kirk, who many may remember contributed to Street Machine magazine over a twenty five year period, has been in touch with news of a special Christmas offer on some of his nostalgia drag racing artwork. These beautifully printed (not photo-copied) limited edition, lithographs are laid down on high quality art paper and are individually numbered and signed by the artist. Prints measure 59 cm x 42 cm or A2. Four prints are available: Mondello, Assassin, Winternats and Smoke 'em and all capture the nostalgic era of drag racing, when front-engined diggers and Fuel Altereds ruled. To check out all four prints visit www.drcreview.com/news.asp?art=278. All four prints are available at a special festive price of £13.95 each (normally £17.45 including P+P), £26 for two, or £49 for all four. The prints are dispatched in sturdy cardboard tubes and the price includes postage and packing to UK mainland addresses. Foreign orders are welcome, but please enquire for details. These prints are available in the US from Dave Wallace's Hot Rod Nostalgia at hotrodnostalgia.com/Store/Lithographs/kirk01.html. The prints are produced in a limited run of just 250 and there are not that many left. Steve is not set up to handle on-line payments, so please send a cheque and your details to him at The Old Post Office, Tomcat Lane, Bickerton, Wetherby, North Yorkshire LS22 5ER or call 07836 564030. Earlier news