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Event entry update. 24th February: Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall has been in touch to ask us to inform racers that entry forms and on-line entry for Permit events at Santa Pod Raceway will be available from next Monday, 2nd March. Cause to celebrate. 23rd February: Many of you will know the UK's Dave Gibbons for his Rough Diamond Competition Altered, which he built and has campaigned on and off for the last forty years. During that time he has also been assembling motors, fabricating components and assisting racers in a variety of motorsport disciplines. But now Dave has added another string to his bow unconnected with the automotive world. Calling upon other skills gathered over the years Dave has taken a bit of a swerve and qualified as an independent family celebrant. Working as Gibb the Kent Celebrant, and trained by the Fellowship of Independent Celebrants, he now offers a service to write and conduct bespoke ceremonies and celebrations. Weddings, vow renewals, baby naming and adoption ceremonies, and funerals. Made popular in America (where else!) and rapidly gaining popularity in the UK, celebrant-led weddings and partnership ceremonies are the most frequent service provided. Should a couple share a passion other than that for each other, and the idea of a registry wedding sound a bit ho-hum or religion might not be your thing (although a religious element can be included), why not demonstrate this passion with a tailor-made celebration reflecting that individuality at a venue that means something to you, with your most important friends and family around you? Celebrant-led ceremonies can be held at any venue or location - with permission of the owner - and offer you the ceremony you want, your way, tailored exactly to your requirements, without the restrictions imposed by a traditional registry office or religious ceremony, although the legal bit has to be done at another time. So a drag racing-themed wedding at a venue of your choice is not out of the question! We've all been to a wedding and come away with thinking "Well, that was nice" but everyone deserves better than "that was nice". The only limitation is your imagination. You're an individual, so why not reflect that in your celebration? So if you're thinking about a celebration or ceremony then get in touch with Dave on 07973 663457 or E-Mail gibb@kentcelebrant.co.uk. More information can be found on his web site at www.kentcelebrant.co.uk or search gibbthekentcelebrant on Facebook. Whilst Dave is based in Kent, distance is no object. Rough Diamond Racing will continue to provide fabrication and engine building services, functioning as normal alongside this new venture. Swift snippets. 23rd February: Thanks to Mike Collins for sending us the usual preview of his column in the latest issue of Street Machine magazine, including bonus material exclusively for Eurodragster.com readers. You can check it out by clicking on the images below. It came too late for yesterday's update so a slightly belated Happy Birthday for yesterday (Saturday) to Nitro FM presenter and heavily-defeated former Lunar Landing conspiracist Paul Wright. Hope you had a great day Oz. Welcome Nitro Revival. 22nd February: We are very pleased to welcome Nitro Revival as a sponsor of Eurodragster.com. Geoff Stilwell writes: For all the racers and spectators in the UK that may be travelling to California, USA during May this is an event not to be missed and one of the best social events of the year. Steve and Cindy Gibbs will be celebrating the 4th annual Nitro Revival at the iconic Irwindale Raceway, Los Angeles on Friday May 15th and Saturday May 16th. It will be a huge gathering of Cacklecars with dozens of the older Top Fuel Dragsters, Funny cars plus Fuel Altereds cackling and some even driving down the famous Irwindale race track. My 7707 Lucas Oil Landspeed Car plus other Landspeed racers will be there, as well as many Street Rods. This is an event not to be missed with many of the famous names we know from racing in the UK and at the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame's Bench Racing sessions attending. Ed Iskenderian, TV Tommy Ivo, Marvin Graham, Joe Schubeck, Steve Gibbs, Marvin "Who" Graham, Harry Hibler, Tom Hoover, Roland Leong, Floyd Lippencotte, Ed "The Ace" McCulloch, Paula Murphy, Carl Olson, Herm Petersen, and many, many more. For full information click on the banner at the right or go to Nitro Revival's Facebook page. Many thanks to Geoff Stilwell for his support. Changes at Eurodragster.com. 22nd February: We're now announcing the changes to Eurodragster.com's staff following Tog's retirement on 1 March. Simon will be news editor and race reporter. He will be joined by new staff member Kieran Jenkins who will be blog and features editor, points and links co-ordinator, swap meet administrator and social media updater. Kieran is well known as owner of Youtube channel Mk1Kieran which features many drag racing videos and has over 27,000 subscribers and 22m views to date. Eurodragster.com will link to Mk1Kieran's video and photographic content. The other new staff member is pit reporter is Diana Macrae, who will also continue to be pitside photographer, and will contribute 'bits from the pits' which we will include on race report pages. The roster of photographers will remain the same, with Julian Hunt as lead photographer and Kirstie Tramm joining us when her racing commitments allow. Kieran will also contribute to our galleries, and we look forward to other contributing photographers supplying images as before. Our current list of planned event coverage has been posted. As before, this is provisional and may be added to as the season develops. Thanks to Dave Jones at Santa Pod Raceway for supplying a schedule of their streaming video coverage. To pre-empt queries, Eurodragster.com won't be producing streaming video coverage in future. From 1 March, please send your news items to news@eurodragster.com with a copy to simon@eurodragster.com if you have large image file sizes. Other email addresses will be confirmed after 1 March. Redzone back. 22nd February: Many thanks to Richard Foster-Turner of Trakbak Racing for letting us know some important developments in drag racing betting: Santa Pod Raceway are very pleased to announce that Redzone will be back at Doorslammers 2020. If you haven't already joined go to www.redzone.bet/santapod. Odds will go up shortly! In the meantime, once you've joined check out the odds for the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel Dragster Championship and for the NHRA Arizona Nationals in Phoenix this coming weekend. We understand more classes and event outcomes will be added as the season progresses. Atomizer Racing Injectors now in UK. 22nd February: Jason Weir has been in touch with news about Atomizer Racing Injectors now becoming available in the UK: Flow X Injectors, Injector diagnostics & Test Specialists are proud to have become the UK dealer for Atomizer Racing Injectors. Not only do we now offer a full range of Atomizer 3 Racing Injectors (100PPH - 850PPH) and the outstanding new Atomizer 4 Injectors (800PPH - 1500PPH per injector), but we also can also refresh your existing Atomizer Racing Injectors. Custom sizes are available as well as accessories. Atomizer Fuel Components - the world's fastest racing injectors - are proudly made in the USA and fuel more wins and championships than any other racing injector on the market. Atomizer is the key to taking your racing programme to the next level, through direct racer input, and utilizing the continuous improvement approach, Atomizer injectors continue to dominate in every facet of racing year after year. Atomizer manufacture the highest quality purpose-built (and 100% rebuildable) racing injectors in the industry, for racers by racers. Customers will soon be able to order the injectors direct at www.flowxinjectors.com, but in the meantime, for any orders or information, please contact Jason on 07769346964 or enquiries@flowxinjectors.co.uk. Green Light Nationals returns. 20th February: Many thanks to Santa Pod Raceway Events Manager James Forster for sending us details of an exciting summer event: Returning to the Santa Pod calendar for 2020 is the Green Light Nationals event on the 22nd-23rd August 2020. Once again, the event hosts championship rounds for a selection of car classes including Nostalgia Superstock, Outlaw Anglia, Sportsman ET and more plus new for 2020 is the addition of Comp Eliminator. The ACU bike classes will be returning in force with another “double header” weekend meaning there will be 2 championship rounds rolled into 1 event. The bikes will be running a complete championship round of qualifying and eliminations on the Saturday and another on Sunday meaning there's a huge haul of points available. This year the Green Light Nats hosts not one, but two 'one-off' classes offering extra track time and competition for those that want it. The first one off class is one that debuted in 2019 – Green Light Pro. Green Light Pro is a heads up class aimed at some of the quicker vehicles in the UK and beyond – anything with 4 wheels that runs quicker than 7.50 to be precise. This broad ruling means that we could see Funny cars vs. Pro mods, Slingshots vs. Rear Engined Dragsters, Nitro vs. Methanol, Turbos vs. Blowers and many other unique match ups. Last year saw Nick Good triumph in his trusty rear engined dragster but the entry list saw the combination of doorslammers, funny cars and dragsters that we'd all hoped for. The second one off class is a new one for 2020 and probably best described as a bracket and index racers free for all. The Green Light Big Bracket is for racers to dial in from 7.50-11.99 and aside from GSR's, pretty much anything goes. This leaves the door open to vehicles from Super Pro, Pro ET, Super Gas, Super Comp, Street Eliminator and anything else that fits the bill whether they're dragsters, doorslammers, altered's or any other 4 wheeled machines. If you can run the numbers and fancy adding another race meeting to your calendar – get the dates in your diary! As one off events, there are no points on offer for Green Light Pro or the Big Bracket but that doesn't mean the glory of a hard fought event win tastes any less sweet. Please note that all entries to this event will be scrutineered and therefore must be comply with the General Safety Regulations. Images courtesy and © Dave Jones Melbourne fund passes 75%. 20th February: Trevor Duckworth has been in touch with an update on the mission to revive drag racing at Melbourne Raceway: With the fund hitting the three quarter mark of £75,000, we now need help for the final push to get over the line and make it happen. We have many auctions running at the moment to help raise the funding, some of these being “money cannot buy” items. Just go to the Melbourne raceway Facebook page to see what's on offer. We also have limited edition T shirts, sweat shirts and zoodies for sale, with all proceeds going to the fund. Our aim is to have a new track with two six metre lanes, and for the track to be 500 metres in length. We will start with eighth mile racing and have ample braking on the same surface as the race track. When funds become available we will extend the braking area so we can then run full two lane quarter mile events. Work is scheduled to start in March with the removal of the old spectator banking and the planing of the old surface, so we can complete any repairs needed to the sub-structure before the new racing surface is laid. Our aim is to have the first event by August 2020, but we can only do that if we get the funding in place to carry out the work. Please give what you can if you wish to see a second Drag Race facility in the UK. There are sponsorship and funding packages available for companies interested in getting involved, just email trevor@straightliners.co.uk. Funny six pack. 20th February: Santa Pod Raceway has announced details of the European Funny Car Series with six cars competing to qualify for a four car field at 2020's four rounds: Festival of Power – 10th - 12th April FIA Main Event – 23rd - 25th May Bug Jam – 24th - 25th July FIA Euro Finals – 11th - 13th September New to the series is former Top Fuel Dragster racer Shelley Pearson who was last in competition in 2011. Shelley will be driving the SPR liveried Dodge Stratus with John Spuffard overseeing the operation. Shelley's partner Kevin Kent has acquired a Chevrolet Monte Carlo previously campaigned in the NHRA by Blake Alexander and retains the services of John 'Bodie' Smith as crew chief. 2019 series champion Kevin Chapman continues racing his Thermoreg Ford Mustang, and welcomes NHRA fuel racer Terry Haddock as tuner, as well as other new crew members. Steve Ashdown in the Shockwave Racing Stratus will again be tuned by Dave Bryant , and Jason Phelps is in his second year with Mark and Jackie Hawkins' Gladiator Stratus. Swedish competitor Patrik Pers will be driving a Stratus previously campaigned by Bob Bode. Ex-pat Brit Dave Fletcher, currently Track Specialist at Don Schumacher Racing, will be advising on tuning, joining Patrik's regular crew. Images courtesy and © Dave Jones Dowdy goes Renegade. 20th February: Matthew Dowdy Racing is pleased to announce the support of Jeff and Alex at Renegade Racing Fuels UK for the forthcoming racing season, beginning at the Festival of Power. Matthew will be running exclusively on Renegade's Pro Methanol, which is refined especially for racing engines. Matthew said: 'This is great news for all Junior Dragster racers, as Jeff and Alex are happy to supply all competitors in the class at extremely competitive sponsored prices - Renegade Pro Methanol will be available all season at half price. Just speak to them on 07407 807576 or email their Master Distributor Track Stuff sales@trackstuff.co.uk'. You can of course speak with Matthew at the track who will give you all of the details. 'Renegade provides a full range of the highest quality racing fuels suitable for all engines. Just give them a call and they will be able to help you out'. Appointment for Hall of Fame. 20th February: Following the announcement on 4th February that News Editor and Race Reporter Tog will be leaving the Eurodragster.com staff at the start of next month, and the running of the site is being taken over by Simon, a vacancy arose within the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame for Press and Member Liaison. With immediate effect the BDRHoF is delighted to welcome respected British nostalgia drag racing enthusiast and former Shakespeare County Raceway Promotions Manager Jeremy Cookson to the board of directors to assume this responsibility. Jeremy, better known to the drag racing community as Jerry, has a varied past in the sport dating back to the early 1960s, after his father Gerald [Gerry] had visited several ground-breaking festivals, notably the 1965 Drag Festival at Blackbushe when Jerry was five years old. Following that, Jerry helped support his father's racing career in what was then classed as Junior Dragster with a supercharged BMC slingshot dragster, The Joker, followed by a late-1950s Berkeley Sports Car, an MG Midget and back again to the Berkeley Super Joker. Since that time Jerry has written and produced features and articles for well-known high street publications as well as taken on the role of editor of Fire Up and European Dragster magazines. Jerry later became more actively involved with Avon Park Raceway, which later morphed into Shakespeare County Raceway in the late 1990s, providing the voice of the raceway as racetrack announcer/commentator. In 2006 Jerry officially joined the team at Shakespeare County Raceway in a full-time capacity as Promotions Manager, supporting many roles at Long Marston Airfield, where the race track was located, as well as writing a regular column for Street Machine magazine and serving for two years as starter until the raceway's closure at the end of 2017 to make way for the inevitable Garden Village project. Jerry said: 'I am delighted to further my involvement with the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame,' says Jerry. 'After serving on the Panel of Selectors since the BDRHoF's inception in 2006, and after my family's name was inducted in 2018, I can think of no better way to put more back into the sport which has given our family so much pleasure since those ground-breaking days of the sixties. Drag racing has had its ups and downs but it's still alive and kicking in many varied forms from grass roots right up to anyone's ultimate goal – becoming a professional racer. The BDRHoF is an important medium honouring those who have built the sport to where it stands today and I'm happy to be involved on this scale.' Images courtesy and © Mike Burrowes and Keith Lee. Snapped with success. 20th February: Jerry Cookson writes about a new associate sponsor of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame: What is drag racing without photography? And most important of all, what is photography without drag racing? For one of motorsport's most diverse, colourful and totally addictive pastimes is required to have its moments captured on film for posterity. Julian Hunt is a photographer who has that passion for drag racing, with a keen eye to make that magic moment stand out from the rest, and in 2020 we are delighted to announce that Julian is joining us as an associate sponsor. From an early age Julian enjoyed a keen interest in all types of cars and would visit Brands Hatch, his local racing circuit, whenever he could convince someone to drive him there. In 1990 Julian managed to talk a buddy into driving him to Santa Pod Raceway where he got his first taste (and smell) of drag racing. It was then that he knew this was the sport for him. Drag racing was now his favourite motorsport and he would attend as many race meetings as possible, always hoping for a whiff of Nitro! With his own transport issues resolved in the form of a screaming two-stroke motorcycle, Julian then moved on to four wheels, owning several vintage Volkswagens and a classic Porsche. His career followed a similar path on which he spent 20 years working in the air-cooled Volkswagen and classic Porsche restoration business. In 2007 Julian was inspired by another drag racing photographer's work. He decided that, instead of keeping his camera on auto, he would learn how it functioned and try to improve his own work. His ultimate aim was to match the quality of the photographer who had inspired him and he spent many hours trawling through hundreds of instructive articles on the internet. Thirteen years later and it's still all about the drag racing. Julian and his trusty Canons attend many race meetings throughout the season in the UK and in Europe. His work can be seen across many websites, primarily Eurodragster.com, and he has had regular commissions published in automotive magazines such as Volksworld and Custom Car as well as contributions to the BDRHoF's HoFTalk on-line magazine. In 2016 a panel of judges recognised Julian's talents with the presentation of the BDRHoF Sydney Allard Media Award for Photo Journalism sponsored by Mintex, a former supporter of the 1964 Drag Fest and of Sydney's original Allard Dragster. From the entries received the panel eventually chose Julian's fire burnout photograph of Bob Hawkins' stunningly quick, blown methanol-injected, Chevrolet-powered slingshot dragster called Time Traveller, which Julian had captured in full flame at Santa Pod Raceway's 2016 Dragstalgia meeting. Julian's choice of camera that day to create this magnificent image was a Canon EOS-1D x with a Canon Lens EF100-400mm. F/4.5-5.6L IS II USM. Julian Hunt now adds Julianhunt.net to an illustrious group of associate BDRHoF sponsors for 2020 including: Beech Underwriting Agencies, BUA Motorsport, US Automotive, Santa Pod Racers Club, DialAFlight, Institute of Professional Drivers, Atlantic Fluid Tech, Rat Trap Racing, Mopar Muscle Association, Jeff Bull Racing Engines, Eurodragster.com, Straightliners, Kelsey Media, Chair Office, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (Mopar) Shakespeare County Relics, National Street Rod Association. The British Drag Racing Hall of Fame wishes to thank all sponsors for their most valued support and practical help. Without them the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame could not exist. Swift snippets. 20th February: British drag racing nostalgia enthusiast Jerry Cookson is looking for a video copy of eighties film ‘Quarter Milers - The Inside Story'. 'Marketed through Street Machine magazine, the film was a behind the scenes look at British drag racing, and was written and co-produced by Dick Griffiths of Stirling Video and Street Machine's features editor and former racer Tony Beadle,' says Jerry. 'The film compares a 200 mph Top Alcohol Dragster with a 10 second self-built C/Dragster and featured racers John Dowse, Clive Napier, Brian Huxley and Paula Atkin. The sixty minute production also looked at the Rover V8 series as well as the Street Racer Championships at York with in-car footage, workshop visits, pre-race preparation and fire burnouts.' If you have such a copy in your video collection and you're prepared to let Jerry borrow it, or you can get it re-recorded, then get in touch at quartermilenewsmakers@yahoo.co.uk. Slicks sought for SPR track prep. 18th February: Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall writes that used drag slicks are sought to help with track prep at Santa Pod Raceway: As ever we are happy to arrange to collect the tyres from your location. But if you are coming to the Riders' and Drivers' Meeting on 1st March and can bring your slicks with you then please get in touch so that I can arrange a van for collection. There is also the option of dropping slicks off at the SFI Day on 9th March. Alternately, if you have several sets of slicks to collect, then please contact me and we can arrange a date to come and collect them from you. Many thanks in advance. If you have used slicks to donate for track prep then please get in touch with Ian at ir.marshall@btconnect.com or call 01933 313625. Dates for your diary. 18th February: This Friday (21st) is the deadline for items for the agenda of the UK Riders' and Drivers' Meeting which takes place in Northampton on Sunday 1st March. Please note that if you wish to have your agenda item discussed then you must attend the meeting. You can E-Mail your agenda items to Ian Marshall at SPRC at ir.marshall@btconnect.com. You can read full details about the Riders' and Drivers' Meeting in our news update of 21st January. A reminder that this year's European SFI Recertification Tour is fast approaching and will take place at the following locations: Thursday 5th March: The Netherlands Hotel Ibis Amsterdam Schiphol Schipholweg 181 Bedhoevedorp 1171PK Inspections 08:00-12:00 Friday 6th March: Finland FHRA Office Helsinki-Malmin Lentoasema Helsinki 00700 Inspections 08:00-12:00 Saturday 7th March: Sweden Persåkers Speed Shop Solbergavagen 28, Åkers Styckebruck Inspections 12:00-17:00 Monday 9th March: UK Hospitality Suite Santa Pod Raceway Airfield Road Podington NN29 7XA Inspections 10:00-16:00 For full details, including what can and cannot be inspected, please see our news update of 17th January. UK Super Gas named for 2020. 17th February: The UK's Super Gas class will carry the official title of the Dave Grady Super Gas Shootout after the late, legendary originator of the Super Gas Drag Racers Association ended with a commanding lead in a vote held here on Eurodragster.com. When submitting his vote Mark Flavell, who was himself involved in the SGDRA, commented "There were lots of people who had a lot of very valuable input but Dave was the glue that bonded us all together" whilst Wayne Jackson added that Dave was "The nicest man you could meet in drag racing and in life" and Andy Flavell said that Dave was a "True legend of British Drag Racing and frankly no one has had more influence than he has". Many thanks to Brett Featherstone for asking us to host the vote and to all of those who voted. Champion Jackson sits out 2020. 15th February: 2019 UK National Super Pro ET Champion Brad Jackson is to sit out the 2020 season. Dad Wayne Jackson writes: Brad has been on a sabbatical, he has been to Japan and Australia and is now in New Zealand. We had planned to enter as a team with me driving the Festival of Power and Brad driving the rest of the year, but he has taken a job working in a water sports centre on the South Island and has no plans to return just yet, so I won't be driving the dragster! I am going back to circuit racing this year in the EnduroKA endurance series. I would like to thank everyone who has sponsored and helped Brad over the last decade but especially Nick Good, Cristiann Carlo, Dave Catton and Lucas Oil. We have always worked as a team and everyone played a part in Brad's success. Swift snippets. 15th February: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com (below left) came with the words "Something Funny?". If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at editor@eurodragster.com. Brian Huxley is auctioning a limited-edition autographed print of US Top Fuel legend Eddie Hill to raise funds for Melbourne Raceway. The James Ibusuki print is numbered 560 of 850 and is sized at 31" x 23". The picture is signed by Eddie and Ercie Hill and celebrates Eddie's 1993 Winston Top Fuel Championship after winning six National events and recording the first four-second pass in history. A certificate of authenticity is included (above right). "I've enjoyed this picture for twenty years, now it's time for someone else to enjoy", says Brian. "Please give generously, let's save this track". Bidding closes next Wednesday (19th) and you can contact Brian at econoline1@btinternet.com. Meanwhile a Gofundme has been set up for the Huxleys themselves who lost some vehicles, motors, parts, trophies and memorabilia in a garage fire last week. Over three thousand pounds has already been raised of the five thousand pound target; you can donate at www.gofundme.com/f/help-for-the-huxleys. Vegter's new moniker. 15th February: Our good buddy Remco Scheelings writes that The Netherlands' David Vegter will this year be racing under the banner of Vegter Pro Mod Racing: David will once again compete in the FIA European Pro Modified Championship, the Championship in which he has been so successful in recent years. "The crew will be the same and we are updating the Camaro at the moment", says David. "We're going for it with renewed energy and we are going to make it a great season." As reported a few weeks ago, the partnership between David Vegter and sponsor PTTM has come to an end. One of the consequences is, that the Dutch drag racing team will go back to their familiar name Vegter Pro Mod Racing. As the driver of the Vegter Pro Mod Racing ''67 Chevrolet Camaro, David has garnered an impressive list of honours in the FIA European Pro Modified Championship in recent years. He claimed third position in the 2017 Championship, his best result so far, and finished in fourth position in 2019. With his personal bests of 5.804 seconds at 398.8 kmh, David is one of the quickest and fastest Pro Modified drivers in Europe. He is also the track record holder at Alastaro and Kauhava, the two Finnish FIA European Drag Racing Championship tracks. The newest chapter in the eleven-year history of his Pro Modified team also means a fresh restart for David, and a situation which creates new opportunities. After 1.0 and 2.0, Vegter Pro Mod Racing now step up to 3.0. All team members are extra motivated to accelerate the upward trend from recent years and to make it a great 2020 season David will enter the 2020 FIA European Championship with the familiar '67 Chevrolet Camaro. The car was stripped after the last race of 2019 and will be rebuilt and updated in the next few weeks. David can once again rely on the same experienced crew that have supported him for many years. The 2020 FIA European Championship kicks off with the FIA/FIM Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway in May, then after two races in Sweden and one in Germany the Championship returns to Santa Pod for the FIA/FIM European Finals. Vegter Pro Mod Racing will start their season with The Doorslammers to prepare for the opening round of the FIA European Championship, one week later at the same track. 2020 FIA European Pro Modified Championship calendar 22nd-25th May: FIA/FIM Main Event, Santa Pod Raceway, England 4th-7th June: Tierp Internationals, Tierp Arena, Sweden 13th-16th August: Summit Racing Equipment Internationals, Tierp Arena, Sweden 28th-30th August: NitrOlympX, HockenheimRing, Germany 10th-13th September: FIA/FIM European Finals, Santa Pod Raceway, England Vegter Pro Mod Racing partners HKR Techniek and De Vries Classic Cars have extended their partnership with the team for the 2020 season. At this moment Vegter Pro Mod Racing are talking to other partners who are interested in supporting the team. More news about this will be published in the near future. If you are interested in becoming a partner of Vegter Pro Mod Racing, or if you would like to support the team in another way, please contact David Vegter at vegter3@hotmail.com. FIM Championship registration open. 14th February: Thanks to Darren Prentice for letting us know that registration opens today (Friday 14th) for the 2020 FIM Europe Drag Bike Championships. To register, visit the Track Group Europe web site at www.tgeurope.eu and click on the Registration link. Swift snippets. 14th February: Due to the imminent Storm Dennis, Santa Pod Raceway have postponed tomorrow's sold-out Stunt Fest until next Saturday, 22nd. You can read more, including what to do if you can't make it next week, at www.santapod.com. Riotous assembly. 13th February: This Saturday the UK's Outlaw Anglias and Supercharged Outlaws are holding their joint Christmas party and trophy presentation more than 140 attending. Colin Millar writes that this is proof that the two classes are going from strength to strength: Outlaw Anglia is now in its twenty eighth year and the Supercharged Outlaws in their thirteenth. Interest from new parties have never been so strong with new cars and old cars being reborn coming out to play in 2020 and 2021. I think it's true to say that both classes have probably had the best year of drag racing to date with ETs and speeds which were only a dream a few years back. The need for speed has never been so strong with improvements pushing other teams to keep up with the leading cars. In Supercharged Outlaws we've seen Andy Fadster improve year on year from 7.63 to a roaring 7.54/180.25 with Joel Kerr making headway form 7.59 to 7.35/186 unfortunately with a few breakages along the way and some deep pockets. Jeff Hawksworth moving forward from an 11.8 to a 10.01/146 so close to that nine-second pass but by far the biggest jump has been made by Tony Underhill starting the season on a 14.03 pass and ending up on a  huge ET of 7.23/189, huge congratulations to Tony and fingers crossed he can get over the damage caused last year. In Outlaw Anglia Simon Barlow with his Orange Pop Racing Fordson van OA81 won the battle at 7.08 with a huge speed of 194 mph as well as dealing with some major damage along the way, myself pushing hard to catch up with 7.2/190.6 and Scotty Crookston and Paul Hensher both on 7.41, fingers crossed for Jeff Meads to get that seven-second pass in 2020 he so deserves it as with everyone else who races in this superb class. In the past we have all harped on about running that elusive six-second pass and if I'm honest I thought it was pretty impossible especially when in 2018 we were still upwards of 7.5 seconds passes but for 2020 I have to say I truly do think history will be made in the class of Outlaw Anglia, watch closely everyone! Supercharged Outlaws should have some six-second contenders, those expected to be in the zone are Tony Underhill and Joel Kerr with numerous upgrades, but with the addition of some new teams including Mick Moore with his altered and the Gleadow family with Motor Psycho, the six-second zone should be well-populated and some exciting runs for the fans to cheer along. Back to party business: getting this lot organised and sat down for 7:00 pm will be the hardest part of the night in fact probably the hardest thing we've done all year, the big characters are the worst - you know who you are! The presentation of the trophies will take precedence as it's a fabulous reward for all the hard work, sacrifice, determination but also success by the team the driver and everyone associated with the winning categories. Once this is under our belt some well-earned food and let the party begin. I love everyone coming down the stairs in their best attire only to see the devastation at the end of the night, let's hope that Scotty Crookston can actually keep a hold of his trophy this time and not lose it again! From the Supercharged Outlaws the Outlaw Anglias and our small team, I wish everyone the very best for the season ahead. See you all real soon at a track near you. Valentine date for Super Gas Shootout. 11th February: This Friday (14th) is the deadline to submit your vote for the name of this year's UK Super Gas Shootout. Last year's Shootout was named for former racer Jon Morton and there are seven candidates this year: Tim Adam Jeff Bull Dave Grady Tony Gransden Brian Pateman Frank Mason Conrad Stanley If Super Gas racers and other Eurodragster.com readers would like to vote for any of the above then please send an E-Mail to editor@eurodragster.com and we'll pass the results on to organiser Brett Featherstone. Ride of a lifetime! 11th February: Supercharged Outlaws Chair and Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Hadfield, aka Fadster, is auctioning what must be one of the most desirable passenger rides in the whole of drag racing to raise funds for Melbourne Raceway: Believe me when I say this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance: a passenger ride up the track in Twister, arguably one of the most exciting cars on the track. The ride will take place on the Friday at either the NSRA Nostalgia Nationals, Dragstalgia, or the NSRA Hot Rod Drags. You know the score with this, I cannot exceed 130 mph over the finish line, but anything in between is fine. Last time I did this, a long time ago, we ran 9.2/127, by mid-track we were doing 160. Bidding has to start at £500 for this and the auction will run until this Friday night. A T-Shirt will be thrown in to help you to remember the experience, and perhaps one of our track photographers will take some snaps of the event for you! Get bidding - you can find the auction on Facebook. New year, old Nostalgia. 11th February: With a new season underway, thoughts turn to the year's first major Nostalgia event at Santa Pod Raceway: Hosted in association with the National Street Rod Association, the Nostalgia Nationals on 8th-10th May promises three full days of RWYB track action, the focus, as always, being on pre-1973 Hot Rods and Street Machines, with a generous helping of period race cars adding to the mix. Following on from their successful first season in 2019, the modified Ford 100E challenge looks set to reach new heights, with huge interest from the owners of Dagenham's finest, all eager to put the pedal to the metal this year. Not to be outdone, the Bow Tie Brigade will be back to put their cars to the test and settle old scores in the Tri-Chevy Shootout. Making sure the staging lanes are never empty will be the ever-popular Wild Bunch contingent, proving that nostalgia never really goes out of style. Of course it wouldn't be the Nostalgia Nationals without a generous helping of extra race classes, getting their annual championships under way. If one class captures the spirit of the Nostalgia Nationals, it has to be Outlaw Anglia. They will have had a presence at each and every one of the twenty seven years of the Nostalgia Nationals, not to mention the Hot Rod Drags before that. This quintessentially British Hot Rod, the Ford Pop and all its variants, has become an integral part of the nostalgia drag racing scene, and rightly so. What will 2020 bring? Who can guess? One thing's for sure, it will be a show not to miss. The Nostalgia Super Stock racers will be joining us for the second year and the Gasser Circus will also be coming to town. Another class that seems to be growing year-on-year is the Supercharged Outlaws and you can expect some blistering runs from them over the weekend. Just for good measure there will be some Jet Funny Car action to round things off. Of course if you feel the need for some retail therapy, you can visit the Pod Shop, take a wander around the trade village and don't forget to drop by and say hello at the Nostalgia Nationals merchandise stall and pick up a T-Shirt or two. The free courtesy bus will be running to Rushden Lakes all day on Saturday as well. Come evening, it will be time to make for the Fuelers Bar, where DJ Grant Pinney will keep you entertained. But that's not all. It goes without saying that there will be live entertainment on both Friday and Saturday nights. What are you waiting for? We'll see you at the track. Book tickets or find out more at www.nostalgianationals.com. 2020 Top Gas calendar. 9th February: Thanks to Herman Jolink for letting us know that the 2020 European Top Gas Series calendar was set at a meeting of racers on 1st February. Herman himself was not present as he was promotimg drag racing and Ducati at the Bremen Classic Motor Show. 1st-3rd May: Malmö Raceway, Sweden (eighth mile) 16th-17th May: Zerbt, Germany (quarter mile) 12th-14th June: Gardermoen, Norway (quarter mile) 27th-28th June: Clastres, France (quarter mile) 23rd-26th July: Mantorp Park, Sweden (quarter mile) 4th-5th September: Mosten Race Days, Denmark (eighth mile sprint) Reserve date: 19th-20th September at Clastres Swift snippets. 9th February: Erin Marrs, daughter of our good buddy, timing and stats supremo Andy Marrs, is making a parachute jump in June to raise money to fight modern slavery. If you would like to sponsor Erin to chuck herself out of an aircraft then take a look at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/erin-marrs. Heaven, Hell and England. 9th February: Having had a season of heaven and hell in Sweden in 2019, Carla Pittau and Rick McCann of Team Heaven and Hell are looking to support the Stock/Super Stock events at Santa Pod Raceway this year. Carla writes: My 1970 Camaro started the season going better and better, which culminated in going 1.10 seconds under index at Sundsvall Raceway, where I earned the Swedish Championship title in July. Soon after that things turned pretty much to hell, when the transmission literally exploded on the second run at Kauhava Raceway, Finland. The planetary gear assembly span off the sun gear and one of the planets exited the sunshell. The aluminium shavings got into everything and even came out of the breather tube catch can, sprinkling the surroundings with sparkly sequins. The spare gearbox went in, after a modification to add clean neutral, sadly with a weak snap ring which I couldn't replace but I hoped that it would hold at least a couple of races. It worked well at Gardermoen Raceway, but the rear axle broke. One half shaft snapped into two shapeless stumps. We somehow managed to get a new spool, new half shafts and to set up the new axle just in time for the meeting at Tierp Arena in August. So at Tierp the snap ring let go in the transmission. I gave a first-round bye to someone three meetings in a row... our motto proving true once again: because racing is heaven, and sometimes it's hell. Rick's season was another account of near misses, bad luck and problems with brakes which made the staging erratic and inconsistent and the launch unpredictable. So no trophies for the '84 then. A bit of an anti-climax after he won the EDRS Pro Championship two years running, but hey ho... We started to rebuild over winter. The Pro Trans which I used for the first season is still languishing on the bench, totally disassembled, waiting for parts. They are all made on the premises by the guys at Pro Trans and therefore not immediately available, but they promised that they would supply them, so I wait and hope. I rebuilt the TH350 adding a few trick parts and installed two Spirolox clips in place of the old snap rings. Nothing should destroy those, so I'll find out later which is the next weak part I guess. But it's ready to go in the car as soon as I get a new trans shield or re-certify the old one. I installed new brakes with double calipers, and this should help me to hold the car on the two-step at a higher RPM, or so I hope. Rick is having new heads on his John Gulius block, the promise is maybe about 27 horsepower, I don't want to think of how much that costs per HP... which brings me to finances. We must find the money to travel to Santa Pod to race in Stock/Super Stock. This is the class which literally made us move to Sweden and we feel that we must support it at Santa Pod for the first season at the very least. The venue was our home from home for over twenty five years and we feel passionate both about the track and about supporting the series by attending both races. However our budget is limited and we can ill afford the travelling expenses for the two meetings in England, which is why, for the first time in our history, we are seeking sponsorship partners to bring the Heaven & Hell cars home. We are freshening up one of our engines which is not legal for Stock/Super Stock, and will offer it for sale with dyno sheets. But even that will not pay for all of our travel expenses. If you would be interested in supporting us then please take a look at the sponsorship proposal (click on image at left). The class is guaranteed coverage; you only have to look at all the wheelie shots on Eurodragster.com's live galleries. Your logo could be there. You can contact us via Facebook or at heavenhellracing@icloud.com. 7707 on show. 9th February: Geoff Stilwell's updated 7707 Lucas Oil Land Speed racer made its 2020 début at the Grand National Roadster Show, one of the largest car shows in the USA if not the world, at the world-famous Pomona County Fairgrounds in Los Angeles in mid-January. Geoff writes: The build of 7707 was headed up by award-winning Mick Jenkins at the famous Mick's Paint and Landspeed Workshops in Los Angeles, with most of the design work created by fellow Landspeed Racer Kiwi Steve Davies. Since August 2019 the car has received a few updates and one very important piece of equipment – a new carbon fibre Spitzer rear wing intended to help the 5000 bhp supercharged and injected nitro-burning V8 race car stay straight when Geoff is charging down the Bonneville Salt Flats this August, when the aim is to set a new class record at over 300 mph. The team exclusively uses Lucas Oil Products. When you are building a car which can exceed 300 mph, you need to be able to rely on everything working properly. So we use as many of the top Lucas Oil products as we can. From cleaner to engine oil, assembly lube and transmission oil to spray polish and the penetrating oil, especially as this protects all the Heim joints from the ravages of the salt. During the show many famous names from the world of motor racing called by to see the Lucas Oil Land Speed car including NHRA Champion Drag Racer 'Fast' Jack Beckman, 200 mph Land Speed Club member Donny Cummins, Tom Bognor from Lucas Oil and many other guests including SEMA Hall of Fame members Joe Schubeck and Gigi Carlson and not forgetting Bob and Sharon Muravez, Bob Floyd Lippencotte. The car has now returned to the workshops to be readied for its next outing at the Nitro Revival which is staged at the legendary Irwindale Raceway, Los Angeles, in May and then it will be Speedweek in August. You can follow this project on Facebook by searching Saltflat Racer. Ian Demaine 6th February: Mike Collins writes: being told by his son Jan that longtime drag racer Ian Demaine had passed away brought a feeling of sadness; with the added word "peacefully" making me feel a tad better about things. "Longtime drag racer" indeed; like many, Ian had his fires lit when Santa Pod opened and shortly later his 1956 Zodiac, probably the first Mustang-powered Z Car on the planet, was out blazing a trail to fame! Starting 1967 with a 17.62 at 76.28 mph, he improved rapidly to a best of 14.2 at 98 mph and became the BHRA British Drag Racing Champion in Competition Eliminator - in a road-going car! Early in '68 Ian set a new backed-up track record of 14.88 that lasted through the season, but soon hung up his driving shoes to take care of his business and family; they all still thrive to this day! In 1997 Ian's son Jan began a City & Guilds Mechanic's course; reason enough to suggest they get the ol' Pony express back on the trail so Jan might gain some different type of mechanical skills and Ian could renew his desire to get back on the drag strip, and maybe celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of his record-setting Championship... As any drag racer will tell you, anything works in dreams and on paper, but when you take it to the track things you're gonna take a tad longer; to put it mildly! However in November 1999 Ian ran a personal best of 13.63, and at the Hot Rod Drags 2009 they'd stepped up to an impressive 12.99 at 116 mph when I met the father and son team for the first time; and they've been racing together though the past twenty years or so going consistently quicker an' faster than before. Their last race was the 2019 Hot Rod Drags where Ian thrilled himself and his Jan by improving their personal best three times in a row with a pair of 11s, the first with Ian's fastest ever speed and a win light; better yet the Mustang-powered Z Car was not only in road-going trim, but these runs were made on street tyres! During the off season Ian spent hours searching for ways of getting into the tens; checking out using electronic gizmos to aid power and under-car aerodynamics to maybe chop off a couple tenths at the top end. At the age of 83 he still had an enormous enthusiasm for drag racing that kept him young, hopeful and driven to the point where, shortly before he passed away, although not feeling very well, Ian was under the car fitting a new drive shaft; in fact he'd got the car all fitted back together, ready to run and Jan told me later, "I am so proud of him", and I know Ian was tremendously proud of his son ‘cos he told me so when our friendship was reborn twenty years ago! It was the evening of 31st January when Jan first told me of his great loss; in the five days since we've spent more time talking on the 'phone than ever spent together, although we've both been unwell and Jan has obviously been busy taking care of business with the celebration of Ian's life set for the Amersham crematorium at 4.00 pm this Friday, 7th February. Jan has also helped provide entertaining information from their time together as a racing team as I'm dedicating a special Hot Gossip "Wild Rides edition" to Ian's memory in the March issue of Street Machine; happily I've helped keep his spirits up with a few tales of my own. Jan also spoke of fans that were always stopping for a chat and that Ian just loved how close the Nostalgia racers were; in fact they were both lucky as few people I've met had such a close, rewarding time as the Demaine's since Ian became a re-born racer thirty years after his début. Sadly that all came to a sudden and unexpected end on the evening of Friday 17th; Ian went down to his taxi office just to say hello, sat in his office chair, chatting with his controller and some customers whom he hss known for years. Sometime later, he peacefully slipped into unconsciousness; "Just like falling asleep", said Jan. An ambulance was called, Ian's time of passing logged shortly after midnight. The ever-smiling Demaines have been a fixture amongst Nostalgia racers for a couple decades, with one of the longest-running Mustang Zodiacs on the horsepower trail and they'll be truly missed. It seems that the Mustang is also moving on due to circumstances beyond control; Jan has to return soon to an island of tranquillity in the Orkneys where he works full-time as a diver; although he did suggest a hot rod might be in his future... Either way my condolences go to Ian's family, friends, fellow racers and of course the many fans who made him feel so cool with their visits; and he was, always and forever, a real cool cowboy. Rest in peace my friend... Togxit. 4th February: Founder member, News Editor and Race Reporter Tog will be leaving the Eurodragster.com staff at the start of next month. Tog writes: The reasons for my departure are primarily health, and day job commitments. As some of you know I have a few health issues and the result of the latest of my regular blood tests was a bit crap. There is one other, personal reason for my departure which is best kept personal for the time being but please be assured that (a) it's not matrimonial, and that (b) no-one on the team has fallen out. Simon is taking over the running of Eurodragster.com; we have been discussing handover since before Christmas and Simon has done a thoroughly professional job of it from the get-go, not least his patience with my glacial pace in answering some of his queries. Our ace photographers Kirstie, Julian and Diana continue, and Simon has recruited a new team member whose identity he will reveal in due course. My last official duty for Eurodragster.com will be the UK Riders' and Drivers' Meeting on 1st March. I will write a proper valete on my departure but right now I would like to thank everyone for their support since 1997. Feature: Track Prep Q&A. 3rd February: The latest in our occasional series of Features presented in association with Lucas Oil Products is a Track Prep Q&A with Lee Child of Eurodragster.com sponsor Lee Child International Track Prep Services. If you want to know where you start on prepping a runway, or if you want to know what you should actually be looking for when walking the start line before eliminations, then check out our Track Prep Q&A which you can check out by clicking here or by clicking on the Features, Interviews, Tributes link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. SPRC Trophy Presentation pictures. 3rd February: The official Trophy Presentation pictures are now available from Saturday evening's SPRC Dinner Dance. The gallery, which is presented in association with Lucas Oil Products, can be checked out by clicking here or by clicking on the Features, Interviews, Tributes link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. High-resolution copies of any picture, which will print up to A0 or larger, are free and can be obtained by E-Mailing tog@eurodragster.com with the image number. Many thanks to photographer Julian for his hard work on Saturday night. The evening turned Ugly. 3rd February: Six-second reigning Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator Champion Andy Bond says that things got U6ly (sic) at the SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy Presentation: As well as the Championship Cup we were honoured to receive the Terry Gibbs Obsession Motorsports Sportsman of the Year shield and finally a very special Performance of the Decade award which incorporated a slice of concrete from the original 1939 Santa Pod runway. I was very proud to accept these awards on behalf of the Ugly team. Obviously it's been a huge team effort and I'd like to thank the other Uglies: Paul our quiet pit man, Dave our not-so-quiet front man, and the genius that is Martin Kerr, our Crew Chief, whose vision, patience and immense skill set has enabled us to get where we are in such a short time and of course to my wife Deb, for her endless support - I really couldn't do it without her. Credit to Nick and Rob over at ICE Automotive for the design and build of an incredible engine, and obviously thanks to Keith for investing so heavily his energies and money into drag racing and giving us the best drag strip in Europe. We've always been a team with a strategy, on a mission, working towards targets, testing, testing, testing. We arrive at every meeting knowing what we want to achieve; it doesn't always go according to plan but you learn from every pass - always onward. There's more to come from Ugly, we have a power dial which is currently on 5 so a few clicks to go! There are some speeds and times we want to achieve, also there are a few guys with multiple Championships we want to chase down. Further afield Sweden has Speed Week and the Stockholm Open, both look interesting, and obviously America has a decent street race scene with Drag Week, all the No Prep stuff and Rocky Mountain, all that's definitely on our radar. We'd like to race at any of these places and show 'em all that Ugly really is the new cool! Swift snippets. 3rd February: Staying with the SPRC Dinner Dance, Outlaw Anglia Champion Scott Crookston's trophy disappeared from his table on Saturday evening. If you know where it went then please get in touch with Scott or drop us a line at editor@eurodragster.com. The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com (right) came with the words "A European car headed overseas to a European face!". If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at editor@eurodragster.com. SPRC Perpetual Awards winners. 2nd February: The winners and runners-up in the 2019 UK National Championships, MSA British Drag Racing Championship, and Santa Pod Racers Club Championships were presented with their trophies at the SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy Presentation in Milton Keynes last night (Saturday). The winners of SPRC's Perpetual Awards, for whom Eurodragster.com readers had the chance to vote, were also presented with their trophies. Congratulations to the SPRC Perpetual Award winners: Most Promising Newcomer: Ronnie Mercer (Modurstang Pro ET) Best Appearing Car: Kev Jenkins (Secret Worx Comp Eliminator) Best Appearing Bike: Steve Wood (Taylor's Trophy Super Street Bike) Most Professional Appearing Team: Sticky Situation Racing (Secret Worx Comp Eliminator) James Edgar Memorial Trophy: Anthony Higgs (Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator) Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy: Alison Hackney (SPRC marshal) John Ledster Memorial Trophy: Stu and Bev Bradbury (British Drag Racing Hall of Fame) Obsession Motorsports Sportsman of the Year Trophy: Andy Bond (Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator) Trakbak Racing Ltd Spirit of Santa Pod Trophy: Luke Stevenson A new Performance of the Decade Trophy was also awarded to Andy Bond and the Ugly Sister team, for the first six-second pass in Street Eliminator. A big Thank You to everyone who submitted votes for the SPRC Perpetual Awards. The Trophy Presentation gallery will be available here on Eurodragster.com very shortly. Photos for Melbourne. 2nd February: AF Photography have been in touch to let us know that the proceeds of all photography sales until 1st May will be donated to the fund to reopen Melbourne Raceway (formerly York Raceway). Alice Fairhead writes: This will include digital copies of photos, prints created, personal shoots (being limited to Norfolk/Suffolk region or at Santa Pod) or stickers sold. I don't mind if you want a shoot done but it's not convenient at the moment - I am more than happy to arrange it for later in the year when it suits you. My stickers are £2 posted Royal Mail 1st class. All of my photos can be found on my Facebook page AF Photography or my Instagram af_photo_graphyy. You can contact me on 07413 088768 or E-Mail afphotographyalice@gmail.com to arrange something. I am hoping to be at the Festival of Power if anyone is after a shoot or wants some on-track photos from the weekend. 2020 British Hall of Fame Gala. 2nd February: The British Drag Racing Hall of Fame will for the fourth year running hold its Annual Gala Awards Dinner at the luxurious four-star Oatlands Park Hotel in Weybridge, Surrey. The Gala takes place on Saturday 21st November. Oatlands Park's magnificent grounds were originally the site of a grand Tudor palace built for Anne of Cleves by Henry VIII in 1538. Other monarchs including Elizabeth I, James I and Charles I also resided here during their reigns. Oatlands Park opened as a hotel in 1856 and has hosted world-famous guests including writer Emile Zola, novelist Anthony Trollope and artist and poet Edward Lear. Added to its royal and literary assemblage, the hotel has welcomed a modern guest list of American drag racing luminaries. Connie Kalitta, Roland Leong, Ed 'The Ace' McCulloch, Steve Gibbs, Doug Herbert, Clay Millican, Jeff Lutz, Jim Oberhofer, Marvin Graham, Dan Richins, Tom Hoover, Dale Emery, Waterbed Fred Miller, Bob Muravez, Gentleman Joe Schubeck, Rich Pure Hell Guasco, Ron Rat Trap Hope and broadcaster Bob Beck have all rested their heads in Oatlands Park's comfortable bedrooms and dined in its elegant restaurant. Stu Bradbury, Chairman of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Limited, said "It is difficult to find a venue which is convenient, that can take our numbers and enables us to pay tribute to our pioneers in a fitting yet affordable style. Oatlands Park Hotel can handle all the activities we hold during the day and, most importantly, has a properly British character and sense of style. We like to place our event in an environment where guests can socialise with old friends they haven't seen for years and to have time to mingle with the celebrity guests. Oatlands and its associated history certainly achieves that with the added convenience of offering local interest for those who might like to make a weekend of it. With easy access from Junction 11 on the M25, the hotel is only a few minutes' drive from the world-famous Brooklands Motorsport and Aviation Museum and its collection of historic aircraft and cars, including one of the few Concordes in existence and the fabulous 24-litre Napier Railton which set many records on the Brooklands circuit in the 1930s. "On the same Brooklands site you can find Mercedes-Benz World where you can test your driving skills on the Handling Circuit in a range of Mercedes-Benz vehicles – or let the Silver Arrows Display Team show you how it's done. There are many Mercedes vehicles on static display too. Also nearby you can find Hampton Court, Windsor Great Park, Legoland, Windsor Castle and lots more. Trains from Weybridge station can take you to Waterloo Station in London so Oatlands Park has all angles covered. We are always trying to improve the event, particularly the social environment for visitors to mingle with old friends and celebrity guests." The main part of the Gala Awards Dinner evening is of course devoted to introducing and inducting the class of 2020 British Drag Racing Hall of Fame members and these will be announced at Dragstalgia at Santa Pod Raceway on 10th-12th July. We are now taking reservations for the 2020 Gala Awards Dinner by E-Mail at stuart@britishdragracinghof.co.uk or telephone 01933 279102. Payment can be made via bank transfer, cheque, cash or PayPal. This year the tickets are priced competitively at £75. The event always sells out well in advance, so if you would like to join us for the occasion we suggest you make your reservation sooner rather than later. On receipt of your reservation, we shall give you the procedure to book rooms at the negotiated room rate of single occupancy £96, double £119, which includes breakfast and VAT, use of the hotel facilities and parking. Swift snippets. 31st January: Thanks to Mike Collins for sending us the usual preview of his column in the latest issue of Street Machine magazine, including bonus material exclusively for Eurodragster.com readers. Sammy Miller fans will be particularly interested. You can check it out by clicking on the images below. Midnight UK tonight (Friday) is the deadline for early bird ticket bookings for events at Santa Pod Raceway, with 20% discount available. You can book on-line at www.santapod.com until midnight or by phone on 01234 782828 (outside the UK +44 1234 782828) until 17:30. SPRC Dinner Dance schedule change. 30th January: Yvonne Tramm has been in touch with an important update for those attending Saturday's SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy Presentation in Milton Keynes: Due to a football match being played at MK Dons on the day, the timings for our evening have had to be rearranged. The bars outside the Ballroom will be open at 6.30 pm and we hope to be able to access the room to start the SPRC Car and Bike trophies at 7:00 pm.  Dinner will be served at 7.30pm followed by the UK National Championships and Perpetual trophies. The bars will be taking last orders at 12.30 am and close at 12.45 am.  Anyone wishing to do so can then move to the second floor to the Pitchside bar which will be manned so long as there are people to be served. The Disco will be going from the end of the trophy presentation until 1:00 am See you there - have a great evening. US Street Nationals pit notes. 26th January: Simon has been in touch from Bradenton where the US Street Nationals Presented by Diamond Pistons is taking place this weekend: There was a great field of Pro Mod and small tyre doorslammers present, and in Pro Mod we had two European racers to follow and I caught up with them in the pits. Adam Flamholc, who has been resident in Cape Coral, Florida from his native Sweden since 2014, divides his time between racing in the various Pro Mod organisations outside the NHRA and returning to Europe to assist racers he has known during his extraordinary career. His current '63 Vette has a PSI blown 526ci engine which he built himself. He commented "I can run a PSI blower in most competitions outside NHRA with added weight and low boost of 92%". Problems in qualifying on Friday culminated in the engine throwing out a rod through the sump in Q2, necessitating a trip back to his shop in Cape Coral where the team took a new short block and built a replacement engine, getting it fitted to the car at the track by 2:00 am and firing it up shortly after 9:00 am. The fourth and final qualifying session produced a 3.771-second run at 203.83 mph  on Bradenton's eighth mile to qualify fifteenth of twenty seven, which Adam repeated in a round one defeat of Mike Tokarz.  Adam's European plans for 2020 are the same as last year, returning to the FIA Championship to assist Mats Eriksson and Dmitry Samorukov, the latter planning to run in the US in February. He said "I am looking forward to returning to Europe but my base is now in Florida. I am lucky to be supported by my US crew Charlie and Bob, my friend Patrik visiting from Sweden, and my wife Anna and son Mattias." Andres Arnover, who raced at the Doorslammers and FIA/FIM Main Event, has come to Florida to race in Bradenton's December Snowbird Outlaw Nationals and US Street Nationals. He shipped over his 2009 Ford Mustang  which has a twin-turbo 427 small block engine and had a single objective, to run in the fives at over 240 mph. This was achieved at the quarter-mile Snowbird Outlaw Nationals. At the US Street Nationals the car ran a best of 3.95/185 before a 3.94/195 first round loss to Tommy D'Aprile. Andres explained "The car is heavy for the rules over here which specify a minimum of 2200lb with a small block twin-turbo combination, but the FIA rules specify 2600lb and the car's weight is 2550lb. I can increase the boost here to 63psi (compared to 33psi under 2020 FIA rules) and tried some changes but the car shook. The track is fantastic as it is set up mainly for small tyre racers and a lot more grip juice is used than in NHRA and FIA." After the race, Andres will ship his car back to Estonia and then plan his European season which he hopes will include another appearance at the Doorslammers and FIA/FIM Main Event.  Sunday's video coverage, and replays of Friday and Saturday of the US Street Nationals, is presented by SpeedVideo.com which is free but registration is required. Melbourne meeting. 24th January: The campaign to return drag racing to Melbourne Raceway (previously York Raceway) continues with a public meeting this Sunday (26th) hosted by Trevor Duckworth of Straightliners, who is leading the charge. All are welcome to attend with questions, points of view, fund-raising ideas and other support. Donations will be accepted to add the to sizeable sum already raised. The meeting takes place at 13:00 on Sunday at the Holiday Inn Leeds Brighouse which is just off Junction 25 of the M62, postcode HD6 4HW (map). To find out more, or to donate towards the return of drag racing at Melbourne Raceway, check out the Straightliners web site. 2020 FIM Championship rules released. 23rd January: Many thanks to Job Heezen for letting us know that the rules have been released for the 2020 FIM Europe Drag Bike Championships. You can check out the new rulebook (PDF format) by clicking here, and you can check out the calendar for the 2020 FIM Europe Drag Bike Championships by clicking here or by clicking on the 2020 FIA/FIM Championships schedule link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. VWDRC season beckons. 23rd January: Volkswagen Drag Racing Club Chair Luke Stevenson writes that there are less than ninety days to go before the 2020 season begins: As ever we are excited to see what our current racers have done over the winter and also very excited to meet our newest members who will be joining for their first races. I'm happy to announce that VWDRC Heads-Up will be back for another year and it's looking to be even busier than its inaugural year. This new class is very exciting for the VW/VAG community as it brings together all types of configurations, with a mix of FWD, RWD and AWD, Watercooled and Aircooled fighting for supremacy in a Heads-Up format. Much like last year we will be hosting three rounds at GTI SpringFestival, DAS Auto Show and GTI Festival (hopefully all covered live on Eurodragster.com). It's also early in the campaign but we are happy to announce a great number of sponsors already signed up to support our Club, creating a very tasty prize pot for VW Pro and VW Sportsman. Thanks to: R-Tech Performance: Performance tuning company based in Nuneaton, from fuel-saving remaps to custom performance tuning and vehicle modification it can all be done in-house at R-Tech. Darkside Developments: VAG Diesel Tuning Specialists, that offer a wide range of bespoke tuning products, custom ECU mapping, diagnostics, servicing and repairs as well as new or used genuine OEM parts. WRP Paint & Restoration: Rushden-based paint and body shop. From crash damage, restoration or Show-winning paint jobs. Bruce has become known for his Fast Paint, having put paint to so many race cars a cross the classes. Renegade Racing Fuels UK: It's simple, Racers that Win pour it in, Renegade Fuel hit our shores in 2019 and so many racers have made the change, their range of fuels create more power, less detonation and safer running engines. You can buy direct from Renegade Racing Fuels UK or from one of many UK dealers.   Hangar 30: Based in Ely Cambridgeshire they offer services such as custom rollcage fabrication, track day preparation, MOT repairs and welding. They also make anything custom from fuel tanks to solid wishbones for FWD drag racers.   CG Motorsport Clutch Specialist: CG are one of the largest independent clutch manufacturers in the UK and a leading supplier of hand-made fast road and competition clutches in the UK and Europe. Star Autos LTD: Nationwide HIAB crane hire and road transport company based in Bury, who also deal with supply and delivery of shipping containers. Volksworkshop: Performance tuning company based in Blackpool and also a supplier of Renegade Racing Fuels. Pro Race Engineering: A race engineering company with many years' experience building high performance race engines and chassis set-ups. They specialise in custom works and builds. Their on-line shop supplies parts from all the main engine component companies such as ARP, Cat Cams, JE Pistons, King Bearings and many more. Again thank you to all the companies new and old for supporting the Volkswagen Drag Racing Club: as we always say "Support the companies who support our sport". 2020 UK Riders' and Drivers' Meeting. 21st January: Many thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall for letting us know that the 2020 UK Riders' and Drivers' Meeting will take place at 12:45 on Sunday 1st March at the Hilton Hotel at Collingtree, on the eastbound A45 just off Junction 15 of the M1 (postcode NN4 0XW, map). Items to be discussed include the calendars for the UK Championships, rule changes, event entry fees, pitside power fees and prize funds, as well as Any Other Business. If members have items for the agenda then please send them in writing to Ian at ir.marshall@btconnect.com by close on Friday 21st February. Please note that if you wish to have your agenda item discussed then you must attend the meeting. If you have any queries then you can call Ian on 01933 313625. The Riders' and Drivers' Meeting will be followed by the SPRC Annual General Meeting, which is open to SPR members only. Ian adds that the next meeting of the UK Tech Committee will take place at at 11:00 on Sunday 5th April, also at the Hilton Hotel at Collingtree. If you would like to attend, or if you have any items for the agenda, then please get in touch with Ian as above by close on Friday 27th March. Swift snippets. 21st January: If you are in California this weekend then you could do a lot worse than to visit the Pomona Fairplex where the seven-hall Grand National Roadster Show is taking place on Friday to Sunday. Geoff Stilwell tells us that his Land Speed Record-holding blown-fuel BUA Motorsport Roadster will be on display with Lucas Oil Products in Hall 4. Geoff will be in attendance each day to answer questions both on Land Speed racing and on his nitro-fuelled 5000-horsepower race car. Please note that voting for the SPRC Perpetual Awards has now closed and the results have been sent to and agreed by the SPRC Committee. Votes arriving now are going straight into Deleted Items. Perpetual Awards voting closing. 19th January: Voting for the 2019 SPRC Perpetual Awards closes at 23:59 UK this evening (Sunday). To check out the shortlists and to place your vote, go to the official Perpetual Awards voting 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.com page. If your device doesn't automatically generate an E-Mail then please E-Mail your choice to ar@eurodragster.com. 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, forum members or Facebook friends to vote en masse - are easily identified and all such votes are being DQ'd as they have been in previous years. Concerted attempts at vote-rigging will result in the nominee being removed from the shortlist whether or not that nominee knows what was going on. We know all the dodges so it's just not worth trying. If in any doubt about what constitutes canvassing then please drop us a line at ar@eurodragster.com. The Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy, for which nominations are also being taken, was first awarded to Santa Pod Racers Club'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 Santa Pod Raceway Track Announcer Colin Theobald. Again see the official page for more details or E-Mail your nomination to ar@eurodragster.com specifying SPRC Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy nomination as the subject and your nomination in the body of the E-Mail. Update from Germany. 19th January: Andrea Kloss writes from Germany that whilst the Jade Race crew are working to overcome the loss of the venue of their Sportsman race, they are also keeping an eye on developments at the Hockenheimring: Local newspapers have been reporting that changes have been on the horizon for a while. Since 2007 the German Grand Prix has been shared with the Nurburgring, meaning that Hockenheim hosted the event every second year. It is now anticipated that F1 will not be returning to Hockenheim, although apparently Hockenheimring GmbH would welcome it. It is being reported that the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (German Touring Car Masters) will not be able to run the season opener event at Hockenheim but only the season's final round. However, it has been reported that the NitrOlympX will remain as well as the Jim Clark Revival, and it is expected that there will still be other motorsport events. No mention has yet been made of the Public Race Days which is held together with the Test and Tune event for drag racers a week before the NitrOlympX. The City of Hockenheim has clearly stated that the Hockenheimring must be developed into a modern business location. The goal is to get more and more companies to settle on-site at the Hockenheimring. Despite the long tradition of the Hockenheimring, it is felt that further enhancement and adjustment in accordance with social development and issues is necessary. The Hockenheimring will however continue to be open to major public events with over 100,000 spectators such as open-air concerts. A further possibility would be as an exhibition venue. Last week the Minister for Economic Affairs of the region was invited to the Hockenheimring for a fact-finding visit. I will keep you informed of any updates. Vehicles sought for burnout display. 18th January: Jake Wray of Santa Pod Raceway has been in touch seeking race vehicles to perform exhibition burnouts at Stunt Fest on Saturday 15th February. "If anyone would like to brush off those winter cobwebs and create some clouds then please contact me at jake@santapod.com or call me on 01234 782828", says Jake. 2020 European SFI Tour. 17th January: Many thanks to SFI Foundation President Jennifer Faye for sending us the dates of this year's European SFI Recertification Tour: Thursday 5th March: The Netherlands Hotel Ibis Amsterdam Schiphol Schipholweg 181 Bedhoevedorp 1171PK Inspections 08:00-12:00 Friday 6th March: Finland FHRA Office Helsinki-Malmin Lentoasema Helsinki 00700 Inspections 08:00-12:00 Saturday 7th March: Sweden Persåkers Speed Shop Solbergavagen 28, Åkers Styckebruck Inspections 12:00-17:00 Monday 9th March: UK Hospitality Suite Santa Pod Raceway Airfield Road Podington NN29 7XA Inspections 10:00-16:00 You can see a list of items to be inspected by clicking here, but please note that the inspection team will not be able to inspect any Weld wheels, including American Racing wheels. This is because Weld have revised their inspection process, and it requires equipment which is not portable. To have Weld wheels inspected please contact Robinson Race Cars. Wheels must be sent to RRC with beadlocks on and tyres off. Urgent message from SPRC. 17th January: Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall has been in touch with an urgent message for those sending Dinner Dance bookings or queries, or Club membership queries: Please do not send any E-Mails to trammyd5@gmail.com as we believe that the account may have been hacked, yesterday (Thursday) and yesterday only. Those who are potentially affected have been notified. For the time being please send membership communications and Dinner Dance forms to SPRC at ir.marshall@btconnect.com. If you have any queries then please call SPRC on 01933 313625; please do not contact us through Facebook. As soon as we have a new E-Mail address we will let you know via Eurodragster.com. Santa Pod's Dial-In Day now booking. 17th January: Jake Wray writes that Santa Pod Raceway's annual Dial-In Day returns for 2020, taking place on Saturday 7th March: This hugely successful public event aims to attract first-timers as well as experienced RWYBers looking to step up to the next level. The day is designed to hone your skills and increase your knowledge on racing the famous quarter mile. The day begins in the classroom, running through the do's and don'ts of bracket racing with some money-can't-buy tips and hints thrown in. Then it's out to the track for mini events allowing you to experience full qualifying and eliminations. Don't worry, you don't need a race car to enter! In fact, we restrict the day to vehicles completing the quarter mile in 12.00 or slower. The Dial In Day is tailored to reinforce the accessibility of drag racing as a sport. Only RWYB rules apply. To enter, please visit www.santapodtickets.com/p/dialinday. Alternately, you can purchase your tickets by phoning me on 01234 782828. Supercharged Outlaws' sponsor renews. 17th January: Mark Windridge writes to thank Good Vibrations Motorsport for continued support and sponsorship for the UK's Supercharged Outlaws. In 2020 Good Vibrations will be sponsoring the Quick Reaction Award. If you are interested in knowing more about the Supercharged Outlaws then you are welcome to the group's AGM which takes place at 15:00 on 15th February at the Kettering Park House, Kettering Parkway, Kettering NN15 6XT. You can also check out the Supercharged Outlaws UK Facebook page. 2019 SPRC Perpetual Awards vote 5. 15th January: Santa Pod Racers Club and Eurodragster.com are again teaming up to give Eurodragster.com readers the chance of input to the SPRC Perpetual Awards, which will be presented at the SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy presentation in February 2020. For several of the 2019 season awards, a shortlist has been decided upon for which votes can be submitted by E-Mail. 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 their winners. Today's category is the James Edgar Memorial Trophy. The James Edgar Memorial Trophy is awarded for outstanding performance by a Crew Chief, tuner, racer/tuner, or crew member. The SPRC Committee's shortlist, in alphabetical order, is as follows: Phil Baimbridge (Banks Nightclub Top Fuel Bike) Vote for Phil Baimbridge Graham Balchin (Taylor's Trophy Super Street Bike) Vote for Graham Balchin Phil Hartley (Super Pro ET) Vote for Phil Hartley Anthony Higgs (Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator) Vote for Anthony Higgs Stuart Morrice (Super Pro ET/Jon Morton Super Gas Shootout) Vote for Stuart Morrice James Woodsford (Pro Modified) Vote for James Woodsford To place your vote, either click on the appropriate link above or go to the official Perpetual Awards voting 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.com page. If your device doesn't automatically generate an E-Mail then please E-Mail your choice to ar@eurodragster.com. ©Eurodragster.com The Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy, for which nominations are also now being taken, was first awarded to Santa Pod Racers Club'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 Santa Pod Raceway Track Announcer Colin Theobald. Again see the official page for more details or E-Mail your nomination to ar@eurodragster.com specifying SPRC Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy nomination as the subject and your nomination in the body of the E-Mail. 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, forum members or Facebook friends 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 whether or not that nominee knows what was going on. We know all the dodges so it's just not worth trying. If in any doubt about what constitutes canvassing then please drop us a line at ar@eurodragster.com. Additionally, if anyone should have issues with the content of any of the shortlists then please contact SPRC direct rather than E-Mailing Eurodragster.com or commenting on social media. E-Mails to Eurodragster.com regarding the content of the shortlists will receive neither a reply nor any other acknowledgement. Voting for all categories closes at 23:59 UK time this coming Sunday, 19th January. 2019 SPRC Perpetual Awards vote 4. 13th January: Santa Pod Racers Club and Eurodragster.com are again teaming up to give Eurodragster.com readers the chance of input to the SPRC Perpetual Awards, which will be presented at the SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy presentation in February 2020. For several of the 2019 season awards, a shortlist has been decided upon for which votes can be submitted by E-Mail. 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 their winners. Today's category is Most Professional-Appearing Team. The Most Professional-Appearing Team trophy recognises 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 is as follows: Powerflow Exhausts (Elaine Hancock, David Smith and team, Secret Worx Comp Eliminator and Modurstang Pro ET) Vote for Powerflow Exhausts Slick Tricks/Slick Chicks (Susanne Callin, Jacqueline and Lara Bartlett and team, FIA Top Fuel Dragster and Lucas Oil Junior Dragster) Vote for Slick Tricks/Slick Chicks Sticky Situation Racing (Jordan Payne and team, Secret Worx Comp Eliminator) Vote for Sticky Situation Racing Ugly Sister (Andy Bond and team, Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator) Vote for Ugly Sister White Noise Drag Racing Team (Bob Molden and team, Modurstang Pro ET and Jon Morton Super Gas Shootout) Vote for White Noise Drag Racing Team Venom Racing (Tony Betts and team, Nostalgia Funny Car) Vote for Venom Racing Voodoo Hemi Racing (Marck Harteveld and team, Pro Modified) Vote for Voodoo Hemi Racing To place your vote, either click on the appropriate link above or go to the official Perpetual Awards voting 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.com page. If your device doesn't automatically generate an E-Mail then please E-Mail your choice to ar@eurodragster.com. ©Eurodragster.com The Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy, for which nominations are also now being taken, was first awarded to Santa Pod Racers Club'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 Santa Pod Raceway Track Announcer Colin Theobald. Again see the official page for more details or E-Mail your nomination to ar@eurodragster.com specifying SPRC Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy nomination as the subject and your nomination in the body of the E-Mail. 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, forum members or Facebook friends 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 whether or not that nominee knows what was going on. We know all the dodges so it's just not worth trying. If in any doubt about what constitutes canvassing then please drop us a line at ar@eurodragster.com. Additionally, if anyone should have issues with the content of any of the shortlists then please contact SPRC direct rather than E-Mailing Eurodragster.com or commenting on social media. E-Mails to Eurodragster.com regarding the content of the shortlists will receive neither a reply nor any other acknowledgement. The next voting category, the final, will posted on Wednesday of this week and will be the James Edgar Memorial Trophy. Voting will close this coming weekend. Autosport International report. 12th January: Further to Thursday's preview we are now pleased to bring you Bob Roberts' Autosport International report presented in association with John Woolfe Racing. As well as notes and pictures Bob's coverage includes video of one of Paul Brown's burnouts in Santa Pod Raceway's Two Seat Dragster as part of the Live Action Arena show. You can check out Bob's Autosport International coverage by clicking on the picture at left, clicking here, or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. A big Thank You to Bob for his hard work. Welcome Wright's Mech, Eng and Fab. 11th January: We are pleased to welcome Wright's Mechanical, Engineering and Fabrication as sponsors of Eurodragster.com. Owned and run by Andy Wright, Wright's Mech, Eng and Fab has two divisions: Race Car and Street Rod fabrication. Andy has thirty years' experience in race car fabrication and has a fully equipped machine shop including CNC milling machines, Colchester Lathe etc meaning he has the capability and capacity to produce anything from bespoke parts to a customer's specification up to a complete turn-key Pro Mod. Unless specified, parts are CNC machined using steel, aluminium or titanium. A selection of Andy's recent projects have included: Updates to Bobby and Annie Wallace's pair of Pro Mods (Wallace Motorsport) Modifications to bring Nev Mottershead's Vauxhall up to 7.50 specification A full-build Ford Pop street rod featuring air suspension, electronic steering and fitted with a fuel injected Big Block Chevy Andy also designs, manufactures and supplies specialised race car parts for individual race car builders including parachute release systems, adjustable steering columns, pedal assemblies and motor and mid plates. For more information visit Andy's web site at wrightsfab.com or search wrightsfab on Facebook. Many thanks to Andy Wright for his support. As ever please repay the support of Eurodragster.com sponsors by considering them when shopping for products or services. The return of Can Do. 11th January: Marc Huxley tells us that he is building a replica of Brian Huxley's legendary Dan Do Corolla. "The plan is a 7.50 chassis", says Marc. "I'm building it at Huxley Motorsport with a 347 ci Small Block Ford. My goal is to build it in eighth months and maybe test at the end of the year if all goes well. I'm one for getting the correct parts and not cutting any corners. "The donor car came from Portugal. Mark Todd originally imported it to build a mad rotary race car but I convinced him to let me build it to come racing finally. "The plan is run in Pro ET along side my brother Lee and even let Dad race it himself. Big thanks to Dad and Lee for prepping the engine, and to Mark Todd for so much help with parts." Swift snippets. 11th January: Pro Modified and Super Pro ET racer John Tebenham says that he is getting both cars ready for the new season. "I'm looking forward to the Doorslammers test day, my crew tell me it's good driving experience but I'm not so sure", says JT. "We are hoping that a new crank, valves, lifters and a diet should get us further into the fives. "We have lost one of our brothers, Tim Mugridge, but he will be with us forever." Eurodragster.com Perfect Light Award sponsor Cath Napier asked us to say a big Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary to Tig Napier. Our pleasure Tig, have a great day and a very Happy Anniversary to you both. A big Happy Birthday also to our good friend Mikey Durbridge, hope you have a great day Mikey. Introducing CG Composites 2019. 11th January: UK Super Pro ET racer Martyn Jones is proud to announce the acquisition of the CG Composites business from founder Carlo Gandolfi. The company, now called CG Composites 2019 Limited, plans to continue the development, production and sales of Carlo's outstanding product lines. Carbon production will be handled by Marcus Biney, of Creative Carbon, and product finishing will be carried out by Steve Johnson of Motor Mouse Racing, and Martyn himself. Carlo, who will continue to be involved as a consultant, would like to thank his customer base for their loyalty and wishes the new business success for the future. CG Composites produce composite fuel injector hats for use in supercharged drag racing applications. Customers include Micke Gullqvist and Kevin Slyfield (Pro Modified), Habermann Family Racing (Top Alcohol Dragsters), Rune Fjeld Motorsport (Top Fuel Dragsters) Kevin Chapman and Kevin Kent (Top Fuel Funny Car), Ian King (Top Fuel Bike) and Martyn Jones (Super Pro ET). More information can be found at www.cgcomposites.co.uk. Behind the scenes. 9th January: Our good friend Bob Roberts has been in touch from Birmingham's NEC where Autosport International commences today. Bob was present for setting up yesterday and sent us some pictures: As well as Santa Pod Raceway's display, eagle eyes will spot the world's fastest lawnmower constructed by Eurodragster.com sponsor Robinson Race Cars as well as former Outlaw Anglia racer Pete Moore's '34 Ford also built by RRC. Bob is attending Autosport International on our behalf and his report will be available at the weekend. Press and Trade Days take place today and tomorrow with public days on Saturday and Sunday. You can find out more and book tickets at www.autosportinternational.com. On the subject of the Robinson family, a big Happy Birthday with hugs to Stefani Fisher. Have a lovely day Stef. 2019 SPRC Perpetual Awards vote 3. 5th January: Santa Pod Racers Club and Eurodragster.com are again teaming up to give Eurodragster.com readers the chance of input to the SPRC Perpetual Awards, which will be presented at the SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy presentation in February 2020. For several of the 2019 season awards, a shortlist has been decided upon for which votes can be submitted by E-Mail. 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 their winners. Today's category is Best Appearing Bike. The SPRC Committee's shortlist, in alphabetical order, is as follows: Kars van den Belt Funny Bike Louis Davies Comp Bike Nick Milburn Top Fuel Bike Steve Wood Super Street Bike To place your vote, either click on a picture above or go to the official Perpetual Awards voting 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.com page. If your device doesn't automatically generate an E-Mail then please E-Mail your choice to ar@eurodragster.com. ©Eurodragster.com The Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy, for which nominations are also now being taken, was first awarded to Santa Pod Racers Club'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 Santa Pod Raceway Track Announcer Colin Theobald. Again see the official page for more details or E-Mail your nomination to ar@eurodragster.com specifying SPRC Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy nomination as the subject and your nomination in the body of the E-Mail. 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, forum members or Facebook friends 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 whether or not that nominee knows what was going on. We know all the dodges so it's just not worth trying. If in any doubt about what constitutes canvassing then please drop us a line at ar@eurodragster.com. Additionally, if anyone should have issues with the content of any of the shortlists then please contact SPRC direct rather than E-Mailing Eurodragster.com or commenting on social media. E-Mails to Eurodragster.com regarding the content of the shortlists will receive neither a reply nor any other acknowledgement. The next voting category will be Most Professional Appearing Team. Everitt to licence for Top Fuel. 8th January: Former UK National Junior Dragster Champion and Super Pro ET racer Billy Everitt will be licencing for Top Fuel Dragster early in the race season. "I will be licencing with Rune Fjeld Motorsport", Billy told Eurodragster.com. "We are planning for The Fast Show at Santa Pod Raceway, weather and track permitting. But if the track isn't there then the Festival of Power is on the cards. "I'm taking this one step at a time and seeing where things go, but this has always been a dream of mine growing up through the ranks. I would like to thank everyone around me for their support, especially Rune and Lindsey. I look forward to seeing what the future brings." Billy has set up a Facebook page which you can check out at www.facebook.com/billyeverittmotorsport. Santa Pod renew DFDS ferry deal. 8th January: Santa Pod Raceway are pleased to announce that DFDS have renewed their cross channel ferry travel partnership for the 2020 season. Despite increased costs, DFDS have agreed to keep the rates the same as last year. Race teams should use this year's booking form... PDF format Word format ..and should please ensure that the form is sent to both E-Mail addresses in the instructions. Santa Pod are proud to have worked with DFDS for many years and look forward to continuing the partnership for many years to come. Caroline Holden of SPR says "We'd like to promote both DFDS and our race teams using the ferry crossing service, so we'd be grateful for any pictures and stories from race teams, especially if the DFDS logo and branding is in the picture!" Swift snippets. 8th January: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com (below left) came with the words "California dreaming!". If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at editor@eurodragster.com. Thanks to Bianca Booj for sending us the latest update from the workshops of Michel Tooren and the Pro Dutch Racing Pro Modified team, which to our pleasure includes a 2020 calendar of full FIA and Motorsport UK Championships. You can check out the Dutch-language PDF by clicking here or by clicking on the picture above right. Our good buddy Remco Scheelings has finished his set of features on this year's European and EDRS Pro Champions with an article about multiple FIA European Pro Stock Champion and FIA Pro Modified racer Jimmy Ålund, which you can check out on the Drag Racing Europe Blog at www.dragracingeurope.eu. VP appoint new Sales Manager. 8th January: Eurodragster.com sponsor VP Racing Fuels Inc has named Eric Bishop as its International Sales Manager. "The VP team prides itself in having star players in every division and at every level" said Alan Cerwick, VP's President and CEO. "We live in a global economy, and Eric is a tremendous addition to our roster. We look forward to big things from him in 2020 and beyond." Bishop is a graduate of Southern Illinois University and comes to VP after nearly ten years with the Husqvarna Group where he rose within the company from territory sales rep to key account manager and then senior account manager. His experience with a global company in the premium outdoor equipment space, managing all facets of the dealer, distributor, and retail relationships also as well as merchandising and solution-based consulting, will be a tremendous asset to VP. "Motorsport addresses the human desire to succeed and to win" said Eric. "We understand the multiple racing categories among international motorsport, and we are focused on delivering the tools to give our customers the competitive edge." www.vpracingfuels.com. You can name the Super Gas Shootout. 7th January: UK Super Gas racer Brett Featherstone is giving Eurodragster.com readers the chance to decide the name to be attached to Super Gas in the UK this season. Last year's Shootout was named for former racer Jon Morton. "We are trying to keep the theme which Jon Giles started by naming each Shootout after a racer or somebody who has had a massive influence on the class", says Brett. "This year the candidates are: Tim Adam Jeff Bull Dave Grady Tony Gransden Brian Pateman Frank Mason Conrad Stanley" If Super Gas racers and other Eurodragster.com readers would like to vote for any of the above then please send an E-Mail to editor@eurodragster.com and we'll pass the results on to Brett. Autosport International beckons. 7th January: Santa Pod Raceway are launching their 55th season at this week's Autosport International at the NEC in Birmingham: Santa Pod's stand, 2680 in Hall 2, showcases the Slick Tricks Top Fuel Dragster piloted by Susanne Callin and Andy Bond's 1956 Chevrolet, the reigning UK Street Eliminator Champion entry. Nicknamed Ugly Sister, the turbo Chevy's artfully-distressed appearance belies its 200 mph potency and its road-legal status. In an adjoining hall, Santa Pod's two-seater Thrill Ride dragster will inject some noise into the daily Live Action Arena displays. Elsewhere in the Show, Robin Read's new blown-nitro Daimler dragster will make its public début whilst Serck Motorsport on stand 2342 are promising the usual surprises including and race vehicles. Simon Barlow's record-holding blown-alcohol Outlaw Anglia van is on the guest list. Autosport International starts this Thursday (9th) with two Trade and Press Days, then is open to the public on Saturday and Sunday. You can find out more and book tickets at www.autosportinternational.com. If you can't make it then longtime Eurodragster.com supporter Bob Roberts is attending on our behalf and will be sending a report and pictures. If your race car or bike is at the Show then it's not too late to drop us a line at editor@eurodragster.com. Supercharged Outlaws extend support. 7th January: Andy Hadfield aka Fadster, who sponsors the Eurodragster.com Perfect ET Award supported by the Twister Race Team, has been in touch to let us know that the Supercharged Outlaws, which he chairs, will be increasing their sponsorship in 2020: I am delighted to report that the Supercharged Outlaws will be providing sponsorship to Pro ET for the fourth consecutive year, and we are extending our sponsorship to two more worthy causes. The Supercharged Outlaws have donated to the recently-formed UK Junior Drag Racing Foundation, which provides assistance to the youngsters who are entering our sport. We are also providing a donation to the hard-working track staff at Santa Pod to facilitate soft drinks and coffee during the 2020 season, which we know will be appreciated during those chilly mornings and hot summer afternoons. I am incredibly proud to chair one of the most generous group of racers there is, a group of teams who are prepared to give back to the sport they love. See Post en Dros for Atomizer. 7th January: As well as well-known brands such as Racepak, MSD, Holley, Fueltech, Haltech, Clevite, Victory Titanium Valves and many more, Eurodragster.com sponsor Post en Dros are very happy to announce that they are the official European dealer for Atomizer Racing Injectors and can now supply everything necessary to get your Racepak vehicle fully-loaded with everything you need to go EFI, which Dick Koster tells us is the future in the blown, turbo or naturally-aspirated racing. Dick adds a brief history of Atomizer Racing Injectors: In the early 2000's, the demand for higher flowing fuel injectors for drag racing applications sky rocketed.  The largest available injector was a 160 PPH (pound per hour) compressed natural gas version for Ford trucks.  This became a performance limiting factor in the drag racing arena.  The decision was made to apply a combined 40 plus years of injector design engineering to manufacture a purpose built racing injector and end the performance limitations of the time. Working directly with racing engine builders and tuners, the first purpose built, all billet material, adjustable and serviceable racing fuel injector was manufactured.  In our Generation 2 injectors, Atomizer Flow Technology was implemented to create a more efficient dissipation of the fuel, resulting in a lightning fast spooling of turbocharged engines, as well as cleaner, consistent burn in all varieties of power adder and naturally aspirated applications. Now, with the ever increasing demand for more horsepower, the Atomizer 3 generation is here, with up to 700 PPH of fuel flow, Atomizer 3 is the highest flowing racing injector in the world!  We are currently refining the design of the Atomizer 4 generation to supply up to 1500 PPH each.  This will enable a single injector per cylinder fuel supply for high horsepower, methanol applications. A single injector per cylinder configuration will minimize the risk of engine damage in the event of a injector driver failure,  wiring issue, or any number of other reasons for having fuel delivery issues. Through direct racer input, and utilizing the continuous improvement approach, Atomizer injectors continue to evolve. We have sponsored many racers to multiple world records and championships, as well as supported years of class sponsorship in various arenas. Our products are 100% made in the USA. You can get more information from Post en Dros at www.post-en-dros.nl. Smax on 2019. 7th January: Ex-pat UK Top Fuel Dragster racer Smax Smith got in touch from Canada to wish Eurodragster.com readers, racers and friends a safe and successful 2020. Whilst at it Smax gave us a rundown of 2019: We had a great 2019 season highlighted by the fact that we (finally) ran our first three-second 1000 foot in Charlotte. We had been knocking on the door and working so hard to achieve that 3.93 - the Leverichs have been unbelievable! Unfortunately the car shut off at 800 feet but I was doing 295 mph at that point, it transpired that as I didn't have a poured seat the G-forces were pushing me back off the pedal a bit but, enough that G-force came off me so I lifted. This happened at the Nitro Nationals in July which we won, but although the car shut off early we didn't get required data to figure out why. We did 276 mph in 3.1 seconds to the eighth too! We also went to Reading, Pensylvania where my first qualifier was against former European Champion and friend Lex Joon! Although we beat him with my ever so quick pedal job to recover from tyre shake he was buzzing as it was on his bucket list to have two European Champions racing in NHRA! We qualified ahead of Lex and Todd Paton  but on race day against Doug Kalitta we had a borrowed fuel pump from John Force, but not having flow data was a crap shoot. I left on Doug but immediately dropped cylinders which shoved me over towards his lane so I lifted. We then went to Charlotte and ran the 3.93 to qualify well ahead of Chris Karamesines, Lex, Cameron Ferre and Todd Paton. Sunday's race day was a washout so we stayed to race Brittany Force on a green track on Monday. I left first on her but we smoked the tyres and she was gone running a 3.69, best of the weekend. My lights are improving anyhow, of the last five two were 0.09, two were 0.08 and a 0.07 against Brittany. Meanwhile we have been campaigning our alky Funny Car with my boy Aidan at the helm.  In June we did some wheeling and dealing and sold our real nice Funny Car roller and two Lencos to New Zealand and purchased one of the nicest rollers in Canada. We rushed to get it wrapped, reversing the colors of our old car, and had a mad thrash to get to the local Nitro Nats where Aidan had run our first five-second pass last year. In qualifying aidee did a planned 330 to make sure we didn't have tyre shake but it ran perfectly. Back in the pits the normal service routine revealed all was perfect so we warmed the car but disaster - it kicked a rod! We only had six runs on the rods and torque was perfect but we sent the rods back to sponsor CP Carillo who confirmed it was rod bolt failure. So I guess the hot ticket now is to watch Will Hanna's awesome video on using a rod bolt stretch gauge, as the stretch is really all that matters to arrive at the correct torque value. Anyhow I digress, it meant we were sidelined as although we had another Brad 6 motor there were too many differences with the TFX to make it happen, so I took the block to machine shop sponsor Engine Technology for relatively minor repair. Aidan sold the TFX and found an identical Brad 6 for the upcoming season. Meanwhile we had put the first Brad 6 in and went to Michigan US 131 for the eighth-mile Funny Car Chaos event with sixteen of any type of FC allowed including Nostalgia and Nitro! Aidan qualified well at 4.0/187 beating Suzy Qs' 57 Chevy Funny Car putting us in the A field - they run eight-car A and B fields. Aidan also got a bonus cheque for best burnout. Eliminations were quite strange as we went against the points leader. Both did side-by-side burnouts but the timing equipment had a malfunction so we were both shut off. We decided not to do another burnout but let Ken do his second, but he stalled it so technically we had won but we allowed him to refire again and gave him a great race, however we banged a burst panel around 500 feet. The air had got better by whilst we were waiting so it was too lean but stil ran 4.2/158. All in all a really fun weekend with a bunch of great racers - they even had a keg in the pits! We are really looking forward to 2020 when we plan on doing couple of NHRA events with the Funny Car. We just got Manton to sponsor us with their sexy rocker assemblies! You can follow our antics on the Ant Hill Mob Drag Racing Facebook page, and as always if you are ever at the track then come and party with us! 2019 SPRC Perpetual Awards vote 2. 5th January: Santa Pod Racers Club and Eurodragster.com are again teaming up to give Eurodragster.com readers the chance of input to the SPRC Perpetual Awards, which will be presented at the SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy presentation in February 2020. For several of the 2019 season awards, a shortlist has been decided upon for which votes can be submitted by E-Mail. 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 their winners. Today's category is Best Appearing Car. The SPRC Committee's shortlist, in alphabetical order, is as follows: Dave and Andy Dibley Jon Morton Super Gas Shootout (driver Andy Dibley) Dan Holloway Hutchinson & Dibley Sportsman ET ICE Automotive Motorsport UK Pro Modified (driver Nick Davies) Kev Jenkins Secret Worx Comp Eliminator Guy King Modurstang Pro ET David Smith Secret Worx Comp Eliminator John Tebenham Motorsport UK Pro Modified To place your vote, either click on a picture above or go to the official Perpetual Awards voting 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.com page. If your device doesn't automatically generate an E-Mail then please E-Mail your choice to ar@eurodragster.com. ©Eurodragster.com The Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy, for which nominations are also now being taken, was first awarded to Santa Pod Racers Club'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 Santa Pod Raceway Track Announcer Colin Theobald. Again see the official page for more details or E-Mail your nomination to ar@eurodragster.com specifying SPRC Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy nomination as the subject and your nomination in the body of the E-Mail. 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, forum members or Facebook friends 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 whether or not that nominee knows what was going on. We know all the dodges so it's just not worth trying. If in any doubt about what constitutes canvassing then please drop us a line at ar@eurodragster.com. Additionally, if anyone should have issues with the content of any of the shortlists then please contact SPRC direct rather than E-Mailing Eurodragster.com or commenting on social media. E-Mails to Eurodragster.com regarding the content of the shortlists will receive neither a reply nor any other acknowledgement. The next voting category will be Best Appearing Bike. SPRC Dinner Dance update. 3rd January: With Santa Pod Racers Club's Dinner Dance and Trophy Presentation fast approaching, organiser Yvonne Tramm has been in touch with an important update for those planning to attend: Please note that the closing date for the purchase of tickets is Friday 17th January. If you have any special dietary requirements then please make a note on your ticket application so that I can make arrangements with the chef. Please do not contact the hotel to make arrangements yourself, as they will not know where you will be seated. If you are a winner or runner-up but will not be able to collect your trophy on the night then please either contact me at trammyd5@gmail.com or call 07762 195729 to nominate someone to collect it for you. Trophies not collected on the night will be available from the Festival of Power. On behalf of Santa Pod Racers Club I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy, healthy and safe 2020. The SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy Presentation takes place on Saturday 1st February 2020 at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel at Stadium MK. For full details and application form please check out our news item of 20th September. 2019 SPRC Perpetual Awards vote 1. 30th December: Santa Pod Racers Club and Eurodragster.com are again teaming up to give Eurodragster.com readers the chance of input to the SPRC Perpetual Awards, which will be presented at the SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy presentation in February 2020. For several of the 2019 season awards, a shortlist has been decided upon for which votes can be submitted by E-Mail. 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 their winners. Today's category is Most Promising Newcomer. Nominees for SPRC Most Promising Newcomer have impressed whilst contesting their first full season in a class or making their on-track début in 2019. The SPRC Committee's shortlist, in alphabetical order, is as follows: Ashley Cooper, Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator Vote for Ashley Cooper Kai Cooper, Lucas Oil Junior Dragster Vote for Kai Cooper Dan Holloway, Hutchinson & Dibley Sportsman ET Vote for Dan Holloway Gary Lake, Hutchinson & Dibley Sportsman ET Vote for Gary Lake Ronnie Mercer, Modurstang Pro ET Vote for Ronnie Mercer Alan Morrison Sr, NMCN 8.50 Bike Vote for Alan Morrison Sr Alan Morrison Jr, 9.50 Bike Vote for Alan Morrison Jr Craig Wright, 9.50 Bike Vote for Craig Wright To place your vote, either use the links above or go to the official Perpetual Awards voting 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.com page. If your device doesn't automatically generate an E-Mail then please E-Mail your choice to ar@eurodragster.com. ©Eurodragster.com The Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy, for which nominations are also now being taken, was first awarded to Santa Pod Racers Club'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 Santa Pod Raceway Track Announcer Colin Theobald. Again see the official page for more details or E-Mail your nomination to ar@eurodragster.com specifying SPRC Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy nomination as the subject and your nomination in the body of the E-Mail. 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, forum members or Facebook friends 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 whether or not that nominee knows what was going on. We know all the dodges so it's just not worth trying. If in any doubt about what constitutes canvassing then please drop us a line at ar@eurodragster.com. Additionally, if anyone should have issues with the content of any of the shortlists then please contact SPRC direct rather than E-Mailing Eurodragster.com or commenting on social media. E-Mails to Eurodragster.com regarding the content of the shortlists will receive neither a reply nor any other acknowledgement. The next voting category will be Best Appearing Car. SPRC Christmas update. 24th December: Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall has been in touch to inform racers that the SPRC office will be manned part-time during the holiday period. "If you need ACU codes or anything else then it may take a day or two to get the information back to you", says Ian. "The office will be open full-time again from Thursday 2nd January. "Santa Pod Racers Club would like to wish all of our members a very Happy Christmas, and we hope that Santa brings all of the new bits you wanted for Christmas. "2020 is shaping up to be a great year. We have some new stuff to bring you early in the New Year which will make things a little simpler for racers and members. So stay safe, have a great holiday, and keep an eye on Eurodragster.com for updates on the new stuff in 2020. We also wish you all a very Happy, Safe and Sunny race season in the New Year." Swift snippets. 24th December: We would like to say a big Happy Birthday with hugs to Nitro FM presenter and occasional Contributing Photographer Nikki Marshall. Have a lovely day Nikki. No news update yesterday so we were unable to say a big Happy 60th Birthday to our good friend Jerry Cookson. Hope you had a great day Jerry. Drag Racing Unplugged XXI. 24th December: As has become traditional on our last pre-Christmas update, we have posted a page of quotes from this season's John Woolfe Racing-sponsored Eurodragster.com Event Coverage including Tog's, Simon's, Kirstie's, and Julian's personal Quotes of the Year, together with others which we didn't publish at the time. As well as the core team we have also asked our Off-Track Photographer Diana Macrae to choose her favourite. We are pleased to present Drag Racing Unplugged XXI, the 2019 collection, which you can check out by clicking here, or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. 2019 Champions' Champions. 24th December: Honorary Eurodragster.com staff member Andy Marrs and our own Simon have again been hard at work to compile lists of European and UK Champions' Champions. The Champions' Champions tables show the all-time highest points earners since the FIA and FIM European Championships began in 1996 and 1992 respectively, and since the UK National Championships began in 1999. Marrs writes that 302 racers have now earned points in the FIA European Drag Racing Championships. Congratulations to Pro Modified and Pro Stock racer Jimmy Ålund who has taken over the number one spot in all-time FIA Championship points, passing 8000 career points in the process and also becoming the first driver to earn more than 1000 points in an FIA Championship season. Pro Modified racer Micke Gullqvist has passed 6000 Championship points and has moved up to fourth place in the all-time standings. Top Fuel Dragster racer Anita Mäkela has moved up to sixth place passing 5000 Championship points. Although Pro Stock racer Michael Malmgren drops to to second in the all-time standings, he remains the highest-ranked driver to earn all of their points in a single class. Jimmy made a clean sweep of six events, setting High Speed for the third time - Michael is the only other driver to do this. Anita Mäkelä now leads all-time FIA Top Fuel Dragster career points, taking over top spot from Micke Kågered. Anita also has the highest number of Top Fuel round wins. Stig Neergaard has moved up to third spot, passing 3000 career points, whilst Antto Horto moves up to seventh and Liam Jones tenth. Anita also garnered the highest points total in one season at 556, the most event wins in a season at four, and the most round wins in a season at fourteen. Twelve racers scored points in FIA Top Methanol this season, the highest for the combined dragster/Funny Car incarnation of the class. Sandro Bellio of Eurodragster.com sponsor Dyno Unlimited has taken over top spot in all-time standings, passing 1000 career points as did Timo Habermann and Johnny Lagg, the latter moving up to third. Jürgen Nagel has moved up to seventh place, Johnny Oksa to ninth, and Manty Bugeja to tenth. Micke Gullqvist has passed 6000 career points, keeping top spot in all-time FIA Pro Modified standings. Mats Eriksson has moved up to second, David Vegter to fourth, and Jimmy Ålund to tenth. The sole change in all-time FIA Pro Stock standings is Bengt Ljungdahl's move up to eighth. You can check out the FIA Champions' Champions, Championship summaries, and analyses of qualifying results and round wins by clicking here or by clicking on the Champions' Champions link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Pro Stock Bike racer Fredrik Fredlund passed 3000 points in all-time FIM Europe Championship points. Fredde also now holds the highest number of round wins of any FIM Europe racer and of course of any FIM Europe Pro Stock Bike racer. Rikard Gustafsson passed 2000 career points in FIM Europe Top Fuel Bike as well as passing fifty round wins. Filippos Papafilippou passed 1000 points and amassed the highest number of Top Fuel Bike points in a season at 432. Marcus Christiansen's points total of 386 is the highest-ever in FIM Europe Supertwin as is his winning margin of 157. In FIM Europe Pro Stock Bike, Len Paget passed 2000 career points. FIM Europe Super Street Bike is pretty much a story of Steve Venables. Ven passed 2000 points, his points total of 468 is the highest-ever as his is winning margin of 136. As if that isn't enough Ven passed fifty round wins and now holds the highest round-win tally in SSB. At this year's FIA/FIM European Finals Mark Hope became the fiftieth different rider to win a round of Super Street Bike. You can check out the FIM Champions' Champions, Championship summaries, and analyses of qualifying results and round wins by clicking here or by clicking on the Champions' Champions link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. If you have any queries about the FIA and FIM Europe Champions' Champions and analyses then you can contact Marrs at andy.marrs@outlook.com. Simon writes that scoring for the UK National Championships Champions' Champions is based upon an event having to be completed for a win to be registered. Race wins are ranked by number based on the driver or rider. Points however are scored and ranked on a team basis, as are numbers of Championships. For teams with multiple cars or drivers changing teams during or between seasons, the compiler's decision is final. 2019 suffered two rain-offs, Bug Jam and the STP UK National Finals, but all eight other events which included SPRC National Championship rounds were completed. So there was racing in six rounds for both the car and the bike classes. Now that the SPRC and National Championships have been merged, we have included Competition Eliminator and Supertwin Top Gas classes for the first time. Happily, the European Funny Car Series was revived and we have looked at all years this class has run, notwithstanding different points systems in place. We had first-time Champions in nine classes, compared with seven last year and a record eleven in 2015. The number of back-to-back Champions was seven, the same number as 2018, compared to a record nine in 2017. Congratulations to Kevin Chapman for winning a hard fought and attrition-filled European Funny Car Series. In the Series that have been run over the last two decades, Gordon Smith and John Spuffard have both won three Championships and John has won ten events. Gordon has won the most points with Kevin Kent in second place in aggregate points, Kevin having reset the ET and speed records early in the season to 4.236/286.49. In MSA Pro Modified, The Netherlands' Marck Harteveld won his first Championship and two event wins on the way. Congratulations to him. Marck also enters the top twenty points total for the first time. Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson leads numbers of Championships with seven, event wins with nineteen, and also career points, despite sitting out this season. Andy 'Fred' Hone won this year's Competition Eliminator Championship and shares the largest number of race wins, six, with Kev Perkins. He also leads the aggregate points over the seven years that the Championship has been contested, with a margin of 1470 over Kev Perkins. In Super Pro ET, Brad Jackson won his second, and back to back, Championship in this tough class and congratulations to him, his win being aided by an event win at the Summernationals. Scott Hauser leads the Championship count with three ahead of other Championship winners Martyn Jones, Steve Green and Ian Tubb who have had two Super Pro Championships each since 1999. Barry Giles leads wins with fifteen in total and as Giles & Hartley continues to lead aggregate points, ahead of Steve Johnson. Brad, who has notched up five race wins, has moved from fifteenth to ninth in the points tally. Team Dark Horse (previously known as Top Banana with Brian and Lee Huxley sharing driving) won their sixth Pro ET Championship in 2019 and Rick McCann lies in second place with three. Lee Huxley has had thirteen wins over the last twenty years, with Rick McCann and Bob Doyle having won six each. The Huxleys continue to lead the points tally ahead of Team Heaven & Hell. In Sportsman ET Dan Holloway won his first Championship and congratulations to him. Craig Wright, Geoff Cowley and Team Rainy City Lightning (Al and Linda Platt) each have three Sportsman ET Championships. Craig, with ten wins during his time in the class, leads Geoff Cowley and Rick Denny who both have seven wins. Team Rainy City Lightning still lead the points aggregate, with Eurodragster.com Photographer Kirstie Tramm entering the top twenty points scorers for the first time. Leah Kellett won her first Super Comp Championship emphatically with three event wins, and congratulations to her. Stuart Doignie, with four Championships in 2015-18, leads Brian Pateman for the most Super Comp Championships, Brian having three in the period under review. Brian has most wins with thirteen, and the most points over Pete Creswell. In Super Gas, Simon Fulton won his first Championship with two event wins and congratulations to him. Stuart Doignie, Jon Morton and Tim Adam have four Championships apiece, with Stuart's four again coming in 2015-18. Jon and Frank Mason both have twelve race wins in the period, whereas Frank continues to lead points scored. Congratulations to Matthew Dowdy on his first Junior Dragster title, including four event wins for the UK sport's most dominant performance of the season. Joe Kellett has the most Championships with three, Nick Mugridge continues to have the most wins with nine and Joe Kellett leads aggregate points over Billy Everitt. Congratulations to Andy Bond who won his first Street Eliminator title, with three event wins and new national records of 6.998/212.81 (backed up by an astounding but too-quick 6.903) along the way; Steve Pateman still dominates the overall listings with five Championships, seventeen wins and leads the aggregate points over Ian Hook. You can check out the UK car class Champions' Champions by clicking here or by clicking on the Champions' Champions link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Steve Woollatt scored his fourteenth ACU Top Fuel Bike Championship over the period covered (eighteenth overall), and his thirty event wins and aggregate points lead are unlikely to be challenged any time soon. At the Festival of power, which Steve won, he reset the ACU Top Fuel ET record to 6.062. Congratulations to The Netherlnds' Kars van den Belt on winning his first ACU Funny Bike Championship with one race win at the Green Light Nationals. Neil Midgley continues to lead all three categories with five Championships, seventeen event wins and a sizeable points total. In ACU Super Street Bike Steve Venables won his ninth national Championship, with a win at the Festival of Power. Ven continues to lead the number of Championships, has twenty eight ACU victories and leads the points total by a substantial margin from Graham Dance who lies second in Championships with four, and wins with nineteen. Congratulations to Louis Davies who won his first ACU Competition Bike Championship with three event wins making for a dominant season. With Dad Allan Davies having won the 2014 Championship, we think that this is the first ACU father-and-son Championships in British drag bike racing history. At eighteen years of age, Louis is also the youngest rider ever to win an ACU Drag Bike Championship.Phil Leamon and Ivan Birch each have three Championships, both have ten wins and Phil also leads the points over Stu Crane. Liam Holgate won his third ACU Junior Drag Bike Championship, with three wins during the season. Scott Collier leads the total of Championships with four and wins with ten wins. He also leads the points tally over Louis Davies. Jay Roe, with three event wins this year, won his second Championship in 8.50 Bike. Jake Mechaell continues to lead the Championships total with three equalling Mick Winyard's, the wins total with thirteen over Jay's nine, and the points total over Jay's. In 9.50 Bike, Richard Sawatzki scored his eighth Championship, an unprecedented fifth in a row, with two event twins equalled by runner-up Craig Wright's two, and leads the number of Championships won from Fred Furlong. Richard's twenty wins head Fred's eleven, and Rick continues with the overall points lead over Fred. Phil Pratt's dominance in ET Bike continued as he won his third consecutive Championship, having won all Championships since the class's points scoring status began. Phil heads Gary Hester in events won with ten compared to Gary's three, and leads Gary also in aggregate points. Congratulations to Michael Gooding for his second Supertwin Top Gas Championship in a row; Michael is the only rider to win more than one Championship since the class was established in 2014. Michael has five victories over Chris Mott's three and he leads the aggregate points over Les Harris. You can check out the UK bike class Champions' Champions by clicking here or by clicking on the Champions' Champions link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. If you have any queries about the UK car or bike Champions' Champions then you can contact Simon at simon@eurodragster.com. Eurodragster.com Christmas lists. 24th December: We will now be taking our Christmas break. News updates and postings to our Jeff Bull Race Engines Swap Meet will resume at the end of this week. Keep those news items coming to us at news@eurodragster.com and we will post them after our break. In the meantime we have compiled our usual requests to Father Christmas, together with our New Year resolutions. As well as the core team we have also asked Off-Track Photographer Diana Macrae for her thoughts: Top of Kirstie's Christmas list: The Mooneyes Cruiser bike back. How I miss that bike. Top of Simon's Christmas list: A practical application of Hollywood's de-ageing technology. Top of Julian's Christmas list: Dusty the Duster, obvs! It is available, so not completely unrealistic. Top of Tog's Christmas list: No more "Can you put it on today" birthday messages in the middle of Pro qualifying (and no more strops when I say no). Kirstie's New Year resolution: Being second next year isn't an option. Simon's New Year resolution: To continue to promote, and provide, quality journalism for European drag racing. Julian's New Year resolution: To feel less insulted by the small minority of racers who ask for pictures but who then begrudge contributing to the considerable cost of creating them and cease communication. Tog's New Year resolution: To hang up on anyone else who phones and threatens me whilst I am on my day job. Top of Diana's Christmas list: Health and happiness for everyone. Diana's New Year resolution: To get a surround sound system having lost mine. Kirstie, Tog, Simon and Julian 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. Have a great time. UK STTG and ET Bike sponsorship 2020. 21st December: Derek Flynn of Eurodragster.com sponsors Gold RV and Accelerate Your Marketing has been in touch from his hospital isolation room, where stem cell transplant treatment is well underway, to tell us that he and wife Fiona have again arranged sponsorship for the UK's Supertwin Top Gas and ET Bike classes in 2020. Supertwin Top Gas will again be sponsored by Gold RV and, new for 2020, by Scorpion Motors, Thorsten Appel's one stop shop for all your Harley needs who can build, repair and sell bikes and parts. "My Gold RV partner Gary Jenkins is into his Harleys and has helped me a lot", says Derek. "Scorpion has been working on developing the class and getting the numbers up: he has put his money where his mouth is by purchasing and racing one of my Supertwins. We have arranged a prize fund for the Championship winner and runner-up which will hopefully increase the fields. Even a small win bonus might help encourage some of our Dutch and German friends to visit and to bolster the numbers. ET Bike is to be sponsored in the name of Derek BINDY Flynn; Derek tells us that if his treatment doesn't work out then the BINDY will be dropped from the class name. Decals will be mandatory for Gold RV/Scorpion Motors Supertwin Top Gas, and will be appreciated in Derek BINDY Flynn ET Bike. "When I spoke to Ian Marshall at Santa Pod Racers Club I reminded him about the bet between himself and Pete Walters, who both raced the Accelerate Your Marketing Audi S4 V8", says Derek. "That was a bet which Pete won by a quite a handsome margin, thank you Ian for the £50 for Bloodwise. It was great fun!" Now is also a good opportunity to remind readers that Bloodwise are still seeking support either in the form of donations or volunteers to donate blood or stem cells. Derek tells us that Super Pro ET team member Andy Flavell and Derek's nurse Lucy have signed up to donate stem cells. To donate money or to find out more about donating blood or stem cells please check out the Bloodwise web site at www.bloodwise.org.uk. Swift snippets. 21st December: Jason Stephenson tells us that a new paint shop, B and D Panel, recently opened in Grendon, near Wollaston, fifteen minutes from Santa Pod and roughly five minutes from Wellingborough Tesco. The shop is taking on work from a little scuff to a full respray. Alongside is a carbon fibre shop, DJS Composites, which can make carbon fibre or fibreglass parts to suit your needs. For more details about B and D Panel either visit their Facebook page, E-Mail banddpanel@yahoo.com or call 07568 983879; for more details about DJS Composites either visit their Facebook page, E-Mail djs.composites@gmail.com or call 07572 061238. The latest spy pictures to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com came with no words although there is a bit of a clue in one. If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at editor@eurodragster.com. Thanks to Mike Collins for sending us the usual preview of his column in the latest issue of Street Machine magazine, including bonus material exclusively for Eurodragster.com readers. You can check it out by clicking on the images below. Our good buddy Remco Scheelings is keeping himself busy posting features on this year's European and EDRS Pro Champions on the Drag Racing Europe Blog at www.dragracingeurope.eu. The last Eurodragster.com News update before Christmas will be posted on Christmas Eve (Tuesday) and will as ever consist of the 2019 editions of Champions' Champions, Drag Racing Unplugged XXI, and the top Christmas presents and New Year resolutions of the Eurodragster.com staff. If you have any updates for the Christmas Eve news then please drop us a line at news@eurodragster.com. Bill Simpson. 16th December: We were sorry to hear from Geoff Stilwell of the death of motorsport safety legend Bill Simpson. Bill had been in ill health recently, having to miss the presentation of his Mopar Performance Lifetime Achievement Award at the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Gala, and was taken into hospital last week but unfortunately passed away today. Bill, himself a former racer, was founder of Simpson Performance Products and Impact! Racing and played a pivotal role in raising safety standards and creating a safe environment throughout motorsport in general, and drag racing in particular. His safety innovations include the modern firesuit, driver restraint systems and helmets, and the drag racing parachute. He once legendarily volunteered to put on one of his firesuits and then be sprayed with racing gas and have a match put to him. Needless to say, Bill came out of that exercise unscathed and with a point well made. It is beyond dispute that Bill saved countless lives in his long and innovative career, and we are sure that every drag racer in Europe and elsewhere feel that they owe him a debt of gratitude whether or not they have had an accident. There can be no more fitting memorial nor solid legacy than for Bill's products to continue to keep racers safe. Our deepest sympathies to Bill's family and friends. Isaacs and Tramm Pro Mod for sale. 14th December: After six seasons of highs and lows, success and tribulation, and a whole lot of fun, Eurodragster.com sponsor Chris Isaacs and Spencer Tramm have elected to place their turbo Pro Mod Duster up for sale. "As some people may remember, we threw a rod at the Doorslammers earlier this year after qualifying fourth in Pro Doorslammer and reaching the quarter finals before damaging the motor", says Chris. "We reached the point from the tail end of 2018 where we had a race car which would run low 6.4 or high 6.3 second quarters on a safe tune and low RPM with very little maintenance, allowing us and our super crew of Vince, George, Rachel, Steve and Adele more time for the all-important task of drinking tea and sampling my wife Rosie's splendid cooking! "However, anyone who follows Pro Mod will know that in the past couple of seasons the MSUK British Championship has seen a sharp rise in performance, and whereas maybe eighteen months ago a race car which would run 6.3-6.4 very consistently was a competitive piece, it is looking like in 2020 it might take a 6.1 or better to qualify for an eight-car Motorsport UK Pro Mod field. "Spencer and I have been taking a long, hard look at our operation, and whilst we have no doubt that the car itself is capable of those ETs and beyond, the way we would have to lean on it to do so may well be beyond our resources of time, money and inclination. As such, we have decided to offer the Duster for sale in case another racer is better placed to take the car forwards. "Both of us still have plans in our racing lives, and freeing up some funding from the Duster would go a long way to realising those ambitions. If it doesn't sell we will then re-evaluate our situation." You can find Dusty under Cars For Sale on our Jeff Bull Race Engines and Performance Parts-sponsored Swap Meet. Zeon TV DVD review. 12th December: Zeon TV have produced six DVDs of drag racing from Santa Pod Raceway this year. Although it is a reduction from last year's ten productions (partly a result of Zeon covering tractor pulling as well as drag racing), the quality of each is up to the very high professional standards that we have been used to over the last sixteen years. They all deserve the attention of anyone who has an interest in drag racing. The first DVD is of the NSRA Nostalgia Nationals in May, with additional interspersed footage posted of the Vintage Hot Rod Association's Vintage Nationals from April. Classes involved at the Nostalgia Nationals are UK Nostalgia Super Stock, Supercharged Outlaws, Outlaw Anglia, Gasser Circus, Wild Bunch, Tri Chevy Shootout and there is also RWYB action.VHRA have their own class structure, based on capacity, types of specific engine, power adder or car body type. The events are well established, the Nostalgia Nationals being in its 26th year (the first twenty four editions being at Shakespeare County Raceway) and the Vintage Nationals now in its third year. The atmosphere at each event is different with VHRA vehicles being pre-1949 in manufacture and the Nostalgia Nationals for cars built pre-1973. As well as close and quick racing there is a chance to be on board with Colin Millar in his Flyin' Fyfer Outlaw Anglia - worth the price of the DVD alone. The Doorslammers meeting in mid-May had its second running in 2019, and the structure was similar this year, with a huge two hundred-car field enjoyed by a packed crowd. There were heads up competition in VP Racing Fuels Pro Doorslammer (largely populated by Pro Modified and Top Doorslammer entries), Webster Race Engineering 4 cylinder, Turbo Technics Pro Street, True Street, Eibach Front Wheel Drive (round 2 onwards), 6 Cylinder and the OCS Group Big Bracket. Drawing of lots for the ladder produced some intriguing races. Prize money of £80,000 was posted by Santa Pod Raceway and, like 2018, it inspired some exciting racing, many PBs and a large field of diverse machinery. The presentation includes interviews with some of the top drivers in many of the classes. This DVD is just under two hours of doorslammer heaven. The FIA/FIM Main Event was run to its conclusion late on Bank Holiday Monday and after a couple of late nights the event was wrapped up in all classes. The FIA car classes included in this great DVD are Top Fuel Dragster, Top Methanol, Pro Stock and Pro Modified, together with the European Funny Car series (back after a two season hiatus) and the amazing Top Doorslammer exhibition. FIM-E motorcycle classes comprised Top Fuel Bike, Super Twin, Pro Stock Bike, Super Street and Junior Drag Bike. The well-edited action includes qualifying and all of the eliminations and is a wonderful souvenir of a fabulous event. Dragstalgia was a complete contrast to the intensity of the Doorslammers and Main Event. It has always been a fun-filled race meeting, in its ninth incarnation in 2019, and the Zeon DVD conveys the atmosphere superbly as they always have. The classes involved were the same as the Nostalgia Nationals, with the added attraction of the Nostalgia Cannonball (including the iconic Nostalgia Funny Cars), Slingshot Showdown, Willys Wars, Custom Car invitational RWYB (pre-1980) and bike classes from the NSA and the Nostalgia Pro Stock Bike class racing in their own eliminator. Interviews include the legendary Hawaiian Roland Leong, who came over to tune Tony Betts' Nostalgia FC. Add to this a fantastic display of historic drag racing machinery, nitro cackling in the pits and on track and you have one hell of an event, even though the couple of racing incidents we had were unfortunate. The DVD provides one hour and fifty minutes of entertainment, if you discount the cross-dressing start line team (sorry guys). After a long summer gap, much of the sport travelling around Europe in the six weeks before September, the Zeon team returned to Santa Pod Raceway for the FIA/FIM European Finals. The same classes were included as at the Main Event and there was some fantastic racing with many of the Championships going down to the wire. You can see racers pushing to the very limit, and in some cases beyond. Junior Drag Bike on the Main Event and this DVD and the Junior Dragster final round are the sole showcase for the Junior side of the sport in this year's group of DVDs. Could an on-line production to promote Junior Dragster racing be a future project? The final, and only class-specific DVD this year is the Motorsport UK Pro Modified Championship, commentated on by Darryl Bradford. Rounds were held at the Festival of Power, the FIA/FIM Main Event, STP Summer Nationals Mopar Euronats, FIA/FIM European Finals and the season closer at the STP National Finals. Exciting action and interviews abound. This DVD is a must for fans of Pro Modified who want to know more behind the scenes as well as enjoying the on-track action. Commentary on the other five DVDs comes from SPR regular Colin Theobald who brings his usual enthusiasm (San-drooo! - Ed) and knowledge, so the viewer is left in no doubt when something special has happened. Camera work by Helen Todd, David Coleman, Cameron Rennie and Eurodragster.com Contributing Photographer Callum Pudge is excellent. With the prospect of many cold and gloomy days before the start of the next season, Zeon DVDs are a great way to lift your winter mood and, at the same time, an excellent reason to hold off that off-season rebuild for another few hours or while you wait for parts to arrive. You can purchase any or all of these superb Zeon DVDs for £14.95 each plus £1.50 postage per order to UK and £1.75 to anywhere else in the world. All DVDs are region free and in PAL format, which means you can watch them on a computer anywhere and on a TV which can display 625 lines at 50Hz. Various deals are available for the purchase of multiple titles. You can order on-line at www.quartermilehigh.com. 2020 UK class calendar. 11th December: Many thanks to Darren Prentice of Santa Pod Raceway and Ian Marshall of Santa Pod Racers Club for forwarding us a list of classes which will run at each Permit event at Santa Pod Raceway in 2020. The usual matrix will be posted after the Riders' and Drivers' Meeting in the New Year but the intention behind the sneak preview is to assist racers and teams in booking time off work etc. Festival of Power 10th-12th April: Pro Modified, Nitro Funny Car, Top Fuel Dragster exhibition, Comp Eliminator, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Pro ET, Pro ET, Sportsman ET, Junior Dragster, Street Eliminator, Outlaw Anglia, VW Sportsman, VW Pro, ACU Top Fuel Bike, ACU Pro Stock Bike, ACU Funny Bike, ACU Comp Bike, ACU Super Street Bike, 8.50 Bike, 9.50 Bike, ET Bike, Super Twin Top Gas, Junior Drag Bike Springspeed Nationals 2nd-3rd May: Nostalgia Funny Car, Comp Eliminator, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Pro ET, Pro ET, Sportsman ET, Junior Dragster, VW Pro, VW Sportsman, Wild Bunch, Nostalgia Super Stock, Outlaw Flat Four, ACU Top Fuel Bike, ACU Pro Stock Bike, ACU Funny Bike, ACU Comp Bike, ACU Super Street Bike, 8.50 Bike, 9.50 Bike, ET Bike, Super Twin Top Gas, Junior Drag Bike FIA/FIM Main Event 22nd-25th May: FIA Top Fuel Dragster, FIA Top Methanol, FIA Pro Modified, FIA Pro Stock, Nitro Funny Car, Comp Eliminator, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Pro ET, Pro ET, Junior Dragster, Street Eliminator, Stock/Super Stock, FIM Top Fuel Bike, FIM Supertwin, FIM Pro Stock Bike, FIM Super Street Bike, FIM World Super Street Bike, FIM Junior Drag Bike Cup STP Summernationals 18th-19th July: Pro Modified, Comp Eliminator, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Pro ET, Pro ET, Sportsman ET, Junior Dragster, Street Eliminator, Outlaw Anglia, VW Sportsman, VW Pro, Wild Bunch, ACU Top Fuel Bike, ACU Pro Stock Bike, ACU Funny Bike, ACU Comp Bike, ACU Super Street Bike, 8.50 Bike, 9.50 Bike, ET Bike, Super Twin Top Gas, Junior Drag Bike Bug Jam 24th-26th July: Nitro Funny Car, Sportsman ET, Street Eliminator, VW Pro, VW Sportsman, Outlaw Flat Four, Supercharged Outlaws Mopar EuroNationals 1st-2nd August: Pro Modified STP Green Light Nationals 22nd-23rd August: Green Light Pro, Comp Eliminator, Sportsman ET, Nostalgia Super Stock, Outlaw Anglia, Wild Bunch, VW Pro, VW Sportsman, Outlaw Flat Four, Supercharged Outlaws, Big Bracket, ACU Pro Stock Bike double-header, ACU Funny Bike double-header, ACU Comp Bike double-header, ACU Super Street Bike double-header, 8.50 Bike double-header, 9.50 Bike double-header, ET Bike double-header, Super Twin Top Gas double-header, Junior Drag Bike double-header FIA/FIM European Finals 10th-13th September: FIA Top Fuel Dragster, FIA Top Methanol, FIA Pro Modified, FIA Pro Stock, Nitro Funny Car, Nostalgia Funny Car, Comp Eliminator, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Pro ET, Pro ET, Junior Dragster, Street Eliminator, Stock/Super Stock, FIM Top Fuel Bike, FIM Supertwin, FIM Pro Stock Bike, FIM Super Street Bike, FIM Junior Drag Bike Cup STP UK National Finals 26th-27th September: Pro Modified, Nostalgia Funny Car, Comp Eliminator, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Pro ET, Pro ET, Sportsman ET, Junior Dragster, Street Eliminator, Nostalgia Super Stock, VW Sportsman, VW Pro, Outlaw Flat Four, Wild Bunch, ACU Top Fuel Bike, ACU Pro Stock Bike, ACU Funny Bike, ACU Comp Bike, ACU Super Street Bike, 8.50 Bike, 9.50 Bike, ET Bike, Super Twin Top Gas, Junior Drag Bike If you have any queries then please get in touch with Ian Marshall ir.marshall@btconnect.com or call 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625). Stock/Super Stock comes to Santa Pod. 11th December: Following almost constant requests from a number of racers, Santa Pod Raceway and Santa Pod Racers Club have taken the decision to run Stock/Super Stock at the 2020 FIA/FIM Main Event and FIA/FIM European Finals. The success of Nostalgia Super Stock has proven that format will work with a little help: The class will run to NHRA  regulations. We currently have six legal cars in the UK, that number is set to grow, and dozens in Scandinavia and also in Germany. The hope is that we can attract some of these cars and drivers to come and race with us at these events, It would be great to see Team Heaven & Hell back on UK soil to come and do battle with the guys over here, as well as many of the other Stock/Super Stock cars out there in Europe. The Williams Brothers have very kindly offered to put up addition prize fund for the Stock/ Super Stock class to help encourage racers from Europe to come and get involved, and of course any UK racer who feels that their cars may meet the required specification. If you have questions please either get in touch with the Williams Brothers through Facebook or contact Ian Marshall at Santa Pod Racers Club at ir.marshall@btconnect.com or call 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625). The Williams Brothers are well equipped to help with most enquires on this as they currently spend a part of their season racing with the big hitters in the United States. With the Doorslammers the week before the Main Event there is also scope for racers to get involved in the Big Bracket and perhaps take some additional funds home with them. All are more than welcome to come over and get involved a week earlier, and we would obviously be able to accommodate the cars being left here between the two meetings. More news on this will follow in the New Year, but from the perspective of organising ferry and other travel etc this will be happening so start booking. Please note that Nostalgia Super Stock will still run at 2020 and that this will not change their calendar in any way. Attention SPRC Perpetual trophy holders. 11th December: Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall has been in touch to request that current SPRC Perpetual Award trophy holders return the trophies before Christmas. Trophies can be returned either to Santa Pod Raceway or to Ian, for the latter please contact Ian at ir.marshall@btconnect.com or call 01933 313625. The shortlists for this year's SPRC Perpetual Awards are currently being compiled and the usual vote will open here on Eurodragster.com very shortly. Foundation to support UK Juniors. 11th December: UK Supercharged Outlaw racer Andy Hadfield, aka Fadster, who sponsors the Eurodragster.com Perfect ET Award, has set up a foundation to assist Junior Dragster and Junior Drag Bike teams. Fadster got in touch to explain the FOundation and how you can get involves: After one season of racing with Purdie in Lucas Oil Junior Dragster, I cannot help but notice some teams really struggle to keep their kids involved because of the financial strain of running a team. I set up the Foundation on 7th December to act as a support system for the Junior side of our sport/hobby. The Foundation wants to provide a financial support to offer parents and enthusiastic kids the chance to compete in the Junior classes, be that bikes or dragsters. The intention, subject to funding, is to encourage new personalities into the hobby, to give assistance to existing teams, and to provide one-off financial assistance to exceptional cases. We have yet to make a decision how that support will manifest itself; this depends so much on our kind beneficiaries most of whom come from the drag racing world. Getting new kids into the sport is difficult for parents who are probably already over-stretched with the cost of just raising a child these days. As of 09:28 yesterday (Monday), the Foundation has raised £2080 with a further £500 of pledged donations. Sales of Foundation bumper stickers have helped but the bulk of donations are from individuals within the sport. Support will be via fuel and oil donations direct to teams, small steps initially but from small acorns etc. I would like to take the opportunity to offer my heartfelt thanks to all the individuals and companies who have already made generous donations, and I would actively encourage others to do the same. Donations can be made through PayPal to sales@amhairconditioning.co.uk, and please E-Mail sales@amhairconditioning.co.uk for enquiries either about the Foundation or about about alternative forms of payment. The Foundation can be found on Facebook as The UK Junior Drag Racing Foundation. The people we are supporting now are the future of drag racing and, in some small part, the Foundation will help to cement the future for our up-and-coming stars. Swift snippets. 11th December: Swedish Street (8.60) racer Veronica Olderin has announced that she will be racing Top Fuel Dragster next year in the dragster campaigned by the late Björn Mårtensson. The current plan is for a limited schedule with outings at Gardermoen and Tierp Arena. Jade Race seeks new home. 11th December: Andrea Kloss writes that the airfield in Mariensiel will no longer be available as a venue for Germany's Jade Race in 2020: After eleven years of successful co-operation with airfield management, all authorities and offices involved as well as the businesses around the race, this was an unpleasant surprise which has caused great regret, especially as the prospect of the continuation of the race event was made in the previous stakeholder meeting (District of Friesland and City of Wilhelmshaven). The reason for the suspension of the event is not due to issues with the race, but rather due to the quality of the new runway surface. During set-up for the race event in July 2019 the new surface reacted to the heavy loads, leaving indentations and imprints. This was clearly not due to use of race vehicles or our service vehicles as the old surface had worked without any damage for ten years. A rectification of the defective surface is certainly recommended even if it is only used for flight operations and where heavy recovery equipment could also be used, which the surface would also not be able to withstand. Or, to put it another way: the bad or faulty quality of a resurfaced motorway or a public road would certainly not be accepted. It is more than annoying that with the loss of the Jade Race the region will lose an attractive race event. First and foremost, we are thankful for the long-standing trust in the event's potential and for the fascination for it. The Jade Race has continued to develop into one of the most prominent events in the region of Friesland / Wilhelmshaven. Next to the NitrOlympX, with the permanent drag strip at the Hockenheimring, the Jade Race is the most renowned race of its kind in Germany and has increasingly attracted up to 250 teams from all over Europe. The high level of sporting professionalism and the perfect handling of this complex race event make the Jade Race attractive for race teams and spectators. A brief look at the history of this event tells an impressive story. The Jade Race has grown steadily since 2007 and we have counted up to 8000 visitors on race days. Many hotels, guest houses and other holiday accommodations in the region were fully booked. Regional businesses have discovered that the race event makes an effective advertising platform for themselves and, according to their own statements, the Jade Race has gained them new customers. The race event is not only a successful engine and excellent advertisement for the tourist location of Friesland, which has gained publicity beyond the borders of the region due to international participation. The technical solutions developed within the framework of the optimisation of our racing vehicles, for example in the field of injection technology, are finding their way back into the industry. In fact, motorsport is still a laboratory and testing ground for technical innovation.  Motorsport is undergoing a radical change in times when environmental awareness and climate protection are playing an increasingly important role. A development that has not left the Jade Race unaffected and which has long been taken into account with the use of clean fuels such as E10 or bio-methanol. In addition, we wanted to send out another signal in the coming year with the introduction of an electric drag racing class, a project for which renowned vehicle suppliers and power suppliers have offered support.   Our interest in e-mobility is also inspired by the world record that was set by students from Stuttgart at the Jade Race in 2015: the acceleration from zero to a hundred in 1.779 seconds with an electric racing car, which secured the track an entry in the Guinness Book of Records. The Jade Race is a platform for technical innovation, modern vehicle construction and exciting racing events which make a unique entertainment programme and even with the increased environmental awareness is politically endorsed and should be maintained. An alternative racetrack in the immediate vicinity may in fact be possible. The Jever Air Base, which is no longer used for military flight operations, is basically usable due to a central waiver for motorsports purposes. The necessary approval by the DMSB (German Motorsports ASN) and the ADAC (Automobil Club of Germany) are available. Should the Commander of the Object Protection Regiment give consent then the Jade Race could have a new home in 2020.  We hope that with the continued political support (District Administrator S. Ambrosy and Environmental Minister Olaf Lies), the authorities and administration and of course the press and the public we will get the chance to continue this successful and profitable event for the region. We are ready to sit at the negotiating table with the responsible persons, to discuss in full transparency the best possible solution. Record-setting ICE look to 2020. 11th December: The '68 Pontiac Firebird campaigned by leading Silverstone-based V8 engine builder ICE Automotive and sponsored by US Automotive and BUA Motorsport became the fastest UK Pro Mod with a terminal speed of 249 mph at the FIA/FIM European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway in September. Driver Nick Davies, who typically drives the US Championship-winning Havoc Fuel Altered, said "My partner, Rob Loaring, and I learned a lot during the six MSUK Championship races we campaigned, as we continued to lower our times and increase our speed". Indeed, during the European FInals, Nick attained a new Personal Best elapsed time of just 6.06 seconds and hit that top UK speed of 249 mph. "It was an encouraging start", said Rob Loaring. "We accumulated data that will benefit us next season where a few changes are planned, some larger than others." 2020 is looking to be a busy season for the ICE Automotive team as not only will they campaign the Motorsports UK Pro Modified Championship with the Firebird, but they are looking forward to a match-race series with American Ron Hope and the Rat Trap Fuel Altered at the tenth anniversary of Santa Pod's Dragstalgia, as well as a return trip to Bonneville Speed Week with BUA Motorsport for some unfinished business. Oh, and the advancement of a couple of new projects destined for the quarter mile. "It will be a full and exciting season", concluded Nick. Of course, none of this would have been possible without the Firebird super crew Nick, Rob, Scott, Dave and Callum, partners US Automotive, BUA Motorsport, Roberts Motor Bodies, and Tony Thacker & Friends. Double Champers all round! 11th December: The UK's Wild Bunch had two celebratory weekends in a row at the end of November. Claire Meaddows writes: The first was the prestigious British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Gala on Saturday 23rd November at the Oatlands Park Hotel in Surrey. This was a hugely memorable and very special occasion for the Wild Bunch and there were some thirty members in attendance to celebrate the induction of The Wild Bunch in to the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame! Such a huge honour for the club, who will celebrate their official 25th Anniversary season next year. The beautiful and moving tribute to Bootsie, the commemorative crystal award, was presented by US commentator Bob Beck, and the citation read out by Robin Jackson. Wild Bunch founder Roy Wilding, next Chairman Chris Hartnell and current General Manager Claire Meaddows received the award on behalf of the whole Wild Bunch, and Roy made a wonderful speech. The Wild Bunch also congratulated member Ian Lloyd of Gonzo the Great fame who was inducted into the Hall of Fame on the same evening. Many congratulations also to the whole eurodragster.com team on their induction (Thanks! - Ed). Those present had some great celebratory group photos taken, and then on to some late evening drinks to celebrate further. The club would like to thank Stu and Bev Bradbury and the whole board of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame for this incredible accolade and for all of their hard work in keeping the history of British Drag Racing very much alive and celebrated by all! It is such an honour for our whole club to be recognised amongst the ranks of the legendary pioneers of British Drag Racing, and we thank all of them for all they have done for our wonderful sport. We will always do our best to keep this nostalgic spirit alive, so long may it continue! The next weekend, the Wild Bunch held their 24th Annual Prize Presentation at the SnowDome, Tamworth, and it was a fantastic night, enjoyed by all. Many thanks to our great MCs Barry Bohannon and Paul Wright, who did a fantastic job as always calling the winners, reading the citations and adding their own inimitable take on the proceedings. All the various Series winners were presented with their awards, with the 2019 Wild Bunch Series win going to Phil James with the Rampage Funny Car, his second win of this Series in a row. Many congratulations to Phil and the team. One of the biggest winners of the night was Callum Swinchatt who won the Spirit of Nostalgia Challenge Series winner for the first time with his beautiful Kings N/W Topolino altered. He also won the Springbridge MSUK Challenge Series Cup held over the four MSA events in which the Wild Bunch compete. This was his first win of that Series, which is sponsored by Springbridge Direct Ltd to whom many thanks for their Series sponsorship and also sponsorship of some event prize funds and trophies this season. Callum also won the Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series. Many congratulations to Phil and Callum for their wins, and to all those who finished in the top four, and top ten in Wild Bunch. The Wild Bunch would like to thank Bob Hawkins of Springbridge Direct Ltd for his long-standing and ongoing support, and our host of other event trophy and prize money sponsors this season: MJC Property Solutions, Wiz Training, Sutton Soda Blasting, Team East, Team Ratcatcher Racing, Team Ratchet Strap, Coolengineeredart, Christian Frei, and of course Roy Wilding of Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars. There were various other presentations made during the evening, including to Secretary Lynne Coulsell, web site author Ed Yates, and Race Co-ordinator, Treasurer and General Manager Claire Meaddows and for all their hard work. Presents were given to all the lovely ladies attending. Flowers were given to Claire, kindly donated by Mark Coulsell of Team Limited Funz. Special presentations included Keith Crampton to celebrate his achievement of finishing in the top ten of the Wild Bunch for ten years in a row. Well done Keith!! We also celebrated the recent presentation of the Bootsie for the Wild Bunch's Induction in to the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame. This was announced by Paul Wright and our two longest-standing Wild Bunch members attending, Committee members Mark Coulsell and Dave Williams, were asked to receive the Bootsie again on behalf of the whole Wild Bunch. Such a huge honour for our club. In addition, the winners of all the Wild Bunch Special Merit Awards were announced: Big Bang Trophy - Bob Hawkins, Time Traveller II Fastest time by a British-engined dragster (sponsored by Martin Holgate) – Dr Faye Hern, Daddy Cool, 9.442 backed up by a much quicker 9.089 Fastest MPH – Rob Brown, Rebel 161.91 mph with back-up 159.60 Quickest ET – Mark Coulsell, Ballbreaker 8.143 with back-up 8.178) Best Newcomer – Andy Clifford, Snake Eyes Best Dragster/Radical – Phil James, Rampage Best Slingshot – Rob and Pete Brown, Rebel Best Altered - Callum Swinchatt, Kings N/W Best Turned Out – Wrathchild Racing, Rebel Best Achiever - Callum Swinchatt, Kings N/W Perseverance Award – Lee and Mark Hartnell, Metal Mistress, Backdraft and Couped Up Derek and Brenda Annable trophy – Ian, Ozzie and Harrison Brown, Thatadoo Racing C & C Sportsperson - Terry, Ruth, Andy, Rachael and James Clifford Crew of the Year – Alan 'Skippy' Skipp, Cheap Thrills, Bitchcraft, Ballbreaker and more! Scottie Durrant Above and Beyond Award – Craig Larman, The Ferret Personal Achievement (Daddy Cool Sag Award) - Team Ratchet Strap Racing Crazy Chris Showmanship Award – Callum Swinchatt in Kings N/W The greatest Wild Bunch accolade of the evening was, as always, the Don Garlits Spirit of Drag Racing Shield, the most prestigious award in the Wild Bunch, which represents sportsmanship, achievement, perseverance, commitment, presentation and a host of other attributes. 2018 winners Team Rampage presented the Shield to the 2019 winners Wrathchild Racing – Rob, Pete and Hayley and George and Julie Brown. Together they are hugely enthusiastic and passionate about nostalgia drag racing and are committed to fielding a super well turned out slingshot. They are dedicated to the Wild Bunch and show the true spirit of the Club and this award. Huge Congratulations to the whole team of Marras on this achievement, a very popular win! Very well done and very well deserved! We also held a raffle to raise funds for the club, so many thanks to all who donated prizes. The night was rounded out with copious amounts of Champagne for some, dancing, and many cheers, hugs and laughs all round. Many congratulations to all our winners! We can't wait until 2020 to be back out at the drags for the 25th Anniversary season of the Wild Bunch. Full info will be found in due course on the Wild Bunch web site at www.the-wild-bunch.co.uk. Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy, dry, safe and quick New Year to all racers and teams, marshals and officials, track and safety crews, photographers, media, promoters, managers and of course Eurodragster.com staff, who work so hard and have been recently rewarded with their induction into the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame! Thanks to everyone for all they do for this sport of drag racing we all love so much. See you all at the drags next season for our fantastic Silver Anniversary year! Spiderman in a few seconds. 11th December: On the same weekend as the Wild Bunch and other inductees were being fêted at the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Gala, US Top Fuel Bike racer Larry McBride was wowing the bike fraternity with an astounding world best 5.507-second pass. Top Gas racer and regular Eurodragster.com contributor Herman Jolink stole a few minutes with Spiderman before the Man Cup Finals and kindly sent us his notes: "I am building five engines for the Man Cup Finals", Larry told Herman. "We made some changes to the frame and we have been busy with the wheelie bar, little things with nig results. I don't do this just by myself, the whoe team are busy seven days a week and twenty four hours with our drag racing. I also get a lot of help from friends. We live for it!" The work paid off with a sixty foot of 1.014, 330 foot time of 2.528, 3.67/215 eighth and 5.507/257 quarter. Thanks to Jack Korpela for the picture. Welcome Fuel Tech UK. 9th December: We are very pleased to welcome Fuel Tech UK as a sponsor of Eurodragster.com. Trevor Hirst writes: Fuel Tech UK have been importing and reselling Fuel Tech products for three years We  can supply the full range ECUs and accessories. It's no surprise that Fuel Tech is selling so well, as no other system can offer the same features ease of use and value for money. We can offer supply only, with full back-up tech support over the phone in most cases, or we will get back to you by E-Mail in two days. Installation service is offered including making up of wiring looms. Tuning and calibration are available with a 2000 hp rolling road for two and four wheel drive, and 2000 hp land and sea dyno. For more details check out the Fuel Tech UK Facebook page or click on the banner at right. Many thanks to Trevor Hirst for his support. As ever please repay the support of Eurodragster.com sponsors by considering them when shopping for goods or services. FIA regulations update. 9th December: Many thanks to Frans Steilberg for letting us know that, after ratification by the World Motorsport Council, the 2020 Sporting Regulations including the FIA European Drag Racing Championship SFI specs can now be found on the FIA web site at www.fia.com/regulation/category/101. The work having been got out of the way, the FIA then turned their attention to the Championship Gala at which 2019 FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion Anita Mäkelä was joined by Champions of lesser motorsports; many thanks to Lars Pettersson for the pictures, and congratulations again to Anita on her Championship and on her induction into the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame. Raising funds for Melbourne. 9th December: Howard Holmes writes that there is now traction to make significant progress for developing Melbourne Raceway, the new drag strip on the old site of York Raceway: The right team, the right package and the right partnerships are all in place for the successful return of drag racing in the north; the proviso is of course that the funds can be raised. The £100k required was raised before, but the deal fell through so all money was returned to donors. This time all deals are in place, £33k has already been raised and we are putting momentum into the fund-raising to get it across the finish line. To help make this happen, Nomad Drag Racing Club is starting an E-Newsletter with a regular flow of news, updates and fund raising information for car and bike guys, enthusiasts, spanners, spectators and businesses who want to be kept informed about progress and what's happening. Please click here if you'd like to be in the loop and receive the newsletter. As part of the fund-raising drive Jeni Dale is offering a 2020 calendar (left) at £15 including postage and packing. "All profits go straight into the fund", says Jeni. "Please do your bit to secure another track in the UK. You can order via E-Mail at jldale50@gmail.com or via Facebook at www.facebook.com/jldale50." RRC launch new web site. 9th December: Just in time for the PRI Show, Eurodragster.com sponsor Robinson Race Cars have launched a new web site to coincide with a rebrand. Luke Robinson writes: We are excited to announce the all-new web site and branding. Our goal with the new web site at www.robinsonracecars.com is create a user-friendly browsing experience for our trusted and valued customers and business partners, to showcase projects past and present, and to create a platform which can be kept up to date. We also have a new E-Mail address at info@robinsonracecars.com, so please update your contacts. Our phone number remains the same, 01256 880589 (outside the UK +44 1256 880589). Editor's note: We were not able to post a news update over the weekend and now we're all behind. Tune in to the next update, due tomorrow evening, for news from the Wild Bunch and for some words from the legendary Larry McBride courtesy of regular contributor Herman Jolink. Something Funny about Pers. 6th December: Mark Bodimeade writes that Sweden's Patrik Pers will be rejoining the Funny Car wars in 2020: We have just taken delivery of the ex-Bob Bode Funny Car and are looking forward to participating in the 2020 European Nitro Funny Car Series.  The car is already down to a bare chassis and work is underway to build a new roll cage. Rebuild and new paint job will commence early January. Our goal is to have car ready for Easter to compete in the first round of the series. We will release more exciting news in the New Year. In addition to the above we have a totally legal Top Fuel Dragster for sale. This car will come complete minus engine, reverser and cannon, MSD unit and Racepak unit. All cables for the MSD and Racepak will remain. The BDK, slide valve, Al valve and all related fittings will remain with the car. Front and rear wings, headers and Injector to remain too. For more info contact me on 07909 528355. Zeon TV DVDs now shipping. 6th December: Helen Todd and David Coleman, our good friends at Zeon TV, are now shipping their 2019 Season Review DVDs. Six titles are on offer: the European Championship action from the FIA/FIM Main Event and FIA/FIM European Finals, Motorsport UK Pro Modified, The Doorslammers, Dragstalgia and the NSRA Nostalgia Nationals. DVDs are £14.95 each plus P+P and a number of great package deals are available. As ever the front and back covers include photography from Eurodragster.com as well as our good buddy and occasional Contributing Photographer Callum Pudge, and footage is used from our Webster Race Engineering/Nimbus Motorsport webcam. We will post our usual review shortly but it goes without saying that you don't really need to wait as the name Zeon TV guarantees the quality of the product. You can check out clips and order your DVDs at www.quartermilehigh.com. Swift snippets. 6th December: Thanks to Mike Collins for sending us the usual preview of his column in the latest issue of Street Machine magazine, including bonus material exclusively for Eurodragster.com readers. You can check it out by clicking on the images below. Our good buddy Steve Moxley's STP UK National Finals report is now showing on the ACU web site at www.acu.org.uk. Another good buddy, Remco Scheelings, has posted a feature on Tommy Grimes', Per Bengtsson's and the Beast team's Supertwin victory at Valdosta. You can take a look on the Drag Racing Europe Blog by clicking here. Gerry Belton. 3rd December: We were very sorry to hear from Simon and Adi Belton of the death of Gerry Belton, who was instrumental in establishing drag racing in the UK. When Gerry was Public Relations Officer for Allards, Sydney tasked him with organising the International Drag Racing Challenge, which introduced British public to US drag racing, and the 1964 and 1965 Drag Fests. His voice will be familiar to those with a copy of the official recording of the 1964 Drag Fest. As well as Secretary of the British Drag Racing Association Gerry was no mean racer himself driving an Allard Dragon, the Dos Palmas dragster and a 1965 Cobra in his time. Gerry was inducted into the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 2014 and you can read his full citation by clicking here. We had the privilege of meeting Gerry at the 2014 British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Gala and, unsurprisingly, found him a gentleman of the old school and a very interesting storyteller. Gerry's funeral will take place at Taunton Crematorium at 12:30 next Monday (9th). Our deepest sympathies to Simon and Adi and to all of Gerry's family and friends. Tim Mugridge. 2nd December: We were very sorry to hear from Jan Mugridge of the death yesterday of UK Comp Eliminator racer Tim Mugridge. "Tim fought hard to beat his cancer but it was very aggressive and no matter what they threw at it it just kept spreading", says Jan. "He loved you all and he loved the sport." It is fair to say that everyone loved Tim in return. He was a great racer, a cheerful and down-to-earth chap and always ready to help others. It was a privilege to have known Tim. Our deepest sympathies to Jan, Nick, Luke and to all of Tim's family and friends. Earlier news