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1st April:
Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall has come up with a competition that all can enter:During the current situation keeping the spirits of our racers, crew members and spectators, is key. Whilst there are some fantastic videos from Santa Pod and the great looking Doorslammer game featured on these very pages, we at the SPRC have been considering a further set of brain teasers. The first is song lyrics. When we are all allowed back to the track, there is going to be one hell of a party atmosphere, when that will be we don’t know yet but hopefully soon, and as is the norm there will be bands playing at various venues around the track.
Let’s cut to the chase, we have chosen four songs and what we would like you to do is come up with a set of lyrics, but in a Drag Race style, cars, bikes, engines, fuels, races and who knows what can be used, but please keep it for a family audience, so no sweary stuff.
The songs are as follows:
Cars Drive
Eminem Lose Yourself (radio edit - there is a swear word in the original)
Snow Patrol Chasing Cars
Queen Bohemian Rhapsody
Both Ian Hart (Empire) and Joe Kellett (Electric Screams, pictured above) have both put some ideas forward to give you just a taster, please bear in mind they had two days to come up with these, in their words they are okay, but I’m impressed at such short notice, their lyrics are below.
We will have three judges to adjudicate the winners, and there may well be more than one winner, the judges are Ian Hart (Empire), Nitro FM and one other who we are waiting on confirmation.
So see what you can come up with, as there are quite a few existing bands in the drag racing community and several budding bands that we know of, but you don’t need to be in a band or in any way connected to have a go. We are also looking into the possibility that one or more of the new songs are played by bands at the track, more news on that later.
When you have the lyrics please email them to ir.marshall@btconnect.com by the 14th April 2020, we will then compile a short list with the judges and post the list here on Eurodragster.com the final versions, for whom you will get the opportunity to vote for what you consider the best for each title.
Who’s gonna enter first
Into full stage?
Who’s gonna make a move
Before it’s to late?
You must hold on
Knowing, the race is on
Who’s got the winning light
Today?
Who’s got the need for speed?
We’ll soon see...
The stands are on their feet!
It’s showtime...
Who’s gonna get the win?
It’s so tense...
The crowd is going wild!
It’s a PB...
You must hold on
Knowing, the race is on
Who’s got the winning light
Today?
As we close out the day
It’s come to this...
So Who’s got the goods to give For the finale?
You must hold on Knowing, the race is on
Who’s got the winning light
Today?
Oh, you must hold on
Knowing, the race is on
So who’s got the winning light
Today?
We race it all
Everything
Side by side
We don’t need
Lots of laps
To prove who won
If I race here
If I drag race here
Would you race with me and just forget the world
Bring your car
Or your bike
To the strip
Take the lights
A quarter mile
You’ll get the bug
Would you race here
Would you drag race here
I’ll come race with you we’ll just forget the world
Forget about stress
Just enjoy happiness
Racing at Santa Pod there’s no time to be glum
Let’s waste time
Racing cars
Along the strip
You’ll make great friends
And have great times
I promise you
Would you race here
Would you drag race here
I’ll come race with you we’ll just forget the world
Forget about stress
Just enjoy happiness
Racing at Santa Pod there’s no time to be glum
All of the world
In all its variety
Is there with one aim in mind, to enjoy themselves
Doesn’t matter what car
What truck or what bike you race
Just know that the rules are that the quickest wins
Would you race here
Would you drag race here
I’ll come race with you we’ll just forget the world
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody - Santa Podian Rhapsody:
Shall I build a flat head Ford?
Or maybe an SBC?
Built with some trick parts
To provide max velocity
Nothing comes cheap
The bills make you weep you’ll see
Now I’m a poor boy, But I need no sympathy
Because its really quick, really low
Very loud, never slow
Aiming for the win light, Nothing else can matter to me, To me.
Mama – just built a car
With lots of shiny things
H forged rods and beefed up springs
Mama – I had piles of cash
But now I’ve gone and thrown it all away.
Mama – Ooooh
I’m hugely overdrawn
If I don’t make some cash before tomorrow
Get a loan, get a loan, Because racing’s all that matters
Too late, I’ve spent it all
Its beans on toast for tea
No more decent meals for me
Hello everybody at Santa Pod
Gotta make it to the line and take the lights
Mama – ooooh
I don’t want to die
The scrutineers are checking each bolt and weld
I see a little topolino and a van
And a Pop and a rail and of course there’s a Camaro
Great big hemi Blower’s
Children powered by mowers, see
Do the burn out (do the burn out)
Do the burn out (do the burn out)
Do the burn out then we go
Magnifico-o-o-o-o
I’ve got a trans brake This should be easy
He’s got a trans brake but he lacks ability
This should be fun, bet he stalls on the line!
Here I come, creeping in, very very slow
Get in to STAGE and watch the tree lights glow (Into stage)
Get in and watch the tree lights glow (Into stage)
Get in and watch the tree lights glow (Into stage)
Watch the tree lights glow (Into stage)
Watch the tree lights glow (Into stage)
Am-ber Am-ber Am-ber Green
Oh mama mia mama mia mama mia this thing goes
I’ve scared myself there’s a massive lot of horsepower here, in here, in here
So you think its just straight lines and holding the wheel
So you think this whole drag racing thing lacks appeal
Oh baby, can’t explain this thing sanely
Just gotta get out, just gotta get out on the strip
Racing’s all that matters
Anyone can see
Racing’s all that matters
Racing’s all that matters to me
Any time the rain goes
No Fox Given.
1st April:
2019 UK Sportsman ET Champion Daniel Holloway has written in about his new Fox body Mustang which he has acquired in order to be at the quicker end of the class:Before I ended up buying the Fox body, I never had a particular want or desire to own one; I knew they existed of course and I knew they were a cracking platform for a drag car.
Having been involved in drag racing all my life, thanks to ex-Super Pro racer Dave Ward and my Dad Adrian who crewed for him, it was only a matter of time that once I passed my driving test I built up some funds to find a car of my own. September 2016, 21 years old, I'd just finished my apprenticeship and also became employed with what was then the Force India F1 Team (Aston Martin F1 from next year!) and I felt I was in a position to start drag racing myself. I was scrolling through eBay looking at cars I couldn't afford, and this Fox body mustang was for sale, well within budget, running and driving and already came with a Procharger on it.
So I went and had a look at it over in Wisbech, previous owner Kris is a great chap, very honest with what he felt it needed. Before he bought it he'd drive past it every day on the way to work where it was sat under a willow tree degrading by the day. He managed to pry it from the previous reluctant owner, who had bought the Procharger kit for it but hadn't fitted it yet. Kris then set about having any rust professionally repaired, of which there was little of, and repainted the complete underside and engine bay before putting back in the motor, gearbox etc.
It had a rebuilt stock 302ci engine along with Edelbrock Performer heads and 1.7 roller rockers, Edelbrock intake, bigger throttle body, bigger injectors, bigger Walbro In-Tank pump, equal length shorties, custom Magnaflow exhaust with axle dumps and...oh yeah...the Paxton Novi 2000 Procharger. It was running a completely stock C6 transmission with an off the shelf TCI street converter and a completely standard factory 8.8” rear. The car ran and drove, but had absolutely no engine management beyond the stock computer and an FMU to control what was a big increase in air from the Procharger, so was forever hunting at idle trying to keep rpm constant and massively overfuelling. It would also have been a quick way to blow the motor up with no control over the timing. Kris admitted to being out of his depth with the EFI and had lost motivation with the car. So I figured I'd be the one to get the project finished, onto the road and of course the drag strip as per my plan, so a deal was done and I collected the car a few weeks later.Happy days I thought, it needs a small amount doing to it over winter and I'll be out next year (2017). Yeaaaa...no. As me and my Dad began going over the car and looking up online of various parts I'd need to ensure the car ran safely and reliably, it soon became apparent that it needed a lot of work and money thrown at it before it saw a drag strip. I wasn't going to be racing it the next year as planned. A few months went by, throughout which I had been in constant contact with Steve Hulett at Drag Radial Performance in Florida who lets say knows a thing or two, especially about these stock Ford computers my Fox body was running. In a nutshell he gave me a list of parts that I'd need if I was going to be running the car in an optimal state.
My Fox had 30lb injectors, I needed 60lb. The FMU? Put it in the bin. If I'm keeping the stock computer and harness, purchase a reputable piggyback of some description to plug into the stock ecu, buy a blow through MAF (Mass Air Flow) instead of the old draw through, and a blow off valve. Oh and you'll need to add an intercooler too ‘cause that Novi 2000 procharger is going to be producing a chunk of hot air and you don't want to be pumping it straight into the intake. Once you've done all that I can write you a base tune to get you up and running before taking it to the dyno. Blimey I thought! This was quite the step up to what I had in mind before I purchased the car.
I was in two minds for a while on whether to take Steve's advice or not, after all I didn't really know him, but he was recommended by a friend in the community so in the end I bit the bullet and set about buying all the parts he had recommended. I look back on this decision as I type this and think what a good choice I made. He talked me through step by step, all via email using descriptions and diagrams, in his freetime, to the point where when I wrote his base tune to the piggyback the car fired up on the key first time. There was no idle hunting, it wasn't overfuelling anymore, and the sound the blow off valve made was gnarly!But of course all of these changes I had to make took time and more crucially funds to do, which ended up adding another year onto the build. This was mainly because I was doing some part time work on the side of my full time job involving Jaguar F-Type GT4 cars in British GT which meant my weekends where I'd be free to do all this work on the Fox was suddenly taken up. I did however manage to find time to get the factory 8.8 rear over to Hauser where it had fitted an Eaton Truetrac LSD, Ford Racing 3.73 gears and Moser 31 spline shafts along with the tubes welded to the main housing. A pretty billet Ford Racing diff cover and a lick of black paint completed the look.
Going back to Kris, who I bought the Mustang from, he also owned a wicked little black Chevy S10 SS pickup truck, you may know it. My Dad took a liking to the truck when we collected the Mustang but wasn't in a position to offer to buy it, should it be for sale. So roughly about a year on from getting the Fox I phoned Kris, asked if he still had the truck and whether he'd be interested in parting with it. Reluctantly he said he would but that it would cost me, so he named his price to which I said yes I'll have it! So with the Fox needing the work it did, and two events in 2018 not clashing with my British GT work, I entered Sportsman ET at both the Summer Nationals and National Finals with the truck.
It turns out all the years of crewing with Dave Ward in Pro ET and Super Pro ET had taught me something about the art of bracket racing, where I'd lose to eventual winner Ricky Hale in the semi finals at my first meeting in the summer, and go on to win the National Finals against a red-lighting Andy Dibley in the final (sorry Dibs!). My mind was made clear from that point, I'd continue adding the needed parts to the Fox, but I needed to enter the full season in 2019 with the truck. This meant sidelining my part time work, but it was something I was willing to do. The rest as they say is history!September 2019, it'd just ticked over owning the Mustang for three years and it went to John Sleath for a dyno tune. It wasn't all smooth sailing, an unknown wiring fault meant all this time of ownership there was actually no TPS signal to the ECU, but fortunately John was able to sort it out. A few days went by and I hadn't heard anything, so assumed it was either going ok, it was sidelined and he'd had enough or worse! But low and behold a video comes through WhatsApp of the Fox doing a dyno pull, and what a great feeling that was for me and my Dad! It meant everything we'd added to the car over the last few years was working how it should have been. It sounded mega! John ended up having to turn it right down as it was making more boost than anticipated; those who know are aware of what these stock 5.0 blocks can be like! It's losing a wad of power through the big C6 box, but seeing as it's built for bracket racing it's irrelevant. It's still over 500hp which is enough for the engine and to be at the quick end of Sportsman ET; my initial goal when I first bought the car.
Lastly it was time to do something about the bodywork. It was 50 different shades of blue and had silver stripes. I'm the kind of person where sometimes less is more so I wanted to ditch the stripes and just go with a nice colour on its own so the car was at least presentable. It was the 2nd March 2020, Easter was just over a month away and I needed someone to paint the car in that time frame. Whilst nowhere near the closest to me, I made a phone call to Rich Walters and I just about managed to persuade him to agree to painting it, despite his busy schedule, but it needed to be delivered as soon as. I was set on Kona Blue for a long time, which is a darker modern Mustang colour, but I became wary of it being a bit too dark. So in the end I went with a known stunner of a colour, Ford Sonic Blue Pearl, and I'm so glad I changed at the last minute as it came out awesome. Rich also turned the car around in less than two weeks from when I dropped it off to when I picked it up which is some good going. It was a bit disappointing but not unexpected when the Festival of Power was called off given the graft to get the car done in time!
Of course, it's now April 2020, three and a half years on from first getting the Fox and it's finally ready to race but it can't go anywhere due to a certain virus. Do want to say a big thank you to my Dad however, without whom it'd be another 3 years before the car was finished! Stay safe everyone and hope to see you all again at the Pod sooner rather than later!
Welcome to my workshop.
1st April: Box Lane TV, the (now exclusive) supplier of live streaming video to Santa Pod Raceway followers have introduced a ‘Welcome to My Workshop’. Barney Campbell explains:
Calling all Santa Pod Racers! While everyone’s tinkering on their cars and bikes could everyone that’s able to, please record a little bit about their vehicle and give us the low down on any new developments or main features. I've added a guide for those who want something to bounce off but please record the intro saying your car/class etc and we will start editing to use over the spring/summer and in the livestreams.
"Welcome to my Workshop" will be a series of self-shot web based content used for the livestream and for social media to give more depth and knowledge about drag racing and the Santa pod community. As well as much needed insight for fans this would also have an educational aspect aimed at 15-20 yr olds with regards to mechanics.
We have a basic template to help and to give a consistent feel to the videos. Please film in landscape.
We need: Intro to camera with the car/workshop in background either shot selfie or with the camera propped up - and you can be seated, we want to hear about everything.Remember to project your voice and keep your hands out of pockets (behind back looks good if you're not sure - apart from when seated!)
Intro with...
- full name
- vehicle
- class
- [and] Welcome to my Workshop
- The car
- Main features or interesting thing/story
- How it performs in general
- Things you’ve been working on or would like to improve and how it would help performance
- Your current aim and what we can hope to see ie target ET
A wide shot of your car/workshop inside or outside
Three shots of your car 45 degrees off from each other, and shots of the main things you might have mentioned ie wheels, turbo, clutch and if its not too much to start the car up, a slightly longer clip of the engine running.
HOW - hold the camera still like a photo recording for 8 seconds with the object/subject in center, if its an engine part please say what it is so the editor can match it up with the main dialogue.
NOTE - Please download (from Facebook or Youtube) and clip any runs that you may want included and send everything over together as we will be doing multiple edits. Unfortunately it takes too much time away from the edit to find specific runs and we can't add in the large file sizes with the amount of videos we will be doing.
Initially we want to try this with a handful of racers to check the workflow so that with this template we can cover the amount racers we have. For those up for doing more, to start thinking about - Another type of video that we can look at would be 'How To' videos like a cooking tutorial teaching mechanics, for instance taking apart and cleaning bearings on something; imagine a top down shot of your workbench with what tools you’re about to use then you go through taking apart and working on something - these would be slightly longer so we would check we have our workflow right first before we start taking those in.
How to send:
Please send in a folder named Class_Racer Name_Vehicle_Location Country_Workshop Vids. upload via this link - or if it’s easier www.wetransfer.com to barney@boxlaneproductions.com and include your racer details, to avoid the file size limit of emailing. We'll put up a demo and get a livestream going to discuss any ideas and questions in the next couple of days. Thank you, stay safe and we'll have an awesome summer!
Swift snippets.
1st April: We have a special birthday greeting today to Steve Gibbs, organiser of Nitro Revival and former Board Member and Vice President – Competitions of the NHRA who reaches 80 today. Have a great day Steve.
Summit discounts.
1st April: Remco Scheelings of Drag Racing Europe Blog writes: Summit Racing Equipment are one of the most loyal and dedicated supporters of European drag racing. The American company offer discount for all EDRS and FIA racers and their fans.
Summit Racing Equipment started their involvement in European drag racing with the support of multiple FIA European champion Jimmy Ålund. The next step was the contingency partnership with EDRS, followed by the series sponsorship of the Summit Racing EDRS Series. The world’s largest mail order automotive performance equipment company are also the title sponsor of the Summit Racing Equipment Internationals at Tierp Arena.
Summit Racing Equipment offer discount* for all EDRS and FIA racers and their fans.
The promo code is: EDRS
Offer: $ 25 off $ 250 or $ 50 off $ 500 – code will activate either tier
Valid until April 30th, 2020
* some exclusion apply, see website for details
Link to the discount: here.
Statement on FIA Championship.
30th March: Keith Bartlett, Chairman of Drag Racing Europe, has issued the following statement regarding the impact of Covid-19 on the European Drag Racing Championship:
As a result of the Covid-19 virus wreaking havoc and uncertainty across the whole of Europe in recent weeks, including the huge impact on all businesses and travel, especially the outside events and motor sports business, several countries are seriously affected, and major sporting events are already being cancelled.
Following the increased restrictions that have been put in place by the UK Government to combat the Covid-19 epidemic, Motorsport UK last week took the decision to extend its suspension of all motorsport permits until at least 30th June 2020. As a result, Trakbak Racing Ltd, in agreement with the FIA and Santa Pod Racers club, have taken the decision to cancel the Main Event, which was due to be the opening round of the 2020 FIA Drag Racing Championship season scheduled to take place from the 22nd–25th May 2020. While very disappointing, these are necessary steps to control the spread of the virus and we all must do our part.
We are currently waiting to see if the second round of the FIA Championship at Tierp (the Tierp Internationals) to be held on 4th-7th June will still go ahead. The final decision on this will be taken by the Tierp Arena management no later than Friday 10th April.
So, if we assume that the Tierp Internationals (4th-7th June) will go ahead, then the calendar will be as follows:
Round 1 - Tierp Internationals (4th-7th June), Tierp Arena (Sweden)
Round 2 - Summit Racing Internationals (13th–16th August), Tierp Arena (Sweden)
Round 3 - NitrOlympX (28th-30th August), Hockenheim (Germany)
Round 4 - European Finals (10th-13th September), Santa Pod Raceway (UK)
If the first round at the Tierp Arena in June is cancelled, then the calendar will be as follows:
Round 1 - Summit Racing Internationals (13th–16th August), Tierp Arena (Sweden)
Round 2 - NitrOlympX (28th-30th August), Hockenheim (Germany)
Round 3 - European Finals (10th-13th September), Santa Pod Raceway (UK)
DRE will keep you updated on any changes that may arise out of the Covid-19 virus which may affect or bring about changes in the above calendar.
Should the FIA Championship now become a three-round Championship, then we are proposing that the FIA Championship registration fee is reduced from €800 to €500 for entry into the FIA European Drag Racing Championship.
We are all in unprecedented times across the whole of Europe with this pandemic of the coronavirus (Covid-19) and we ask for your support and patience as we seek to deal with this situation as best as we can.
Feature: Gleadow & Galloway Motor Psycho AA/FA.
30th March:
Adam Gleadow whose family have been involved in the sport for over 50 years, is ready to launch the latest incarnation of the series of Fuel Altereds he has campaigned since he joined the class in 2006.In this feature, Adam describes how he converted his altered from the previous Rodeck Big Block Chevy to a Donovan 417 cu in Hemi, and how the chassis, body and were updated to give it a distinctive 70s look, with colours and lettering harking back to the Ford Pop the team campaigned in the 1960s.
You can see our latest feature sponsored by Lucas Oil Products by clicking here or by clicking on the Features, Interviews, Tributes link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.
Swift snippets.
30th March: Drag racing historian Nick Pettitt has uploaded to Youtube Ken Robbins' video from the Santa Pod 1992 World Finals which were sadly curtailed by rain just before the finals, and the 1993 World Finals which includes Top Fuel racer Rico Anthes' 'blowover'.
Swinchatt online champ.
28th March:
Eurodragster.com honorary member Spencer Tramm says that drag racing is happening in a virtual environment, thanks to the efforts of Billy Everitt:Just as everyone is having to find new ways of staying in touch Drag Racers are no different and to kill some time whilst we wait for the season to begin a group of drivers, riders and crew headed by Billy Everitt are using the popular online racing game ‘Doorslammers 2’ to pass the time. The game allows you to buy, build and tune a series of cars. If you have a mobile device and you want something to while away the hours it’s well worth looking into.
Last night the first round of the RRRC (Rip Rap Racers Club) named after the fictional race track the game is set on had 16 drivers trying to take the first championship round title. After a random draw pair first round Jack Gooding, Harley Coulsell, Lloyd Perkins, Aaron Fensome, Jordan Kenway, Marc Smith, Thomas Cook-Abbott and Billy Everitt (redlighting by 4 ten thousandths) were first to fall.
Round two saw Dan Bennett, Aaron Springford, Sam Innes and Pete Walters sidelined, Aaron losing to a perfect light by Spencer Tramm. The Semi Finals had Callum Swinchatt vs Spencer Tramm and Craig Wright vs Joe Holland-Villa. Callum grabbed 2 hundredths on the tree, Spencer ran dead on the dial but lost out to Callum by 0.01, Semi 2 was decided by a 0.007 breakout by Craig Wright sending Joe through to meet Callum.In the final Callum went from Wild Bunch champ to online racing champ as it was over on the startline when Joe went red by 0.002 (see picture above) handing the automatic win to Callum in his dragster (see picture above) The plan is to have a few more races over the coming days and weeks, but hopefully we are all back at the real track soon!
Nitro Revival postponed.
28th March:
Many thanks to Eurodragster.com sponsor Geoff Stilwell for letting us know that due to the Covid-19 outbreak the Nitro Revival nostalgia event originally planned to take place at Irwindale Drag Strip, California on 15th-16th May, has been postponed to Saturday 7th November at the same venue.In a video posted on Facebook, organiser Steve Gibbs said, “The coronavirus situation is going to make it impossible for us to conduct the event in May. We made the decision to wait until things stabilise and settle down sufficiently, and we can then have the event under good circumstances, and feel comfortable having a reunion with everyone getting together. All tickets issued will be good for the new date and we intend to conduct the event as originally planned”.
Swift snippets.
28th March: Santa Pod Raceway have been adding to their video archive by uploading videos of the 2007 FIA European Finals, comprising four videos of Top Fuel Dragster and Pro Mod, Top Methanol Funny Car and Dragster, Top Fuel Bike and Super Twin, and Pro Stock and Pro Stock Bike. Videos can be seen on SPR's Youtube channel or Facebook.
Also posting to Youtube is VeeDubRacing aka Simon Letkey, who has posted his Top 15 Volkwagen Audi Group, and Top 20 non-VAG cars that he has filmed. See what they are by clicking the link.
Race fan and motorsports photographer Paul Bryan has posted to Flickr 115 photos from his visit to Don Garlits drag racing museum. Paul says 'there is so much history in one building it’s unreal and the adjacent vintage car collection also a must for any petrolhead'. You can see Paul’s pics here. Also due to cancellation of Gators, Paul went to Bradenton Motorsports Park on the Saturday night (14th March) for a ‘Florida Street Scene’ meet and posted 107 photo’s of the evening's event with some cool doorslammers here.
SPRC announcement.
26th March: Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall has sent us a further update as to the suspension of the UK drag racing season as a result of the coronavirus outbreak:
Following the decisions of Motorsport UK to cancel permits up until 30th June and the ACU until 31st May, it’s clear that the race season is still under threat until who knows when, therefore, as mentioned in our previous update, we ask that racers don’t enter any further events at present, this is purely to help us from having to return the entry fees with the associated costs that this incurs. Those racers that have entered the Springspeed Nationals and Main Event will of course be reimbursed their entry fees.
Once we have a clearer idea of what will happen in the future, we will of course be in touch to give you as much notice as is possible as to the first event at which we are able to begin racing.
Please also keep checking the Santa Pod Raceway website for details of testing or RWYB events, should they become available due to how the calendar falls, as it may well be before race events are allowed to resume.
Clearly the race season will be foreshortened in 2020 however Santa Pod Raceway and SPRC are looking at options should they become available. We will publish more news on this when we have a better idea of when the season can begin.
We say again - please stay safe, help whoever you can safely and we hope to see you all soon.
Message from the CEO.
26th March: Santa Pod Raceway CEO Keith Bartlett has posted the following statement on the same topic:
As a result of the Covid-19 virus wreaking havoc and uncertainty across the whole country in recent weeks this leading to the temporary suspension of nearly all leisure activities across the whole events industry, Santa Pod Raceway and its schedule of events for the first quarter of the season has been literally wiped out.
This is unprecedented territory for Santa Pod Raceway and all of our staff, loyal fans, spectators, race teams and partners. In the 25 years since purchasing Santa Pod Raceway we have never had to face anything like this but we know we are not alone.
We are in a virtual shutdown to at least the 30th April and more likely for a longer period taking us into the early summer.
If ever there was ever a time when Santa Pod needed your support, it is now. We are asking you help us through this crisis by accepting the full credit values that we will be offering to every single one of our customers who have purchased advance tickets to affected events.
As so many of our loyal fans know Santa Pod Raceway is the only remaining full-time Drag Strip in the UK and the most well-known drag racing facility anywhere outside of the USA. Our venue is today recognized as one of the best value entertainment facilities in the UK and we want to remain in that position. We are determined to deal with this situation in a positive manner until this virus is finally beaten!
On behalf of Santa Pod Raceway and all the staff I would like to thank you for all the support we have had over the past decades and sincerely hope we can count on your support. Help us to get through this - and in return we will continue to bring you the most exciting events in motorsport and entertainment in the UK.
Best Regards Keith Bartlett, CEO – Santa Pod Raceway.
Editor’s comment: Before the season gets under way, racers can help publicise sponsors by sending your news and acknowledgements to Eurodragster.com, and fans can help keep our news pages alive by letting us know when you have posted photos and video. When the season commences, all head towards the track, because the racing will just be amazing!
RWYB gallery.
26th March: Many thanks to contributing photographer Callum Pudge for forwarding 64 photos from last Saturday’s Santa Pod Raceway Run What Ya Brung. Outstanding runs came from Lee Connor’s wheelstanding ten second Lotus Elise with a turbocharged Rover K series engine (running on 14psi boost as Lee is dialling it in), Chloe Wilkin’s new Eye Candy dragster on her licensing passes for Pro ET, and an unfortunate Honda Civic driver whose rods decided to ‘self isolate’.
Swift snippets.
26th March: Many thanks to Mike Collins for sending us his 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:
Kieran has posted another Youtube compilation video on his Mk1Kieran channel, this time consisting of a Drag Kart Racing Compilation from both Santa Pod Raceway and Shakespeare County Raceway. You can catch Kieran’s video by clicking here.
Drag racing historian Nick Pettitt, to whom we wish a belated Happy Birthday for yesterday, has been busy posting footage from 1990s UK events. In the last week we have a compilation of Harlan Thompson at Santa Pod Raceway from 1993, and almost two hours of action from Avon Park Raceway’s October 1994 ‘Night of Fire’, filmed in daylight, no doubt due to the track curfew.
Race fan and motorsports photographer Paul Bryan has posted to Flickr 132 photos from the single day of the 2020 NHRA Gatornationals that spectators were allowed to attend as a result of the virus outbreak. You can see Paul’s pics here.
Santa Pod update.
23rd March: Santa Pod Raceway have this morning published the following update on future events: Due to the current Coronavirus outbreak, it is with deep regret that Santa Pod Raceway announces that all events at Santa Pod up to April 30th are suspended.
We ask all our customers to be patient with us at this time and NOT to flood our Box Office with calls and emails when pressure is at its highest as this could be counterproductive. Rest assured, we will be contacting all customers with further details on arrangements regarding tickets and rescheduled event dates. We would like to thank you for your understanding during these very challenging circumstances.
We are absolutely devastated to not be running these season opening events given the far-reaching impact it will have; not forgetting the financial implications and the huge amount of preparation and work that our staff, teams and fans have put into the planning. It is only with your support that we can host the shows and race events that we all know and love.
Your enjoyment is our priority so please refer to the Essential Information/Terms and Conditions relating to the purchase of tickets and general guidance for attending our venue. For the latest news, go to this page.
HOFtalk 9 published.
23rd March:
The Spring 2020 edition of HOFtalk, the magazine of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame, has been published by compiler, UK Nostalgia enthusiast and director of the BDRHoF Jerry Cookson. In it you can read about all the news from the 14th annual BDRHoF Gala night and Bench Race, a retrospective look at the same event that occurred in 2007, and part 1 of Editor and Race Reporter Simon’s interview of BDRHoF members Clive Skilton and Carl Olson with Mike Kuhl with additional pictures.The regular features of HOFdiaries, HOFpeople and HOFtributes are joined by a new column from Hot Rod Bob Beck who we plan to see at Dragstalgia in July, all being well. To read the packed latest 31 page edition of HOFtalk (in pdf format, file size 16MB) you may download it from here, or click on the Lucas Oils-sponsored Features, Interviews, Tributes link on the left hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.
Fuelin' Around T-Shirt available.
23rd March:
Jim Kelly, author of the biography-come-industry-survey Fuelin' Around (reviewed on 7th January 2019), has expanded his product line with sales of a very fetching t-shirt:"Whether you fuel with nitro, race gas, diesel, alky, or just enjoyed the very popular book, wear the Fuelin' Around colors and let the world know you're a hot commodity. Based on the non-fiction novel of the same name, this Gildan high-quality t-shirt is now available starting at $19.95 in adult sizes ranging from medium through 3X online at JKKelly.com".
Shops limiting access.
23rd March: Eurodragster.com sponsor Jon Webster writes: "While the current situation is unprecedented and devastating for many, isolation is the logical thing to do. Webster Race Engineering will be following the recommended guidelines for the foreseeable future. While it is still possible to be at the workshop, we are trying to limiting access to essential visits only (customer project, pickup and collection included) and by appointment only on 01234 918301; if access is essential, sanitation facilities are available on entry. Social distancing will be respected.
Jon added: “On a positive note, there is enough work to last seven or eight months and I’m getting loads done!” Best wishes to everyone".
Stop press: our sponsors Robinson Race Cars (tel. 01256 880589) and friends Nick Davies and Rob Loaring at I.C.E. Automotive (tel 01327 858992) have issued similar notices requesting visitors to call and arrange an appointment in advance.
Video update.
23rd March: In our regular update recommending videos to view in the absence of live racing, there are two posted in the last couple of days which are of particular interest:
Our new team member Kieran has posted a Rotary Drag Racing Compilation to his Youtube channel which now boasts over 30,000 subscribers (congratulations, Kieran – Ed.). Kieran writes: Who doesn't love the sound of a rotary on two step? This compilation contains clips I've filmed over the years but mainly at Hal Far Raceway as the rotary drag scene isn't as big over here in the UK. Enjoy, more compilations coming soon!
On a nostalgic note, drag racing historian Nick Pettitt has posted a video of the 1992 World Finals from Santa Pod Raceway comprising Anglia TV coverage.
Swift snippets.
23rd March: Retired News Editor Tog has been in touch to say a Happy Birthday with hugs to his bestie Karen Brumby for today, and a special 21st Happy Birthday for tomorrow (24th March) to Pro Mod enthusiast and colour commentator Lucy Moore.
Carabott up for whole season.
21st March: Matthew Carabott will make his debut in the FIA European Drag Racing Championship as the driver of the famous Maltese Mr. Whippy Racing Top Methanol Dragster, reports Remco Scheelings. Carabott, who made his licencing runs last year at Santa Pod Raceway, will get off to a flying start of his career with a full season in competition, as the team have planned to take part in all five rounds of the FIA European Championship.
“The Mr. Whippy Racing team can confirm that we will be doing all rounds of the FIA European Championship in the Top Methanol class. We will be doing this championship for the 4th time. The previous results were as follows: runner-up in 2001, champion in 2012 and runner-up in 2014,” said Matthew Carabott, son of team owner Joe Carabott. The personal bests of the Mr. Whippy Racing Top Methanol Dragster are 5.278 seconds (Santa Pod Raceway, 2014) and 271 mph (Auto Club Raceway, Pomona, California, 2016).
In all those years Monty Bugeja was the driver and tuner of the Mr. Whippy Racing car after he and his company Power House Garage teamed up with Joe Carabott back in year 1990. But in this year’s championship campaign there will be some major changes in the Mr. Whippy Racing team as Matthew Carabott will be the driver and Monty Bugeja will be the tuner. Matthew Carabott is the son of team owner Joe Carabott and impressed with his driving style when he made his licencing runs at Santa Pod Raceway last year.
ARP to sponsor Rat Trap Racing.
21st March: Ron Hope, owner and driver of the legendary AA/Fuel Altered Rat Trap, has announced a new sponsorship relationship with ARP Automotive Racing Products, which will. amongst other objectives, aid Ron's plan to bring his team over to the UK to race at Dragstalgia in July.
“Rat Trap Racing has been using ARP Automotive Racing Products for years.” Said Hope. “ARP has supported us in the past with product, however, we have reached an agreement whereby ARP will become even more involved with RatTrapRacing.com.”
ARP, the world leader in fastener technology, was formed in 1968 by racing enthusiast Gary Holzapfel who saw that fastener failure was the cause of many of his friends’ broken engines. At the time, there were no commercially available studs and bolts up to the task. Holzapfel therefore called upon his many years as a leading aerospace fastener subcontractor to form ARP (Automotive Racing Products).
“This is a hugely exciting for Rat Trap Racing.” Said Hope’s son Brian who is crew chief and part-time driver of both Rat Trap and Rich Guasco’s Pure Hell AA/FA. “Our use of ARP fasteners has grown steadily and we shall be installing ARP equipment exclusively on Rat Trap and the four land speed cars.” Bob Florine, executive vice president and director of sales and marketing at ARP said, “I’ve been watching the Rat Trap team for years now and with their aggressive international race schedule it seemed only natural that we work together as they travel the world and promote our products.”
With acknowledgements to Dragzine.com.
Swift snippets.
21st March: There are some great videos that have been posted to social media sites if you are stuck at home or waiting for parts for your latest project. First off, Santa Pod Raceway have posted to Facebook the four episodes of the TV production of the FIA Main Event in 2006. You can see how young everybody looked 14 years ago by clicking here.
On a similar theme, Nick Pettitt who has been producing the excellent Time Travel series of DVDs documenting the history of British drag racing and hot rodding, has posted footage from the 1995 NSRA Nostalgia Nationals at Avon Park, filmed by Keith Taylor of First Image Video.
Finally, for those who like reading results of historic race meetings, we have located on the web complete final qualifying and elimination results of the NitrOlympX from Hockenheim in 2003-2009, which can be reached via this link.
Important SPRC announcement.
20th March: Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall has been in touch with more information and advice about the coming season and entry for planned events: Sadly, the Festival of Power, as you know, has had to be cancelled, and we now look to the future to see when we will be in a position to begin the 2020 racing season.
As things stand, we don’t have an answer to this question, but would like to pass on the following information.
SPRC are in the process of returning all entry fees for the Festival of Power, there are many card repayments already on their way, however they will take 5-7 days to reach card accounts. Some cards will take a little longer to process them and, as you can imagine, transfers of money have to go back and forth to facilitate the payments being returned. As such, refunds may take a few days more, but please rest assured they have been returned. If however you have not had your refund (card payment) by the month end please get in touch through the usual means of contact.
Those who have sent cheques, if you wish for them to be returned please get in touch, they have been effectively cancelled, but please let me know if that’s a problem. BACS payments are, if not already with you, on their way, and I may well have been in contact via phone or text message.
Currently, we have no information as to when we can get the season started as stated earlier, so, we would ask that Racers not to enter the Springspeed Nationals or Main Event for the time being. The reason for this is the cost of returning your entry fees, due to card payments having a fee that we cannot pass on to UK customers. Therefore when we return the fees we our losing 2% of the overall entry fees paid.
We could retain the fees for further events, but right now the money is better off back in your accounts.
What we also intend to do is when possible open the entries for the Springspeed Nationals (assuming it is able to go ahead) and allow entries to be made up until 3 days prior to the event, this will however mean that if you do need to enter late, all tickets will be on the gate, due to time constraints around the postal service.
Santa Pod Raceway will as usual keep you updated on test and RWYB days, should they remain available. We will endeavour to keep you up to date with information when we have it, of course if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch, the SPRC office will remain open for the duration. Stay Safe, keep well and we look forward to seeing you all at the track in the near future.
The Lion to roar again.
20th March: The Maltese Lion is ready to rumble again, reports Remco Scheelings:
After a one year break, Duncan Micallef will be back in action in the FIA European Top Fuel Championship this season. The 2017 FIA European champion will not be able to do the full tour, but will definitely be at The Main Event, the NitrOlympX and the European Finals. Micallef will get his first taste of nitro at the Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway. The Maltese Lion will feel comfortable, as he will run his familiar red 2017 championship winning RF Motorsport car again.
“After a year out from the drag racing scene, I felt that I cannot live without it. Especially with so many ladies without having a Lion in the field,” Duncan Micallef starts the story of his comeback. Micallef claimed his first FIA European Top Fuel Championship in 2017, won three races, was crowned Maltese Sportsman of the Year for the second consecutive time and had numerous prize giving galas to attend with the official FIA Prize Giving ceremony in Versailles, Paris, as a highlight. In 2018 the Maltese Lion struggled with some bad luck and decided to take a break from drag racing. But that didn’t mean he was out of motorsport competition.
“In 2019 I competed in a different form of motorsports. I started monitoring my boys Jacob and Isaac in karting and they are doing very, very well. After a few weeks I ended up practising with them and I had a target. At my age, competing with teens at the age of 15 to 25, is not easy. I fractured my ribs four times during the year and at one point I had an accident and broke three ribs, which put me away for two months. One week to go to the World Finals and I was undecided to go or not, but finally decided to go for it. It was against the best of the best over 32 years old. I had eight days at the track and believe me, that was really painful. Doing over 400 kms at full contact in less than eight days is very hard. I ended up with painkillers and massages to keep myself there. I was placed mid-table and that was really good for me when you consider that it was my first time competing in a very professional way,” said Micallef about his year in karting.
“At the back of my mind I always kept saying that drag racing is a different zoo, and Top Fuel is an animal which you cannot describe, in terms of what we are dealing with. Top Fuel gave me a lot and after a year struggling to find my fitness in one of the most brutal physical motorsports (karting), I decided that now I am more than ever ready for the Top Fuel fight. Unfortunately I will not do the full championship as I have the Sicilian kart championship with my children at the same time. I will be doing The Main Event, Hockenheim and the European Finals.”
Micallef will be behind the wheel of one of the Rune Fjeld Motorsport cars. And it’s a familiar one as it is his 2017 championship winning car, the red car Antti Horto drove in Kauhava 2019. “I’m sure that the young chap with the white hair will give me a car to give my competitors a good challenge!”
“I hope that this coronavirus will pass soon and we say a prayer to those who are fighting to stay with us. We have to unite in this very hard time, cause when the sun shines again, we will rock the world with some 20,000 bhp on the start line!”
VP continues supply.
20th March:
VP Racing Fuels Inc have announced it will continue to supply race fuels, coolants, lubricants and additives to race series and teams, despite the economic challenges caused by Covid-19. VP continues to maintain sufficient inventory and transportation to supply all professional and amateur race customers around the world."Product quality and delivery excellence are what we're known for," stated Alan Cerwick, VP's President and CEO. "Amidst this challenging business climate, we remain committed to providing our race and retail customers with product availability and on-time delivery to support their business operations. Our product demand remains stable, and we continue to sign new race series and distribution relationships in 2020."
Over the past several weeks, VP has signed new agreements with World Racing League and American Flat Track and continues to fuel high profile series and events that are recognized around the world including the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, IMSA, SCORE, DIRTcar, MotoAmerica, AMA Supercross, NHRA Sportsman classes, and hundreds of other series and tracks in North America as well as around the world.
"We congratulate the NHRA for their recent decision to offer competitors in the Competition Eliminator category a choice of fuel by adding VP's C-25 at their National and Divisional events," offered Bruce Hendel, VP's Vice President, North American Sales - Race Fuel and Consumer Products. "We are also excited to highlight our race lubricants and performance additives by sponsoring the VP Racing Lubricants Xtreme Pro Mod class in NMCA and the VP Racing Madditives® Street Outlaw class in NMRA."
VP's growing line of performance products include lubricants, brake fluid, additives, and appearance products. In the coming weeks, VP will also be making a series of exciting announcements expanding its relationship with IMSA and deepening its commitment to the UK race and performance market. VP produces over 70 high-quality blends of racing fuel products to serve the very diverse types of engines and competition that race in America and around the world.
In the UK you can contact VP via Darren Prentice at Santa Pod Raceway or Race Fuel Logistics on 020 7458 4219 and info@racefuel.online.
Swift snippets.
20th March: Photo-journalist Steve Moxley has posted a report and pictures of the NSRA Hot Rod Drags last September on the Eat My Ink web site.
Crew chief of Green Goblin Racing and SFI Inspector Lars-Göran "LG"Eriksson has produced an thirteen page account of the team's season with racer and car builder Mats Eriksson which you can see here (pdf format)
Ed Garlits.
20th March: The British Drag Racing Hall of Fame is sad to report that Ed Garlits, brother of BDRHoF member Don Garlits, passed away on March 18th. Don had been with Ed every day since he went into hospital. Ed was moved to a hospice on the night of the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame banquet and Don was unable attend the ceremony in order to be with Ed.
Ed Garlits was born on December 30, 1933, in Limona, Florida and entered into the sport of drag racing in 1952 after serving in the United States Marines. In his first competition he raced a 1932 Buick powered, Ford Roadster. Wanting to go faster, Ed installed the Buick engine into a C/Gas Dragster that he and Don built-in Don’s Garage in Tampa. Ed christened the car “The Banana”. In the car’s first event in Miami, Florida, Ed won Florida State Championship event. Ed and Don would build several versions of the “Swamp Rat Too” dragster that Ed would subsequently drive. The “Swamp Rat Toos” would carry Ed to four Florida State Championships (1957,1958,1960,1961) and an AHRA National Gas Championship in 1961.
Ed then had to make the hard decision to continue racing - or get married. Ed chose to get married and retired from driving. During this time, he took over the running of Don’s Garage so that Don could go racing full-time.
After he divorced, Ed jumped back into drag racing not as a driver, but as the Crew Chief for Don from 1974-1978. Although he missed out on Don’s tours of Europe in 1976 and 1977, 1978 was a very successful season for Don, winning the Gatornationals and U.S. Nationals with Ed turning the wrenches. In 1992 Ed would again return to drag racing by again being a member of Don’s crew. For the next three years, Ed was the clutch man on the Swamp Rat 32 and Swamp Rat 34 mono-wing dragsters. Ed’s mechanical knowledge was an attribute to the success of his brother’s racing career.
On March 12, 2009, Ed was inducted into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame for his accomplishments as a driver, and the success he had as the Crew Chief and a Crew Member for his brother’s racing team.
In the early 2000’s Ed was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Ed fought the long and hard battle for about 20 years, but unfortunately on Wednesday, March 18, 2020, after this long fight Ed passed away. He is survived by his sons Eddie, Billy, and David Garlits; grandchildren, great-grandchildren, brother Don and nieces Gay Lyn Capitano and Donna Garlits.
Santa Pod Raceway suspend events.
19th March: Santa Pod Raceway have issued an update on future events arising from the current coronavirus (COVID-19) situation:
Due to the current coronavirus outbreak, it is with deep regret that Santa Pod Raceway announces the following events at Santa Pod are suspended:
- Straightliners - Sun 22nd March
- The Fast Show (inc. Sat Night Special) - Sat 28th/Sun 29th March
- Mimms Honda Day – Sun 5th April
- Festival of Power (inc. Test Day) - Friday 10th/Sunday 12th April
- GTI Spring Festival – Sun 19th April
We ask all our customers to be patient with us at this time and not to flood our Box Office with calls and emails when pressure is at its highest as this could be counterproductive. Rest assured, we will be contacting all customers with further details on arrangements regarding tickets and rescheduled event dates. We would like to thank you for your understanding during these very challenging circumstances.
We are absolutely devastated to not be running these season opening events given the far-reaching impact it will have; not forgetting the financial implications and the huge amount of preparation and work that our staff, teams and fans have put into the planning. It is only with your support that we can host the shows and race events that we all know and love.
FoP: Motorsport UK and ACU statements.
17th March: Santa Pod Racers Club have passed on statements received by governing bodies Motorsport UK and ACU which we reproduce below. The effect of these is that sadly both Motorsport UK and ACU have found it necessary as a result of the coronavirus crisis to remove the permits for the Festival of Power on 10th-12th April. Santa Pod Racers Club will issue a further statement in the next two days as to potential options, if any, are available for the Easter Weekend.
Santa Pod Raceway have released an updated statement on planned activities will be released on 18th March stating "at the present time this Saturday's RWYB Public Track Day (March 21st) is going ahead. Sunday's Straightliners event (March 22nd) is cancelled due to ACU restrictions". Updated SPR information will be posted at santapod.co.uk/coronavirus.php.
Motorsport UK statement.
It is with regret that Motorsport UK is suspending all organising permits and Certificates of Exemption until at least 30th April 2020. This suspension follows the latest guidance issued by HM UK Government in response to the outbreak of COVID-19. This position will be constantly reviewed given prevailing information.
As the National Governing Body, we would ask all Motorsport UK members to act responsibly and follow the Government’s guidance during this difficult time.
We thank all of our members, organisers, officials, volunteers, staff and their families for their support during these unprecedented times. We will continue to monitor the situation and will resume sporting activity as soon as we are able. We also have a responsibility and duty of care to our staff who will be working from home, so please be patient with any queries you may have.
David Richards, chairman of Motorsport UK, explained, “Clearly we live in challenging times and exceptional measures are required. The decision to suspend Motorsport UK permits on a temporary basis is not one that was taken lightly as the industry employs many thousands of people. However we have an over-riding responsibility to our members and the friends and families of our community. Furthermore, our social responsibilities extend to the broader population and the potential drain on valuable public health resources on which we are all reliant.
“The situation is very fluid and we will continue to monitor developments over the coming weeks and hope that we can resume the annual motorsport calendar at the opportune moment. In the immediate short term our efforts need to be focused on ensuring that the industry that backs up the sport has the financial support that it requires from the Government in order that it can be sustained beyond this extraordinary scenario.”
ACU statement.
It is with regret that the ACU are suspending all competition and social activity until 30th April 2020, but this will be constantly reviewed. This is in response to the emerging guidance issued by HM UK Government in response to the outbreak of COVID-19.
All permits for events during this time will be cancelled and reimbursed in full to the organising club/promoter.
As the National Governing Body would ask all ACU Members to act responsibly and follow the Government’s guidance during this difficult time. We have a responsibility and duty of care to our staff who will be working from home, so please be patient with any queries you may have.
As of writing (17th March 2020) HM Government have advised:
- Persons to work from home where possible.
- People over the age of 70 to minimise social contact.
- Emergency services will not support mass gatherings.
- Stop non-essential travel.
- Avoid pubs, clubs, restaurants and cinemas.
Full FIA tour for Susanne.
17th March: Remco Scheelings reports that Susanne Callin is aiming at racing the whole FIA Championship tour in 2020:
After a 14-year break from the FIA European Top Fuel Championship, Susanne Callin made her comeback last season to see if the feeling was still there and if driving a Top Fuel car was really what she missed so much in all those years. Everybody knew the answer in advance and as expected, after only two runs there was the confirmation. As a result, the comeback is definite and Callin will do the full FIA European Top Fuel Championship in 2020! “Testing days are over and I am all in!” said a determined Susanne Callin.
Susanne Callin made her first test runs in the Rune Fjeld Motorsport Top Fueler at last year’s Festival of Power. “There is nothing that is even close to the feeling of being in one of those storming cars, which is something I definitely have missed!” Callin said after completing a few runs. As planned before the comeback, the outings in the FIA European Top Fuel Championship were limited to The Main Event and the European Finals, the two races at Santa Pod Raceway, Callin’s home track as she is married to Keith Bartlett. Looking at her way of driving, the fun she had at the track and the response of the fans, it was loud and clear that there was more to come in 2020.
And that more is a lot more as Callin will do the full FIA European Top Fuel Championship this season and will also drive the Slick Tricks Racing RF Motorsport nitro car at the Festival of Power. “I will be doing the whole season this year, which is due to start at Easter, with Rune. Last year was about easing back into things and have a little go at driving, but from here on so are testing days well over and I am all in! I’m looking forward to it. We should totally be capable of fighting in the top, so the goal for the season is to win. I’m in it to win. Me and the Junior Dragster girls, our daughters Lara and Jacqueline, are sponsored by and running out of Santa Pod Raceway under the Slick Tricks Racing banner, just like last year. The whole Corona situation is very worrying, but we still hope it will be possible to make the first runs of the season at Easter.”
Pictures ©Julian Hunt and ©Remco Scheelings
RWYB update.
17th March: Santa Pod Raceway's dedicated web site for Run What Ya Brung racers has been updated with a report of the successful Dial In Day on 7th March.
Also live on the site from today is an update to the 2020 RWYB Challenge for cars and bikes from Sunday 15th March's RWYB, the car section being led by Jordan Kinghorn and his Chevrolet S10 with 9.8304/133.37 and the bikes by Kevin Wright's 9.492/150.56. Points are scored on the basis of best times at each of ten events in the season.
Event entry update.
15th March: Many thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall for sending us version 6 of the official entry list for the Festival of Power. You can check out the entry list by clicking here. Entry closes on Friday, 20th March, after which entry, if accepted may be subject to a late entry penalty. You can find the official on-line entry form via the Entry Forms page of the new Santa Pod Racers Club web site here.
New SPRC class sponsors.
15th March: Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall says that following on from the update on class title sponsors on 7th March, SPRC are pleased to confirm Springbridge Direct Ltd as title sponsor for The Wild Bunch class in 2020.
Springbridge Direct Ltd has been supplying high quality topsoil using the finest constituents for over 25 years. As well as screened and blended topsoil, Springbridge also supplies quality turf, barks, composts and a large range of aggregates in either bulk bags or loose loads. A general bulk and grab haulage service is also always available at extremely competitive rates.Springbridge’s own fleet of low-carbon lorries can deliver to your site, anywhere in the south east, including London and to all low-emission zones. Springbridge will help you save time and money on your next outdoor project. You can call them on 0333 456 1919 for full details, or contact them via their web site www.springbridgedirect.co.uk. Thanks to Bob Hawkins for getting involved.
Ian would also like to say a big Thank You to Ben and Kenny of Engine Data Analysis (Unit 10, Ashley Estate, Carr Wood Rd, Castleford WF10 4SR, 01977-516622) for not only confirming their 2020 Sponsorship of the Comp Eliminator class in the UK, but also doubling their 2019 contingency payout for the 2020 race season.Swift snippets.
14th March: A big Happy Birthday for tomorrow (Monday 16th March) to honorary Eurodragster.com member, SPR two-seater crew member and multiple bike Champion John Hackney. Have a great day Hackers!
Smeatharpe Saturday.
14th March:
If you see this early enough on Saturday 14th March, then why not head on down to Dakota Raceway Southwest, Smeatharpe Airfield, Devon EX14 9AF where a RWYB Drag and drift event organised and promoted by Straightliners and supported by Eurodragster.com sponsor LA Racing Parts gets under way in the morning.All vehicles are welcome to run at Dakota Raceway. There will be drag racing , drifting , show & shine , club stands and a burnout competition. You can take part and drag race your own vehicle (helmet and full driving licence required) or spectate. Admission is £10 per person, kids go free. For racers additional charges are 1 run £15, 3 runs £25, unlimited runs £45, passengers rides £25. Show & shine and club stand participants only have to pay the admission charge. Track action takes place 9.30am to 4pm.
Other planned events are on 22nd April, 20th July, 5th October and 9th November. For more information go to straightliners.events or the Dakota Raceway Southwest FB page.
For those with only Sunday free, the Run What Ya Brung at Santa Pod Raceway will taking place on 15th March, with entrance and sign on from £35.
SFI inspection in Sweden.
14th March: Many thanks to Lars-Göran “LG” Eriksson of ME Racing Service AB who has sent a report on the Swedish SFI inspection day:
As a result of coronavirus’s impact in Europe, the SFI made a decision to cancel their Tour, which always had stops in the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden and England with SFI officials attending. However, ME Racing Service AB (MERS) in Sweden and Robinson Race Cars in the UK have worked with the SFI over 30 years and SFI have a lot of confidence in us. So the SFI decided to let MERS and RRC carry out the SFI recertification in Sweden and England. Andy, Luke, Mats and myself have worked together with Jennifer Faye from SFI on the SFI Tour for many years, so this was not a big change for us.
As things worked out, we did not have to travel to other countries this year. On a normal SFI Tour I have five flights, that means that I need to go through ten airports. I am not so afraid of the virus for myself. But I think about the people around us and our companies. For example, it would have been a bad scenario have been to be quarantined at the hotel in Amsterdam for two weeks. I couldn’t meet my family or go to work and the SFI Tour would have been completely cancelled. So this time the other countries collected their parts and came to Sweden or the UK.
In Sweden we have been at Persåkers Speed Shop in the past, and were also there this year. We had a good amount of parts from Sweden, Denmark and Norway as we used to have, but not so much as it could be in some years. So fortunately we were able, without problems, to recertify parts from Finland and Germany as well this year during last weekend. This is due to parts having different recertification years; resulting in different numbers of parts from year to year. In some years we have the same amount of parts in Sweden as Netherlands, Finland and England together, as Sweden is big in drag racing.
If SFI had not let us recertify parts, then we would have had to send our parts to USA and even to different manufacturers. So SFI have made this SFI Tour a special service for the racers in Europe and they have told us that the Tour will continue as usual next year.
Thank you to everybody that helped us out to make the recertification successfully during these circumstances. A special thank you to Jennifer Faye and SFI to let us do this. As we had a lot of parts to recertify, we also had a bigger and experienced team to help us out in Sweden. They worked both Saturday and Sunday to make this happen. Thanks to Roland Forsberg (Svensk Dragracing), Olle Elfqvist (Svensk Dragracing), Frank Johansen (SBF), Håkan Fridholm (SBF), Lennart Holm (SBF), Jörgen Lindholm (SBF), Peter Larsson (SBF), Rolf Lundberg (SBF), Sven Klut (DHRA, Germany), Lasse Koskinen (FHRA, Finland), Liselott Hägglund (MERS), Mats Eriksson (MERS). We also had great support from Lasse Pettersson (SBF/FIA) and Frans Steilberg ( FIA, Germany).
Atomizer injectors available.
14th March: Atomizer injectors available Jason Weir of Flow X Injectors has announced that Atomizer Racing Injectors can now be ordred direct from the website www.flowxinjectors.com:
Buying from Flow X not only gives you access to the worlds best racing injectors, but also technical backup throughout all of the year. For further information or technical help you can contact Jason on 07769346964 or enquiries@flowxinjectors.co.uk.
Santa Pod issues coronavirus update.
13th March: Santa Pod Raceway have put out the following statement: “The safety and welfare of racegoers and participants is paramount”.
We will continue to follow advice from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Public Health England, as well as that of local government. We welcome their guidance that the business of the country should continue as usual, while ensuring the latest public health advice is adhered to and therefore all Santa Pod events are continuing as scheduled.” A link to further essential information can be found at santapod.co.uk/coronavirus.php
Readers will be updated should there be any change to this situation.
JT crew killer reappears.
13th March: After running a super-quick Ford Probe with a Cosworth engine in Super Pro ET to world best times of 7.74/174, John Tebenham sold it in 2009 and took a nine year break from competition, but kept in touch and attended many events as a spectator. His return was one of the major stories of 2019, with his Fabulous Lightning McQueen ’53 Corvette running as quick as 5.975/238.17 in his first year in it. But John has always been a devotee to bracket racing with his Pop, bought from Matt Wright and rebuilt by Eurodragster.com sponsor Robinson Race Cars with a five litre engine. JT takes up the story on the Pop’s reappearance in 2020:
The ‘crew killer’ Ford Pop is coming out for the last time in white. I have a new plan (never be dull). I was all ready to sell the Pop and cancelled some great crew, then I got an offer from a secret weapon that was too good to refuse. We are going after racers like Brian and Billy (man, how can you brake in the last 10 ft?). If you ever think you can bracket race, come to a race meeting. People ask me all the time what car is more fun and the answer will always be the Pop , yeah if I had 20 seconds to live, I drive the blue car, but the Pop just makes me smile. Look out for my new secret weapon, good luck to all the racers and be safe!
Webster continues with 4 Cyl.
13th March:
Santa Pod Raceway are delighted to have Webster Race Engineering on board as the sponsor of the 4 Cylinder class at the Doorslammers 2020. The annual Doorslammers event is now in its 3rd year, with a massive prize fund of £85,000 this year’s event is 15-17th May.Jon Webster said “Webster Race Engineering have supported The Doorslammers and the 4 cylinder class since the beginning, it’s an amazing event with a unique vibe. Webster Race Engineering will continue the support this year not just because it is great marketing venue for us, but it’s also the type of event that is motivational to the Racer, the spectator and the industry. I can’t wait!”
Eurodragster.com is pleased to have had Webster Race Engineering as a sponsor for over a decade. We will feature all our sponsor renewals later in the month.
Malta 1st Race cancelled.
12th March: The cancellation of the 1st Race of the Malta drag racing season, due to take place 13th-15th March at Hal Far, has been announced by ?Konrad D'Anastasi, secretary of Malta Drag Racing Association. Konrad said ‘due to the banning of public events by the Prime Minister as a result of Coronavirus, we regret to inform you that the event of this weekend has been cancelled. We will let you know at a later date when the event will take place’.
Event entry update.
12th March: We are now up to version 5 of the official entry list for the Festival of Power, for which we thank Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall. You can check out the entry list by clicking here. Entry closes on Friday, 20th March, after which entry, if accepted may be subject to a late entry penalty. You can find the official on-line entry form via the Entry Forms page of the new Santa Pod Racers Club web site here.
Motorsport UK licences reminder.
12th March: Thanks again to Ian Marshall who has informed us of National licenses having changed: ‘as a result of changes at Motorsport UK, race licences have now changed, what was a Non Race National B licence is now called an RS Interclub Licence, and National A Licences are now just National, all International licences are as they were previously and have not changed’.
If there is any doubt in which licence to apply for please get in touch with Ian at Santa Pod Racers Club, at ir.marshall@btconnect.com or on the usual telephone number of 01933-313625.
Captain Dave cancels.
12th March: Best wishes for a speedy recovery to ‘Captain’ Dave Catton who has suffered a stroke and will unfortunately be unable to drive the team Windscreen Wizards entry at the Festival of Power. Driving duties will be taken over by team owner Nick Good. Undaunted, Dave hopes to lend support as a crew member.
Ceska moves forward.
12th March: After a low key debut in FIM Top Fuel Bike at the 2018 NitrOlympX Petr Dennis Ceska from the Czech Republic sat out the 2019 FIM season, racing in Funny Bike competition instead. But he has now regrouped and plans a full season of FIM and Hungarian Championship racing. Plus, his team MSS is promoting an exciting new race to be held at Pilsen Line Airport, near Pilsen in the Czech Republic from 12th-14th June 2020. But first we will see him at Santa Pod Raceway’s Festival of Power on 10th-12th April.
After running a home-built Hayabusa based Funny Bike in 2013 and 2014, Petr bought a bike from fellow Czech racer Roman Sixta and competed in FIM Super Twin, visiting Santa Pod Raceway twice in 2016. Since 2018, he has been in shakedown mode with a nitrous Suzuki PXM 1640 GS Funny bike, being helped at the start by compatriots Otto and Yvona Knebl. Petr said ‘In 2019 I had a problem setting up my bike. We didn't have good times. My best time in 2019 at Hockenheim was 8.527/149.51mph. Although the 60 feet times were 1.1 which looked good, the bike did not have power further down the track. So we ended the season early and looked for bugs in the settings. where The bike was originally built by current FIM Top Fuel Champion Filippos Papafilippou’s DragStore for Andre Bartak who sold it on to Petr. Fil said ‘It is a great bike with a Timblin chassis.Vance & Hines engine and Robinson full auto gearbox that could run deep into the sixes’. Petr thanks André Barták, Amerer Air Austria, Žaneta Barbora Cešková and the rest of the MSS team.
The Nitro Challenge Pilsen looks to be a full event including Super Pro ET, Pro ET, Super Gas, Super Comp, Competition Eliminator and Junior Dragster on the car side, and Funny Bike, Super Twin Top Gas, Super Street Bike, ET Bike and Junior Drag Bike as well. There is the prospect of more racing classes being added after agreement with the race director.
Petr said ‘German driver Gerd Haberman has already confirmed his participation. This means that you will see in action for the first time in the Czech Republic his Jet School bus with a jet engine of 25,000 hp and Jet Funny car Dragon Hunter II’. Race officials include Jerry Lackey as Clerk of the Course, so you can expect a well run event.
For details on the Nitro Challenge Pilsen, visit the MSS Drag Racing Club web site at www.mss-club.com or find them on Facebook here.
Full results from Dial In Day.
11th March: Many thanks to Andy Marrs for forwarding us the full results and timing data from Santa Pod Raceway’s Dial In Day held on 7th March, which you can check out by clicking here or clicking on the Timing Data link on the left hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. By downloading the spreadsheet you will be able to glean the incremental times, speeds and win margin for any qualifying run or race held during the day.
Registration open for Tierp Internationals.
11th March: The registration for the Tierp Internationals, one of the major events at Tierp Arena is now open, Remco Scheelings reports on the Dragracing.Europe.eu blog. The Tierp Internationals is the second round of the FIA European Drag Racing Championship, the opening round of the EDRS Pro Nordic Motorcycle Championship and EDRS Pro Series and a round for the Summit Racing EDRS Series.
The Tierp Internationals will be held: June 4th-7th, and Eurodragster.com will be providing live reporting and photo galleries as in previous years. The link to the registration page is here.
Triple on tour.
11th March: Phil Baimbridge’s ‘The Rocket’ PBR Top Fuel Bike, raced by Al Smith, has an expanded race itinerary for 2020 encompassing three championships. Al and the team will be competing in all rounds of both the ACU UK Championship and the FIM-European Drag Bike Championship. The team also plans to visit Tierp Arena in Sweden in June for the opening round of the EDRS Pro Championship and, if arrangements allow, go to Kauhava in Finland at the end of June for the EDRS Pro second round.
Phil said: ‘Attending the EDRS Pro event at Kauhava is dependent on finding somewhere to park the trailer and turn the race bike around. If any of our Swedish or Finnish racing colleagues can help out with secure parking (the trailer is 5.5m long including "A" frame and just over 2m wide), and use of workshop facilities for 3-4 days, please contact either me at PBR Top Fuel Bike or Al Smith. Ideally the location should be en-route from Tierp to Kauhava, or not too far from the venue in Finland, but we'll consider any offers of help’.
Much work on the powerful and unique three cylinder machine has been undertaken over the winter to ready it for the new season, following a great 6.275/194.70 pass and a runner-up finish at the Euro Finals at Santa Pod Raceway. After stripping the bike down to the bare chassis, and front end, everything was cleaned and corrosion inhibitor applied. The magnetos were sent to the US to be refreshed and spare parts were ordered or built by the team. Burlow Engineering have been making the parts for the spare clutch including a centre bearing carrier and pulley assembly. A lot of the components have got small modifications to improve performance, aid assembly and disassembly and/or to save weight. There’s new rear bodywork fitted, thanks to Nigel Batsford, and a new fuel tank cowl up front.
If you are based between Tierp and Kauhava and can help, please do get in touch with Phil or Al via Facebook.
Pictured above from left to right are: Bob Brooks, Phil Baimbridge, Al Smith, Julie Smith and Neill Curtis, boss of Burlow Engineering.
STP renew SPR partnership.
11th March:
Santa Pod Raceway is pleased to announce their continued partnership with STP in 2020 for the STP Springspeed Nationals (2nd-3rd May), STP Summer Nationals (18th-19th July), STP Green Light Nationals (22nd-23rd August) and STP National Finals (26th-27th September). The well-known automotive care brand, STP will again be the main title sponsor for the 2020 National Championship ‘STP Sportsman Series’.STP has more than 60 years’ experience looking after your faithful, four wheeled friend. As one of the most trusted names in automotive care, thousands of motorists, from everyday car enthusiasts to professional racers, rely on STP oil additives and fuel additives to keep their vehicles running better for longer – and count on STP automotive performance products to keep their vehicles looking great. For more information, visit www.stp.eu.
Event entry update.
10th March: Many thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall for sending Version 4 of the official entry list for the Festival of Power. You can check out the entry list by clicking here. Entry closes on Friday, 20th March, after which entry, if accepted may be subject to a late entry penalty. You can find the official on-line entry form via the Entry Forms page of the new Santa Pod Racers Club web site here.
Praise for Dial In Day.
10th March: Multi-time Super Comp and Super Gas UK Champion Brian Pateman took his daughter Stephanie to Santa Pod Raceway’s Dial In Day last Saturday, 7th March, and has been in touch with a review of the event, laid on for beginners in the sport:
I wanted to say how impressed my daughter Stef Pateman and I were with the Dial In day on Saturday. Ian and his team did a great job with the classroom session and with managing to get three complete sessions of qualifying and eliminations finished with the 36 cars present.
Everyone we spoke to had a great time and learnt so much about bracket racing in one day. Stef had some great races, the closest was with Max Marston, 0.88m at the stripe.
Congrats to Carl Magedera who won the day in his Tesla, we were hoping his batteries would run down but they didn’t, look out for him in Sportsman ET at Easter.
Stef bagged second place after seven qualifying runs and eleven in eliminations. Overall the Dial In Day is a very worthwhile event to attract new drivers into competition.
SFI Tour UK report.
10th March: The second leg of the foreshortened 2020 European SFI recertification tour took place at Santa Pod Raceway yesterday (Monday). News editor Simon went along to talk to the inspection team and the attending racers:
Kate Robinson of Eurodragster.com sponsor Robinson Race Cars administered the recertification process in the absence of SFI Foundation President Jennifer Faye (see 3rd March news update) due to concerns surrounding the ongoing Covid-19 virus situation. The inspected parts mainly comprised transmission shields, bellhousings and flexplates, clutches and wheels.
As well as a plethora of UK racers, the inspection team comprising Andy Robinson, Luke Robinson, and Mark Norton from the UK Tech Team re-certified a large quantity of parts from Dutch, German and Swiss racers. Whilst photographing the SFI Day for our gallery, we gathered some Pit Notes which are presented below in the order in which we spoke to the interviewees, and photo gallery which you can get to by clicking on any of these images:
Pro Modified racer Michel Tooren from the Netherlands said the main items worked on by the Pro Dutch team over the winter comprised a new custom built inlet manifold and weight distribution work. ‘We used CAD to design a new manifold based on a design we last had three years ago, but with a better fit to the ports in the cylinder heads. Although we have dynoed the engine in the past, it is an expensive process as there are very few dynos that can handle a Pro Mod’s horsepower, so we will have to gauge at Easter whether the work has been successful. As well as his own transmission shield, Michel brought over those of David Vegter and Marck Harteveld.
European Funny Car Series 2019 Champion Kevin Chapman, pictured in our gallery with wife Abbie, hosted new crew chief Terry Haddock who came over from the US last week. Kevin said ‘We’re starting from scratch and are rebuilding the car in the way that Terry is used to. Terry has just enough time to fit in all rounds of the Championship, as he is also busy in the U.S. running a Funny Car and Top Fuel Dragster. One benefit of him being based in the U.S. is that he will be able to secure parts supply more easily, and we have already bought a lot, as the car went through a lot last year. There is an eight man crew, some from last year and a couple of new ones who have experience with Top Fuel Dragsters. The crew have all been to our workshop to meet Terry and learn his way of operating. I’m looking forward to the season, and having six cars is going to make for even greater spectacle and also be more competitive’.
Competition Eliminator racer Kevin Jenkins, pictured with wife Alison, is putting together a new 2.0litre C20LET engine after major problems last year. ‘The clutch had been out of balance from the start and this caused harmonic vibration to the crankshaft and the rod bolts which became loose. So the engine put rods out of it even on my observed runs. I then reverted to a stock block and crank for the rest of the season with lower turbo boost of 34psi until the block cracked in the National Finals. So Steve Curzon of Vulcan Engineering has supplied a new race-ready block and crank and we will be putting the engine together from Wednesday. It should be strong enough to take 50-55psi of turbo boost. I would like to thank my crew chief Chris Todd and clutch and paint expert Neil Melliard who has done a great scheme for the roof of my Escort Mk1’. Kevin plans to get his license upgraded to international level to enable a possible trip to Hockenheim.
Pro Modified and Fuel Altered Nick Davies said that I.C.E. Automotive, which he runs with Rob Loaring is busy on various customer engine projects at the moment. The drag racing element includes Steve Rawling’s Pro Modified engine, Rob Smallworth’s engine which is being transplanted into his new car, which made its debut last August, and development work for Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator racer Andy Bond. Nick’s own Pro Mod Firebird will be worked on from Saturday, and Havoc Bantam Fuel Altered is ready for his forthcoming match race with Ron Hope’s Rat Trap at Dragstalgia.
European Funny Car Series racer Jason Phelps said ‘We are changing our approach to the concrete race track. As it cools down towards the end of the day, the traction available tends to go away resulting in mechanical damage, which becomes unsustainable over a season. So we will be trying new things at the Main Event to get more competitive. Other goals for this season include licensing a new-to-fuel-cars driver at the end of the year, and being included on the Best Appearing Car short list for 2020!’
European Funny Car Series racer Kevin Kent had brought parts for both his new ex-Blake Alexander Chevy Monte Carlo and partner Shelley’s Santa Pod liveried Dodge Stratus, both running under the West Ten Motorsport banner. John ‘Bodie’ Smith will be crew chief on both cars which will have near-identical mechanical setups. Kevin said ‘The new car is one that Bodie has tuned in the U.S. and so we are hoping we already will have a handle on it at the start of the season. My old car is up for sale, it’s a 2012 chassis and a good car although we’re not in a rush to sell’. Interestingly, although the West Ten cars have set-back superchargers, the ex Blake Alexander ran with one that was not set back and times of 4.0s that are among the best ever in that configuration.
Super Pro ET racer Mark Flavell said he has decided to change his transmission to a JW Powerglide with Neal Chance torque converter for this season. He said ‘I’ve had my crew for 35 years and following major problems getting off the line with a Lenco and clutch transmission, I have decided to make the change. The Lenco and clutch are for sale for £5,000 with £1,000 going to the Melbourne Raceway appeal’. Mark’s most memorable experience of recent years is running the car on the Isle of Man at the eighth mile Ramsey Sprint, with a slow left-hand corner in front of terraced houses, from which crowds of people were leaning out over the balcony.
Super Comp racer Nicky Frost, pictured with husband Nick, is making a welcome return to the track at the Main Event after four years away, with a new chassis tagged to 7.5s, new suspension and new steering system. Under the steel body will be a 584cu in Steve Schmidt engine with twin Holley Dominator carburettors, naturally aspirated. She said ‘We’ve taken 300lbs weight out and have brought our ATI Powerglide and flex plate for re-certification’.
Nostalgia Funny Car racer Andy Raw, who runs the Beetle-bodied Nitro Bug, said he was pleased with the car’s development over 2019. ‘We got it to 500ft down the track and are in a good place in regard to damage. We have bought more spares and spent the winter taking it apart, checking it and putting it back together. My crew chief Karl Harrison was celebrating his 40th birthday at Bakersfield for the March Meet so best wishes to him, and we will be testing the car at the BMW Show and then racing at Dragstalgia, Bug Jam, STP Green Light Nationals and Hot Rod Drags.
Nostalgia Funny Car racer Jon Best has a ’78 Corvette which he plans to bring out at the Nostalgia Nationals and doesn’t plan to runs championship rounds this year. He said ‘My plan is to license and test this year and race in 2021. We will cherry pick events according to when I can get sufficient crew to help. Thanks go to Mark Hawkins and some of his team who will help and to Karl Harrison who offered to step in whilst I build up crew’. Jon’s car is based on the Chaos Fuel Altered chassis which he bought when car owner Lawrie Gatehouse retired. The engine is a 480cu in TFX block with 6-71 supercharger and 21 gallon per minute fuel pump. Jon explained the re-working of the chassis by Jason of FGR Motorsport which has been necessary to fit the Corvette body. ‘The cage has been lowered by eight inches, the seat relocated, and alterations have been necessary to fit the axle and smaller 34 ½ inch tyres. Roy Phelps worked on the body which needed some re-fettling to counter some distortions created from the original mould.’
Blown alky-VW Type 2 truck racer Wayne Allman of Intergalactic Speed Shop is working on a new project for Dave Sidaway, a new Fordson Outlaw Anglia, to replace his previous one, now retired to the street. Wayne said ‘It has an aluminium hand fashioned body with a slightly laid-back grille. I don’t work with fibreglass and aluminium is fine with the right hammering. The chassis is based on a Pro Mod one, which will be chrome moly tubed and nice and rigid which is what you need with a 101” wheelbase. The engine will be a twin turbo BBC, compared to the old car which had a single turbo, and the car will be first seen on track in 2021’. Wayne’s VW Truck didn’t appear last year and he is up to the 6s/200mph challenge, and threw down the gauntlet to Andy Raw to race the Nitro Bug this year.
Nostalgia Funny Car racer Paul Harris, who was joined by crew chief Herb Andrews and Mick Sharpe, will start the season with the Dodge Omni body at the STP Springspeed Nationals and then use the Dennis Priddle tribute Monza body at Dragstalgia. The team will also race at the Euro Finals. Paul said ‘We had minor problems at the start which prevented the car from running as it should but once solved, it started to run really well, with a 6.93 for me to license on our second full pass and a PB of 6.78/212 on the third one. The car was backed off for these two runs and we can hop it up any time we need to. Sadly at the Euro Finals a rod broke and damaged the block and sump. The block is being repaired by Andy Mapes and we have the spare engine in the car at the moment. We’ve also changed the position of the handbrake as I’m left handed. I’m new to driving so need to work on my shift points with the two speed Lenco and will try to shift early. We’ve also added new Racepak sensors which monitor five main functions and will be a great tuning aid.
We also spoke to Paul Stubbings, Nostalgia Funny Car crew chief to Wendy Baker who said the car is now repaired after a disintegrating clutch disc caused it to have an impact with the startline tower (since strengthened). He said ‘I had to go back to working on the fibreglass only two weeks after I had finished it, and the wheelie bar needed repair too’. Super Pro ET racer Steve Saunders said he would be racing his Ford Zephyr doorslammer again this year and added ‘I’ll race it until I sell it’.
In association with Lucas Oil Products we are pleased to present a gallery of the SFI inspections which you can check out by clicking here or clicking on the Features, Interviews, Tributes link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.
Many thanks to Race Track Manager at Santa Pod Raceway Darren Prentice for hospitality during our visit.
VWDRC’s grand start.
10th March:
The VW Drag Racing Club have announced a grand start for the VWDRC 2020 season, as they welcome aboard more sponsors:EST Performance - Based in Hailsham, East Sussex they offer full garage services and custom tuning on their in house dyno. They have in recent years been mapping a number of cars involved in the VWDRC and have gained a really good reputation for making reliable power.
The Car Kitchen - On the menu is cylinder head work from simple reconditioning of cylinder heads to full race porting. They also do custom fabrication (alloy, stainless and titanium) catch cans, intercoolers, inlet manifolds, exhausts and full engine builds.
32 SpeedShop - Supplier of Official supplier VMS Racing Wheels in Europe. Lightweight racing wheels aimed at the modern hatches but are now also branching out to fit classic US setups too. Also suppliers for Powerlite lithium batteries and Powerflex polyurethane bushes.
So what does this all mean? Well, the VWDRC are happy to announce that this seasons VWDRC Champions will receive £1000 each in prize money from the club, runner up £500 and 3rd place £150 and this is for both VW Pro and VW Sportsman.
The future is always bright, but we have welcomed over 30 new members into the club and look forward to seeing them entering some races soon. At the time of writing, the rookies are outnumbering our regular racers in the Sportsman class for round 1, and the so challenge is on.
Luke on the Front foot.
10th March:
Luke Stevenson, who runs the European FWD league, as well as chairing the VWDRC, commentating at Santa Pod Raceway and Malta and providing entertaining interviews in SPR’s streaming video coverage, has expanded his activities to apparel:European FWD, a company dedicated to promoting Front Wheel Drive racing around Europe is happy to announce, after a very successful debut t-shirt, more designs added to the range, and you can visit europeanfwd.bigcartel.com to have a look.
This coming weekend is also Round 1 of the Maltese Drag Racing Association at Hal-Far Raceway where Luke will be doing the track announcing throughout the weekend, he looks forward to seeing some familiar faces in the sun with a number of UK racers already having cars there ready to race.
It will all be webcast via the MotorsMT channel on Facebook if you're not heading out yourself. Thanks to Konrad D'Anastasi of the Malta Drag Racing Association, we plan to publish results of this event.
Chloe's Eye Candy.
9th March: Chloe Wilkins, who has run her Dad Antony’s big block engined Morris Minor, now has a even quicker (and former championship winning) machine to play with in this year’s UK National Championship.
Chloe told Eurodragster.com: ‘It’s an ex Paul Brown championship winning car that can run in Pro ET, Super Comp or Super Pro ET. The engine is a big block Chevy, with Powerglide transmission. The car has been updated and SFI tagged. It’s pink and has a new name to suit my personality. We are going to run the car in Pro ET at the start, so we can slow it down to gain some experience as it’s a big step up from the Morris Minor. Big thanks go to our main sponsor USAutomotive and my Dad Antony who made all the updates. We are hoping to attend a couple of RWYBs in the next month to gain a upgraded license from Sportsman ET to Pro ET and plan to run it in anger at Main Event’.
If you have a new or new-to-you race car or bike making its debut soon, why not post the details to news@eurodragster.com and we’ll publish it to our many readers.
Melbourne target reached.
9th March:
Multiple Land speed record holder and builder and racer of extreme bikes and cars Zef Eisenberg, who is also the founder of sports nutrition brand Maximuscle, has made a pledge to the Save Melbourne Raceway appeal which means the £100,000 appeal has been achieved.Kelli Barrett of Save Melbourne Raceway said ‘This is not the end guys and girls, it is just the beginning, the start, the first hurdle! Don't stop now, keep the momentum going and let's gets better pit area and spectators area. Each penny raised above the £100,000 for the new track will go to improvements to other areas of the venue. Keep going and let’s make it bigger and better than ever before. Well done to everyone from them who only helped spread the word, but donations of £1 or £1000, it all made a huge difference.
Several fundraising offers for Save Melbourne Raceway are still in progress. Derek Beck has T shirts, stickers, Hoodies and Zoodies still available. Steve Neimantas has some E-Type Jaguar wire wheels and parts donated for auction. Martin ‘Drakie’ Drake has a Robin Read A3 poster for auction by 22nd March with an additional offer to spend a day with the team at Dragstalgia 2020. Also see below for a chance to bid on a Swamp Rat VI model donated by the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame. The auction to be the first car or bike or anything allowed, to go down the right lane of the Raceway and Outlaw Anglia racer Colin Millar with an opportunity to crew at Dragstalgia with The Flyin Fyfer Drag Racing Team (‘kilt and malt whisky will be provided free of charge’) have closed.
Paul Turner of Save Melbourne Raceway added: ‘I would like to thank everyone that has made this possible. Everyone who has donated, given up time, shared posts. Everyone has contributed to what we have achieved. I’d like to thank the guys behind the scenes that have continually worked to keep things moving. We built momentum and it’s kept going. For me this isn’t the end. It’s the milestone that we needed and it gets us the minimum we needed. However the bigger the pot, the more Trevor Duckworth can achieve. With what we have, 1/8th mile racing is possible, and we want to improve the pits and the inroad through the parking area.
Big donates to Melbourne.
9th March:
On the same theme, British Drag Racing Hall of Fame member and legend Don ‘Big Daddy’ Garlits has agreed to support the Melbourne Raceway appeal, writes BDRHoF chair Stu Bradbury:Don and Donna Garlits would like to donate the exclusive limited edition ‘Bobble Head’ cast Dragster signed by the man himself “Big Daddy” Don Garlits to the Melbourne Raceway Appeal. Don not only signed the dragster, but also the box as well. It will come with a letter of authentication signed by Don himself as being a genuine 1/100 copies, signed by one of our most famous British Drag Racing Hall of Fame members.
This is a must-have item of drag racing memorabilia for any NHRA or Don Garlits collector. Don't miss out on the chance to own a piece of Drag Racing History. The current bid is for £150. If you are lucky enough to find another it will not come with a signed guarantee of authenticity. This has now elevated this prize to truly one of a never to be repeated opportunity to own such an item. It will ship to UK addresses only. All proceeds go to the Melbourne Raceway appeal. Drop Stu a message or email stuarbrd@aol.com or britishdrhof@aol.com with your bid. Happy bidding, best of luck everyone!
Event entry update.
7th March: Many thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall for sending Version 3 of the official entry list for the Festival of Power. You can check out the entry list by clicking here. Entry closes on Friday, 20th March, after which entry, if accepted may be subject to a late entry penalty. You can find the official on-line entry form via the Entry Forms page of the new Santa Pod Racers Club web site here.
New Serck team.
7th March: High performance cooling solutions company and long time supporter of UK drag racing Serck Motorsport are delighted to announce the creation of a new Drag Racing Team, writes General Manager Graham Smith:
Serck Racing comprises of two incredibly fast cars which will be fighting for the 2020 Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator Championship. The Championship is a heads up racing class that has recently celebrated 25 years as an MSA heads up racing organisation. Both cars are fully Street Legal and with every round will have to complete 25 to 30 miles on a street cruise on qualifying day to prove their reliability and race in the same street legal format, full exhaust systems, wipers and street legal tyres. Both of these cars have already reached 200 mph, so this year is going to be an incredible race season to follow at Santa Pod Raceway.
The drivers are Mark Todd, a previous two time Street Eliminator Champion, who will be joined by Steve Pateman, also a previous Champion who has won an incredible 5 titles in this class. Steve also went to the United States to compete in the World Street Race and actually won it in 2005, an amazing achievement. This talented driver line up will be a serious challenge for the Street Eliminator title with no team orders, so it's all out racing to the finish for the Serck Racing Team.
Serck Racing will be made up of two cars, the first a 1965 Pontiac GTO known as The Freight Train, pushing 2800 horsepower from its Big Block Twin Turbo V8 set up and the second an Aston Martin Vantage with a Huge Single Turbo feeding a Big Block V8 with 2800 horsepower on tap. Both cars are fitted with bespoke Serck Motorsport Cooling Systems for water, oil and transmission as well as fuel, oil, trans and water hoses and fittings.
Street Eliminator is made up of six rounds of competition and features the fastest Street Legal cars in the country. The Mark Todd and Steve Pateman line up for Serck Racing will certainly be one to watch for 2020 as the class and Serck Racing fight for the title.
Pictures ©Callum Pudge.
Class title sponsors welcomed.
7th March: Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall writes: the 2020 UK drag racing season sees many of the National Championship class title sponsors being renewed and with several new ones to welcome on board. New class title sponsors to Santa Pod Racers Club and the classes they have chosen to support are: BeFastR for Super Comp, Leeks Landscapes for Funny Bike, Atlantic Fluid Tech for 9.50 Bike and Scorpion Motors for Super Twin Top Gas; we welcome you all on board for 2020 and thank you for your support.
The list of class title sponsors comprises:
Comp Eliminator - Track Worx: Track Worx have been involved in motorsports for over 10 years, and strive to be the best whilst providing a one stop workshop for all Motorsport needs. When it comes to Race cars for Circuit, Drag, Sprint and Professional Drift cars, we can offer all aspects of work, from basic service and event preparation to complete car builds, and it doesn’t stop there. We offer complete tailor-made Motorsport aftercare packages from big race teams right down the owner/driver privateers in your choice of event, anywhere in the world. If you have a need for support at a Race facility anywhere on the planet, we have the facilities to accommodate you and your requirements, contact us at trackworxuk@gmail.com.
Super Comp - BeFastR: Watch this space in the next few days for further details.
Super Pro ET Another Small F: Martyn Jones, who has raced in Super Pro since the dawn of time, Races his methanol dragster in Super Pro, but also sponsors the title of the class and helps to run and administer the Super Pro ET contingency programme which continues to grow year on year.
Pro ET - Modurstang: Providers of performance parts and modifications for not just late model Mustangs but all kinds of American vehicle servicing, Mike can be contacted on 01608 678818 or Mobile 07774 712000 and please check out their website at www.modurstang.co.uk.
Sportsman ET - Hutchinson & Dibley: Hutchinson and Dibley Ltd is a Buckinghamshire based precision CNC engineering company specialising in the production of 'hard-to-manufacture' parts. They have over 50 years of experience in most industries including defence, oil, gas and marine as well as machining most common metals and plastics but also working with difficult materials such as Titanium, Magnetic Iron and Inconel. Our shop facility includes CNC turning and milling as well as welding and fabrication equipment. Our entire production is ISO9001:2008 approved and accredited.
Junior Dragster - Lucas Oil: Lucas Oil have been looking after many Riders and Drivers in Motorsport, with their second to none Oils and Oil based products, Junior Dragster has been fortunate enough to have had Lucas Oil’s backing for more than 10 years, and 2020 is no different, Lucas oil products can be found at Santa Pod Raceway or on the Lucas Oil website at www.lucasoil.co.uk.
Top Fuel Bike - Banks Night Club : The Name says it all really, if you find yourself in Maidstone, Bank Street is the place to head for your nights entertainment (18’s and above only of course) you never know you may bump into, a famous Funny Car driver!
Funny Bike - Leeks Landscapes: The Leeks Landscapes Group, is a group of companies catering to all aspects of Landscaping, Waterscapes, ponds, lakes, civil engineering and more delivering projects to the commercial and domestic sector throughout the UK.
Comp Bike - Suzuki Performance Spares.co.uk: Suzuki Performance Spares, are your premier source of quality guaranteed new and used parts for major motorcycle brands, they specialise in spare parts for modern, classic motorcycle, racing and Drag Race parts. Contact details: - suzukiperformancespares.co.uk or 07900 362 809.
Super Street Bike - Kathy Taylor: Kathy, a long-time supporter of all things Drag Bike, on this occasion is taking the Super Street Bike Title Sponsorship as her way of putting something back in to the sport.
8.50 Bike - NMCN: NMCN a North Midland Construction, based in Nottingham are specialists in water civil engineering projects, with offices across the UK, they can be contacted on tel: 01623515008 a big thank you to Richard Newton for staying involved in 2020.
9.50 Bike - Atlantic Fluid Tech: Atlantic Fluid Tech Ltd has been trading since 2009 and is a major supplier of hydraulic valves to OEM companies in the UK and Ireland. It is the British subsidiary of an Italian Group that is based in Modena. The company has a warehouse in Coventry from where it distributes products to a wide variety of companies, particularly those involved in the manufacture of construction machinery. The Coventry building houses a hydraulic test facility and a CAD function for the design and supply of bespoke valve assemblies. Both UK Directors of the company have a long history of involvement in Motor Sport, and are very pleased to be associated with the Santa Pod Racers Club and sponsorship of 9.50 bike. Atlantic fluid Tech can be contacted at +44 (0)2476 617143 or e-mail.
Super Twin Top Gas - Scorpion Motors Scorpion motors are a Harley Davidson specialist and can carry out everything from an oil change to a complete performance engine build. Besides that, through their many contacts around Harley Davidson, Scorpion motors can basically get everything from a kick stand to a full race bike Harley chassis. Beside this they can also buy and sell bikes on request and ship or export bikes all over Europe.
Sadly this year we have said goodbye and thank you to all of the Staff at Phoenix Personnel, for your support of Super Comp in 2019.
Swift snippets.
7th March: Good luck and stay safe to Dan Williams of Williams Bros Racing who are competing at Gainesville this weekend in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Division 2 race, also known as the "Baby Gators". Yesterday Dan was in Class Eliminations, and ran a great 9.753/136.88, 1.197 below the A/S index and good for number two qualifier for Stock Eliminator, although his RT of 0.185 saw him lose the race against Joe Martens. You can follow Williams Bros Racing US exploits by going to www.dragracecentral.com.
A very Happy Birthday to our good friend, Honorary Eurodragster.com member, and crew chief extraordinaire Spencer Tramm. Have a great day Spencer.
Event entry update.
6th March: The official entry list for the Festival of Power has been updated to Version 2 courtesy of Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall. Ian reports that the new online system is working well, and users will find some additional tweaks that have been going on, all of which enhance the excellent work by Pete Walters to put it in place.
You can check out the entry list by clicking here. Entry closes on Friday, 20th March, after which entry, if accepted may be subject to a late entry penalty. You can find the official on-line entry form via the Entry Forms page of the new Santa Pod Racers Club web site here.
Spanish Spinner.
6th March: Nigel Taylor writes that the Detroit Spinner has a new owner, Josep ‘Pep’ Xampro: The nostalgic race car is now at Pep’s home town about 80 km north of Barcelona, Spain. Pep is passionate about motors in general, he has always had classic cars, especially Americans, and loves drag racing.
The plans for the Detroit Spinner are for it to be finished for Dragstalgia this year, it's close time-wise, but he will try and if not possible, he will bring it over next year. The plan is to put in a BBC 496ci engine with a 2-speed Powerglide automatic transmission with transbrake and electric shifter. This is the biggest modification that he will make; the rest of the car will remain original, as Arthur Bonner fabricated in the 70s. Right now he has a great puzzle that he has to fit and make work as best he can.
Pep will post up advances that he has made in the car, and would like any feedback from all of you, all kinds suggestions and opinions are welcome on the Return of The Detroit Spinner 2020 Facebook Group.
Pep said: 'I hope to be able to take the car to the level that it deserves and make the car as fast as I can, but above all, enjoy the car as I put it back on the track. Special thanks to Arthur Bonner for fabricating this fantastic car, thanks to Nigel Taylor and his family for saving and restoring it and putting it back in the drag racing scene back in 2013, and Jordan Kinghorn for the fantastic attention to detail in the last rebuild'.
The Package packaged.
6th March: 2015 Super Pro ET National and SPRC Champion Simon Gough has announced his 2012 Camaro SS race operation is for sale, following his retirement from racing. He said ‘It’s tagged to 7.50s, has had numerous no.1 qualifier positions and comes with a new Jeff Bull Race Engines spread port engine capable of 7.50s, Powerglide gearbox, Racepak with numerous sensors, and Weld beadlock wheels with ProJacks stands. The operation includes a fully fitted out 7.5 tonne lorry, 8mx4m awning, quad bike and small holding trailer. Spares include a new Pro Stock front end not yet fitted. If you are interested, contact me via Facebook’.
Track shots © Matt Woods.
Swift snippets.
6th March: Santa Pod and Motorsport UK Pro Mod PR Robin Jackson writes: As early evidence of Autosport magazine's burgeoning new interest in drag racing, this week's issue (5 March) includes a short article outlining the planned return of racing at Melbourne Raceway in Yorkshire, written by Jerry Cookson. Autosport is the UK's principal motor racing weekly publication, on sale from all good newsstands, and further drag racing coverage is expected to develop as the season progresses.
Bryntesson returns.
5th March: Tony Bryntesson is a name which will be familiar to readers who followed European Drag Racing in the 1980s and early 90s. In that pre-internet era, Top Fuel Dragsters were racing in the European Top Fuel Association Challenge, promoted by Keith Bartlett, and Tony was a key player. Hailing from Norrahammar, near Jönköping in southern Sweden, Tony started his career in a Pro Comp in the mid 80s and then ran Top Methanol Dragster in a innovative supercharged streamliner car from 1986 to 1989. He then switched to Top Fuel and raced to 1994, winning the 1991 Main Event and becoming runner-up in the ETFA Challenge in 1991 and 1994, with a best ET of 5.221 at 274mph.
After 1994 Tony ran in circuit racing, creating Bryntesson Motorsport Engineering and running a team in the V8 Thunder Cars series in Sweden, Finland and Germany. But the attraction of nitro drag racing persisted and, after 25 years away from drag racing, he has now acquired a Hadman chassis from friend Jonny Lagg, and plans to compete in Top Methanol in 2020. Tony told Eurodragster.com “I will try my best to do the whole series but this is our first year back so will see about the season opener at Santa Pod. We are three cars from Sweden we call A-Fuel Team Sweden with Krister Johansson putting his magic tune on all three. We will also have help from US with Jerry Darien”.
Photos at Santa Pod ©Alan Hawkins and ©Jon Spoard.
Swift snippets.
5th March: Other returnees to Top Methanol, former champions Habermann brothers competing in all FIA rounds, and Super Street Bike star Ida Zetterström running two championship series are covered in the latest update to the Drag Racing Europe Blog by Remco Scheelings which you can check out at www.dragracingeurope.eu.
Festival of Power entry update.
4th March: Many thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall for forwarding us Version 1 of the official entry list for the Festival of Power, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 10th-12th April and which is the first round of the UK National Drag Racing, ACU UK Drag Bike and SPRC Club Championships. You can check out the entry list by clicking here.
Entry closes on Friday, 20th March, after which entry, if accepted may be subject to a Late entry penalty. You can find the official on-line entry form via the Entry Forms page of the new Santa Pod Racers Club web site here.
Fredlund retires.
4th March: Multiple European Pro Stock Bike champion Fredrik Fredlund has announced he is retiring from racing and has put his 2019 Championship winning race operation up for sale. Fredlund won the championship in 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019, each time using Suzuki bikes. He has won 81 rounds of racing, more than any rider in the FIM European series and has scored more points than any. Starting in Pro Stock Bike in 2007, Fredrik’s first FIM European win came at Mantorp Park in 2008, and he has won 20 events in his Pro Stock Bike career, including clean sweeps in 2014 and 2017, and four wins in 2019.
Based in Lemland in the Åland Islands, part of Finland, Fredrik raced in the US at Gainesville in 2010, 2011, 2014 and 2015 and at the Pomona Finals in 2011. He said ‘Thank you to all who have help us over the years with tuning and engines and support’.
If you are interested in acquiring a championship-winning Pro Stock Bike operation, send a message to Fredrik via Facebook.
Introducing Sports Compact Shootout.
4th March: Making its debut at the Fast Show on 29th March, Sports Compact is a new, experimental class giving those with “Compact” engine combinations an opportunity to race heads up at a number of events this season.
Organiser Jake Wray said: Aimed largely at vehicles from the JDS and FWD series, the emphasis is largely on track time, and close, fun racing. There will be an award of £400 for the winner and £200 for the runner-up, with trophies. The class welcomes FWD, RWD and 4WD cars with 4, 5 or 6 cylinder engines and rotaries.
The event is limited to the first twenty entries with times of less than 12.00, with qualifying for a 16 car ladder. Two tickets for race entries at a charge of £50 can be obtained using the entry form at racers.santapodtickets.com. For full rules see The Fast Show web site. Already eight cars are entered with more to come, so don't miss out.
Pictures: Chris Todd ©Julian Hunt, Joe Bristow © Luke Stevenson, Stewart Taylor ©Mark Skinner
VP Racing Fuels supports Doorslammers.
4th March: Santa Pod Raceway have announced that VP Racing Fuels will be the Official Fuel Supplier and Title Sponsor of the premier class Pro Doorslammer at this year’s Doorslammers to be held on 15th-17th May.Peter Coleman of VP Racing Fuels said, “It’s a real pleasure to be supporting The Doorslammers event once more. VP Racing Fuels is moving from strength to strength internationally with the appointment of a new International Sales Manager, Eric Bishop.” Commenting from the USA, Eric said, “Santa Pod Raceway's reputation is well known on both sides of the Atlantic. We’re keenly anticipating another season working closely as their fuel partner.”
To mark the sponsorship renewal, Santa Pod Raceway have placed a video of 2019 Pro Doorslammer action on its Facebook page.
Swift snippets.
4th March: Super Pro and Super Comp team owner Pete Kellett has been in touch to announce his firm Mobile Leisure Vehicle Services is open for carrying out mobile caravan & motorhome servicing and repairs in the Lancashire, Cumbria and the Lakes area. Full details of work done are at the firm’s web site here. The number to call is 0800 180 4482.
Classic Ford exponent Nigel Taylor says ‘The season is nearly upon us , if you’re looking for that hot rod, dragster, 100e, pop, yank ,custom , to join in the fun , check out Unusual Cars Sales UK on Facebook - we are here to help you get that certain car you been looking for. Give us a try’.
SFI stops in Amsterdam and Helsinki cancelled.
3rd March: SFI CEO Jennifer Faye has announced the cancellation of the stops of the European SFI Tour 2020 in Amsterdam and Helsinki, whilst the stops in Sweden and the U.K. will continue on 7th and 9th March respectively per the original schedule:
Due to the ongoing expansion of the COVID-19/coronavirus outbreak throughout the world, the SFI Inspections Tour schedule has been modified.
We have unfortunately cancelled the stops in Amsterdam (March 5th) and Helsinki (March 6th). The stops in Sweden and the U.K. will go on per the original schedule: Saturday, March 7th at Persåkers Speed Shop and on Monday, March 9th at Santa Pod Raceway. If you were planning to attend the Amsterdam or Helsinki inspections, we are working on organizing your parts to go to Santa Pod and Persakers respectively.
The health and safety of our SFI Team and those we visit during the SFI Tour are of the utmost importance to us and weighed heavily on this decision. By modifying the schedule as described, we can still provide these important inspection services to racers, without exposing our Team to the risk of traveling through international airports at this time.
This decision was not made easily, but we feel it is the right thing to do during this unprecedented global health situation. We appreciate everyone’s understanding and cooperation. It’s important to note that this is a Contingency Plan for this year only. The SFI Tour 2021 will be scheduled per usual.
New Eurodragster.com editor Simon will be at the Santa Pod Raceway stop to report on the work of the inspectors and news from the teams attending.
Dial In Day sold out.
3rd March: Santa Pod Raceway have announced that the Dial In Day to be held on 7th March is sold out. Those lucky enough to have secured tickets are directed to the RWYB rules and regulations.
Speedgroup issue 2020 EDRS calendar.
3rd March: Speedgroup have issued their calendar of events for 2020 in the Summit European Drag Racing Series, EDRS Pro Series for cars and bikes and the Summit Racing Super Series for Super Pro ET and Pro ET cars. The calendar can be located at the Drag Racing Europe web site.
Malta season starting soon.
3rd March: The first event of the 2020 season in Malta gets under way 13th-15th March, a pre-event RWYB having been held last weekend. The second race is a new FWD International Challenge to be held 3rd-5th April and we will provide more details of this event in due course.
You can see a copy of the Malta Drag Racing calendar here.
UK Riders' and Drivers' Meeting report.
1st March: The 2020 UK Riders' and Drivers' meeting took place this afternoon (Sunday) at the Hilton Hotel in Northampton. The official minutes of the meeting will be published in due course but these are the main points.
TECH CHANGES
With effect from this season, Hans-type devices are mandatory in cars capable of 150 mph and faster. From 2021 Hans-type devices will be mandatory in all cars with a full harness including Juniors.
With effect from this season, positive locking devices are mandatory for dipsticks on all vehicles running 10.99 or quicker. Where used, transmission dipsticks must also have a positive locking device.
Electric OEM cars are permitted in ET classes but Motorsport UK eligibility rules apply; please apply to SPRC for details.
There are also updates on the rules to two-way communication, parachute mountings and Pro Modified shut-off devices which are highlighted in the rule book.
Noise limits are to be reduced for Pro ET, Sportsman ET and Junior Dragster from 2021, however most vehicles will already meet the new limits.
This year's rule book is again available on the new SPRC web site. This year's USB sticks for members have been delayed because of the situation in China but when available they will be sent out and will contain the rule book and entry forms in Word and PDF format.
UK CHAMPIONSHIPS
The dates and classes of this year's ACU UK and UK National Drag Racing Championship rounds are listed below, together with a table of other non-National classes running at Championship events.
Following a suggestion from the floor, the Super Pro ET and Pro ET brackets will overlap in 2020. Super Pro ET will still cut off at 8.99, but the Pro ET minimum dial-in will be reduced to 8.50 (from 9.00).
On-line entry for all Championship events is now available on the new SPRC web site, designed by Eurodragster.com sponsor Pete Walters, at www.santapodracersclub.com. Paper entry forms will still be available from SPRC.
Closing dates are listed on the web site and on entry forms, and reminders will of course be posted here on Eurodragster.com.
All teams intending to field more than one driver or rider for the same vehicle must send a list of the season's drivers to Ian Marshall or Yvonne Tramm at SPRC before the Festival of Power.
Bug Jam will again be a non-points round for Junior Dragster.
Racers wishing to enter Sportsman ET at Bug Jam must have contested the class at a previous event or pre-entered a later event. VWDRC Sportsman racers who wish to double-enter and run in Sportsman ET at Bug Jam will not be subject to this restriction.
The two-day Greenlight Nationals will consist of two full one-day events (qualifying, eliminations, points and prize money each day) for Pro Stock Bike, Funny Bike, Super Street Bike, Comp Bike, 8.50 Bike, 9.50 Bike, ET Bike, Supertwin Top Gas and Junior Drag Bike. One entry fee covers both days; it will not be possible to enter for one of the two days.
On day two of the Greenlight Nationals, bike classes will still run qualifying and eliminations even if there are, strictly, not enough bikes to fulfil the minimum numbers requirement due to breakage on day one.
SPRC's fax is no longer available.
| Cars | Motorsport UK Pro Modified |
Comp Eliminator |
Super Pro ET |
Pro ET | Sportsman ET |
Super Comp |
Super Gas |
Junior Dragster |
Street Eliminator |
| Festival of Power Santa Pod Raceway 10th-12th April |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Springspeed Nationals Santa Pod Raceway 2nd-3rd May |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| FIA/FIM Main Event Santa Pod Raceway 22nd-25th May |
✔ FIA & MS-UK |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| SPRC Summernationals Santa Pod Raceway 18th-19th July |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Bug Jam Santa Pod Raceway 24th-26th July |
✔ | ✔ Non- Championship |
✔ | ||||||
| Mopar Euronationals Santa Pod Raceway 1st-2nd August |
✔ | ||||||||
| Green Light Nationals Santa Pod Raceway 22nd-23rd August |
✔ | ||||||||
| FIA/FIM European Finals Santa Pod Raceway 10th-13th September |
✔ FIA & MS-UK |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| UK National Finals Santa Pod Raceway 26th-27th September |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Bikes | Top Fuel Bike |
Pro Stock Bike |
Funny Bike |
Super Street Bike |
Comp Bike |
8.50 Bike |
9.50 Bike |
Supertwin Top Gas |
ET Bike | Junior Drag Bike |
| Festival of Power Santa Pod Raceway 10th-12th April |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Springspeed Nationals Santa Pod Raceway 2nd-3rd May |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| FIA/FIM Main Event Santa Pod Raceway 22nd-25th May |
✔ FIM |
✔ FIM |
✔ FIM |
✔ FIM |
||||||
| SPRC Summernationals Santa Pod Raceway 18th-19th July |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Green Light Nationals Santa Pod Raceway 22nd-23rd August |
✔ Double header |
✔ Double header |
✔ Double header |
✔ Double header |
✔ Double header |
✔ Double header |
✔ Double header |
✔ Double header |
✔ Double header |
| FIA/FIM European Finals Santa Pod Raceway 10th-13th September |
✔ FIM |
✔ FIM |
✔ FIM |
✔ FIM |
||||||
| UK National Finals Santa Pod Raceway 26th-27th September |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Other classes at Championship events |
Fuel Funny Car |
Nostalgia Funny Car |
Wild Bunch |
Outlaw Anglia |
Outlaw Flat Four |
VW Pro | VW Sportsman |
Nostalgia Super Stock |
Supercharged Outlaws |
Stock/Super Stock |
| Festival of Power Santa Pod Raceway 10th-12th April |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||
| Springspeed Nationals Santa Pod Raceway 2nd-3rd May |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
| FIA/FIM Main Event Santa Pod Raceway 22nd-25th May |
✔ | ✔ | ||||||||
| SPRC Summernationals Santa Pod Raceway 18th-19th July |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||
| Bug Jam Santa Pod Raceway 24th-26th July |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| Green Light Nationals Santa Pod Raceway 22nd-23rd August |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||
| FIA/FIM European Finals Santa Pod Raceway 10th-13th September |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||||||
| UK National Finals Santa Pod Raceway 26th-27th September |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
EVENT ENTRY
Entry fees have risen by £5 per event (not per day) for car classes only.
Racers not entering on-line are still encouraged to pay entry fees by Bacs, Faster Payment or other electronic means as cheques are subject to a processing fee.
Prize money has again been increased by 2% for this season. The prize structure has been revised to increase money for early rounds of eliminations.
2019 UK National and ACU Champions will again receive free entry to rounds at Santa Pod Raceway in 2020 with the exception of Top Fuel Bike, Pro Stock Bike and Supertwin Top Gas. Free entry applies even if you change classes. Current arrangements continue for VWDRC Champions. At FIA/FIM events SPRC will cover the equivalent of the National Championship entry fee for Pro Modified and Super Street Bike. In the case of teams with more than one driver, one team driver per event will receive the free entry. Pitside power must still be paid for. The free entry must be used during 2020.
For this year's UK and ACU Champions to receive free entry in 2021 there must have been an average of four bikes contesting events in Top Fuel Bike and an average of six vehicles in each other class.
| Class | Two-day event | Three-day event | Four-day event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motorsport UK British Pro Modified; Top Fuel Dragster; Fuel Funny Car; Nostalgia Funny Car | £170 | £180 | £205 NB FIA classes pay FIA fees for FIA European Championship events |
| ET classes; Super classes; Junior Dragster; Comp Eliminator; Street Eliminator; VW classes; Outlaw Flat Four; Wild Bunch; Outlaw Anglia; Nostalgia Super Stock; Stock/Super Stock; Supercharged Outlaws; other Sportsman car classes | £140 | £155 | £180 |
| ACU Top Fuel Bike | £170 | £175 | n/a NB FIM classes pay FIM fees for FIM European Championship events |
| ACU Funny Bike; ACU Pro Stock Bike; ACU Comp Bike; ACU Super Street Bike; 9.50 Bike; 8.50 Bike; ACU Supertwin Gas; NAST Supertwin Gas; ET Bike; Junior Drag Bike | £140 | £155 | n/a NB FIM classes pay FIM fees for FIM European Championship events |
| Jet Car | £165 | £180 | TBC |
| Exhibition | £175 | £180 | TBC |
PITSIDE POWER AT SANTA POD RACEWAY
Fees for pitside power remain as they were.
| Event duration | Single phase | Three phase |
|---|---|---|
| 2 days | £50 | £155 |
| 3 days | £60 | £165 |
| 4 days | £75 | £180 |
OTHER BUSINESS
SPRC International Race Director Carole Ismail has retired and has resigned her Club and official posts. The SPRC Committee thanked Carole for thirty-plus years of service to the sport and wish her the best of luck for the future.
The Williams brothers have organised additional prize money for Stock/Super Stock both from their own funds and from US companies. The response to Stock/Super Stock will be gauged before any decision is made for 2021.
As well as on-line entry and rules, the new SPRC web site continues to host calendar, class and other information, and now offers on-line SPRC membership application.
Santa Pod Racers Club has a new logo which has been launched with the new web site.
Challenge on for Pro and Super Pro.
28th February: Our good buddy Markus Münch wrotes that the Drag Race Union are running Super Pro ET
and Pro ET Challenges in 2020:
You can register till March 31st. 2020. The registration fee is 100€, included is a personalised shirt for the driver.
Four races count towards the the overall Championship. You can race principally where those classes are officially run, but no more than two results from any single track count for the overall points. From the variety of races at Santa Pod Raceway, you have to determine three races at which you want to collect Challenge points before the season starts, but the "Maximum of two results per race track" rule also applies.
End of season prizes are trophies for the top three drivers, and prize money which is made up roughly of entry fees and money from our sponsors.
At the moment we have around twenty entries in Super Pro ET and fifteen in Pro ET, from all over Europe. If you are interested then you can contact us via our Facebook pages www.facebook.com/groups/suproet and www.facebook.com/dragraceunion, or E-Mail Johnny for Pro ET at info(at)dragraceunion.eu and myself for Super Pro ET at info(at)dragstripper.de.
US Automotive sponsor Fuel Altereds.
28th February: Eurodragster.com sponsor US Automotive are excited to announce that they will be sponsoring the 2020 Dragstalgia Cannonball featuring the Rat Trap and Havoc AA/Fuel Altereds.
Chairman of US Automotive, Stewart Bassett, said "USAutomotive has been involved with Ron Hope's Rat Trap and Nick Davies' Havoc for a number of years now and to be instrumental in bringing them together at Santa Pod Raceway for Dragstalgia is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It might well be the last time these two cars race side by side."
"This year will be the tenth Anniversary of Dragstalgia", said organiser James Forster. "Each year, Dragstalgia has grown until it is now Europe's premier nostalgia drag racing event attracting more than 300 vintage race cars and thousands of spectators."
The rivalry between these two legendary, nitro-powered AA/Fuel Altereds began at Santa Pod in 2016. The action then moved to the US where Havoc driver Nick Davies went on to win the Championship at the California Hot Rod Reunion. Dragstalgia will be the first time Nick and Ron have faced each other since then and this might be the last time as Havoc is being retired so that Nick can concentrate on the US Automotive-sponsored Pontiac Pro Mod. "It's a race, well, four races actually, not to be missed" concluded Stewart.
In conjunction with the event sponsorship, US Automotive will be hosting competitions and give-aways so be sure to visit their Facebook page under USAutomotiveUK.
Swift snippets.
28th February: We would like to say a big Happy Birthday to two good friends; have a great day Nitro FM Producer Julian Parsons, and Santa Pod Raceway Track Announcer Luke Stevenson.
Swift snippets.
27th February: With yesterday's sad news it was only proper to hold the Happy Birthdays, so birthday wishes for yesterday to our good friend and Honorary Eurodragster.com Staff Member Darren Prentice of Santa Pod Raceway, to UK Fuel Funny Car racer Kevin Kent, and to former safety crew member Geoff Quaife. Hope you had a good day guys. On to today and a big Happy Birthday to another good friend, Darren Krauesslar of SPRC's safety crew. Have a great day Darren.
Back to yesterday which was the 22nd birthday of Eurodragster.com. A big Thank You to the racers, fans, officials and management everywhere for their support.
Peter Schöfer.
26th February: We were very sorry to hear of the death of Top Methanol racer and Champion Peter Schöfer:
Er war ein Motorsportler mit Herz und Seele. Der "Pat", so wie ihn seine Freunde und alle anderen nannten, hat in seinem viel zu kurzem Leben dennoch viel erreicht. Er war mehrfacher Europameister im Motorrad- und Dragsterrennsport.
Viele harte Kämpfe hat er dabei auf der Rennstrecke gewonnen, aber seinen letzten Kampf hat er leider verloren. Sein Gegner war der Schei... Krebs. Kein Wunder, denn dieser kämpft meistens mit unfairen Mitteln.
Wir alle hoffen, dass er dort, wo er jetzt ist, schöne Rennstrecken und faire Gegner findet. Wir werden dich nie vergessen und ehren was du aufgebaut hast.
In ewiger geliebter Erinnerung.
He was a motor athlete with body and soul. The "Pat", as his friends and everyone called him, achieved a lot in his far too short life. He was a multiple European Champion in motorcycle and drag racing.
He won many tough fights on the racetrack, but unfortunately he lost his last fight. His opponent was the f... cancer. No wonder, because it fights unfair.
We all hope that where he is now he will find beautiful race tracks and fair opponents. We will never forget you and honour what you have built.
In eternal beloved memory,
Moni, Luna, Sinah und Nicolai
Rudi, Wolfgang und Christina
Rebecca, Leoni und Thomas
Alexander
Our deepest sympathies to Peter's family and friends.
Event entry update.
25th 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
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".
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
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 BeltFunny Bike
Louis DaviesComp Bike
Nick MilburnTop Fuel Bike
Steve WoodSuper 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"
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 DibleyJon Morton Super Gas Shootout (driver Andy Dibley)
Dan HollowayHutchinson & Dibley Sportsman ET
ICE AutomotiveMotorsport UK Pro Modified (driver Nick Davies)
Kev JenkinsSecret Worx Comp Eliminator
Guy KingModurstang Pro ET
David SmithSecret Worx Comp Eliminator
John TebenhamMotorsport 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.
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.
Earlier news
