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31st August: Thanks to Ian Marshall for sending us Version 2 of the official entry list for the UK National Finals, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 21st-22nd September. You can check out the UK National Finals entry list by clicking here. Although yesterday was the official closing date for the UK National Finals entry will be accepted at standard rate if you bring your entry form and fee to next week's FIA European Finals. You can download the official entry forms from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. Many thanks to Yvonne Tramm and our own Simon for passing us the post-Open Sport Nationals points standings in the UK National Drag Racing Championships which you can check out on our OCS Paint-sponsored Points Standings page by clicking here or by clicking on the OCS Paint Points Standings link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Trouble in Tierp. 
31st August: His first season in Top Methanol Dragster, driving Dave Wilson's A/Fuel Dragster, couldn't have
got off to a better start for the UK's Tethys but things have unfortunately now gone belly-up:
At the FIA Main Event I qualified #1, set low ET and won the event. With a drastically reduced number of entrants in the class this year, a tilt at the Championship started to look possible. However that would take money, and I've been doing this on a relatively small budget. Still, if it was possible, I had to at least look into it. The rules had inexplicably changed this season, to make competitors ineligible for the Championship unless they have competed in at least one round in each country. That meant a minimum of four rounds, and my budget only stretched to somewhere around two and a half. I was fairly confident that if I was careful I could do three rounds. But with a possible Championship up for grabs could I find the money for another one? I decided I probably could. But then came the stumbling block. I couldn't make the Hockenheim round due to prior commitments. With that in mind, there didn't seem any point in spending money getting to Alastaro when it wasn't going to count for anything, so I gave that one a miss. I'm guessing the rule change was designed to try to increase participation throughout the season but, for me at least, it's had precisely the opposite effect. I considered just sticking to the two UK rounds. But although I'd been to Mantorp Park several times I'd yet to see Tierp Arena, and it seemed like as good a time as any to remedy that. In Q1, we saw Jonny Lagg in Krister Johansson's old car go up in smoke on the hit in the pair before us. Seeing that, Dave made some hurried adjustments to the ignition timing for my run, but it wasn't enough and I suffered the same fate. A quick pedal didn't yield any results, so I idled through. In Q2 we backed it down and got the car from A to B in a relatively sedate 5.62 to at least get a baseline from which to work. The plan for Q3 was to do much the same, so we had some data for both lanes. However, as I backed up from the burnout, I heard an ominous rattle. After some hurried investigation from the crew, I was told to shut the car off. We'd thrown a rod through the side of the block. Back in the pits we swapped the motor, but missed the call for Q4, so that was the end of qualifying for us. That meant we would face Paul Ingar Udtian in round one without having any idea what to do about tuning for the new engine. Still, all you can do at that point is stick a tune in the car and hope it sticks. I was still fairly optimistic at that point. Although the Islanders' car leaves the line much quicker than I do, the Main Event had shown that the A/Fuel dragster had enough power in the second half of the track to get to the line first. The Tree ran, and as Dave said, I did my bit by getting the better reaction (albeit by a tiny margin). But from there, the car just didn't pull. In his race report, Tog said "Something not right with Tet's car which looked and sounded lazy from the start". That something was the fact that it was only running on seven cylinders. Another rod out the side of the block allowed Paul Ingar to disappear off into the distance and the race was over before it had started. Were the two rod failures related? It's the first time any of Dave's cars have done that in many years, and to have two in one meeting is a bit suspicious. From the bits we recovered from the sump, it looks like the two failures were slightly different, so maybe it was just coincidence, but we don't know for sure. With the car now back in the UK and checked over, the damage is too great and I've had to withdraw my entry from the European Finals. That's a disappointing end to the season, but there's not a lot anyone can do about it now. Despite that, I've thoroughly enjoyed my introduction to the pro classes. Many thanks to Dave and to my crew for making it all happen. Now begins the hunt for money so I can do it again next season. History made at York Raceway. 31st August: Some of the UK's biggest hitters in street-legal drag racing headed to York Raceway for the thirty sixth annual Street Racer Championship over the August Bank Holiday weekend to battle it out for the title of UK Street Racer Champion and the £1000 prize from event sponsors Wizards of NOS, Pennine Drag Racing Club, LA Racing Parts, Harrogate Hot Rod and Kustom Show Big Pete Ltd, Power Race Graphics and the Pennine Drag Racing Club. 
In a return to the diversity of machinery which made the event such a huge attraction in the 1980s, the 2013 Street Racer Championship entry list showed a full sixteen
car field with everything from Moose Hollingworth's Street Eliminator Cortina to Andy Speck's Vauxhall Corsa with Subaru running gear. Andrew 'Arnie' Arnold had swapped
the slicks for treads and MOT'd the Audi Coupe previously driven by John Sleath, now with turbo Chevy LSx power. Shaun Pursley was handling the driving duties in the Small
Block Chevy powered Dutton whilst at the other end of the scale one of the biggest vehicles ever to race in the Street Racer Championship had to be Ivan Jones' John
Sleath-prepared 427cuin turbo Chevy Silverado Crew Cab!
The first round of competition featured a close fought battle with Jamie Hughes in his turbo big block Ford powered Land Rover (10.449) losing out to a hard charging Shaun Pursley (10.399) and there was controversy when Andy Forrest in the Subaru Impreza received a red light on the start line and the tree ran in the other lane for Dave Smith in the Mustang. After a full review of the incident it was clear that Andy had not rolled out of stage, and in the spirit of true sportsmanship which has become synonymous with York Raceway it was agreed that the pairing should be re-run. Also progressing from the first round were Mark Wenn, Andy Speck, Ivan Jones, Moose Hollingworth, Andrew Arnold and Derek Beck in his rapid nitrous injected TVR. Andy Forrest took the win in the re-run with Dave Smith and booked his place in the next round. Jon Hollingworth and Andrew Arnold produced one of the best races of the event in round two with a bit of a pedalfest as both struggled for traction, the greater experience in the Cortina possibly coming in to play as “Moose” took the win with a 10.179 to a losing 10.348 from the Audi. Shaun Pursley took the Corsa of Andy Speck out of the competition whilst Mark Wenn in the little Escort had Derek Beck covered and took the win in their pairing. Number one qualifier Andy Forrest was off the throttle early in his win over Ivan Jones in the big truck, which left a lot of people wondering if the Subaru was hurt or if Andy had just chosen to save it for later. The semi-finals paired the lightweight RWD small block V8 Dutton of Shaun Pursley with the four cylinder turbo 4WD Escort of Mark Wenn, followed by the big twin turbo Ford V8 RWD Cortina of Moose Hollingworth which would meet the 4WD flat six turbo Subaru Impreza driven by Andy Forrest. There is no better illustration of the sort of variety the Street Racer Championship is all about. 
In the first pair the Dutton was out of the hole first with the Escort playing catch-up. It was Mark Wenn though who took the victory, driving around the Dutton with 10.037
to a losing 10.126 from Shaun Pursley with only fourteen thousandths of a second margin of victory at the stripe. The second pair saw Jon Hollingworth produce his best
sixty foot time of the day but to no avail as Andy Forrest took the win with an 8.900/151 over a slowing 11.394/81 from the Cortina. That surely answered any questions
about damage to the Subaru in the previous round.
From that moment on it was certain that history would be made at York Raceway on Sunday 25th August. For the first time the driver of a 4WD car would take home the title of Street Racer Champion and after thirty five years the grip of V8 dominance had loosened. It had all come down to the very last race of the day. Would the first non-V8 Street Racer Champion be Wenny and the Cosworth powered Escort or the Flat Six Subaru of Andy Forrest? As Graham Beckwith introduced the two finalists the tension built, burnouts were made and the cars moved up to stage. Nerves were clearly jangling and both cars sat just short of pre-stage for what seemed like an age, then in an instant both were in full stage and the tree ran. Forrest with the better reaction time left Wenny with it all to do, but could he do the same as he had earlier when he drove around Shaun Pursley? Not this time. The Subaru pulled away all the way down the track, taking the win with 8.768/166.77 to a losing 9.814/142.04. Both cars turned around in the shutdown area and returned back down the track in time honoured tradition for the prizegiving ceremony crowning Andy Forrest the 2013 Street Racer Champion. The battle was won for the fours and sixes in 2013 but the might of the V8s won't fade and the war will continue... My second second. 31st August: The last few weeks have been a roller coaster for UK Funny Bike racer Lizz Mccarthy and her team: The bike decided that it had done more than enough thank you very much, decided that it was time it put us all to the test, and not just content to have just one thing go wrong and drop cylinders, threw in a curveball and really tested our patience! Before the Open Sport Nationals I had never tested so regularly in my life! It ran perfectly OK normally aspirated, and 8.7 which was lovely, but not nearly quick enough! As soon as we armed the nitrous it went slower. Home again, taking it all apart, leakdown was fine, so after the third weekend at the track Kev made the decision to do something he hates doing, and changed everything! New fuel pump, batteries, new lines, new solenoids, new plugs, the list went on. One test and the bike did the same thing again, changed the coils (thanks to Richard Gipp for the loan), out again and ran a 7.74 wagging its tail in its usual style. We packed up and went home happy to be a bit more confident about the meeting the following week at Shakepeare County. 
Saturday: Woke up to rain and thought "Here we go". But it soon dried off and away we went. First run bike straight, good
launch, and straight in. Number one qualifier 7.72/169. Allan Davies also straight in to a good seven too, great to see him getting form,
he has worked so hard to achieve this. One to watch! In Q2 the bike was storming! 7.71/171. I am in no doubt that Chris (Crew Chief)
was highly delighted that we were after the bigger car classes who were very kindly putting some rubber down the track !
Unfortunatley there were a few hold-ups, so we only got the two qualifying runs. Finished the day still at number one, happy days !
Sunday: Q3 burnout done, and then shut off, as oil had been found at the top end. Pushed back and waited. Second burnout, bike lurched forward and stalled, restarted but by that time the clutch was so hot that it pulled me through the lights, so a red light. 7.79/164 and some very hot clutch plates! Q4 was a bit of a slippy one. The bike launched very hard and lost power, I punched all the gears and shut off, running fourteen seconds but I was still number one qualifier. Again only two runs. Back in the pits I began doubting myself. I had used hardly any fuel and no nitrous, had I been on full throttle from the launch? After a diagnostic and quite a bit of help from everyone, especially Dale Leeks, to whom many thanks, we found that a Schnitz box setting which we never use had somehow activated itself! Problem hopefully solved. Monday (eliminations): I had a bye in the first round. Usually I would break the beam, but I had to test to make sure that all was OK. It was! 7.72/164. Next round I had Harold Wolfenden - lovely bloke, good mate, and usually good racing. I beat him with a 7.79/161, which meant I had Allan in the final. Allan was still storming with PB after PB whilst I appeared to be getting a tad slower for no real reason. 
Down to the start line, the usual camaraderie, and then all very serious. I needed to win this! It was not meant to be; the bike launched
very hard, 1.13 sixty foot, and then it all went wrong. It lost power and didn't sound very well at all, but I kept it pinned as I couldn't see
Allan, then he charged past me! So Allan won his first final, and I had my second second! 7.76 to my 8.25, and a poorly bike!
I have however provisionally won the APIRA Championship.
The bike is fixable, and we will be contesting the National Finals at Santa Pod Raceway on 21st-22nd September. Big huge thanks (until a better word is invented) go to the most amazing team: Kevin Charman, my amazing bloke, for just sorting it all out, Jake Charman for the added help when asked. It's a lot to ask, but he is amazing. Chris Pyke, our fantastic Crew Chief, Julie Moxley, Sarah Chapman, and honorary crew and photographer Helen Hayward. I would be so lost without you! Thanks also to our sponsors Tony at Abbey Motorsports, Doug at Ensys, Ken at Cooperized Dyno and Service Centre, Jeni at Yawning Cat Photography, John Austin for the rolling chassis. Lastly Shakespeare track crew and marshals, the fab pit runners Linda Williams and Mark Cousell, and Eurodragster.com for the great updates and news items (Thanks, you keep sending 'em and we'll keep running 'em - Ed)! To catch up with our adventures join us on Facebook or Twitter, or take a look at our web site at www.nitrousjunkie.com. Street Eliminator Round 6 review. 31st August: Round 6 of the Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator Championship took place at the Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway. Street Eliminator Chair Matthew Atkinson writes that there was a strong eight-car field: 
Of the eight entered, Championship leader Brian Payne was the most notable of attendees as the team had to wheel out the stunning Zephyr as opposed to the Mustang.
Problems at Bug Jam meant that unfortunately Brian was unable to get the engine back together following a problem with the thrust bearing. Nevertheless the
Zephyr is a great alternative to have and is a real head turner! There had also been a crazy couple of weeks for the Team Extreme boys as teething issues with Matt's
Escort RS at Bug Jam meant it was back to the drawing board and some new components needed to be ordered. The team headed over to the Pod the week before
the event for some last minute testing and unfortunately found further misfiring issues. After a long week on the road for Stuey travelling pretty much the width and breadth
of the country to pick up parts the team made it to the track late on Thursday.
With the weather forecast looking gloomy we awoke on Saturday to a wet track but after a couple of hours drying we were out for our first round of qualifying. A lot of the guys found it difficult to get down the track first time round with most spinning the tyres at the hit. Stu Williams in the Carmasupra managed better than most and ended up on top with a 9.441/115 with everyone else in the tens apart from Jon Webster and Andy Bond who both really struggled for traction. Matt Smith and team were still frantically thrashing away on the Escort in the pits and missed round one. Onto round two of qualifying in the evening and unfortunately problems still for Matt and Team Extreme as they hadn't cured the misfire on the Escort. Problems again for Andy Bond as well as the car seemed to bog off the line and as the nitrous came in leaving Andy and Ian scratching their heads over what to do next. Stu Williams had certainly started to get a handle on the track as he laid down an 8.192/173 to cement his lead at the top of the leader board. Jon followed that up in the '64 Comet with an 8.418/167 taking out all the power of the startline and pouring it in further down the track. It was also great to see Mark Todd out in the Pontiac GTO following a frustrating season to date with several engine issues Mark taking the number three spot with an 8.611/172. Following Al Williamson's successful Bug Jam event win in the pick up it was a frustrating day as on the way back to the pits after the first run one of the belts came off the engine. After running around the pits trying to find tools and parts to repair it was Super Comp racer Malcolm Motler to the rescue (big thanks to Malcolm) which allowed Al, with help from Mats Anderson, John Atkinson and crewman Ian to get the Procharger off, fix the problem and get the weekend back on track for Al. Following what had largely been a frustrating day for most of the teams we indulged in the annual Street Eliminator barbecue with more than thirty people in attendance from all of the teams. It was great to see everyone relaxing at the track for a change! A big thanks to the Williamsons for hosting the BBQ and to Mats Anderson for being Head Chef! Back to the track for day two of qualifying and after light drizzle in the morning the sun came out and it was on to round three. Thankfully Matt had sorted the problem in the Escort and Al was back ready for competition, much better run as well this time for Al with a 9.407/150 to take number five. Due to all of the problems with Matt's car Martin in the GTR had pretty much gone about his business quietly until now as the track started to come round and Martin run through with a 9.313/140 taking number four although still some way off the 8.0 at Bug Jam. Improvement also in that round for Andy Bond running through with a 10.970 to qualify under the cut off of 13.500. Matt Smith followed with his first pass of the weekend and delivered with a 10.147 and a very happy crew! Onto the last run of qualifying and there were no major changes as Jon Webster slightly improved to a 8.345 cementing number two position behind Stu Williams in the Supra and an improvement for Martin Smith again in the GTR back in the eights with an 8.861. A slight improvement for Brian Payne as well in that session with the Zephyr but unfortunately having to settle for eighth place in qualifying. Matt Smith with his second pass in the Escort improved to a 9.973, great run considering the low boost on the line and up the track, plenty to come from the Escort! With qualifying finished and some interesting match ups it was onto the Cruise. As this was only my second cruise at Shakespeare County Raceway the route was still a bit of an unknown, as all of the drivers found out! Within three miles of leaving the track I had taken a wrong turning in the lead vehicle and we were onto some real country roads twists and turns all the way. With some lucky map reading skills I found our location and the petrol station for which we were heading but somehow managed to go wrong again which resulted in my holding up traffic on a busy country lane to allow eight extremely hot Street Eliminator cars to carry out a U-Turn in the middle of the road! Somehow everybody made it to the petrol station in one piece, although Al Williamson's truck had got very hot. On leaving the petrol station we moved on to the hot start just a mile up the road but with 200 yards it was plain to see that Al wasn't going to make it as steam and water was shooting from the engine. Unfortunately Al was not able to complete the cruise but everyone else managed to complete the hot start and got back to the track after the forty-mile cruise rather than supposed twenty six miles! Onto Bank Holiday Monday and eliminations, with Al's pick up overheating and failing the cruise that left Martin Smith in the GTR with a bye run and he duly obliged with an 8.579/169 for his quickest run of the weekend. Number one qualifier Stu Williams faced up to Brian Payne normally a daunting task but with Brian in the Zephyr it was an ideal time for Stu to get through his first quarter final since 2012. Brian was away first but Stu was ahead by sixty feet and ran through with an 8.238/172 to take the win. Next pair up and Jon Webster in the Comet faced up against Matt Smith in the Escort for the second consecutive meeting. Jon away first and didn't look back taking the win with an 8.207 to Matt's 9.795, great effort by Matt though and setting himself up well for the European Finals. The win for Jon meant he was in prime position to take advantage of Brian's first round exit. Our last pair was Mark Todd in the GTO up against Andy Bond in the Mustang and Mark was back on song with an 8.241/177 to Andy's 9.789 to set up a semi final with Jon Webster. 
Into the semi finals and two great match ups with all four cars separated by 0.35 seconds from the previous round's ETs. Stu Williams, number one qualifier, was up
against Martin Smith in the GTR and it was Martin away first with a 0.220 to Stu's sleepy 0.553, and Martin stayed the length of his bonnet in front for the whole track
with Stu playing catch up. Martin took the win with an 8.223 to Stu's 8.243 and Martin and Team Extreme into their first final in Street Eliminator. Next up Jon Webster
and Mark Todd, on paper Jon had the advantage running quicker in the previous round but Mark had something up his sleeve running through with a 7.932/183 to
Jon's 8.184/170 but unfortunately for Mark he had redlit away the quickest run of the weekend and the only seven second pass leaving Jon to face Martin in the final.
With the track now in great condition Martin and the team looked to step the performance up for the first final whilst Jon was also looking to improve on his previous 8.184. Again sure to be another closely contested battle it would be won or lost on the startline, and it was Martin away first but sadly with a -0.045 light leaving Jon to take the win with a 8.124/171 closing the points gap to Brian Payne to just over 600 points. The runner up position for Martin also put him up to third in the points ahead of Andy Bond and with eleven cars entered for the European Finals plenty of points still left to play for! As always a big Thank You to our class sponsors to whom we are very grateful: Topspeed Automotive now in their third year sponsoring the class, Custom Car magazine, RPM magazine, Webster Race Engineering, Doctor Flock, Quartermile High / Zeon TV, Matt Woods Photography and Eurodragster.com, all of whom can be found on our web site at www.streeteliminator.com. We look forward to seeing everyone again for Round 7 of Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator back at the FIA European FInals at Santa Pod Raceway from 5th-8th September for what will hopefully be another record breaking event! Well-placed for the title. 31st August: A second event win for the year at the NitrOlympX at Hockenheim placed UK Top Fuel Bike racer Ian King and the Gulf Oil Dragracing / Grand Prix Originals team in a strong position to secure a seventh Championship at Santa Pod Raceway next weekend: 
After last year's track surface problems the 2013 NitrOlympX sported a partially resurfaced track. However, it was (understandably)
a little green at its first (and only) major event on the calendar. However, the Santa Pod track crew who were directing the track
preparation made the best of the situation and all races were finished safely and on time.
The event wasn't plain sailing as two qualifying shots were lost due to tyre smoke and another went awry when King's bike hooked right from the start line and suffered (as many others did) a disappointing change in track camber caused by the resurfacing. However, the run which counted was a fine 6.175 second pass, good enough for low qualifier and event low ET and handing him a bye before a semi-final match-up against Otto Knebl. The Czech Republic rider ran a new PB and first ever six second pass on his ex-Brian Johnson Puma Yamaha, but it was not good enough to overcome King's early shutoff 6.49 secs. The final was a familiar matchup against Swede Rikard Gustafsson on the world class Funny Bike who was duly dispatched by a close but again early shutoff 6.421/219 after King elected to use the more tricky but aptly titled Grand Prix Originals lane to take the event win. 
Two wins in a row in a four-round series has put King two elimination rounds ahead of the Swede in the points, but there will be all to play
for at the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway on 5th-8th September.
Our thanks to Marcus Moller for his YouTube video of the Final runs at www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqtmFxlsHuo. The King versus Gustafsson final can be viewed at around one minute and ten seconds. The Gulf Oil Dragracing team uses and endorses exclusively Gulf Oil greases and lubricants in their history making machine. The team is extremely proud to be supported by many leaders in their chosen markets in their successful challenges for the 2013 European and UK Championships: APE - The world's most innovative manufacturer of aftermarket parts for drag bikes Action Cameras - Europe's leading source for action sports cameras Cometic Gaskets - The premier manufacturer of racing gaskets Gates - The world's most trusted name in drive belts, hoses and hydraulics Goodridge - The original and the best in fluid transfer systems Grand Prix Originals - The brand for drive and lifestyle, past and present Gulf Oil International - The world's most iconic brand in automotive fuels and lubricants Hotrod Hangar– Home of the world renowned custom artist Knud Tiroch Hyperpro - The leading producer of progressive suspension products for motor bikes JE Pistons - The world's premier manufacturer of high performance forged pistons Kibblewhite Precision Machining, Inc -The highest quality valve train components on the market King Racing - The most successful Top Fuel Bike team in European drag racing history Mickey Thompson Tyres - Simply the best drag race tyres in the world MRE - Leaders in trackside support for drag race components and air shifting systems MTC Engineering - Manufacturer of clutches for the fastest motorcycles in the world NitroShutter - Europe's leading drag racing photo-journalists NCT Engineering - Manufacturer of the world's leading non contact torque sensors for motorsport Nexus Underwriting Management - First class support services to underwriting subsidiaries NGK Spark Plugs UK - The world's number one spark plug manufacturer Pär Willen - Master webmeister and proprietor of HarleyDrags.com Portable Shade - The best custom branded collapsible canopies available Pro Alloy Motorsport - UK's leader in fabrication of alloy racing tanks, intercoolers and radiators Puma Engineering - Manufacturers of the world's most powerful motorcycle engines RSG Customize - The UK's most creative website designers and vinyl artists Supertough - Custom cases and covers for the Film, TV, Music and Motorsports Industries Spies Hecker - The world's leading supplier of paint for car, commercial and industrial finishing Van Es mobility - The leading manufacturer of telematic products for management of moving objects Vanson Leathers - The most iconic brand in motorsport leather goods Web Camshafts Inc - Simply the company for Top Fuel Bike camshafts Worldwide Bearings - The world's leading supplier of ceramic bearings for racing Zodiac - Europe's largest supplier of performance and aftermarket HD parts Read more about Ian King and the Gulf Oil Dragracing – GPO Team at www.gulfoildragracing.com. Web site updates. 31st August: The Mad Welshman has updated his Flickr site with pictures from the Sunday of last weekend's Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway. You can take a look at Mad's pictures at www.flickr.com/photos/the_madwelshman. Alan Newton. 30th August: We were sorry to hear of the death of Alan Newton on Tuesday of last week (20th). His good friend Clive Gregory writes: Alan used to run the Sting Corvettes in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the last being the Dennis Priddle-built Sting 2. Along with Jim Read he also had a big input into the promotion of the Le Mans and Paul Ricard meetings in the early 1980s. Alan enjoyed retirement for the last ten years after selling the family business, and took up circuit racing with a Ferrari 360 challenge and various other race cars, but I knew his heart was always with drag racing. He took a turn for the worse at Oulton Park doing a track day and unfortunately passed on there. Alan was a longtime friend of mine and I will miss him dearly - we met in the late 1970s when I crewed for Graham Hawes and the Readspeed team and we had been friends ever since. Alan leaves wife Liz and daughter Grace. His funeral will be at Dewsbury Minster at 2:00 pm next Friday, 6th September. Thank you very much Clive. Our deepest sympathies to Liz and Grace and to all of Alan's family and friends. TF sought for photo session. 30th August: If you own a Top Fuel Dragster then it could be the star of a new book due for publication in Spring 2014. But to take the starring rôle your car has to be available for photographing early next week. Dan Welberry, previously PR/Marketing for multiple FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion Andy Carter, writes: This book, about Top Fuel drag racing, is going to be a serious title distributed throughout Europe and the USA and will be published by Haynes Publishing. We urgently need the help of a Top Fuel team to allow us to photograph their car prior to next week's FIA European Finals. We need a good collection of images including the car both with and without body panels, close-up shots of the cockpit, steering section, wheels, tyres, engine in stripped down and complete state, wings, as much as we can get to show our favourite racing machines in glorious detail! We need a car which will be at Santa Pod Raceway next Tuesday (3rd) or Wednesday. On Tuesday our photographer - whom you may know very well! - will be available all day to try not to get in the way and to snap away at what's required. If this isn't possible then we would aim for a smaller window after the track closes on Wednesday but Tuesday would be best. This is a great opportunity for your car and team to be featured in the book, as well as to provide massive exposure for your sponsors. The book will be launched at the 2014 FIA Main Event so it would be great to work with a team for the European Finals and over that weekend next year for the book launch when we will again be able to provide exposure for your team. Time is now very tight but I hope to hear from a team very soon so that we can get this organised as soon as possible. If you can help then please E-Mail me at dan@3tcreative.com so that we can make the arrangements. Pers' best weekend. 30th August: Mark Bodimeade, aka Animal, says that the Scandinavian Internationals at Tierp Arena was a good weekend for reflection for Swedish Top Fuel Dragster racer Patrik Pers and the Speedghost team: Patrik didn't just set a Personal Best but I believe that he is now the quickest Swedish Top Fuel racer over 1000 feet. Q1 was a planned half pass to confirm that all of our oil issues had been resolved. We were very pleased when the car came back to find no pan pressure and more importantly no oil all over the engine or down the track. However it still put us in the field with a 5.41. Q2 was a disaster, as when we fired the car one of the fuel lines to the blower was leaking really badly. However hard I tried to stop it, it was not going to happen and Alan Jackson had no choice but to shut the motor down. Q3 was much better. The car ran very clean but shook slightly, but Patrik still ran a Personal Best of 4.13 which put us number six in the field. In Q4 Alan had stepped it up a little. The car was storming but a lifter broke at about 800 feet so it only ran 4.49. But we were in the field and feeling good. So that gave us Thomas Nataas and the Andersens in round one of eliminations. We lost the race by two feet, much to our shock (at doing so well) and Patrik ran another Personal Best of 4.06. It seems that the parachutes shook loose and deployed just before the finish line. Although Thomas was on a quicker run, Patrik had him on a holeshot and maybe could have hung on had the chutes not deployed. However that's drag racing and congratulations to Thomas, Karsten and Per, and the rest of the crew on winning the event. That must of been one of the fastest Top Fuel fields ever in Europe (Yes - Ed) although I am no expert. I want to take this opportunity to thank all our crew, as without them none of this would have been possible: Tomaz, Lasa, Anders, Micke, Rodger, Kenneth, Stefen, Sarah, Christer and of course Annika and Monika. In addition nothing at all would be possible without our sponsors who have helped us and supported us throughout the year: 76 Oil, Persåkers Speedshop, Auto-Stripe SE, Steelcraft, Soders Dumpertransport AB, and Nystroms Teknikservice AB. Update! Due to the crew being on such a high and digging in their own pockets, and with more help from sponsors, we have just entered the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway. We look forward to seeing you all there. Erbacher leaves cars at home. 
30th August: Swiss Top Fuel Dragster racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Urs Erbacher
has announced that he and Noah Stutz will not be contesting next week's FIA European Finals. Urs explains:
Unfortunately we have not had the best season this year and it's over for us. When we started to put two cars together for Noah and I it was already late March. Robin and the team put together two cars only working after our day jobs, and it was very hard to get the parts in time. Some of the parts are still on the way now. Noah's licencing worked very well but at Hockenheim and Tierp we were struggling with very old parts which could not hold the pressure we had to run to compete. So we are sorry but we cannot race at the Finals. We will be at Santa Pod and we will hang out in the pits with our racing friends and fans. Maybe I can do some colour commentary for some races as I did last year (Don't wait to be asked Urs, you know the way up the stairs - Ed). We are concentrating on racing with both cars at all of the FIA Championship races next year as well as the Festival of Power at Easter. One driver will be Noah Stutz and the other will be the old guy Urs. Thank you all for being our fans and again we are sorry that we did not race in England this year. Swift snippets. 30th August: Dave Jones of Santa Pod Raceway writes that there is plenty for Fuel fans to savour at the FIA European Finals with twelve nitro burners in competition. "There will be no shortage of nitro as there will now be eight Top Fuel Dragsters at the FIA European Finals after Duncan Micallef, Patrik Pers and Chris Polidano joined Jari Halinen, Anita Mäkelä, Thomas Nataas, Stig Neergard and Chris Andrews on the entry list yesterday", says DJ. "Chris Polidano will start his licencing runs at this weekend's Peak Performance Day. In addition to the eight dragsters there will also be four Fuel Funny Cars driven by Jason Phelps, Leif Helander, Kevin Kent and Gordon Smith". Advance ticket bookings for the FIA European Finals close at 5:00 pm today (Friday); for more information visit www.santapod.com. Thanks to Ian Marshall for passing on the agenda for the Santa Pod Racers Club AGM which takes place at 7:30 pm next Wednesday (4th) at the Ibis Hotel in Wellingborough. You can check out the agenda (PDF) by clicking here. Eire's Gabrielle McDonald would be pleased to hear from anyone who would be willing to lend her a firesuit and helmet so that she can complete her Top Fuel Dragster licencing at the UK National Finals at Santa Pod Raceway in September. If you can help then contact Gabby via Facebook or drop us a line at editor@eurodragster.com and we'll put you in touch. Tierp Arena's happiest pit. 30th August: Swedish Pro Stock racer Thomas Lindström had better remember the date of the Scandinavian Internationals for one important reason, writes Ian Hart: This time Thomas should not remember the date for a European record, a Championship or an event win, but as the date on which he married fiancée Nina Norin in a ceremony in the Ernyrd Cars pit alongside the Dodge Startus which currently carries the number Pro 1 after Thomas' Championship win in 2012. 
Thomas arrived at his pit showered, shaved and wearing a suit and greeted the priest who had been asked to conduct the ceremony. Nina came out of the race truck and looked visibly shocked at the gathered masses ready to witness their marriage. Among the crowd were former Pro Mod Champion turned Top Methanol Funny Car racer Johan Lindberg along with Micke Callin, Mats Jacobsson, Stefan Boman, Lena Perés and many more, all wishing the couple well for the future and all carrying bags of rice to throw. Johan had chilled his rice to freezing point! The crew painted Just Married on the back of the car and tied cans to the back of the wheelie bars on the way to Saturday qualifying. We wish Thomas and Nina many happy years together (Seconded - Ed). Editor's note: Thanks to Ruaridh Hart for the pictures. Rahhhhhhh! 30th August: UK Super Pro ET racer and Dark Count Vince Gibbs writes that the Nosferatu team are proud to welcome latest sponsor Cyko: After each run we pull apart our remote oil filter to check for any worrying oil contamination. At a meeting last year we ran out of brake and clutch cleaner, which is used to rinse the oil from the filter. and I went on the hunt at the trade stands but no luck. I asked at the Cyko shop, located in one of the units under the grandstand, and they suggested trying their Tar Remover product. It was cheaper than brake and clutch cleaner, I bought a couple of bottles and it worked a treat on the 50 weight oil we use in the motor. Since then I have only used this product. Cyko have a wide range of products and all are gentle on the environment and completely biodegradable. Please check their website at www.ninjakiosk.co.uk/collections/all-products. We are very proud to be associated with this company and their great products. Just go Cyko. Rahhhhhhh. Mr Gasket backs Allard Chrysler. 
30th August: The Allard Chrysler Action Group has announced more
support for the restoration of Europe's first dragster, this time from the Mr Gasket Performance Group, part of Prestolite Performance Group.
The story of the brand is part of drag racing's folklore. Mr Gasket was formed by Joe Hrudka in 1964 and incorporated in 1965. Back then Joe and his brother Tom used to campaign a 1957 Chevy drag race car. Using this as a test vehicle, they recognized the need for a line of engine gaskets and fasteners tough enough to seal and withstand the extreme engine temperatures, pressures and stresses created by high performance race engines. The creation of the durable gasket was the result, and the rest is history as they say. But Mr Gasket now offers much more than just gaskets. The brand covers a variety of performance and racing products including carburetor and fuel accessories, chrome-plated accessories, cooling system accessories, engine components, ignition and electrical accessories, shifter accessories, speciality tools, suspension and driveline components. The family of performance brands includes Mr Gasket, Lakewood, ACCEL, Mallory Ignition and Hays. At its zenith in the 1990s many more famous brands were on that list. The Mr Gasket products used on the Allard Chrysler include valve cover sets made from thick, moulded rubber with a steel carrier. They are manufactured from a high-density cork and rubber blend gasket material. A black latex rubber coating is applied to outside of gasket to help seal minor flange irregularities and eliminate the possibility of oil leakage. This creates a positive seal by controlled swelling of the gasket material when exposed to hot engine oil. They are extra thick to provide additional valve train to cover clearance. And being fuel-resistant they can be reused many times. ACAG Chairman Brian Taylor said "Another link to Mr Gasket comes via our Bedford-based components partner US Automotive, the number one Mr Gasket distributor in UK. And our US Patron is Traci Hrudka, Chairman of the Quarter Mile Foundation and Project 1320, a Charitable Trust logging the history of American drag racing in a series of films for television. Traci is the daughter of Tom Hrudka and was Sales and Marketing Manager for Mr Gasket between 1982 and 1997. In 1993 she was named the Performance Warehouse Association Person of the Year. "I can't quite remember who introduced Traci to our restoration project. I think it was legendary drag racing commentator Jon Lundberg or Carl Olson. Whoever it was did us a big favour because she is an explosion of enthusiasm and immediately took it to heart, promoting it on the Project 1320 booth at the 2009 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Building awareness in the USA has been key to gaining sponsorship from many American suppliers and Traci has played an important role in this." Test Weekend / VW Action coverage. 30th August: Eurodragster.com will be at Santa Pod Raceway this weekend to bring you the action from VW Action, Saturday's Run What You Brung and Sunday's Peak Performance Day in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car. We plan to post a photo gallery, with mouse-over captions of significant events, at the end of each day. The Webster Race Engineering / Nimbus Motorsport webcam will be on-line and broadcasting live video and commentary so long as the track is open each day. We will post a direct Home Page link to our coverage as soon as it commences but in the meantime you can check out our FIA European Finals week Event Index, which includes links to the official entry list and provisional running orders, by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. FIA European Finals racer update. 29th August: Many thanks to Ian Marshall for forwarding details of the arrangements for next week's FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway: Version 9 of the official entry list is now available and can be checked out by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Santa Pod Raceway's gates will open at 08:00 next Wednesday (4th) for racers signed up for the Pro Racer Test Day only. Gates will open for all other racers at 14:00. Signing on and scrutineering times are as follow: Wednesday 4th Signing On office opens 14:00 Car scrutineering commences 14:00. No bike scrutineering until Thursday. Thursday 5th Signing On office opens 07:00 Car scrutineering commences 07:00 Bike scrutineering commences 08:00 Friday 6th Signing On office opens 07:30 Car and bike scrutineering commence 07:30 Saturday 7th Signing On office opens 08:00 Car and bike scrutineering commence 08:00 The provisional running orders are now available for all four days of the race and can be checked out by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Super Pro ET racers please note that your first round of eliminations takes place on Saturday morning and not Friday. All racers please also note that as ever these running orders are subject to change due to weather or track conditions or for any other reason deemed necessary by race officials. FIA European Finals banquet. 29th August: Trakbak Racing will once again be holding a prizegiving banquet two hours after the close of racing on the Sunday of next week's FIA European Finals (8th September). The banquet will be held in Santa Pod's hospitality village marquee which is located next to the fire up road. Teams wishing to purchase tickets for the event can purchase tickets from the Santa Pod 'Garage' Shop located next to the Pod Shop in the pits at Santa Pod Raceway, or for a credit card purchase form please contact Geoff Myers at geoff@trakbak.com. Trophies will be presented by Trakbak Racing Ltd for first, runner-up and third places in the following FIM Europe motorcycle categories:
Track Group Europe will be presenting trophies for first, runner-up and third places in the following FIA car classes:
Places are limited so book early. UK National Finals entry closing. 29th August: Ian Marshall has also been in touch to ask us to remind racers that tomorrow (Friday) is the official closing date for the UK National Finals, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 21st-22nd September. However Ian tells us that he will also accept entry forms at standard price at next week's FIA European Finals at Santa Pod. You can check out Version 1 of the official UK National Finals entry list by clicking here, and you can download the official entry forms from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. Amanda gets Grumpy. 29th August: UK Comp Eliminator racer Amanda Cox aka Yenkonova tells us that she will be going back to her Pro ET roots at next week's FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway. "I will be driving Paul Marston Racing's Grumpy's Dodge which is maintained by Drag Race Engineering", says Amanda. "I would like to thank the PMR team for giving me the chance to get back in the driving seat. I'm very much looking forward to working with you during the race. "My newly-built Yenkonova is currently at rest with plans in the making with Webster Race Engineering and Topspeed Automotive for its reappearance in 2014. I would like to thank all those involved with the build of the new Yenkonova, my family, close friends and amazing supporters that have given me the most amazing backing this year. Special thanks go to Jon Webster and the 'boys' at Topspeed Automotive for everything they have done over the last year. 2014 can't come soon enough. See you on the start line." The best of the best! 
29th August: Eurodragster.com photo kit sponsor Karsten Andersen of Denmark's
Andersen Racing Top Fuel Dragster team says that it was a nerve-wracking weekend of bests at Tierp Arena,
where Thomas Nataas took the event victory:
The best runs: Wow! It was without a doubt the most exciting race weekend in the history of Andersen Racing. Not only did we increase our lead in the European Championship big time - we are now leading by 81 points - we also set a new European speed record of 494.05 kmh and a new European ET Record of 3.965 seconds. Absolutely awesome. The best performance: We would like to thank our fantastic crew who always go the extra mile, and our outstanding driver Thomas Nataas who stays calm and focused at all times, and our loyal sponsors who makes racing at this level possible: Landmeco, Else-Marie, Biltema, Teslak Transport, VEIDEC, Pack Plast, Sunoco, Nybo Rod Shop and ABC-Skilte. The best track: Last but certainly not least a big thank you to Tierp Arena for making the best track in Europe, and/or outside the USA. This weekend showed that that the European Top Fuel teams are more than ready to and capable of setting new records, so when the tracks also do their very best there is sweet magic. See you all at Santa Pod Raceway for the last race of the year. Hopefully it will be just as fantastic - we will certainly do our part. Six hours in the record books. 29th August: Finnish Top Fuel Dragster racer and Scandinavian Internationals runner-up Anita Mäkelä says that her successful weekend has given her the energy to carry on for a long while yet: Look at my times: 4.203/457, 4.131/473, 4.025/483, 3.974/487, 3.968/484, 3.990/488, 4.027/470. They speak more than a thousand words! The first round was a baseline, and after that tuning was responding as it should. Fast, consistent, solid runs without any severe engine damage. I was able to put the first three-second run on the scoreboard on Saturday evening. What a ride that was and that was when I realised the real power of the nitro car. It felt very strong, and although it felt like driving on ice it was still under my control. I was amazed, excited and loaded with good energy. This is the feedback which keeps me racing. And to share this moment together with thousands of Tierp visitors was awesome. When I was on the return road waving to all of you, I really felt like you were sharing this run with me. The crowd was cheering so loud. Thank you all for that moment! 
This huge improvement was thanks to The Lagana brothers, Bob and Dom. These awesome, professional tuners knew what to do. They are both
racers, too, which gave me a huge opportunity to learn more although if you have done something the same way for many years, the habits are
very difficult to change. That almost caused a defeat at the lights in the first round of eliminations. Bob and Dom explained what to do and what
the effect would be: it was easy to understand, but hard to do. But I'll learn!
On Sunday we were held the new European record for almost six hours, so we got our names in the books for a while! In the first round we beat Urs Erbacher and it gave us the record, 3.968. Jari Halinen couldn't make the start line in semi-finals, but I made a full throttle run anyway. The time was below the fours again, 3,9909. In the finals I met Thomas Nataas and we had a spark plug problem starting the engine. The crew knew what to do, and the problem was solved quickly. I was signalled to do a short burnout and a quick back up so that Thomas wouldn't have any problems. I went as fast as I could (You and the team did brilliantly well - Ed). Thomas won, but even when the cake doesn't have a cherry it still tastes good. A weekend of very strong runs tasted good and I'm happy! I have an excellent hard-working crew. Bob and Dom brought us back to a level at which we can really challange Thomas, Per and Karsten, and their whole team. Congratulations to the Andersen team, you were better this time! Now I need a bigger fuel pump! A Lion at Tierp. 
29th August: Thanks to Malta Drag Racing Association Secretary Jason Camilleri for
passing us Top Fuel Dragster racer Duncan Micallef's account of his weekend at Tierp Arena:
After the bad luck we had at Hockenheim, Tierp Arena was an unexpected test event. On our first run I was instructed by owner Rune Fjeld to make a three hundred foot pass to see if the problem from Hockenheim was solved. It was a good launch, 0.87 to sixty feet, which was the second best launch of the weekend. We were happy because we knew that the track was great and some fun times were about to occur. On Saturday morning we went out for Q3. Nice burnout, everything was perfect, opened the pump on the high side and a 4.29-second run. Got out of the car and when Mark (Crew Chief) came over to me I told him it was a 4.2 run straight away and in fact it was. I felt that the run wasn't good enough but yet it was my best so far in this car. Back in the pits we found that the car went on the lean side. Rune thought that I didn't open the fuel pump but then a malfunction was found with the pump lever cable so the lever didn't put the pump on the high side. So that was it. We ended qualifying number nine and didn't race on Sunday. It looks like luck is not on our side this year but our crew, supporters, friends and those who love drag racing know me well - I will never give up and Santa Pod is waiting for me to do what I didn't do at either Hockenheim or Tierp. Special thanks go to Rune Fjeld, Mike Domagala and as usual my crew, sponsors and those who helped us with the car. Look out for the Maltese Lion because the tougher things get the tougher the Lion becomes! Andrews on home turf. 29th August: Rune Fjeld Motorsport PR Polly Magnussen writes that the UK's Chris Andrews is one of the conquistadors at next week's FIA European Finals in his mighty Lucas Oil Top Fuel Fragster: 
Last weekend Chris and his crew raced in an epic round at Tierp Arena in Sweden, where new European records were set for both ET and speed,
and inspired by this Chris is now working 24/7 to be as prepared as ever at his home track in England. Chris will again be running in the former Don
Schumacher dragster, now owned and tuned by Rune Fjeld. This dragster has the potensial to make a serious impression when everything is done
correctly at the right time. To make sure that this happens, the Forbes & Andrews Top Fuel Drag Racing Team has hired one of the world's most
experienced race engineers, Eddie Corr, to make sure the race car is tuned and working at its maximum.
"Coming home and racing at Santa Pod is always a big moment for me", says Chris. "It is where I first witnessed the power of these cars and wanted to drive one. I will never forget the first time I saw Barry Sheavills drive his car back in 1998, from that moment on I wanted to drive one. Barry you have a lot to answer for! Hopefully I can inspire the next generation of drivers out there to drive one of these beautiful cars in future. "But in all seriousness this is a big weekend for us here at Forbes and Andrews Racing and RF Motorsport, we want to push this new car as hard as we can and find the limits and see if we can find its sweet spot and run in the high threes." The FIA European Finals at Santa Pod is the race which every team looks forward to winning, and being a UK racer Chris can't deny that there is some pressure. In the VIP stand there will also be a big crowd watching the young man firing up at the start line as Forbes & Andrews will host a VIP event this weekend gathering friends, sponsors and other, as a nice way to end the season and to show their gratitude for everything which has made this year come to life. "I am really looking forward to the home crowd support", says Chris. "Last year was great, when they announced us last year before we fired up I could hear the crowd cheer us on. This year if you supporters are up for it I need you to make as much noise as you can so I can hear you as I do a burnout. I look forward to seeing you all at the track, stop by and say hello and have a good chat." Since Chris started his season at round four he has no chance of fighting for the Championship, but saying that he has done well at every round and he is currently number seven in the points with a good chance of ending the year fifth. That would be a massive achievement to take with him into a full season in 2014. ET, keys and a trophy. 29th August: The new ET Bike Pro class looked to suit the UK's Phil Pratt just fine as his PBM Racing bike is not quick enough for 8.50 Bike and too quick for 9.50 Bike. So Phil and partner SuZe packed up and headed to Shakespeare County Raceway for what would prove to be an eventful weekend: The weekend started really well with Event 1 when we arrived with a brand new tent. After watching the instructional DVD at home the night before - rock'n'roll lifestyle or what - we were all set, only to realise that we'd watched the instructions on how to put up a completely different model of tent! Those who have ever tried to build flat pack furniture without the instructions will understand exactly the start to which our weekend got off! Tent up, we eagerly waited for our call to the pairing lanes. With our brand new dial-in board - OK, small white board complete with handy carry rope - proudly displaying our 9.10 dial-in, we headed to the start line. And here comes Event 2: whilst holding the board high, a gust of wind from behind blew the little rope handle up and over, resulting in us being dialled-in with a 9.90 and breaking out with a 9.16! D'oh! Sunday was great fun, as we took number one spot in the first qualifying session of the day, lost it in the second, but then took it back with with the final qualifying run, +0.033 on our predicted 9.18 which, with only three bikes in the class at this round, would give us a bye run in the semi and a guaranteed place in the Final. So off we went to celebrate - cue Event 3: a late evening of entertaining the bike pits with flashing lights courtesy of the AA man, a lovely old fella called Dave, who was called out to recover the car keys (along with all Phil's racewear and beer) from inside the locked boot of our Ford Focus. As much as Phil is blaming SuZe for that, SuZe is placing the blame firmly at the feet of Team Ven and their text messaging antics... long story and probably not one for here! 
Monday dawned, and with keys recovered and Phil's leathers now at the ready we waited our call. Our bye run of 9.163 on a 9.12 got us through
alongside seasoned ET racer Paul Furlong in the final. That was a great race, the outcome of which was Phil winning and running +0.003 over
his dial-in with a 9.143/143.98.
A great weekend, full of fun and laughs - and a winner's trophy to boot! Special thanks must go to Paul Furlong for such a great race in the final, Pete and Debbie Austin (and Terry) for the laughs, Team Hat for coming to the rescue with dinner on Sunday evening after the key débacle, and of course all those who came to Phil's rescue with cans of liquid sustenance. Massive thanks to all at Shakespeare County Raceway for making us so welcome, and to Tony Smith for doing his utmost to get this fantastic, and in our opinion much-needed, class off the ground. ET Bike really is a great way to race flat out and hopefully there will be more entries at the next round, scheduled for the Extreme Performance Bike at Santa Pod Raceway in October. If everyone who expressed an interest turns up, then this class is certainly going to grow. Swift snippets. 29th August: You wait a while for one, and then two come along: European Top Methanol Dragster speed record holder, Malta's Chris Polidano, will be going for his Top Fuel Dragster licence at Santa Pod Raceway this weekend with a view to competing at next week's FIA European Finals. Eurodragster.com will be at Santa Pod Raceway this weekend and in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car we will be bringing you end-day galleries with mouse-over captions and of course Webster Race Engineering / Nimbus Motorsport webcasts on Saturday and Sunday. UK Pro ET racer Glenn Pallant asked us to say a big Thank You for the overwhelming response of the racing community to yesterday's plea for a pair of slicks. Glenn is now properly-shod and looks forward to seeing everyone at the FIA European Finals. "Thanks also to Eurodragster.com for responding so quickly to my request for urgent help", adds Glenn. our pleasure Glenn and our own thanks to all those readers who offered help. Whilst working on the European Bests sheet, timing guru Andy Marrs of TSI Timers Europe uncovered some interesting Pro Stock facts. "At every FIA Championship event this season Jimmy Ålund has been number one qualifier and Thomas Lindström number two", says Andy. "Every final has been between those two and Jimmy has four wins to Thomas' one. In addition Jimmy has set low ET and high speed at every event." Web site updates. 29th August: Our good buddy Alan Currans writes with news of a double-header update on his excellent Acceleration Archive. "You might call this update Ancient and Modern", says Alan. "How many readers remember the Pro Comp class, that wonderful amalgamation of dragsters, Funny Cars and Competition Altereds from the 1970s (Wistful sigh - Ed)? Well, here is your chance to journey back in time with a page of some of the most notable dragsters which competed way back when. A quick trip in the Tardis and we are then transported forward to Shakespeare County Raceway for a collection of pictures taken last Monday at the Stripe 21 Open Sport Nationals". As ever you can check out the latest updates via the What's New link at www.theaccelerationarchive.co.uk. Continuing the Nostalgia theme, Colin Donisthorpe has updated his Flickr site with pictures from the 1993 Easter Thunderball, Main Event and Cannonball Run. You can check out Colin's pictures at www.flickr.com/photos/colin_donisthorpe. National Hot Rod Reunion results. 28th August: Thanks to George Kinghorn of the UKDrag.net Blog for forwarding us the results of the weekend's National Hot Rod Reunion at York Raceway: Supercup: Winner Andrew Arnold (PRO113) 9.336/155.71 over Nick Wilson (PRO229) 9.580/135.13 Pro ET: Winner Andrew Arnold (PRO113) 9.154/159.48 over Dave Rudd (PRO207) 10.322/110.13 Sportsman ET: Winner Stephen Gilmour (SP71) 14.479/92.15 over Nathan Askey (JDM69) 14.216/100.49 American Superstock: Winner Adam Nowark (SS226) 11.049/120.96 over Dan Houlston (SS49) 10.511/129.02 JDM-DRC: Winner Phil Davison (SP42) 15.757/84.24 over Nathan Askey (JDM69) red light Robin Read says that he had a very pleasant weekend at York Raceway having been invited to make demonstration runs in his nitro Daimler. "It was a pleasure to run at this meeting", says Robin. "Everyone was very helpful. When I didn't always know where things were, mostly the reply was "Oh I'll show you". We were surprised too at the standard of track preparation. We we managed a 1.09 second sixty foot time coupled with a 7.35/184 pass. In fact I made four passes and all were below eight seconds. "I must say a big thank you to all at York Raceway for providing a safe and relaxed but highly efficient racing environment over the weekend. I'm surprised that many more southern racers don't go north and make use of this facility. Go on, you'll be glad you did!" It was thirty years ago today... 
28th August: Herb Andrews writes of an anniversary which falls today:
Thirty years ago today, in the first Pro Comp qualifying session at Santa Pod Raceway's August Bank Holiday Summer Nationals, Norm Wheeldon driving the Wheeldon and (Steve) Rose Plan X front-engined slingshot ran 6.85/194.50. This was the first six-second methanol slingshot run in the UK, a feat which has not been repeated to date. The plain black, no-frills, no fancy paint job lightweight slingshot was powered by a new Donovan SBC block, which is still in use today as the front engine in Two Much. All those who have known Norm over the years, and his sense of humour, will appreciate what he told me: "To celebrate the anniversary, the blown methanol slingshot Six Second Club are having a party in the small mid-Wales village to which I retired. It will be held tonight in the old red phone box next to the bridge". Bring back Pro Comp... Flamholc's dilemma. 28th August: Sweden's Adam Flamholc is facing a real dilemma about where to race next week: We have a thirty-point lead in the FIA European Top Methanol Funny Car Championship going into the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway next week. On the same weekend it's the ADRL Battle of the Belt at Rockingham, and round seven of the ADRL Championship. We are third in the ADRL Championship, just a little more then one round win from first place. I have not missed an ADRL event since Texas in 2011, and if I don't go to Rockingham I am giving away the chance to win the belt and the series. If I don't go to Santa Pod I'm giving away the chance to be European Champion as a rookie in the Funny Car. Our sponsors and the guys in the team say it's up to me to decide. I don't know what to do (Good luck with that one, Adam - Ed). Swift snippets. 
28th August: Nervous Nick writes that three racers have a chance of the UK's Gasser Circus title going into the
final round at the NSRA Hot Rod Drags at Shakespeare County Raceway on 13th-15th September. "The contenders are 2011 and 2012 Champion Ray Turner racing his
1955 Chevy Green Onions, Brian Gibson racing his '64 Dodge Dart Identity Crisis, and Sean Milsom racing his 1947 Morris van Ain't Misbehavin'", says Nick. "Sean is the current leader
of the race series, so there is all to play for in three weeks."
Many thanks to Andy Marrs of TSI Timers Europe for sending us a new sheet of European Bests updated with the tranche of records set in FIA classes at the Scandinavian Internationals. You can check out the new bests by clicking here or by clicking on the European Bests link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Racers have two more chances to test before next week's FIA European Finals. Santa Pod Raceway host a Run What You Brung this Saturday (31st) and a Peak Performance Day on Sunday alongside the VW Action event and then the Pro Racer Test Day next Wednesday (4th) which is open to all racers, Pro or Sportsman, so long as they are entered in the FIA European Finals. You can find out more about these test days at www.rwyb.co.uk. Web site updates. 28th August: Our good buddy, photo-journalist Remco Scheelings has had two Scandinavian Internationals race reports posted on the Autosport.nl web site. As ever there is a race report which you can check out by clicking here and an off-track report which you can check out by clicking here. A Flame and Thunder invitation. 27th August: James Forster of Santa Pod Raceway tells us that entry is now open to make demonstration passes at the Flame and Thunder Show at Santa Pod Raceway on Saturday 26th October: This is a real showcase event where we welcome anyone who's going to put on a show and demonstrate the best of British drag racing to the public. The more quirky and unique the vehicle at this one the better! We're looking for big smoky burnouts (and a couple engulfed with fire in the evening too), wheelstands - including wheelie competition - quick runs and even match racing. This is the perfect opportunity to settle a score with a friend or rival, whether it's heads up, or why not stick a number on the back and race with a dial-in instead? Places are limited and we are normally oversubscribed and often end up having to turn people away so I'd urge anyone wishing to race to get in touch sooner rather than later at james@santapod.com or call 01234 782828. To those to whom I've spoken to at the track or in passing mention on the phone, please contact me again to ensure you're not forgotten! Swift snippets. 27th August: Thanks to Ian Marshall for sending us Version 8 of the official entry list for the FIA European Finals, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 5th-8th September. You can check out the FIA European Finals entry by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page, and you can download the official entry forms from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. Please join Kirstie, Tog, Simon and Ed in wishing a very Happy Birthday to Eurodragster.com Contributing Photographer Julian Hunt. Have a great day Julian. Open Sport Nationals results. 26th August: Congratuations to the winners of the Stripe 21 Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway: Super Comp: Paul Hudson 8.893/150.39 b/o def. Andy Williams 8.815/145.61 b/o Super Gas: Richard Davies 10.021 def. Bob Molden 9.987/132.99 Super Street: Harrison Brown 10.923/105.00 def. Leigh Morris 11.509/101.90 red-light Super Pro ET: Bob Doyle (8.65) 8.672/156.61 def. Patrick Dubois (7.47) 7.507/182.38 Pro ET: Tig Napier (9.79) 9.803/132.58 def. Paul Jackson (9.79) 10.537/102.75 Sportsman ET: Craig Wright (16.70) 16.743/78.30 def. Ian Jackson (15.40) 15.483/90.52 Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator: Jon Webster 8.124/171.17 def. Martin Smith 12.911/51.19 red-light Lucas Oil Junior Dragster: Rhiannon Bellenie (7.90) 7.891/82.42 b/o def. Billy Everitt (8.11) 8.081/81.37 b/o Outlaw Anglia: Colin Millar 7.895/169.43 def. Cliff Griffin 7.891/173.53 Wild Bunch: Adam Price (9.41) 9.414/142.80 def. Darryl Howells (broke) VW Sportsman: Luke Stevenson (13.44) 13.255/92.91 def. Adrian London (16.66) 16.552/79.24 VW Pro: Lucy Matthews (12.10) 12.282/108.82 def. Jacob Bailey (12.60) 13.628/105.77 Funny Bike: Stuart Crane 7.890/124.67 def. Dave Peters (broke) Comp Bike: Allan Davies 7.768/167.85 def. Lizz McCarthy 8.258/156.40 Super Street Bike: Chris Reed 7.579/193.08 def. Steve Venables 7.343/192.15 8.50 Bike: Robert Field 8.501/155.27 def. Martin Walker 8.703/145.44 9.50 Bike: Alex Hope 9.557/148.41 def. Fred Furlong 9.493/135.53 b/o Supertwin Gas: Joe Elliott 9.386/143.01 def. Chris Mott 10.357/132.94 Supertwin ET: Giselle Moor (15.60) 15.335/80.94 def. Peter Harrison (11.15) 11.186/117.69 red-light ET Pro Bike: Phil Pratt (9.14) 9.143/143.98 def. Paul Furlong (9.10) 9.164/147.02 ET Sportsman Bike: Jasper Joy (11.50) 11.752/111.96 def. Fiona Moor (14.00) 17.627/89.81 Junior Drag Bike: Jasmine Cordelle (9.02) 9.057/67.57 def. Alfie Udall (9.79) 9.568/66.96 Congratulations also to Nicole Parker (Pro ET) and Eurodragster.com sponsor Nic Williams (Pro ET) who won the Eurodragster.com / Bad Habit Racing Perfect Light Award and Eurodragster.com / Gold RV Perfect ET Award respectively. Both Awards have been reset to £50 for the FIA European Finals. You can check out our Alamo Rent A Car-sponsored reports and galleries by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Scandinavian Internationals results. 
26th August: Congratulations to the winners of the weekend's Scandinavian Internationals at Tierp Arena:
FIA Top Fuel Dragster: Thomas Nataas 3.9822/494.05 def. Anita Mäkelä 4.0277/470.38 FIA Top Mathanol Dragster: Jonny Lagg 5.5972/417.63 def. Paul Ingar Udtian 6.2085/362.66 FIA Top Methanol Funny Car: Adam Flamholc 5.5203/423.86 bye, Leif Andréasson shut off FIA Pro Modified: Micke Gullqvist 5.8744/401.19 def. Mattias Wulcan 6.2351/341.77 FIA Pro Stock: Jimmy Ålund 6.5580/341.99 def. Thomas Lindström no time Pro Mod B-Ladder: Fredrik Lundh 6.6368/352.71 def. Stefan Holmberg 7.6954/189.87 Top Fuel Bike: Peter Svensson 5.7694/376.04 bye Nordic Supertwin Challenge: Trond Høiberget 7.4003/325.50 def. Hans Olav Olstad 7.3466/235.40 Pro Stock Bike: Elvira Karlsson 7.0276/305.60 def. Kalle Lyrén 7.0542/303.20 Comp Eliminator: Daniel Jedborn (7.84) 7.2666/295.57 def. Odd Erik Fossum (7.05) no time Super Comp: Robin Norén 8.9323/261.25 def. Albin Frank 8.8724/240.64 breakout Super Gas: Gideon Liljegren 11.2833/140.22 def. Håkan Mattsson DQ deep stage foul Super Street: Simon Gustafsson 10.9010/213.27 def. Tomas Hägg 10.8785/206.19 breakout Stock / Super Stock: Jarmo Markkanen (10.03) 10.1792/193.90 def. Lars Björklund (11.13) 11.0948/191.02 breakout Junior Dragster: Theodor Brandt (7.90) 7.9216/127.72 def. Hampus Sundqvist (13.10) 13.1172/78.47 Super Street Bike: Svein Ove Brændhagen 7.6937/298.84 def. Roberth Häggblom 7.8006/292.68 Super Comp Bike: Bert Nilsen 8.6132/236.12 def. Håkan Braw 9.1218/257.39 Super Gas Bike: Jarkko Niemi 9.5122/206.34 def. Kristoffer Jarbo 9.6065/184.55 Congratulations to the following on setting new European records, subject to official ratification (see the records notebook page at right): Top Fuel Dragster ET: 3.965 seconds, Thomas Nataas Top Fuel Dragster speed: 494.05 kmh / 306.99 mph, Thomas Nataas Top Methanol Funny Car ET: 5.437 seconds, Jonnie Lindberg Top Methanol Funny Car speed: 432.69 kmh / 268.86 mph, Jonnie Lindberg (this is also a world record) Pro Modified ET: 5.872 seconds, Micke Gullqvist Pro Modified speed: 401.19 kmh / 249.29 mph, Micke Gullqvist Pro Stock ET: 6.534 seconds, Jimmy Ålund Pro Stock speed: 343.29 kmh / 213.31 mph, Jimmy Ålund The Bump Spot record for an eight-car Pro Stock field was also reset on Saturday and now stands at 6.797 seconds. You can check out our Alamo Rent A Car-sponsored reports and galleries by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Many thanks to Kjell Pettersson for sending us the post-Scandinavian Internationals points standings in the FIA European Drag Racing Championships which you can check on our OCS Paint-sponsored Points Standings page by clicking here or by clicking on the OCS Paint Points Standings link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Swift snippets. 24th August: Thanks to Ian Marshall for sending us Version 7 of the official entry list for the FIA European Finals, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 5th-8th September. You can check out the FIA European Finals entry by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page, and you can download the official entry forms from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. Pro Mod B-Ladder prize fund... 23rd August: Further to the announcement of the B-Ladder for Pro Modified qualifiers 17-24 at the Scandinavian Internationals this Sunday, Tomas Pettersson tells us that the prize pool for this extra ladder is as follows: 10,000 SEK in goods from ME Racing Service in Borlänge Winner: 5000 SEK Runner-up: 2500 SEK Semi-final losers: 1250 SEK each 10 000 SEK from the European Pro Mod Association (membership of the EPMA is required to be eligible for these prizes*) Winner: 5000 SEK Runner-up: 2500 SEK Semi-final losers: 1250 SEK each The winner of the B ladder will also receive a letter box, customised with graphics of their choice, from design company 3221 Design. Additional awards may be announced. *The membership fee for the European Pro Mod Association is a one-time 500 SEK. Mats Eriksson, Treasurer of the European Pro Mod Association, can advise interested Pro Mod teams on how to pay the membership fee during the race weekend. Please note: Participants in the Pro Mod B-Ladder are not eligible for additional points in the EDRS, European Championship or SM series. If a driver appears as an alternate in the FIA Championship ladder then that driver will be removed from the B ladder and replaced by a B ladder alternate. ...and a new Pro Mod award. 
23rd August: Stefan Boman writes that a new form of recognition has been established within drag racing, although maybe not the most
prestigious award one could win:
This week at Tierp Arena Fast Freddy Fagerström has presented his Nice Try Award to Michael Gullqvist for his fruitless attempt to beat Freddy in Pro Mod competition during the Swedish Championship race earlier this season. The background is that the two racers have met multiple times since racing in the same class for over twenty years, during which Freddy never won. This was highlighted by Micke during a celebration dinner last year with a special Diploma for Inspirational Resistance throughout the years. So when Freddy finally beat Micke the return recognition was established. The intention is to present this prize to other racers in the future when it's extra prestigious to beat them. Swift snippets. 23rd August: Steve Ashdown has asked us to thank Andy Wheeler and Dionne, Page and Belle for a great day at the Alamo Junior Fun Day on Wednesday and especially for the loan of a car when Tyler Ashdown's own Junior Dragster developed problems. "Tyler and I are so grateful as with out the Wheelers' help we wouldn't have made the qualifying round at all", says Steve. "Thanks for excellent day, Tyler thoroughly enjoyed himself. Thanks also to all of the Santa Pod Raceway staff." Web site updates. 
23rd August: Our good buddy Chris Eyre tells us that the European Nostalgia Funny Car web site at
euronostalgiafunnycar.jimdo.com has been updated with a report from Hockenheim including photos
supplied by Julian Hunt, Kirstie and Tog. "Thanks to all three", says Chris. "Included in the report are video links for all
the runs made in Germany. There is also a photo gallery from the Mopar Euronats where Ramon was running the Wild'r at Heart Charger, thank you again Tog for the photos
(You're welcome - Ed). Still for sale is the Tre Kronor Arrow; I have received a spec sheet for anyone interested in owning this fantastic car. There will be a couple
more outings for the NFCs this year, the first of which will be the Hot Rod Drags where Ramon could be running the Wild'r at Heart Charger and the second event is to
be confirmed, keep tuning back to find out where and when!"Open Sport Nationals update. 22nd August: Thanks to Shakespeare County Raceway for passing us the provisional running order for Saturday's first day of qualifying at the Stripe 21 Open Sport Nationals. You can check out the running order by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Please note as ever that running orders are provisional and subject to change due to weather or track conditions or for any other reason deemed necessary by race officials. Alamo Junior Fun Day results. 22nd August: Thanks to Spencer Tramm for sending us the results of yesterday's (Wednesday's) Alamo Rent-A-Car Junior Fun Day at Santa Pod Raceway. Congratulations to: Junior Dragster: Winner Joe Kellett, runner-up Jon Przybyl Junior Modified: Joint winners Thaliah Gibb and Thomas Cook-Abbott (final not completed due to rain) Junior Stock: Winner Skye Collier, runner-up Katie Ellis Junior Drag Bike: Winner Louis Davies, runner-up Scott Collier Outlaw 330: Winner Paige Wheeler, runner-up Rhiannon Bellenie Parents/Crew race: Winner Spencer Tramm, runner-up Sandie Gibb You can check out John Przybyl's pictures from the Junior Fun Day at multicapturephotography.zenfolio.com. Ålund and X-Parts! 
22nd August: Sweden's Jimmy Ålund Pro Stock Racing have announced that X-Parts
are continuing to sponsor the team this season.
X-Parts is Sweden's most complete supplier of speciality starters and generators for enthusiast vehicles. X-Parts supplies high torque mini starters which deliver more torque than OEM starters while consuming less energy. X-Parts is represented by Jimmy Ålund for the whole of the season and the team carries a selection of high-torque starters for GM, Ford and Mopar at all 2013 European Championship races for direct sales at the track. The target audience is racers and also anyone in attendance who needs high torque starters for their cars. Feel free to visit Jimmy Ålund's pit area during this weekends Scandinavian Internationals for more information, or check out www.x-parts.se. Team Starta heading for Tierp. 22nd August: It's been a long but good summer and Sweden's Team Starta Top Fuel Bike team's last race was the Sweden Internationals at Tierp Arena in June so it feels really great to be the way to Tierp again for their final race in Europe this season, this week's Scandinavian Internationals again at Tierp Arena. Although not a Championship round the Scandinavian Internationals will host most of the FIM Europe classes such as Pro Stock Bike, Super Twin Top Fuel and Top Fuel Bike which will feature at least five Top Fuel Bikes including some of the very best bikes in Europe. Sören Svensson writes: 
Our bike has gone through some major changes within the fuel supply system since the race in June and we are really looking forward to racing again in front of our Swedish fans and friends
who will hopefully also will be able to join us during this race. We will start our long drive to Tierp early this morning (Thursday) in order to participate in the press conference at the track at
17:00 together with several top names in other classes and in order to be ready for the first qualifying session on Friday morning where we will test our new set up for the first time.
If you are coming to the race you are always welcome to visit our pit area for a chat or maybe to buy a T-Shirt or a cape or get a free hero card signed by Peter. Depending upon the availability of funds our next races will be the Art Malone Memorial Southern Nostalgia and Muscle Car Shootout Bradenton, USA on 2nd-3rd November and the Manufacturers World Cup at Bradenton, USA on 8th-10th November. A big Thank You to those who make this possible: STARTA Produkter, supplied by Sollebrunns Oljeservice PR Husbilar, one of the largest companies in the western region of Sweden selling RVs HPS Supechargers, number one when it comes to superchargers Samek Tool AB, who make some of the best moulding tools in the automotive industry in Sweden Real Form, product development within mechanical design Goproactive, supplier of PC and network solutions, outsourcing, on-line services, communication systems, security and more Swecomposite, number one when it comes to bodywork for drag racing and many other areas using the same technique Temec, one of Sweden's leading companies selling hot runner systems and much more for moulding tools Pippi, number one when it comes to marketing All our fans and family members who support us towards new achievements every year! For more information about our previous achievements and updates please visit www.billetracing.se (in English). They should be so Lucky! 22nd August: Luke Stevenson's fellow VW Sportsman competitors were probably excited to read on Monday that he wasn't competing at this weekend's Open Sports Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway but, alas for them, it was a mere clerical hiccup and Luke is poised and ready to reclaim the number one spot after a mishap at Bug Jam where the car decided it wanted to be a VW Pro car and run well into the twelves: Crew Chief Andy Voce has made the adjustments to slow the car down a little for this weekend to stay within our bracket and run consistent low thirteens. Looking beyond this weekend we will be taking part in a display for new team sponsor, phone giants 02 Telefonica. On Friday 30th August we will have the Golf and the dragster on display in the Willow Place Shopping Centre in Corby. There is a family fun day with inflatables and food stalls and the 02 Store is holding a great competition with prizes including a pair of weekend tickets to the FIA European Finals. Anyone can enter and no purchase is necessary so I hope to see some familiar faces during the day. Following this we will be racing in Pro ET at the FIA European Finals with the nitrous setup armed to push the Golf down into the elevens, whilst the dragster begins its transformation from Aircooled Flat Four to Turbocharged Vr6 with the intention of running VW Pro in 2014. Again thanks to my sponsors Echo-Packaging, 02 Telefonica and all of the VWDRC Club sponsors. The Fat 100E returns. 
22nd August: Duncan Scott writes that he is ready to air his wild 100E Escort again after repairing damage suffered
last season:
I'm taking the Escort over to the to the Scottish Capri Club Show at Alford Oval Circuit in Aberdeenshire this Sunday to test the new mag and blower tensioner and various other small new parts. I would like to say a huge Thank You to my small band of sponsors for their help getting the car ready to go again. First and foremost a huge thanks again to the Draper brothers for their help with the new set-up. Thanks also to Standfast Precision Engineering in Craigelachi for all the one-off parts which have been needed, Bob from Keith Motorist DIY for the help with the Lucas Oil, it's good stuff I can tell you; Davy from Mulben Garage for all the late nights helping with the car and truck, and last of all thanks to Nick and Rob at ICE Automotive and Russ at Customville for the best service possible. Now all thats left is to run some numbers at the Hot Rod Drags. I can't wait. Open Sport Nationals racer update. 21st August: Thanks to Shakespeare County Raceway for passing on details of the arrangements for the Stripe 21 APIRA Open Sport Nationals, which takes place this Saturday-Monday (24th-26th). 
Version 3 of the official entry list is now available and can be checked out by
clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand
side of any Eurodragster.com page.
Racer tickets along with final instructions, vehicle passes and scrutineering slips have now been sent out to every racer who submitted their entry before the close of play last Friday. Anyone who has posted their entry since Friday will be able to collect their tickets on arrival at the main gate. If any crew member arrives before their racer then they must notify the track beforehand, or wait until their racer arrives at the track to gain entry. A maximum of four half price racer tickets will be available per team. These can only be purchased on arrival at the main gate on Friday and Saturday, or in advance by calling Rachel on 01789 414119 (outside the UK +44 1789 414119). Entry to the pits will commence at 12:00 midday on Friday. If racers wish to arrive on Friday morning, before the pit gate opens, then they are more than welcome to park up and wait. Please note that pit marshals will escort all racers to their designated pits, so please be patient if a queue develops on the entrance road into the pits. Anyone who pits incorrectly will be politely asked to move to their correct allocated pit space. Scrutineering will commence for both cars and bikes at approximately 17:00 on Friday. Scrutineering will resume at 07:30 on Saturday. Signing On will also open at this time. Saturday's running order will be posted here on Eurodragster.com later this week. Copies will be available in the Signing On office which will be open between 18:00 and 20:00 / 21:00 on Friday. Shakespeare County Raceway and APIRA would like to thank all racers for their support. It is very much appreciated. If you have any queries about entry to the Stripe 21 APIRA Open Sport Nationals, then please contact the Raceway office at enquiries@shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk or call 01789 720180 / 414119 (outside the UK +44 1789 720180 / 414119). Swift snippets. 21st August: Thanks to Ian Marshall for sending us Version 6 of the official entry list for the FIA European Finals, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 5th-8th September. You can check out the FIA European Finals entry by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page, and you can download the official entry forms from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. Nostalgia and more at York. 21st August: The UK's York Raceway hosts the National Hot Rod Reunion, the north's biggest drag racing and nostalgia event, this Sunday and Monday: On Sunday we have the 36th Annual Street Racer Championship whose winner will be given £1000 in cash as prize money thanks to our sponsors Pennine Drag Racing Club, LA Racing Parts, Harrogate Hot Rod and Kustom Show and Big Pete Ltd, Power Race Graphics. We have many of the UK's fastest street cars ready to battle with all types of cars such as huge V8s to four-cylinder turbos, American steel to lightweight Japanese cars. For the first time in its thirty six years the favourite is not a RWD V8. There will be a Show'n'Shine featuring some of the north's best Hot Rod, Custom and classic cars, which will be judged by our friends at Aqua Detailing and whose winner will receive a trophy and goody bag. Also attending is the National Sprint Association with their wide variety of classic bikes and scooter from the café racer days. We finish off Sunday evening with live music from the excellent band The Karma Heart with a fantastic range of covers and the odd original song. Throughout the weekend there will be added entertainment from Julian Webb's awesome Split Second Jet Dragster fresh from a rebuild and with new modifications to improve the already-impressive vehicle, and Robin Read returns with his historic, nitro-burning, blown-Daimler hemi-powered rear engined dragster which holds the record as the quickest and only British-engined car to run below seven seconds with a best ET of 6.81 and a best speed of 200 mph. Also everyone's favourite Funny Car, which coincidentally brings new meaning to the words "Funny Car", the fabulous Pat Van with the shell of a 50p a go machine capable of running 12.00 and over 100 mph. If that's not enough we will have constant track action from American Super Stock, Europe's largest all-American race series and a homage to the golden days of drag racing, Super Cup featuring some of the north's fastest race cars, nd of course Pro ET and Sportsman ET. There will be also plenty of time for RWYB so if you want to take part just bring your vehicle and a crash helmet. Gates open at 6:00 pm on Saturday for camping and open again at 8:00 am on Sunday morning. The first timed runs are at 9:30 am. Rockers on bikes. 20th August: This week's Scandinavian Internationals at Tierp Arena is the fourth round of the Nordic Challenge for the Supertwins and looks to be the biggest so far. With eighteen bikes on the entry list and a sixteen-bike field planned by the organisers it's going to be a hard fight and the racers are hoping for a low bump spot. Sweden's Per Bengtsson and the Beast team hurt some parts during the Drag Challenge at Gardermoen Raceway a couple a weeks ago after a broken valve lifter caused some damage to the rocker arm stands. Thanks to superb service from Jarmo Pulkkinen, who obtained the latest parts available, Per could produce a complete new rocker arm stand and the result is one of the strongest valvetrain constructions you can get. "It was about time we upgraded the rocker arm stands as the old set has been on duty since 1995", says Per with a smile. "Going in to the Scandinavian Internationals this weekend we will give the Beast's parallel twin motor even more fuel than before and we aim to lower our Personal Best of 6.38 which we set at Gardermoen in 2012. We have high hopes for the race track which has previously been of record-breaking standard and we hope that this weekend will be as good as ever. It's also nice to see so many Swedish riders in the class but the competition from Norway and Finland will be tough. 
"Please stop by our pit for a chat during the weekend if you're at the track." Per and the Best team would like to say a big Thank You to all of their partners who make it possible for them to compete at this level: Red Line Oil, Liqui Moly, Persåkers Speedshop, Swedcut, Gates / Lönne, Ulvsgården Ab, Fanhultstvätten Älmhult, Autoexperten Växjö, Larssons Bilverkstad Lenhovda, Bilservice i Åseda, Kalvsviks Bilverkstad, Rävemåla Bilservice, MMR, Bentec Engineering and Flexoart. For more information please visit the Beast web site at www.bentec.net. Swift snippets. 
20th August: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com came with the words
"No it's not an ambulance". If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at
eurodragster.com@btinternet.com.
Congratulations to Richard Batty who set a new UK Front Wheel Drive record of 9.3223/165 at Santa Pod Raceway at the weekend. You can check out a video of Richard's record run at www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGNG3d5c7vY and you can check out the FWD quick list at www.fwddragtimes.co.uk. All of his mates in Pro ET asked us to wish fellow racer Keith Herbert a Happy 50th Birthday. We're very pleased to do so, have a great day Keith. Open Sport Nationals Perfect Awards. 20th August: This weekend's Stripe 21 Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway is the latest event in the 2013 Eurodragster.com Perfect Awards Scheme. £125 is on offer for perfect performance. 
This weekend's Eurodragster.com / Bad Habit Racing Perfect Light Award has been increased to £75 after it went unclaimed at
Bug Jam. The money will be awarded to the first racer this weekend to record a Reaction Time of 0.000 seconds. The
Perfect Light Award is available to racers in all classes during qualifying and eliminations, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect Light
of the event. If not won this weekend then the Award will be increased to £100 for the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway; if it is
won then it will be reset to £50 for the FIA European Finals. The Perfect Light Award is presented in association with UK Pro ET team Bad Habit
Racing (Tig and Cath Napier).
Decals are not mandatory for the Perfect Light Award but we would appreciate it if Eurodragster.com decals are carried; these are available in the Signing On office or from the Eurodragster.com staff. 
This weekend's Eurodragster.com / Gold RV Perfect ET Award has been reset to £50 after it was won by Sportsman ET racer
Stephen Cherrett at Bug Jam. The Perfect ET Award is available this weekend during qualifying or eliminations in Super Pro ET, Pro ET, Sportsman
ET, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street, Lucas Oil Junior Dragster (eliminations only), the Wild Bunch, VW Pro, VW Sportsman, 8.50 Bike, 9.50 Bike,
Supertwin ET, ET Pro Bike Pro, ET Sportsman Bike, and Junior Drag Bike, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect Run of the event. If not won
this weekend then the Award will be increased to £75 for the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway; if it is won then it will be reset to
£50 for the FIA European Finals. The Perfect ET Award is presented in association with RV sales and service specialists Gold RV. For more
details about the services which Gold RV can provide see Derek Flynn or visit www.goldrv.co.uk.
To be eligible to collect the Perfect ET Award, racers are required to carry decals, one on each side of the vehicle. If you pull this weekend's first Perfect ET but are not carrying decals then there will be no discussion; we will not pay out and the next person to pull a Perfect ET will get the money assuming that they are carrying decals. Eurodragster.com / Gold RV Perfect ET Award decals are available in the Signing On office. Web site updates. 20th August: The latest edition of the Speedgroup newsletter is now on-line and includes NitrOlympX reviews, Scandinavian Internationals previews, racer features, Eurodragster.com Editor's Diary and more. You can take a look at club.speedgroup.eu. Weekend event coverage. 20th August: Eurodragster.com will be covering two races live this weekend in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car. Kirstie, Tog and contributing photographer Patrik Jacobsson will be covering the Scandinavian Internationals at Tierp Arena, which takes place between Thursday (22nd) and Sunday. Our coverage of the Scandinavian Internationals will consist of the usual real-time reports on qualifying and eliminations and a photo gallery at the end of each day. Our live reports will again be in the split-screen format which proved so popular at the Sweden Internationals and NitrOlympX to allow the display of full Sportsman results provided in this case by TimeTree. We will of course continue to bring you commentaries on the Sportsman classes and full commentaries and results on Pro classes. Our buddies at Smart TV will be providing the webcast from Tierp Arena, and you can find out more than that at www.smarttv.se. There will be no pit notes from the Scandinavian Internationals because... Simon and photographer for the weekend Grace Roaf will be covering the Stripe 21 Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway, which takes place between Saturday (24th) and Monday. Our coverage of the Stripe 21 Open Sport Nationals will consist of frequently-updated reports on qualifying and eliminations and a photo gallery at the end of each day. The Webster Race Engineering and Nimbus Motorsport webcam will be on-line and broadcasting live video and commentary / Shakeysound audio so long as the track is open. Thanks to Tim Long for running a webcam in the absence of Eurodragster.com's usual set-up and to Doyousee.me for the provision of streaming services. Obviously, as Simon is writing the live race report, there will be no separate pit notes from this event but you can pop up to see Simon who will be seated in the commentary booth if you have anything for him. You can check out our Stripe 21 Open Sport Nationals event index, which includes a link to the official entry list, by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Micallef's anxious weekend. 
19th August: Maltese Top Fuel Dragster racer Duncan Micallef and his team had a busy and anxious NitrOlympX right from the
get-go. Duncan writes:
I arrived at Hockenheim late on Wednesday evening together with part of the crew and we found Rune Fjeld and Mike Domagala working on the car fitting the latest parts. We were told that some parts were still to come so Thursday was another hard day for us, finishing very late at night with the help of the rest of the crew who had just arrived that evening. The car was already fitted with mostly new parts so Rune wanted to check everything was functioning well and that everything was as it should be. This meant lots of hard work and long hours and we had to miss Q1. Q2 and Q3 were very tricky as I was told make half passes if all went well. Q4 was our only hope to make eliminations on Sunday and the bump spot was 4.56 at that moment. The car launched as soft as it could but from 330 feet onwards the tyres smoked all the way to the finish line amd the blower belt let go. We managed a 4.59 which wasn't good enough to race on Sunday, but considering everything which took place in that run it was a ray of light! My crew showed great passion and the will to go for it until the last second of the journey. They finished the car for Sunday morning as if we were competing and we took the chance as an alternate in the staging lanes, but all went well with those who qualified so we had to go back to the pits. I would to thank all my crew, helpers, Rune Field, Mike Domagala and all those from RF Motorsport who came over to help us finish the car. We would also like to thank our numerous followers who support us by liking our Facebook page Duncan Micallef Maltese Top Fuel Driver, keep all the Likes coming! I am very pleased with the new all-Maltese team who successfully serviced the car four times and were there for me until the last moment. At the end of the event I got the great news from Rune that I will drive his car at Tierp Arena this week, so be prepared when the Lion comes back to the line. Drummin' Man doubles up. 19th August: Pete Kellett has been in touch with an account of son Joe's second consecutive Junior Dragster win at the NitrOlympX: 
We started our travels to Hockenheim a week early in convoy with the Kopaszes. We all stopped off midway at our usual camp site at Winningen where we met up with fellow racers Woody and
Sarah from Super Street Bike and Debz and Binzy. Then it was onwards and upwards to Hockenheim.
In Friday's first qualifying session Joe pulled a -0.31 red which was a starting mark, then in the second he pulled a 0.10 which was great. In the third session Joe pulled a consistent light of 0.11 and we were happy with that. In the last qualifying session Joe pulled a 0.000 Perfect Light which settled the weekend for the Drummin' Man team and which resulted in Joe becoming the number one qualifier in Junior Dragster. Round 1 was within the Night Show which was a really fantastic experience for Joe. Onto Sunday, Joe got a special award for his Perfect Light which resulted in an embarrassing moment on the start line with the commentator, being interviewed in front of 60,000 spectators! Joe went through the rounds resulting in another all-English final. Our congratulations to Joseph Holland-Villa for a terrific final race which Joe won with a 0.009 reaction and an 8.07 run on an 8.05 dial-in which gave him his second consecutive Hockenheim win. We would like to congratulate all of the English boys who qualified in the sixteen-car field: Jacob Kopasz, John Przybyl, Callum Swinchatt, Sam Holland-Villa and Joseph Holland-Villa. Thanks to Sam Innes for crewing. Larsson all set. 19th August: Swedish Top Methanol Funny Car racer Micke Larsson has declared himself prepared for this weekend's Scandinavian Internationals at Tierp Arena. "We have had some engine problems this season", says Micke, "but we have found the root cause and solved the problem. So we are confident for this race and we are aiming for some good numbers and interesting eliminations on Sunday. "The plan for next year is to continue in the interesting and growing TMFC class with a new car. Therefore we have put our Top Methanol Funny Car up for sale. If you are intersted in a race-ready, turnkey, 5.7-second 250+ mph Top Methanol Funny Car then please contact me at micke@mlarssonracing.com. The car comes with a lot of spare parts, specifications and data. "If you are at Tierp Arena this weekend then please visit us in the pits." Smax nears the Fours. 19th August: Ex-pat UK Top Fuel Dragster racer Smax Smith had a successful weekend in the Leverich family Top Fueller at Grand Bend Motorplex: Firstly I want to thank all who sent birthday wishes - lots and lots of them - for Adian's birthday on 8th and mine on 9th. We had an awesome weekend at Grand Bend headlining the Stratford Spectacular. The first pass in the heat was a 5.21/282, no damage, the crowd went nuts and we were ecstatic. It was the first time in five years with this team that we actually went down track on eight cylinders! It was skating around at the top end and only one chute came out so I nearly went off the end. I was lucky as a caliper bolt fell out and was hanging off. The numbers to 330 feet were low but a good baseline. On Sturday night in the dark I was telling everyone to watch for my teen-foot header flames, it went 5.8/252 but no flames! We got the nitro wrong, only 76% not 85%, a bummer but no damage. The chute cables were seizing up so I really had to think about yanking then lever to get it stopped, bent it all to shit but got the chutes out. We partied until 5:00 am as usual then got car ready for the afternoon run. In the afternoon we ran 5.28/250 but the blower belt snapped at 1000 feet - damn. It was skating around again, I don't hink oil and fuel leaks helped! The clutch welded up so we had to take the driveshaft off to tow it to the pits but we were all really chuffed. The promoters were super happy, it was our best payout ever and no damage. I can't wait to get this team into the fours! This weekend it's Aidee's turn, we have taken our '35 Chevy altered to the eighth-mile show at St Thomas. We freshened loads of stuff so we're super excited. York publish Street Racer guidelines. 
19th August: The changes which York Raceway have made for the 2013 Street Racer Championship, which takes place this coming Sunday (25th),
have certainly drawn a great deal of attention. Drivers of some of the quickest street cars in the UK have already declared an interest in competing and the track office has received
a large number of calls requesting further information especially with regards to what will be considered street-legal and is within both the rules and the spirit of the event.
York Raceway have therefore issued further guidelines and clarification of what they believe constitutes street-legal means in terms of the 2013 Street Racer Championship. These guidelines, which you can read by clicking here (PDF format), address the sorts of questions which racers have been asking in areas such as tyres, fuel, emissions and required documentation, and hopefully will be of help to racers and prospective racers interested in competing. The changes made for 2013 should take the Street Racer Championship back to its roots with a more widely varied field of street cars which was commonplace in the early days of the event. Chris Murty of York Raceway said "With the updated rules allowing FWD cars to use DoT cheat tyres to maintain parity with some of the bigger horsepower RWD and 4WD cars we are expecting a large field from the Modified scene as well as from the traditional drag racing ranks all vying for the £1000 winner takes all prize courtesy of our event sponsors LA Racing Parts, Harrogate Hot Rod and Kustom Show, Big Pete Ltd, Power Race Graphics and the Pennine Drag Racing Club. Competitors needing further information on how to enter or any details about the Street Racer Championship rules should contact Chris Murty at York Raceway at info@yorkraceway.org.uk or phone 01422 843651. Swift snippets. 19th August: Many thanks to Palle Lind for sending us the points standings in the FIM European Super Street Bike Cup after the weekend's Adrenaline Extreme Weekend at Kunmadaras in Hungary, which was won by Denmark's Mogens Lund. You can check out the FIM Europe points on our OCS Paint-sponsored Points Standings page by clicking here or by clicking on the OCS Paint Points Standings link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. The UK's Supercharged Outlaws will be sponsoring this weekend's Stripe 21 Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway with £50 to the Super Pro ET racer who gets closest to dial-in in eliminations. The Outlaws are also donating a barrel of methanol to APIRA's track crew. "This is all part of our continued support for Shakespeare County Raceway", saus Dave McKenzie. Ladies That Launch organisers Angie Woods and Jerry Cookson say that the recent fundraising to benefit Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research will continued into this weekend's Stripe 21 APIRA Open Sport Nationals. "Buckets will be shaking on Saturday, Sunday and part of Monday, and hopefully a great number of Leaukaemia badges will be purchased for a minimum donation of £1", says Angie. "So dig deep friends, you know it's all for a good cause". Once the final total has been disclosed, a small presentation and photo call will be held on Monday afternoon when a cheque will be handed over to Pro ET and Wild Bunch racer Sarah Howells who will be Running for Paula at the Great North Run in September. As we will be in the air on our way to Tierp Arena, the Eurodragster.com staff will unfortunately not be able to attend Wednesday's Alamo Junior Fun Day at Santa Pod Raceway. We would however like to publish a Junior Fun Day report on Eurodragster.com so if you are going to the Fun Day and would like to send us a report, result and pictures then please drop Tog a line at tog@eurodragster.com and we can discuss requirements. APIRA Championship outcomes. 19th August: In his capacity as APIRA Championship Co-ordinator, Simon has calculated the possible outcomes in the 2013 Ultimate Power Championships, whose final rounds take place at this weekend's Stripe 21 Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway: There are twenty Championships in the Ultimate Power Drag Racing Championship to be decided this weekend. Racers will be wanting to accumulate sufficient points to be awarded trophies at the 2014 SPRC/APIRA Dinner Dance, details of which will be announced later. In Super Comp, Paul Brown leads with a more than two round advantage over Andrew Williams and more than three rounds over Paul Hudson. These three protaganists are joined by Dave Raper making a welcome return to the UK Championship following his appearance in Top Sportsman earlier in the season. In Super Gas, Team Tokyo Toy (Jon Evans and Steve Dunn, Steve racing this weekend) have a slightly less than two round advantage over Mark White, with Jon Morton third. These teams are all racing this weekend with three others making for three rounds of racing so this category is quite open. Super Street is contested by just two racers and Harrison Brown and Leigh Morris will be fighting for honours. Leigh will need to qualify and stage in the first round to accumulate more points than second-placed Dave Cherrett, who will not be competing in the class due to breakage. The twenty one-strong Super Pro ET field, including four competitors from France, means that up to 950 points can be earned. Scott Hauser is in first place with Paul Marston 150 points, or less than two rounds, behind. Should Paul go out early then Tom Atkinson, Laura Turburville, Ian Powell and Eurodragster.com sponsor Peter Walters all have a chance of earning a trophy. Pro ET has an entry of eighteen meaning the possibility of five rounds of racing and up to 920 points up for grabs. Nic Williams of Eurodragster.com sponsor OCS Paint is in the lead by over two rounds to Liz Malcolm who could win the Championship by qualifying five positions better and going two rounds further than Nic. Paul Marston and Ian Brown are also in the hunt. In Sportsman ET Craig Wright is leading the standings, with Nicky Hale and Nigel Hale in second and third places. However the Hales have decided not to enter, meaning that Ozzie Brown and Stephen Cherrett have a realistic chance of runner-up position by Ozzie earning 80 points or Stephen earning at least 140 points more than Ozzie. Lucas Oil Junior Dragster is a twenty two-car field with four French competitors. Joe Kellett, fresh from a victory at the NitrOlympX, is keen to earn Championship honours. As Jacob Kopasz, currently in second place, is not entered this is an opportunity for several others to achieve runner-up in the Championship, which they can do by going further than any of the others in eliminations. Billy Everitt in third place has a 100 point advantage. Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator has Brian Payne in a strong position and Mats Andersson not entering (due to new car construction) means that Eurodragster.com sponsor Jon Webster needs to qualify and stay ahead of Martin Smith and Andy Bond in eliminations to achieve runner-up. In Outlaw Anglia, Cliff Griffin is leading whilst Colin Millar will not be attending following the team's long-distance trip to Germany last weekend. Therefore Steve Wells or Aidan Kenny have a chance for runner-up position providing that they qualify and go rounds. The Wild Bunch is led by Bob Hawkins, another racer who attended the NitrOlympX. With Adam Price not attending, Keith Crampton or Dick Sharp have an opportunity to get runner-up. In VW Sportsman Luke Stevenson, Holly Baldwin, Martin Ayton or Adrian London could be runner-up. Jason Anslow has a margin of 150 over Luke and 240 over Holly which could be overturned with a field of ten. VW Pro has none of the top four points earners from the Springspeed race in attendance. Richard Merriman could grab the Championship from points leader Matt Attwood if he qualifies number one and wins the event. The Funny Bike title is between two Dutch racers. With a number of bikes unable to attend, points leader Maarten Zijlstra has a lead of 330 over Dave Peters, the next-placed bike attending, but it is challenge for Dave to accumulate that margin with only three bikes attending. Super Street Bike is led by Graham Balchin over Chris Reed by 140 points and with four bikes attending Chris may be able to overcome the lead if he wins and runs well. Comp Bike has Tony Clark leading Lizz McCarthy by 70 points and Phil Crossley a further 135 points back. Junior Drag Bike is led by Louis Davies over Jordan Kenway with a 190 point margin and Jasmine Cordelle a further 40 points back. In 8.50 Bike, Mick Winyard is 240 points ahead of Phil Bloomfield and quite comfortable, whereas Phil is only 20 points ahead of third placed Jake Mechaell. In 9.50 Bike there is a very tight battle with Richard Sawatzki only 30 points ahead of Eurodragster.com sponsor Fred Furlong, and Dave Smart and Alex Hope less than a round further back. Supertwin Comp is led by Terry Green over Joe Elliott by 45 points but as, Terry is not on the entry list, Joe may be able to take the Championship simply by signing on. Finally the Supertwin ET standings are led by Peter Harrison by 535 points over Carey Wadey. As Carey cannot attend Peter is provisional Champion. Congratulations to him and to the eventual winners next weekend. Eurodragster.com will be reporting live from the Stripe 21 Open Sport Nationals in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car as part of Event Coverage our double-header with the Scandinavian Internationals. You can check out the Stripe 21 Open Sport Nationals event index, which includes the official entry list, by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. European Top Gas Round 5 review. 
19th August: The fifth round of the 2013 Euro Serie Supertwin Top Gas Championship took place over the quarter mile at
the NitrOlympX at Hockenheim. Herman Jolink writes:
The new track was very well prepared by Santa Pod's track crew. Three days of nice sunshine, not too hot at about 25 degrees, a good track and a lot of spectators. On Friday Top Gas had three qualifying runs and one on Saturday. Qualifying was as follows:
Semi-finals: Schack 7.734/269 defeated Heitmann 8.489/246. Jolink 8.505/248 defeated Lymant 9.798/210. Final: Frederik Schack DK 7.880/268 defeated Herman Jolink NL 8.650/246. reaction times Jolink 0.090 seconds and Schack 0.258 seconds. Jolink was leaning a lot to keep the Ducati straight in his lane. Euro Serie Super Twin Top Gas Championship:
30th August-1st September: Mosten Race Days, eighth-mile sprint and Top Gas, Randers, Denmark 14th-15th September: Top Gas Finals, Hoskovice, Czech Republic Goodwood surprise. 19th August: The Goodwood Festival of Speed was founded in 1993 by the Earl of March in order to bring motor racing back to the Goodwood estate, a location steeped in British motor racing history. The Festival of Speed is now the largest motoring garden party in the world: a unique summer weekend that brings together an impossibly heady mix of cars, motorcycles, stars and motor sport royalty to create the largest automotive culture event in the world. More than 250 signed on photographers and many TV crews from around the world was testament to the global interest in the event. Ian King and the Gulf Oil Dragracing - Grand Prix Originals Top Fuel Bike team were personally invited by Lord March to show the record crowds of around 200,000 what a 1500 hp nitromethane-powered Top Fuel Bike both looked and sounded like. And it did not fail to impress, drawing large numbers of amazed visitors to its pit area, for warm ups on nitro and whilst on its way to the holding area prior to the demonstration run up the hill. The Gulf Oil Dragracing – Grand Prix Originals pit area was located in the F1 paddock where the latest exotica and their drivers were on show for the world to see, hear and touch. And it was not only the general public who were impressed, members of all the F1 teams in attendance spent time taking pictures and scrutinising the engineering detail with even iconic GP riders taking time to try out the bike for size. 
Of course a hillclimb with bends is not the normal habitat for such a machine, and so rider Ian King elected to make his exhibition runs a series of straight line spurts interspersed with slow speed corners. The team prepared the bike as best they could under the unusual track conditions and mid thirty-degree heat to great effect, but quickly worn tyres and clutch packs were the order of the weekend. The team made two runs per day in the group which included the motorcycles and the F1 cars (including drivers such as Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Jenson Button and Sebastien Buemi) and were neatly sandwiched between their two and four wheel peers usually just before the Ferrari F1 car and, for a special run up the Hill, Jackie Stewart in the iconic Silver Arrow Mercedes. 
However, the highlight for the team was to be asked to bring the Gulf Oil – GPO machine to the prizewinners' enclosure at the end of the event where they received a surprise honour in the form of the Goodwood Choice Award, selected by a group of judges including Lord and Lady March. Ian King shared the stage in receiving his award with alongside a who's who of motorsport over the years including Nelson Piquet, Stirling Moss, Damon Hill, Kenny Brack, Derek Bell, Gil de Ferran, John Surtees, Kenny Roberts, Kevin Schwantz, Freddie Spencer, Randy Mamola and Hollywood star Peter Fonda, who was riding the iconic Captain America Harley from his film Easy Rider. A fitting end to a fantastic weekend. The team would like to thank Lord and Lady March, Jack Tetley, Christine Reddington, all the staff and marshals and the fantastic visitors who made the event a truly memorable one. 
The Gulf Oil Dragracing team uses and endorses exclusively Gulf Oil greases and lubricants in their history making machine. The team is extremely proud to be supported by many leaders in their chosen markets in their successful challenges for the 2013 European and UK Championships: APE - The world's most innovative manufacturer of aftermarket parts for drag bikes Action Cameras - Europe's leading source for action sports cameras Cometic Gaskets - The premier manufacturer of racing gaskets Gates - The world's most trusted name in drive belts, hoses and hydraulics Goodridge - The original and the best in fluid transfer systems Grand Prix Originals - The brand for drive and lifestyle, past and present Gulf Oil International - The world's most iconic brand in automotive fuels and lubricants Hotrod Hangar– Home of the world renowned custom artist Knud Tiroch Hyperpro - The leading producer of progressive suspension products for motor bikes JE Pistons - The world's premier manufacturer of high performance forged pistons Kibblewhite Precision Machining, Inc -The highest quality valve train components on the market King Racing - The most successful Top Fuel Bike team in European drag racing history Mickey Thompson Tyres - Simply the best drag race tyres in the world MRE - Leaders in trackside support for drag race components and air shifting systems MTC Engineering - Manufacturer of clutches for the fastest motorcycles in the world NitroShutter - Europe's leading drag racing photo-journalists NCT Engineering - Manufacturer of the world's leading non contact torque sensors for motorsport Nexus Underwriting Management - First class support services to underwriting subsidiaries NGK Spark Plugs UK - The world's number one spark plug manufacturer Pär Willen - Master webmeister and proprietor of HarleyDrags.com Portable Shade - The best custom branded collapsible canopies available Pro Alloy Motorsport - UK's leader in fabrication of alloy racing tanks, intercoolers and radiators Puma Engineering - Manufacturers of the world's most powerful motorcycle engines RSG Customize - The UK's most creative website designers and vinyl artists Supertough - Custom cases and covers for the Film, TV, Music and Motorsports Industries Spies Hecker - The world's leading supplier of paint for car, commercial and industrial finishing Van Es mobility - The leading manufacturer of telematic products for management of moving objects Vanson Leathers - The most iconic brand in motorsport leather goods Web Camshafts Inc - Simply the company for Top Fuel Bike camshafts Worldwide Bearings - The world's leading supplier of ceramic bearings for racing Zodiac - Europe's largest supplier of performance and aftermarket HD parts ACAG update. 19th August: Allard Chrysler Action Group Chair Brian Taylor tells us that he is looking to firm up the ACAG team to work on the car this winter and to attend shows. 
"Although the summer still appears to be hanging on (Don't knock it - Ed) I have been thinking about the work required during the winter on the
dragster", says Brian. "I have approached our sponsors and supporters to check whether they might need the car during the winter at shows and once we get this information
we can get an idea of an ideal time to carry out the work. Doug Hill at Beaulieu has said that we can use the Beaulieu workshops to carry out the work during
weekends but we would need to book these days.
"The tasks which I imagine us attacking are some kind of annual service, the content to be discussed and agreed with the museum; some of the cockpit gauges are not working and I would like to rectify this; if we are to parade the car under its own power we will need to replace a welded half-shaft; we also need to agree whether a five-lever clutch would make the power transfer easier for parading and whether it would still retain its original appearance. We might also need to consider temporary clutch blankets etc for added safety. "There are bound to be other jobs which crop up along the way. Once the team is in place we will arrange a meeting at Beaulieu to discuss these jobs, the practicalities and the parts / costs / outsourcing required. Our funds look quite healthy at the moment but we need to retain some to contribute to the trailer which the museum is purchasing in the spring. 
"I'm now waiting for existing team members to confirm their availability for the next stage of the restoration, particularly as we will now be working at a different venue,
the Beaulieu workshops. Although I want to retain as many of the existing team as possible I don't want to take anything for granted because I know several have other
time consuming interests and many have already given five years' commitment. I am seeking more volunteers to spread the workload. Maybe other teams based in the
South or South West would like to be involved. Contact me at brian@allardchrysler.org if you would like to
join us. We don't work every weekend, just as and when necessary and convenient. And volunteers don't need to attend all work-in days."
After some sizes sold out in an initial rush, ACAG is pleased to confirm that new stocks of the limited edition Lucas Oil Allard Chrysler T-shirts have arrived from the USA with the exclusive ACAG Number 58 logo along with each shirt's unique number. Neither Medium nor XXL are available yet but L and XL are available again. There is also a very limited number of XXXL long sleeve shirts which are black rather than navy blue. All shirts are priced at £15 plus postage and packing; place your order with brian@allardchrysler.org. Various payment methods are available. For details of the shirts and other products visit www.drceurope.co.uk/acag/allyarcade. Web site updates. 19th August: The Mad Welshman has updated his Flickr site with pictures from the Mopar EuroNats. You can take a look at Mad's pictures at www.flickr.com/photos/the_madwelshman/sets. Hilt out of Finals. 18th August: Swiss Pro Modified racer Marcus Hilt has had to withdraw from September's FIA European Finals after suffering engine damage at the NitrOlympX. 
"In the first qualifying run at Hockenheim I ran a Personal Best off the trailer but we shredded a lot of stuff in our Jan-Cen hemi engine", says Marcus.
"The 'Vette showed a good sign of its full potential, as during that run the blower belt came off after 4.7 seconds and the car still ran 6.375. With the incrementals of 1.04 at sixty feet and 4.11/178 at
the eighth we were more than happy!
"During that run something went awfully wrong with the fuel managment and this failure completely melted three pistons. Also during that same run the number two maincap broke in two. The main cap failure brought our promising 2013 season to a halt, as we don't yet have a spare engine. "We can't wait to come back for next season stronger than ever." Running for Paula update. 18th August: With a few weeks left to the Great North Run, UK Wild Bunch and Pro ET racer Sarah Howells has been in touch with an update on her progress as she prepares to run a half marathon to raise funds in memory of SPRC Club Secretary Paula Marshall: 56000 people are taking part in the Great North Run and I am number 45537! There's a good chance I will run in fancy dress – probably as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz – unless we can come up with a drag racing-associated outfit. I can't run in my race suit or attached to the Christmas Tree! Training was going really well until a dodgy achilles started to trouble me about five weeks ago. Luckily, the physio whom I see for my neck injury can also treat my leg so things are getting better, although I now refer to him as my physio-terrorist! Regardless of how fit my leg is, I will get round the biggest half marathon in the world with a smile on my face and willed on by the reason I am there, to raise money for Leukaemia and Lymphoma research in memory of Paula Marshall. There has been a terrific response from our beautiful drag racing family, helped by the Eurodragster.com updates and of course the support from Ladies that Launch, and we are just shy of reaching our target with the pennies collected so far amounting to £1457.31. This doesn't include the cheque in waiting from the LTL event so fingers crossed we are even closer to that big £2000 target! Thank you so much to everyone who has donated already - racing friends, work colleagues, family and drag racing fans - and don't panic if you haven't yet pushed the big red Donate button on the Just Giving page – there is still time! It's not all about internet donations. There are other ways to hand over your hard-earned cash to raise much needed funds for Leukaemia and Lymphoma research. At the Open Sports Nationals and FIA European Finals, the DASH Racing pit will be holding a tombola to swap goodies for donations! Our DHL family has really come through for us and in our front room we have the largest amount of chocolate (among other things) I could possibly imagine – it has to go! Everyone who visits our pit will be rewarded with a team hero card and, for a minimum donation of £3, you get a goodie bag / really nice tombola prize. So will be well worth coming to see us! To find out more, and to donate via the web site, please visit www.justgiving.com/dashracinguk. Swift snippets. 18th August: Ex-pat UK Top Alcohol Dragster racer Mike Manners of Eurodragster.com sponsor Cosmo Residences will be contesting NHRA Divisional races at Topeka and Noble and National event in Dallas with a new chassis built by Joe Monden. "After a couple of races earlier this year we concluded that the old chassis was worn out", says Mike. "We looked around for a replacement but those we heard about were generally too small. We took the new car out last week and it performed wonderfully - it is great to anticipate what will go right and not what will go wrong. Derek Flynn stopped by when we were in Houston and brought a care package of PG Tips which was much appreciated." Jan Phersson of Eurodragster.com sponsor Simpson Europe tells us that he has fired up his Super Stock Dodge Viper for the first time. You can check out a video of the first fire-up at www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyK7ijL12xY. "The project has been under development for a long time, but it will soon hit the track in Sweden", says Jan. Thanks to DJ for letting us know that the latest points standings in the European Funny Car Series as well as a race report and pictures from the latest round at the NitrOlympX are available at www.eurofunnycar.com. DJ adds that the Web TV from this round will be available on-line in a few weeks. The official fundraiser of the UK's Team 56 Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator team, Ann-Marie Lazenby, celebrates her birthday today (Sunday) and her husband, son, and extended family would like to wish her many happy returns for her big day. Just like their Sonny's behemoth motor, this is one of the big ones and sticking with this theme it'll have to stay a secret, besides, a gentleman never asks a lady's age. Husband Colin Lazenby is not letting on exactly which big one it is, but he's offered a free T-shirt to the first person to E-Mail tog@eurodragster.com with the correct answer. The only clues which Colin is prepared to share are that she had a very easy paper round and, for all you mathematicians out there, if you take the cubic inch of the Sonny's motor, divide it by eight and divide again by 2.5 you're close enough for it not to matter. A day's Nitrography. 18th August: Longtime fan and Eurodragster.com reader Johan van de Sande had the chance of a lifetime to photograph trackside on eliminations day at last week's NitrOlympx at Hockenheim after winning our Nitrographer for a Day contest. Johan got in touch to tell us all about it: Thursday 1st August: My picture is stuck somewhere in a Windows 8 app which opened after pushing the E-Mail Send button. Why? Just send the damn thing. Don't download another useless app! It is almost the last chance to participate in the Eurodragster.com Nitrographer for a Day contest so I'm becoming more and more frustrated that it just won't go where I want it to. Around midnight I gave up. Next morning, the day before the entry deadline, I came up with an alternative route and lo and behold it seemed to work. I don't know if by now there are maybe ten E-Mails from me on Eurodragster.com's doorstep (No - Ed) but I'm glad that I am now a participant in this contest with the holy grail of prizes for me as drag race fan and hobby photographer: photo accreditation for one day at the 2013 NitrOlympX at Hockenheim. Someone is going to be very lucky. You know by now that I won! I couldn't believe my luck. The week prior to the event I could barely sleep. A hotel near Hockenheim was booked, a rental professional camera lens was reserved and an extra memory card bought. Ready to go. As if that wasn't enough there were two weekend tickets for the whole event to go with the package. Great! Of course I asked my wife to accompany me. For years she has been telling a story parties that I scream Psssschjoewwww noises in my sleep ever since I saw Sammy Miller drive his rocket car at Zandvoort back in the eighties. I was sure that she would understand more of that after accompanying me this weekend. On Saturday, after a 250-mile journey, we enjoyed a great day in the grandstands in lovely weather, great races, and the company of the always-enthusiastic crowd from all over Europe. On Sunday, after a restless night, I was all set to go to the Sachs house at the Hockenheimring to pick up the media accreditation. I wanted to leave the hotel as early as 07:00 but my wife had to persuade me to wait a bit since the competition would not start before nine o'clock and there really was still some time for breakfast. I just couldn't wait. 
With our "You can pass every checkpoint" letter we felt like celebrities when we drove all the way to the paddock where the perfect organisation reserved a parking space for us. Then we were welcomed by the very kind Christine Calwer from the NitrolympX media agency. She took us around for a little tour and gave me some useful safety tips like "If something explodes, dive downwards not sideways". Hmm, that's reassuring. As a drag race fan of course I have seen too many gone-wrong pictures and videos on the net. The one with the photographer just escaping getting hit by a fire extinguisher became very vivid in my mind. After a little introduction to some professional photographers, Christine left me to do my thing. My wife took her spot in the grandstands and I geared up to take my place near the start line. The intensity of being this close to the action was enormous. I have been in the grandstands for many years, probably annoying my neighbours a bit with my long telephoto lens, seeing the professional photographers and thinking something along the lines of "That ain't workin' that's the way you do it. Money for nothing and your pics for free". Well, I was wrong. Now, standing here on that very same spot, I forgot most of what I know about photography and was intimidated by the sheer power and noise of the monster machines I was trying to capture. Luckily I met a few expert photographers such as Julian and Kirstie from Eurodragster.com who were kind enough to give me some tips. Later in the afternoon I had a little chat with Simon who writes the lpit notes which you can read on the Eurodragster.com web site. He even took my picture and put it on-line right there and then. That smile you see there on my face didn't come off for many days. 
The loud noise made it hard to make conversation so I just tried to imitate some of the pros keeping in mind not to get in their way. After all they were there working and had to deliver. I was just enjoying this best prize ever. Taking pictures of drag racing from this close is, believe it or not, very difficult. You just can't get grips of the speed after such a short distance. Many of my pictures are going to have razor sharp cars and bikes on it - well, pieces of them I mean, as they disappear out of my viewfinder. Later on I got to learn to anticipate somewhat better what was coming. 
For the Top Fuel Dragsters, though, I didn't find any other method than this. Firstly, start gathering all your courage to get in front of those fire-spitting, amazing and terrifying monsters. Then take a look at the people around you who are getting ready in the dive-downwards-if-something-explodes position. Which we all know is useless because you will never have enough time. Next, press the shutter release button at launch, hold it firm, feel the earth shake violently and the blast rage past. Then, concerning the pictures, just hope for the best. After a day my camera felt tacky like a pole stick, my eyebrows were curled up and had a nasty smell, my eyes burned like hell and my ears were about to bleed. But I loved every single minute of it! I want to say a very, very big thanks to the whole Eurodragster.com team (You're welcome - Ed) and to Christine from NitrOlympX-Hockenheimring for having me as a Nitrographer for a Day. If you're ever in need of a replacement photographer you can call me night or day. Johan has posted a small gallery of excellent shots from his day trackside which you can check out on his Flickr site by clicking here. Editor's note: We still have a sizeable backlog of news on which we are currently working and which will be posted on tomorrow's update. Please keep the news coming to news@eurodragster.com. Junior Fun Day racer update. 17th August: Many thanks to Andy Wheeler for forwarding us the arrangements for next Wednesday's (21st) Alamo Rent-A-Car Junior Fun Day at Santa Pod Raceway. The official entry list is now available and can be checked out by clicking here. Santa Pod Raceway's gates will be open between 12:00 midday and 17:30 on Tuesday and will then reopen at 08:00 on Wednesday. Racers will be pitted on entry so please report to the Santa Pod office on arrival. If any racers and their crew haven't yet pre-booked their free admission ticket, then they will need to do so via the ticket shop at www.eticketing.co.uk/santapodraceway. On the day, please visit the Signing On office, with appropriate licences, to ensure that you are correctly signed up for racing. Parents of children under the age of eighteen must sign the entry form on the child's behalf if not already done. Junior Dragsters will have one bracket race to include all classes (JS, JM, JMA) followed by one bracket race for the Junior Stock class and another for the Junior Modified class. Junior Modified Advanced dragsters are invited to take part in the 330 foot race (see below). All brackets will have one qualifying run then straight into eliminations. Junior Drag Bikes will have two bracket races during the day. Each bracket race will have one qualifying run then straight into eliminations. The 330 foot (Outlaw) race will be a heads-up race using a Pro tree. There will be one timed run, qualifying by ET, then straight into eliminations. Entrants must be aged thirteen or over to compete in the 330 foot race. Racers will not be permitted to take place in the Run What You Brung until knocked out of eliminations. The Mums' and Dads' race will take place in the morning. This will be an eighth-mile bracket race for cars only. There will be one qualifying run, based on Reaction Times, then into eliminations. A Pit Vehicle race will take place in the afternoon. This will be a 330 foot bracket race for pit bikes, golf buggies and quads only. There will be one qualifying run, based on Reaction Times, then into eliminations. Open Sport Nationals update. 15th August: Entry is still open for the Stripe 21 Open Sport Nationals, a UK Championship round, which takes place at Shakespeare County Raceway on 24th-26th August. Entry forms can be downloaded via the Downloads link of SCR's web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.com. Entries can be E-Mailed to shakespearecountyraceway@gmail.com and credit card payment for race entry and advance tickets can be on 01789 414119 which is also the number for specific enquiries about race entry. If you have any general enquiries then please call the main office number 01789 720180. For those entries received from Monday onwards tickets will be left on the gate for collection from Friday. You can check out the latest version of the entry list by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. A further update will be issued on Wednesday. Double Pro Mods at Tierp. 16th August: Pro Modified has been well supported by teams at the FIA events in Sweden in the last couple of years and with that in mind Event Director Kjell Pettersson felt that the time is right to try something new at next weekend's Scandinavian Internationals at Tierp Arena: We came up with this idea: why not run a second ladder for the numbers 17-24 qualifiers on Sunday, if weather and track conditions permit? This would give the fans more cars to look at on Sunday and more racers are allowed into an eliminations ladder. My colleagues on the Organising Committee were up for the suggestion and it was decided that if twenty six or more cars qualify then we will go for a second ladder if conditions allow. At the moment thirty three cars are entered in Pro Mod which is likely to give us the minimum of qualified cars for a second ladder. We also have a plan to make a World Record attempt at a Swedish rocket launch gathering. The event crew had some practice of this on a smaller scale during previous FIA Championship events in Sweden and Finland which you can see by clicking here and clicking here. Now we think it is time for the spectators to join in for a Super Swedish rocket launch gathering. So if you would like to be part of a World Record attempt then make sure that you visit Tierp Arena next weekend. You can find more details of the event at www.tierparena.com and at Tierp Arena's Facebook page. Swift snippets. 16th August: The Adrenaline Extreme Weekend at Hungary's Kunmadaras Raceway, which commences today (Friday), includes the penultimate round of the FIM European Super Street Bike Cup. You can find out more at www.kunmadarasmotorsport.hu or on the Kunmadaras Motorsport Facebook page. We have been asked to help with the hunt for an iPad which was last seen in the Media Centre at Hockenheim last Sunday afternoon (11th). It's a white 16 Gb iPad in a black book-type cover. If you encountered the errant iPad at Hockenheim or if you know of its current whereabouts then please get in touch with us at editor@eurodragster.com. Only a brief and late news update yesterday so we were unable to wish a very Happy Birthday to Donna Finnegan of Santa Pod Raceway. Hope you had a lovely day Donna. Happy Birthday and hugs for today to Leah Hinchcliffe, have a wonderful day Leah. Normal news service will be resumed tomorrow (Saturday) with the latest from Smax Smith, Joe Kellett, the European Top Gas Series and more, as will regular postings to our Jeff Bull Race Engines Swap Meet. Tune back then. Event entry update. 15th August: Entry is still open for the Stripe 21 Open Sport Nationals, a UK Championship round, which takes place at Shakespeare County Raceway on 24th-26th August. Entry forms can be downloaded via the Downloads link of SCR's web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.com. If you have any problems downloading the forms or if you have any queries about Stripe 21 Open Sport Nationals entry then please call 01789 720180 or 01789 414119. You can check out the current version of the entry list by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Thanks to Ian Marshall for sending us Version 5 of the official entry list for the FIA European Finals, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 5th-8th September. Ian has asked us to mention that this list does not currently include entries sent by fax; these will be added on his return to the UK next week. You can check out the FIA European Finals entry by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page, and you can download the official entry forms from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. Attention UK ET Bike racers. 14th August: With just two weeks to go before the Stripe 21 APIRA Open Sports Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway on 24th-26th August, the organisers of the new ET Bike Bracket are hoping for a better entry, writes APIRA's Tony Smith: At the Springspeed Nationals in May, we had to combine the two classes as only four entries were received. But with the promise of more entries for the Open Sport Nationals we are hoping to run Pro and Sportsman as planned. It's sad that due to engine damage Phil Steele will not be able to make it on the Parny Express, but we do have another Phil to replace him in the person of Phil Pratt. Jasper Joy, Gary Hester and Paul Furlong have already entered for this round and we have the promise of further entries. ET Bike is open to all types of motorcycle from ridden in off the street to full race bikes. The classes are: Pro Bike: for bikes which run between 8.50 and 10.99 seconds Sportsman Bike: for bikes 10.99 and slower APIRA needs a minimum of three entries to run each class. If you are interested then entry forms are available from the Downloads page of the Shakespeare County Raceway web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk. If enough entries are received there will be a third round of ET Bike at the Extreme Performance Bike Weekend at Santa Pod Raceway on 5th-6th October. For more information and for the class rules, please visit our Facebook page. Beware of the Bat. 14th August: With two races to go in the FIA European Championships, Norway's Thomas Nataas leads Top Fuel Dragster by sixty eight points in the Andersen Racing dragster. Per and Karsten Andersen say that although this is a huge lead, nothing is ever certain in drag racing and that's just the way they like it: 
We got to the track without any nasty surprises such as blown tyres and ruined trailers, and on Friday morning we started out with
a really nice run, 4.07/475.92 - the second fastest of the whole weekend as it was just beaten by Chris Andrews who went 4.074/482.48
in Q3. We had some ignition problems in the next three runs, and although we thought we had fixed the problem, we hadn't.
So on Saturday night we decided to strip the car and change everything on it. We were all very tired because we didn't get much
sleep that night but on Sunday morning we were just too excited.
In E1 we were up against Antti Horto who was leading the Championship going in to Hockenheim. So it was now up to us to change that by beating him with our almost-new car. And we did, with a 4.35! And then on to the semis, where we were up against Anita Mäkelä who at this point was our closest competitor, and we beat her too with a 4.42. That led us to the final against Micke Kågered, who was unfortunately shut down after his burnout, giving Thomas a bye run which he enjoyed with a 4.11 ride. Wow that felt good! We didn't set any new records this time as the track was a little tricky, especially on Sunday, and if it hadn't been for the amazing Reaction Times and superb driving skills which Thomas displayed all weekend then things might have ended in a less flattering way. Luckily we have indisputably the best driver in Europe, so it turned out just the way it should although even Thomas' skills were really tested in Q4, when the throttle stuck wide open for almost two seconds after the finish line. Also, the crew once again showed that they are all outstanding, both as individuals as well as a team. There was a lot of work on the car day and night, and a lot of challenges during the race, but everybody stayed calm and focused at all times with one overall goal: to get the car in the best possible shape to get down the track as quickly as possible. And together we succeeded. It was really nice to be part of the 2013 NitrOlympX 2013, and to see the huge effort which Jerry Lackey and the whole NitrOlympX team had put in this year. The rumours said that there were more than 60,000 spectators Saturday. It sure looked like it too. Although the message about Andersen Racing / Thomas Nataas leading the European Championship is pretty cool, we have another fantastic piece of news for you, which is that Thomas has agreed to continue as the driver for Andersen Racing in 2014! So to all of our fantastic sponsors, we hope that you will also support us next year; and to all of our competitors: watch out for the Batman - 2014 will also be a Bat year! But for now thank you to all our sponsors: Landmeco, Else-Marie, Biltema, Teslak Transport, Veidec, Pack Plast, Sunoco, Nybo Rod Shop and ABC-Skilte. We hope to see you all in Sweden at the great Tierp Arena on 22nd-25th August. Like mother, like daughter. 
14th August: Finnish Top Fuel Dragster racer Anita Mäkelä says that
Hockenheim was at its best for the weekend's NitrOlympX:
The weather was good, the track crew had done an excellent job, the whole race organisation worked well, and the race officials were very friendly. I didn't have any doubts about the track. It was fresh but as good as it could possibly be. However, our car didn't display its best performance. Modest qualifying runs gave us number six spot. On Saturday we even broke a block for the first time in over a year. The run was more spectacular than fast, so I treated the photographers. After changing the engine we were ready to join the famous Hockenheim Night Show. That is something I don't ever want to miss. The feeling is so unique there. You can feel the excitement. I think Urs and I got our fans loud and excited. I love running with Urs, with full throttle and high header flames. Beside that, a nice run with the new engine gave some hope for Sunday. On Sunday I started well by beating Stig Neergaard on the first round. In semi-finals I lost some traction and Thomas Nataas was faster than me, so our race was done. I couldn't do more than congratulate to Thomas and his team. But let's see next time! After a sudden and sad loss of a crew member (Condolences - Ed), the back-up guiding place was empty. Tommi suggested that we should give our daughter Hanna a go for this new task. Hanna was only three months old when she came to Hockenheim for the first time, I was driving Peter Lantz' Top Fueller. Hanna was a perfect choice. She was calm, precise and followed our Crew Chief Sami's signs accurately. And she remembered to remove the Power Chicken after each burnout. I was so proud of her. It was a special feeling to have this daughter – mum moment for the first time. Drag racing holds a lot of hope to perform better at the next round, it is that strong feeling which keeps us hooked on this sport. We will have the Lagana brothers, Bobby and Dom, assisting us at Tierp so I can't wait to get back to the track. You know the Lagana brothers just set the IHRA Top Fuel record at more than 330 mph at the Michigan race. I'd like to welcome Bobby and Dom to Europe and to my team. Swift snippets. 14th August: UK Super Comp / Super Gas racer Jon Giles had a blast at Hockenheim. "The car ran strong, the Morrice boys were great, and Finney the entertainer was just the icing on the cake", says Jon. "Thanks to Stuart, Collin, Tony Morris from BLP Orlando and Finney for all their help and support even after I messed up! Thanks also to everyone who sent us messages of good luck throughout the weekend, it was quite staggering. We are already looking forward to next year." 
Congratulations to Top Doorslammer and Pro Modified racers the Dahlblom brothers on the first 3.80-second pass and a new
track record of 3.88/306 kmh at Malmö Raceway. The car ran to sixty feet in 0.96 and to 330 feet in 2.58. "We want to thank the Malmö
track crew for working so hard with the track", they say, "and we would also like to thank our crew Conny Johansson, Willy Sigurdsson, Johan Nordgren
and Lennart Dahlblom."
Andy Wheeler of Eurodragster.com sponsor Alamo Rent-A-Car tells us that next Wednesday's (21st) Junior Fun Day at Santa Pod Raceway has attracted no fewer than 47 entries and that 1,300 tickets have been issued. It is not too late to get hold of your tickets for this event; for more information check out our news item of 25th July. Work complete, work in progress. 14th August: Drag racing artist Paul Whitehouse has been in touch with news of a recently-completed painting as well as a sneak preview of his next project. Paul tells us that he put the finishing touches to his atmospheric Dennis Priddle Mr Six painting at the weekend. "I've painted this slingshot in its various schemes over the years, but this is the first time in the colours in which it ran the six-second pass", says Paul. "I believe that this is the scheme which the car, which is currently being restored, will feature once complete. The original painting is for sale and a limited print run will be produced. For further details please contact me at pwhitehouse3@aol.com. 
As next year is the fiftieth anniversary of the 1964 Dragfests Paul is currently working on a series of paintings depicting some of the dragsters which participated in the event. The image shown is a work in progress of the KS Pittman and George Montgomery A/GS 1933 Willys Coupes. Also in Paul's sketchbook, and ready to be committed to canvas, are paintings of Don Garlits and Tommy Ivo in their AA/FD slingshots, Ronnie Sox and Dave Strickler in their A/FX Factory Experimentals (predecessors of the Funny Car) and Tony Nancy in his Plymouth Wedge v Bob Keith AA/GD, then it'll be the turn of the Brits. Web site updates. 14th August: Our good buddy, photo-journalist Remco Scheelings has had two NitrOlympX race reports posted on the Autosport.nl. As ever there is a race report which you can check out by clicking here and an off-track report which you can check out by clicking here. NitrOlympX results. 12th August: Congratulations to the winners of the weekend's NitrOlympX at Hockenheim: FIA Top Fuel Dragster: Thomas Nataas 4.119/434.00 bye, Micke Kågered shut off FIA Top Methanol Funny Car: Johan Lindberg 5.622/410.31 def. Adam Flamholc 5.783/405.48 FIA Pro Modified: Mattias Wulcan 6.082/385.21 def. Micke Gullqvist 5.984/393.58 FIA Pro Stock: Jimmy Ålund 6.726/333.99 def. Thomas Lindström 6.707/332.96 European Funny Car Series: Leif Helander 6.034/362.16 def. Gordon Smith 10.692/169.29 FIM Europe Top Fuel Bike: Ian King 6.421/353.96 def. Rikard Gustafsson 6.918/316.75 FIM Europe Supertwin: Job Heezen 7.231/336.99 def. Ronny Aasen 7.831/217.65 FIM Europe Pro Stock Bike: Fredrik Fredlund 7.087/301.58 def. Kalle Lyrén 7.161/297.08 FIM European Super Street Bike Cup: Dave Holland 7.356/319.78 def. Garry Bowe 7.622/298.39 Comp Eliminator: Rene Meierhofer (9.33) 8.836/193.37 def. Sascha Pretzsch (7.72) 7.443/291.35 Super Pro ET: Mark Flavell (7.67) 7.708/259.69 def. Wouter Leersum (8.50) 29.705/160.06 Pro ET: Lutz Schäre (11.99) 12.064/181.30 def. Peter Städter (9.61) 9.601/228.38 breakout Super Comp: Fred Hanssen 9.013/215.60 def. Markus Ochsner 9.106/236.12 Super Gas: Stevan Reffelrath 9.958/222.28 def. Oscar Scappocin 9.886/197.43 breakout Junior Dragster: Joe Kellett (8.05) 8.070/128.49 def. Joseph Holland-Villa (9.34) 9.338/109.91 breakout Funny Bike: Eric Richard 7.337/295.67 def. Mike Olie 8.097/308.56 Supertwin Top Gas: Frederik Shack 7.880/268.32 def. Herman Jolink 8.650/246.41 Congratulations also to Karl-Heinz Weikum who subject to official ratification set a new European Pro Stock Bike speed record of 190.67 mph / 306.86 kmh. You can check out our Alamo Rent A Car-sponsored Event Coverage by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Many thanks to Kjell Pettersson and Peder Eneroth for sending us the post-NitrOlympX points standings in the FIA European Drag Racing Championships and FIM European Drag Bike Championships respectively. You can check out the FIA and FIM Europe points on our OCS Paint-sponsored Points Standings page by clicking here or by clicking on the OCS Paint Points Standings link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Open Sport Nationals entry. 12th August: Many thanks to Shakespeare County Raceway for sending us Version 3 of the entry list for the Stripe 21 Open Sport Nationals, which takes place on 24th-26th August. You can check out the OSN entry list by clicking here. Entry is still open for this event; entry forms can be downloaded via the Downloads link of SCR's web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.com. If you have any problems downloading the forms or if you have any queries about Stripe 21 Open Sport Nationals entry then please call 01789 720180 or 01789 414119. Perm any one from three... 9th August: Nervous Nick writes that Round 4 of the UK's Gasser Circus took place at the Mopar EuroNats and that it turned out to be a critical weekend in the chase for points towards the Gasser Circus Showdown title: 
At the end of four rounds of qualifying and three rounds of eliminations, the final pair of Gassers came to the line. John
Gibson was behind the wheel of his '55 Chevy Crowd Pleaser and in the opposite lane sat Martyn Hallam in his '
33 Willys Coupe Whiplash. As it turned out the final was decided by a series of mishaps with Martyn leaving early
and firmly planting a cherry on the Tree handing the victory to John whose own charge to the winners' circle was hampered
by his leaving the line in the wrong gear! Who said racing was easy?
The final may not have been that wheel-to-wheel race which most had anticipated, but over the weekend that is exactly what the Gasser Circus racers served up. It was also a great bonus to have Goldrush back charging down the quarter mile, now under the ownership of Kev Strevett and in the driving hands of him and his sons, who put on a great show and added so much to the Circus. It was pleasing to see that Tim Holmes had brought along his Power Wagon pickup, and arranged for local lad Mojo to race his truck over the weekend. Mike Noble was regularly pulling wheelies in Honky Tonkin' and also set a new Personal Best posting a 10.16. Mick Allen in his Henry J also set a new personal best of 13.99 with his manually-shifted Hilborn-injected 327 Chevy. 
Cars eliminated in round one were Identity Crisis, Nogbad the Bad, Horrid Henry and Honky Tonkin'.
Defending Champion Ray Turner in his Green Onions '55 Chevy was beaten in the quarter finals by John Gibson
and at the same point on the other side of the ladder Sean Milsom in his 1947 Morris van Ain't Misbehavin was racing
and beating Power Wagon, this victory helping him maintain his lead in the race series despite losing in the semi-final to
John. Martyn advanced to the final courtesy of a bye and you already know the outcome of that race.
So as the Gasser Circus prepares for a short Summer break, there are three racers who can take the title at the final round at the Hot Rod Drags at Shakespeare County Raceway in September: Ray Turner – Green Onions, Brian Gibson – Identity Crisis and Sean Milsom – Ain't Misbehavin'! The race series which pays homage to the Gasser racing of the mid-sixties is perfectly balanced be sure you don't mix the climax. It will be a blast. We wish to thank all the crew at Santa Pod, the NSRA, the Mopar Nationals Committee, Hot Rod Supplies, Mechanix Ltd and Jack Hammer. Euro Series Top Gas Round 4. 
9th August: The fourth round of Euro Series
Supertwin Top Gas took place over the quarter mile at Denmark's Vandel Raceway last weekend. Herman Jolink
writes:
Qualifying took place during Saturday and on Sunday morning. Final qualifying was:
Quarter finals: Schack 10.605/123 beat Jensen 10.521/209, Schack was lucky as he crossed the finish line first with gear shifti problems, Schack winning on his reaction time 0.641 against the 0.870 from Jensen. Heitmann 8.578/245 bye run - Niklas' engine cut out on the start. Andre 8.343/256 beat van Schie 11.198/185 with traction problems. Jolink 8.625/247 bye run as van Nimmen had electrical problems at the start. Semi finals: Shack 7.867/253 beat Heitmann 8.510/247 reaction times Schack 0.705 and Heitmann 0.720. Andre 8.192/257 beat Jolink 8.407/248, reaction Jolink 0.568 sec and Andre the same 0.568. Jolink and Andre had the same sixty foot time but after sixty feet Andre got out in front. Frederick Schack DK won the final 9.240/226 kmh from Stefan Andre S 18.317/81. Schack had some luck that in the final as his competitor Andre had no traction and got off the throttle. Schack had some problems with the stiff side wind and also got off the throttle. Top Gas Championship after four rounds:
9th-11th August NitrOlympX, Hockenheim, Germany 30th August-1st September Mosten Race Days eighth mile sprint, Randers, Denmark 14th-15th September Top Gas Finals, Hoskovice, Czech Republic Swift snippets. 9th August: If any UK team is looking for experienced crew then Frank Salvo has been in touch to offer his services. "I own and run a C/A or Pro Stock-type car back in Perth, Western Australia", says Frank. "I am up to speed with any chassis type car from front to rear and I have plenty of experience with most set-ups for example four-links, Racepak data, front and rear shocks, 7" clutches, engine tuning etc. I just need somewhere to hide at weekends". If you are interested then call Frank on 07581 126674. George Kinghorn is seeking contributors for his UKDrag.net Blog. "Due to my son not being very well I'm not giving the site the attention it deserves", saye George, "so I'm looking for people willing to write and post articles on the site. You don't have to be a tech whiz-kid, you just need to know how to type up a story and add an image - I can show you the rest". If you can help then please get in touch with George at mail@baygroup.co.uk. We would like to say a big Happy Birthday to UK Fuel legend Gary Page who is spending today and his whole weekend working hard at the NitrOlympX. Have a great day Gary. UK Top Sportsman review. 9th August: Paul Marston writes that the 20th Annual Mopar Euro Nats hosted what was arguably the best display of UK Top Sportsman Racing to date. With thirty of the very best doorslammer teams in attendance including two teams from Holland the list of competitors was simply stunning with so many débuts, and new combos with more power. So many teams had burnt the midnight oil just to be there and some teams arrived still having not fired up their freshly-built motors until they arrived, it was that tight and they wanted to be here that badly. The Direct Plastics UK Top Sportsman team would like to recognise such an effort made by so many. Anyone who was anybody was there to fight it out, the competition was hard fought and produced many upsets. The Bracket Race took place on Friday in brutally hot and humid weather which certainly tested the crews and drivers, with conditions akin to racing in Florida. Track conditions at Santa Pod Raceway were superb, the track held everything which was thrown at it performance-wise from the very best and fastest Sportsman doorslammers in the country. Eliminations had nearly all the pre-race favourites out by the third round, the competition was that close. It seemed that everyone had upped their game for this one and it got to the stage where the form book was tossed out of the window! When the dust settled after an incredible six rounds of eliminations, it was Nick Curtis in Nick Griffin's Chevy Malibu who took the win and stood tall over everyone in what has to have been the hardest fought bracket race that this country has seen in years. Runner-up was Paul Letchford in his 1968 Chevy Camaro, after Paul pulled a red in the final handing the win to Nick. This was Nick's first ever event win of any kind, what a way to open your account winning the biggest and richest of them all, well deserved. As Nick advanced through the earlier rounds there were signs that he was in the zone: killer on the tree and at the stripe, aided by the mighty Malibu's deadly consistency - it never let him down. With the Bracket race done it was now the turn of the heavy hitters in the Direct Plastics UK Top Sportsman world to take centre stage with the one-shot qualifier Saturday night for the Heads-Up Eliminator. With only one of the main contenders from 2012, Kev Syfield in his Pro Mod Willys, returning it was time for new stars to take to the stage with débuts from Neil Hunter in his beautiful ex-IHRA Pro Stock Firebird, Dave Townsend in his ex-Roger Johansson Pro Modified Mustang packing 598 ci of Ford power with a twin nitrous system, add to that Simon Gough's 2012 Camaro and the return on Steve Neimantas after a five-year layoff. There was much expectation and after the rain delayed the one shot for forty five minutes the air was heavy with anticipation. It finally gave all the teams a chance to show what they were made of. Most Sportsman racers run in classes where consistency is key. The opportunity to run flat out only comes once a year in competition, in the Direct Plastics UK Top Sportsman eliminator. After running 7.7s in the bracket race then virtually the last car down the track in qualifying, Dave Townsend bought the 2004 Mustang to the start line and purged both systems for the first time that weekend. He then ripped off a 7.33/188 to land the number one qualifying position, set low ET of the weekend and reset the Direct Plastics UK Top Sportsman ET record in the process. A special mention to Kev Syfield who once again took the long way round and booked number two slot with his fantastic blown-alcohol Pro Mod Willys. Number three spot belonged to a returning Jack Brewster in the Just Mustard Firebird with a PB of 8.25. Sunday produced the same level of upsets which we saw in the Bracket Race, with the final between that man Paul Letchford who had made his way through with solid performances and a Minnesotan lumberjack job of chopping the Tree down and none other than Mr Pro Mod Kev Syfield, who had been giving everyone a lesson all weekend in how to manhandle 2500 horsepower when it hits shake at 330 feet! Unfortunately Kev and his heroic team could not make the call for the final round with suspected motor issues. A shining example of sportsmanlike conduct and a great ambassador for racing, Kev upon learning that they may have a problem went straight over to see Paul Letchford's crew to inform them that they would have a single in the final. That, ladies and gentlemen, is what makes it such an honour and a privilege to host the Direct Plastics UK Top Sportsman event, the biggest of its kind in the country. On the track there is no quarter given but off track there is a lot of mutual respect between competitors. We have a lot of Thank Yous so here goes. Event sponsor, our staunchest supporter, Direct Plastics and head honcho Paul Woodhead - thanks buddy, you're a star. All our other associates and partners: Jeff Bull Racing Engines, Kenny Coleman at EDA, Gary Springford - Drag Race Engineering, Chris Isaacs Race Cars, Hauser Racing, wemoveyourcar.com , Damn Yankees American Car Club, Billy Mac at Topspeed Automotive, etc, etc. Our hosts: the Committee of the Mopar Euronationals, what a great event, it really was such a pleasure to work with you all. Looking forward to next year already. All the Paul Marston Racing crew: The Crewchief, Funsize, Mad Mick Howling, Mick The Pieman Pusey, Keith 'Jaws' Bick, Sefton Whitlock, lovely Lisa Farmer and Jayne, who ran the whole Direct Plastics UK Top Sportsman Event, you worked so hard to make it all run so smoothly, thank you all. Eurodragster.com and Doysee.me for truly outstanding coverage (Thanks, you're welcome - Ed), and all of the Santa Pod Raceway track crew and management who went the extra mile to make it all go so well. There is no blow-by-blow account of what happened each round; for that you will have to watch the TV show which will be aired at the beginning of October unless you were lucky enough to be there. Stay tuned to Eurodragster.com for the exact date once it's scheduled. It will be on Motors TV, and if it makes as good a show as it was to watch on the day this will be awesome with a capital A. SCR Junior Dragsters available. 9th August: Shakespeare County Raceway's Andrew Willcox has been in touch with details of the latest hire dates and events for the SCR Junior Dragster Experience cars. "For anyone looking for some Nunior national event action over the Bank Holiday Weekend at the Stripe 21 Open Sport Nationals we now have cars available in both Junior Stock or Junior Modified set-ups", says Andrew. "Entry to the event is still available for any aspiring Junior Drag Racer looking to start a career in drag racing. Costs to hire are £220 plus entry fee for the Stock Dragster and £280 plus entry fee for the Modified Dragster. This will give full use of the cars, safety gear, and entry into the event but you will have to provide your own MSA-approved helmet." 
Additional RWYB / Public Track Day hire events include: 28th-29th September - 1 Stock or Modified Dragster both days 12th October – 1 Stock Dragster and 1 Stock or Modified Dragster 13th October - 1 Stock Dragster or Modified Dragster 26th October – 1 Stock Dragster or 1 Modified Dragster 27th October – 1 Stock Dragster and 1 Stock or Modified Dragster The cars will also be at the Junior Drag Racing Fun Day at Santa Pod Raceway on Wednesday 21st August. Hire of the dragsters (£120 per day for Stock Dragster or £180 per day for Modified Dragster) comes with driver and crew tuition, safety gear, helmet, admission and RWYB track fees, and as many runs as possible over the eighth mile at the famous Shakespeare County drag strip! After the day is complete the driver will receive a signed track certificate and their time slips as a souvenir of their experience driving a Junior Dragster. To book a day or weekend Please call the Raceway office on 01789 720180 / 07716 037717 or E-Mail enquiries@shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk. Further details can be found on the SCR Junior Dragster Experience page of the Shakespeare County Raceway web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk on on the SCR's Junior Dragster Experience Facebook page. The crucial test passed. 6th August: Hockenheim's Public Race Days, which takes place on the Rico Anthes Quartermile the weekend before the NitrOlympX, is always a good indicator of how the big weekend will turn out. In 2012 it promised a lot of drama for the following weekend, but our good buddy Mathias Schneider of the der Beschleuniger web site says that this year a lot of good things happened auguring great things to come this week: The track crew at Hockenheim, under the supervision of the guys in charge of the track at Santa Pod, have been working their butts off for months preparing a brand new track surface. And the first runs of a fairly good Test and Tune field on Saturday proved that the people at the Hockenheimring have learned a lot from the 2012 fiasco. Off the trailer PBs, even from a lot of experienced teams, showed that the track is ready. And after a couple of hundred cars and bikes laid down more and more rubber over the weekend there is no doubt: the records which have been boldly promised by the organisers of the NitrOlympX could really be within reach for the 2013 event. The track held everything which the teams threw at it. Even Christian Jäger's Super Twin Top Fuel Bike ran in the sixes on Sunday. 
Gerd Habermann won the round of German Street Eliminator in his V8-powered BMW while Micha Vogt broke his ex-Pro Mod, now street-legal '55 Chevy Bel Air during the Cruise. Micha ran an 8.2 in qualifying which also tells you a lot about the track conditions. Every team, even those travelling from Russia were 100% happy with the track. Prepare yourself for a fantastic NitrOlympX, everybody, because the track may well be in the best condition it has ever been. Mathias kindly sent us a gallery of shots from the Public Race days which we are pleased to present in association with Lucas Oil Products and 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. NitrOlympX Web TV. 6th August: This weekend's NitrOlympX is to be webcast via Dacast's streaming service, keeping even those who cannot come to the Rico Anthes Quartemile up-to-date. 
Fans will be able to watch their personal drag racing heroes live in action on their PC screen for a one-off payment of $10.There will be cameras
at different angles from start to finish, as well as impressions and images of the unique Night Show, will provide teams, friends, fans and sponsors with
unique, high quality motorsport moments over Saturday and Sunday.
You will be able to seize the opportunity to watch two adrenaline-filled days live on Nitro-TV by signing up at www.nitrolympx.de. Registration will open on or before Friday (9th) and the live stream starts at approximately 11:00 European on Saturday. Für das kommende Wochenende bietet die Hockenheim-Ring GmbH als Veranstalter der NitrOlympX allen Teams, Fans und Interessierten, die nicht Vorort sein können einen exklusiven Service: Sowohl für Samstag als auch für Sonntag wird über den Streaming-Service von Dacast ein komfortables Pay-Per-View LIVE-STREAMING ins Internet gestellt, das auch diejenigen auf dem Laufenden hält, die keine Gelegenheit haben, an die Rico-Anthes Quartemile am Hockenheimring zu kommen. Informiert alle Fans und Follower über die Möglichkeit, ihrem persönlichen Drag Racing Heroe für einmalige 10,- US$ live und in Action auf dem Computerbildschirm zu folgen. Kameras aus verschiedensten Perspektiven vom Start bis ins Ziel, Impressionen und Bilder der einzigartigen Nightshow liefern den Teams, Freunden, Fans und Sponsoren am 10. und 11. August 2013 zwei Tage einzigartige Motorsport-Momente in bester Qualität. Nutzt die Chance zum 2-t&aumml;gigen medialen Adrenalinkick live auf Nitro-TV und meldet euch über www.nitrolympx.de an. Die Registrierung ist spätestens ab dem 09. August 2013 möglich – der live Stream startet am 10. August ca. 11:00 Uhr Viel Vergnügen bei den NitrOlympX 2013 – ob live onsite oder live online! Things can only get better... 
6th August: Per and Karsten Andersen write that the Andersen Racing Top Fuel
Dragster team were really looking forward to going to Alastaro, hoping to extend our points lead. However the weeked
turned into a bit of a nightmare even before they got to the track:
We blew one of the tyres on the trailer on our way to the ferry in Frederikshavn. It ripped some of the side panels off the trailer, and all of the electronics to the level sensors and ABS. Tyre pieces were stuck inside the brake drum and more. It was a big mess, and it took us six hours before we got rolling again. If we had not had six crew members in the trailer – each with some good ideas and technical skills - we would never have made it. To top it off, we had to turn around and go via Copenhagen instead, because of the extra time spent. We finally arrived at Alastaro and we were all set for some good racing. Unfortunately the track conditions are getting worse each year and it was almost impossible for Thomas to get a full run. By some means we managed to be the quickest car in each qualifying session, but to be the quickest car under those conditions you need some luck, and it costs a lot of parts – including for us. Anyway we were of course very happy and felt comfortable for Sunday's eliminations. In E1 we ran a solid 4.10/465 kmh which also turned out to be the best run in TF the whole weekend. In E2 we were up against Antti Horti. Thomas left the line first and the car was running really well until we ran into some oil on the track. Unfortunately that ended our weekend and spoiled our chances to extend our points lead. We were really disappointed, but thought that after the blown trailer tyre and the oil on the track our luck could only go in a more positive direction. But no... on the way back to Denmark we blew another tyre on the trailer. Shit. Before going to Finland we had the trailer professionally serviced - don't think we will be going to that place again. We now have everything ready for the Hockenheim race – including the trailer. Finally we can go racing again. Two reasons to celebrate. 6th August: Shakespeare County Raceway is pleased to announce that Surrey and Warwickshire based internet service provider Stripe 21 are to become the title sponsor for the MSA/ACU APIRA Open Sport Nationals on 24th-26th August, writes SCR's Marketing Manager Jerry Cookson: 
Founded by Managing Director Stephen North in 2006, Stripe 21 are widely regarded as 'The Best Kept Secret in Telecoms' by
their clients and specialise in the delivery of business grade Voice, Data and Internet Services. "We support in excess of 2000 managed
IP telephone endpoints on our hosted platform and over one million minutes of VOIP traffic per month is carried across our voice network",
said Stephen. "Our unique selling point is our ability to guarantee voice and data services at Cloud prices, whilst maintaining the quality,
security and reliability expected by business customers. So we're very pleased for Stripe 21 to be involved with one of the fastest motorsports
around offering racers and teams the same performance, quality and service at competitive pricing."
During the Open Sport Nationals Stripe 21 and SCR have also taken the initiative to raise funds for a First Responder scheme which will support Long Marston and several local villages. Part of this initiative is to raise funds for its upkeep by offering prizes for the Best Turned Out Car and Bike of the weekend. "We're pleased to welcome Stripe 21 on board as our main sponsor of this year's Open Sport Nationals", says SCR's Jerry Cookson. "Both concerns are in the business of delivering a fast and competitive service and in today's global media market the extreme world of 200 mph head-to-head drag racing certainly captures that, with its knife-edge competitiveness as well as the power and speed which Stripe 21 deliver. "To find out more about what Stripe 21 has to offer stop by their web site at www.stripe21.com or call 0800 756 2010. See you at the Stripe 21 APIRA Open Sport Nationals." 
With the 40th Anniversary celebrations of drag racing at Long Marston Airfield taking place at next month's 25th NSRA Hot Rod Drags, seven days short of
the original date of Sunday 9th September 1973, the track is looking to display cars and drag bikes which might have competed at any of the early 1970s
NDRC/MDRA eighth mile races from 1973 to 1979, through to the full-blown 1980s quarter mile drags when the old place was affectionately known as Long
Marston International Raceway. Many of the original Raceway track officials and marshals will also be present on the day.
If you've got anything to show from a race car to a hot rod to a drag bike (restored or semi restored) then please get in touch with Jerry Cookson on 01789 720180 or E-Mail enquiries@shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk. Swift snippets. 6th August: 21:45 Thanks to Ian Marshall for sending us Version 4 of the official entry list for the FIA European Finals, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 5th-8th September. You can check out the FIA European Finals entry by clicking here, and you can download the official entry forms from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. Please remember that the Santa Pod Racers Club office will not be manned between now and Monday 19th August. If racers have any emergencies or problems during that time then please contact Yvonne Tramm on either 07762 195729 or E-Mail ytramm@africonnect.com. Shelby, Jon and Jeanette Webster would like to say a big thank you to everyone for their many texts, cards, flowers and kind words following Shelby Webster's recent injuries inflicted by a hungry rescue dog. "Shelby is not out of the woods yet, she is now at home awaiting more surgery but on the road to recovery hopefully", they say. "Luckily, Shelby is more interested in winning Best Looking Car with her 100E than Miss Lovely Legs!". Our very best wishes and hugs to Shelby for a rapid recovery. 
The UK's Bob Hawkins and his Time Traveller slingshot team are to race at the NitrOlympX this weekend", says Bob.
"We have been invited to compete in a match race as well as perform one of our fire burnouts in the famous night show! The team could
also not resist entering Super Pro ET with qualifying starting on Friday. It's our first visit to Hockenheim and it's going to be a busy one but
we can't wait to get there and lay some rubber down on their super new track surface."
UK Super Pro ET racer Billy Gane asked us to thank everyone who came to his Drag Racing Summer Party on Saturday evening. "It was great to see you all and I hope you all had a great time", says Billy. "This was only the second Summer Party I have held and having over a hundred people turn up was brilliant. I couldn't have done it without help from a lot of people whom I would also like to thank. Firstly Bob Molden for putting on a great disco, Paul Marston for the use of his sound and lighting equipment once again, Pete and Gary for the last minute loan of a generator, and all my close friends who have worked hard helping get everything ready over the last week or so. Same again next year? It'd be rude not to!" Web site updates. 6th August: Our good buddy Alan Currans has been in touch with news of another collaboration to benefit his excellent Acceleration Archive web site, this time between Roger Phillips, Chris Dossett, Andy Barrack and himself with help from Nick Pettitt. "Was there ever a Jaguar-powered motorcycle?", says Alan. "A Morris Marina Funny Car? Find the answers to these questions and several more in The Weird and The Wonderful". As ever you can check out Alan's latest update via the What's New? link at www.theaccelerationarchive.co.uk. Gearbox tennis at Bug Jam. 5th August: UK VW Pro racer Matt Attwood had a lively Bug Jam but not for the usual social reasons associated with the huge event. Matt takes up the story: 
A month ago a few mates and I made our bi-annual trip to European Bug In in Belgium, a cool road trip combined with VW fanatics who apparently love a wheelie or two.
A bit of showboating resulted in a broken ring and pinion in my - so I thought - bulletproof transaxle. I thought no problem, I will just stick in a standard VW Bay Window transaxle and run
without the supercharger to see me through Bug Jam.
I had no idea what times I could run without the blower, so I just gave it a go. I ran 13.20, 13.20 and then a 13.00; with the upper limit of Pro set at 12.99 that was maybe a bit to close for comfort. Oh and it was really boring. So charger back on, 11.35 and smiling again. On my second qualifier I hit the revs too high on the launch and went nowhere... crunch, jangle and second gear stripped. It was five o'clock on the Saturday evening and I made the call to drop out the engine and box (cheers Mick Outhwaite), go home with broken bits, and come back with fixed bits. Got back at midnight and everyone was partying, but with the help of three other VW Pro racers we got it all back in and running to the cheers of people in the pits and others having a social at 1:45 am (the funfair was still on though). Come race day I had to calm my launches down a bit as I needed Championship points. I qualified a bad seventeenth and in the first round I had to meet James Hodson - second in the Championship - in the superfast Mk2 Golf only to learn that he had had turbo issues and was out. Hope you sort it soon James. Come 4:00 pm I was in the final with Mr Paul The Pirate Jackson. I lost due to a breakout of 0.011 but what a weekend. My thanks go out to Graeme Freeman, Mick Outhwaite, Rich Jones and the VWDRC for being such a cool crowd of mates, the best you could ever wish for. See you all at the National Finals for our Mexican Night. Andrews a part of history. 
5th August: UK Top Fuel Dragster racer Chris Andrews is ready for another FIA Championship round.
This weekend he will join the rest of the drag race elite at the world famous Hockenheimring in Germany, where he will continue racing
RF Motorsports' new dragster owned by legendary tuner Rune Fjeld.
"The NitrOlympX is going to be our biggest field in Top Fuel so far this year", says Chris. "Ten cars are entered for an eight-car field. To qualify is going to be hard but we are up for the challenge. At the last race we changed everything from one car to the new DSR chassis, we qualified well, and if it was not for a blower belt failure we could have got a round win." Chris ran a best of 4.60 run in Finland and with this in mind his ambition is now a round win. Eddie Corr will also come along this weekend and he will probably have a more hands-on role with the tuning of the car as well. Another point of note this weekend is that Chris will be involved in history when he is one of four drivers fielded by RF Motorsports; never before has a team entered four Top Fuel Dragsters in FIA European competition. Chris finds it helpful to have such a strong surrounding around him, and thinks that it will only spark him to race his Lucas Oil bullet to the max. "I am so excited to race at the NitrOlympX this weekend", says Chris. "It is such a big event for RF Motorsport. Fielding four cars is such a big undertaking and a moment in European drag racing history which I am proud to be part of." If you want to be a part of a drag race then visit the Facebook pages of F&A Racing and RF Motorsport and hit the Like button. This will include you in a competition to win free VIP tickets for the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway in September. What a difference a year makes. 5th August: At the 2012 Mopar EuroNats Martin Davey took a passenger ride down the track with Pro ET racer Rick Denny, for whom he crews. At the 2013 Mopar EuroNats Martin took a passenger ride with medical crew to A&E at Bedford General: 
After popping a disc in my lower back on the Thursday and making an uncomfortable journey to Santa Pod, I thought I could walk it off on Friday. No I couldn't. To all those who saw
me up and down the fire-up road, I hadn't been drinking; I was in agony. After not being able to move out of the caravan on Saturday morning, we decided to see if the medical crew
had a couple of paracetamol. They decided that intraveanous morphine, gas and air, a spinal board and ambulance to A&E was a better idea.
Five hours, a diagnosis of a prolapsed disc (around L5), an expensive and painful taxi ride later, I was back at Pod with strict instructions to rest. I would like to thank the medical staff at Santa Pod for the professional, caring, understanding way they dealt with me. They were brilliant. Also the staff at Bedford NHS Trust A&E, including the nurse who showed me that pain relief doesn't have to be just taken orally (Thanks for that image - Ed). Thanks also to everyone who offered help and assistance with transport and caravan storage including Mark Skinner, Nigel Hale and James Forster. Thanks to everyone else for their best wishes. Finally apologies and Happy Birthday to Rick Denny (last Sunday 28th), I wasn't much of a Crew Chief or party organiser last weekend. And thanks to my partner and Crew Chef Mel for putting up with me (Mel and Rick, left). And, of course, thanks to Eurodragster.com for letting me thank everyone (You're welcome, take care - Ed). Swift snippets. 5th August: We have two birthdays today (Monday). First up is a Happy Birthday to Her Gracious Naughtiness Lady Libby Mottershead. Have a lovely day Libby. Dick Koster and all of the team have asked us to say a big Happy Birthday to Dutch Pro Modified racer David Vegter. "We are doing all we can to get David back on track for the NitrOlympX after the severe engine damage in Finald", says Dick. Good luck with that, have a great day David. Ladies That Launch a repeat success. 5th August: UK Pro ET racer Liz Malcolm says that she had a great weekend at the 4th Annual For Ladies That Launch at Shakespeare County Raceway: The weather was fantastic, the track was as always well prepped, and although we only had a one shot qualifier, I managed to get into third place. We did however have plenty of track time on Saturday at the RWYB (thanks guys for the Sportsman Tree). I got through to the final where I lost on a breakout to Wendy Hadfield in her 'Starsky and Hutch' Torino. Well done Wendy. It was nice to meet Liz Burn who was doing the trophy presentation and I am looking forward to reading her book. Thanks to Jerry Cookson, Angie Woods and of course all the crew and staff for putting on a great meeting. I was chuffed to win a signed Jeff Land canvas mounted print of a Hot Rod at Shakey in the raffle. It is now on our front room wall. On a more serious note all the monies raised at Ladies that Launch is going to Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research and a cheque will be handed to Sarah Howells to go towards monies she is raising. Good luck in the Great North Run Sarah. Angie Woods and Jerry Cookson would like to say a huge thanks to everyone who supported Ladies That Launch weekend for taking part, for the generous raffle donations, and for just being there. Congratulations must also go to our two very happy LTL Bracket race winners Wendy Hadfield and Jane Haggar. With a record twenty cars entered for the American-style Bracket race, Wendy qualified her 70s cop show Starsky and Hutch '74 Ford Gran Torino tenth before the elimination chase down began with Carol Wood's Chevy Silverado Truck in the first round, Jo Joyner's VW Bettle Green Goblin, followed by the Lady with Attitude Chevy Camaro belonging to Pro ET racer Sarah Styles in the quarter finals. By semi final time, there were only three ladies left in competition; Wendy took on the Team Bonkers Chevy Nova of Zoe Sanderson which left the Pro ET Just 4 Fun dragster of Liz Malcolm with the lucky dog bye into the final. As tension mounted for the final race of the day, Wendy was most certainly on her game with yet another lightning quick Reaction Time at the start (0.17 RT) to give her enough of a winning margin to scoop the victory, the bottle of Claron Graphics champagne and the LTL title for 2013 after breaking out the least with a 13.486 on her 13.50 dial in 13.486 over Liz' game 11.125 on an 11.20. Further congratulations must go to VeeDub enthusiast Jo Joyner who in the one shot qualifier ran a perfect 12.950 on a 12.95 dial with the family-owned 2276 cc Green Goblin '68 VW Beetle. Previous to this in Chimay, Belgium Jo ran a PB of 12.87. In the Bike Bracket, Jane Haggar on a Triumph Bonneville T1000 found herself holding the Claron Graphics champagne after taking the unexpected win from the 1300 cc Suzuki Hayabusa of visiting Dutch drag racer Margot Schmidt. Presentations were made by Seventies Queen of the Long Marston quarter mile Liz Burn and sponsor Simon Cardwell. 
"It's been an amazing weekend", commented organiser Angie Woods. "The support which Jerry and I have received in the last few weeks has been amazing, especially with everyone's overwhelming generosity with donations and last minute raffle prizes. I'm sure that by August Bank Holiday and the Open Sport Nationals we'll both be presenting drag racer Sarah Howells with a big fat cheque to go towards her fund raising activities and ambition of finishing the Great North Run in memory of Santa Pod Racers Club official Paula Marshall." Congratulations to the raffle winners: Framed Print courtesy of Jeni Long won by Phil Cordelle Framed Print courtesy of Jeff Land won by Liz Malcolm The Big Breakfast courtesy of SCR Burger Babes won by Paul Snook £40 Welding Voucher plus T-Shirt courtesy of Wayne Allam won by the Jenkins family £85 Furniture Store Voucher courtesy of Michelle Mockford won by Carol and Ian Jackson VP Racing Fuel Jug courtesy of LA Racing Parts won by Trudi Slater VP Racing Fuel Jug courtesy of LA Racing Parts won by Mike Couch VP Racing Fuel Jug courtesy of LA Racing Parts won by Beth Satchell VP Racing Fuel Jug courtesy of LA Racing Parts won by L Pitcher Sweet Hamper courtesy of LTL won by Tim Long Main meal and drink courtesy of the Mason's Arms won by Sarah Styles Framed Print courtesy of Julie and Phil Steele won by Sue Davis Framed Print courtesy of Julie and Phil Steele won by Sarah Styles Framed Print courtesy of Julie and Phil Steele won by Kenny's Bar Surprise Print courtesy of Eurodragster won by Ian and Carol Jackson Scooby Doo cuddly toy courtesy of LTL won by Lynn Witts Hot Rod T-Shirt and Seat Cushion courtesy of John and Bev won by Tony Smith Hot Rod T-Shirt and Seat Cushion courtesy of John and Bev won by Tim Long Hot Rod T-Shirt and Seat Cushion courtesy of John & Bev won by Derek and Lisa Beach Set courtesy of Yankee Doodles won by J. Harrison Drag Racing Through the Eyes of a Woman courtesy of Liz Burn won by Claire Johnson Kendall Oils, stickers & card courtesy of Ramon won by Sarah Howells Soap Gift Basket courtesy of Caroos Soaps won by Tony Smith Nitrous Junkie Baseball Cap courtesy of Lizz McCarthy won by J. Harrison Mopar Ad Signs courtesy of American Car Magazine won by Molly at Kenny's Bar Bottle of Fireball plus Nomex Race Balaclavas won by Rob £50 Voucher courtesy of Screamin Designs won by Mike Couch Framed Print courtesy of Dave Derry won by Sandra Lamberth and Simon Cardwell Earrings courtesy of Cari & Martin Hall won by Derek Kenway Framed Print courtesy of Tim Long & Nitroburners won by J. Harrison Framed Print courtesy of Tim Long & Nitroburners won by Sarah Richardson Pair of Ladies Boots courtesy of Michelle Mockford won by Keith Crampton Pair of Ladies Boots courtesy of Michelle Mockford won by Elaine Donay Signed Drag Bike Book courtesy of Kerryanne Frazier won by Lisa and Derek Mums Book of Glamour won by Ray Andrews Day in a Junior Dragster courtesy of Andrew Willcox / SCR Junior Dragster Experience won by Jo Peters Surf City Garage Clean Products won by Barry Bohannon American Diner Voucher courtesy of 50s American Diner won by Liz Malcolm £100 plus Hot Rod Drags Tickets courtesy of Shakespeare County Raceway won by Tom Larman If you were one of the lucky winners but couldn't pick up your prize in person, then please call Jerry on 01789 720180 and arrangements can then be made to get your prize to you. Web site updates. 5th August: In the latest instalment of his Nostalgia Blog presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car, Allard Chrysler Action Group Chair Brian Taylor brings us up to date with the restoration of Europe's first dragster. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. The latest edition of the Speedgroup newsletter is now available and includes NitrOlympX preview, racer features, Eurodragster.com Editor's Diary and more. You can take a look at club.speedgroup.eu. Eurodragster.com News Editor Tog has posted a large gallery of shots from last weekend's Mopar EuroNats at Santa Pod Raceway which you can check out at either eurodragster.smugmug.com or at www.togsdragracing.com. Swift snippets. 4th August: Ian Marshall has asked us to advise racers that the Santa Pod Racers Club office will not be manned between tomorrow (Monday) and Monday 19th August. If racers have any emergencies or problems during that time then please contact Yvonne Tramm on either 07762 195729 or E-Mail ytramm@africonnect.com. UK Funny Bike racer Gary Jones says that after a couple of wild rides on the Jones and Friend bike at the SPRC Summernationals the team have decided to change the make of rear tyre. "We wish to go back to a Goodyear but none of the dealers I have tried can help", says Gary. "If anyone out there has a 29-12x15 Goodyear surplus could you please give me a call on 07788 581902." Congratulations to Linn Engan Karlsen who received her Top Methanol Licence at Gardermoen today. Terje Håkensbakken tells us that Linn Engan's last run was a 5.91/387 kmh. 
Ken Bonner has been in touch seeking a race car to join Jon Giles' Super Comp/Gas Willys at the Camberley Car Show on Saturday 31st August. The Show raises funds for the South West Thames Kidney Fund which aids research into kidney disease and diabetes. "We have a 2006 F1 Ferrari, a Formula 3 Ford, 3 Ford GT40 replicas and everything else from a 1904 DeDion to a good selection of Street Rods", says Ken, "but I would love to get one or two dragsters on display! There will be music, authentic 1940s characters and other attractions and, as it is in the town centre, plenty of restaurants, pubs and coffee houses on hand". If you would like to take your race car along then please contact Ken at kenbonner@btinternet.com. After qualifying twelfth with a 3.977/189.18 Swedish Pro Modified racer Adam Flamholc made a first round exit at the ADRL Memphis Drags IV in Tennessee yesterday. Thanks to Benoit Pigeon for sending us this great picture of Adam in action. 
SPRC marshal Caroline Boncey asked us to say a big Thank You to all those Eurodragster.com readers who sponsored her to walk for the Hospice of St Francis in Berkhamsted. "I was walker number one and completed the eleven miles in 3 hours 20 minutes", says Oscar. "Posting about this on Eurodragster.com helped me raise to raise £450 and I am truly grateful." We would like to say a big Happy 15th Birthday to UK Junior Dragster racer Paige Wheeler. Have a great day Paige. NitrOlympX contest winners. 
3rd August: Congratulations to Johan van de Sande of Hoogeloon, The Netherlands who won our Nitrographer for a Day contest
and who will be photographing trackside on race day at next weekend's NitrOlympX at Hockenheim. Johan submitted this very atmospheric picture of
Hockenheim's Christmas Tree seen through heat haze.
Congratulations also to László Szabó of Berekfürdő, Hungary and to Patrick Oldenburger of Sint Maartensbrug, The Netherlands who won the Quartermile Club package and a pair of event tickets respectively. Thanks very much to Christine Calwer and the Hockenheimring for posting the excellent prizes, and a big Thank You to everyone who entered. Swift snippets. 3rd August: After two of three rounds of qualifying, Sweden's Adam Flamholc stands twelfth in Pro Modified qualifying at the ADRL Memphis Drags IV in Tennessee with a 3.977/189.18. Photographer Benoit Pigeon tells us that Adam arrived at 11:00 yesterday for the 17:00 first qualifier, and that qualifying session two went on past midnight after which the team stayed up until three this morning to change a bad clutch disc. It is currently raining in Memphis but the forecast is good and Q3 is definitely happening. 
You will be able to stay in touch with Adam's progress this weekend courtesy of our Drag Race Central friends at www.dragracecentral.com. Good luck Adam and stay safe. Drachten Finals cancelled. 1st August: The Netherlands' Quartermile Events have announced that the Drachten Finals, due to be held at Drachten Airfield on 16th-18th August, has been cancelled due to the lack of entries: We have tried everything from extending the entry deadline to sending reminders to every E-Mail address on our books but to no avail. With the number of entries we have received we just cannot create a proper event. As promised, we will refund their entry fee to those teams who had entered and paid by Wednesday 7th August; please allow the banks a few days to sort out the transfer). This does not mean that drag racing will finish in The Netherlands. Quartermile Events will host the 2014 Open Dutch Championship at Drachten. We will have a meeting on 13th October to discuss how we can all join to create three top-of-the-bill events in 2014. If you have any ideas to contribute then please write to quartermilebestuur@gmail.com. We can only create even better events if we know your visions. Details of the meeting are available at www.quartermile.nl. We can imagine that there will be some questions which you feel are unanswered; please feel free to E-Mail us at press@quartermile.nl and we'll do our best to answer your queries. Heather Mitchell's thanks. 1st August: Heather Mitchell, aka The Wife, Tessa Tangent, Sweetie or Blossom, has been in touch to say a huge thank you to all those who wrote tributes on Eurodragster.com for her husband Paul Mitchell: These are early days for me and all our family and friends and I think I can speak for us all to say we are still shocked and devastated. But, as you can probably imagine, I was not really surprised by any of those beautiful tributes. I knew the man I married was someone very special indeed - I was lucky he chose me to love, and to share closely the last nine years of his life. We were not simply husband and wife but best mates and the ones we utterly trusted. I can't even think ahead to life without him so I'm dealing with life as it is, moment by moment, as Paul taught me. He also taught me not to take life too seriously. Thanks so much for reminding me of stories Paul told me about his early years of drag racing, with Jan and Hannah and Anthony - and for reminding us all of great times and what an amazing human being we all knew. The kind of bloke people aspire to be. I was lucky to spend these last almost nine years with him. It was also a wonderful turn-out for Paul's funeral. There were even complaints about the cars revving up as a mark of respect. Paul would have loved that. Thank You if you came. I'm chuffed that Paul's son Anthony will carry on racing. Of course! A change is as good as a rest. 1st August: UK 8.50 Bike racer Paul Watson went back to his roots at the weekend's Mopar EuroNats at Santa Pod Raceway. Longtime fans will remember Paul racing Grumpy's Dodge in Super Gas in the late 1990s and, not inappropriately for the event which hosted the Super Gas Reunion, he got back behind the wheel of a race car on Sunday courtesy of the Morrice Boys. Paul takes up the story: 
It all started in the pairing lanes with Andy Haley's bike. Stuart Morrice took a liking to it and had a sit on it and the seed was sown. He told me that he had always fancied a go on a bike and that
got me thinking, so over the next few weeks I discussed it with Andy and arranged for Stuart to have a ride. We met at the Pod with the whole Morrrice family - no pressure then - and after a quick
master class off he went and ran 10.0, 9.2, 8.8 and 8.7, a job well done. Stuart's mum Christine was over the moon. We all had a great day, Stuart rode so well and he would have would run a pair
of 8.5s if the track had been there.
Weeks later we discussed the Mopars and I told Stuart that I would be there too. Stuart mentioned the possibility of driving their Camaro and I said that I would love to. The Mopars came along and I was there for the Super Gas Reunion, Collin was competing in Top Sportsman all weekend and I didn't want to interfere with his racing. However after he was knocked out in the semis on Sunday the chance was there. The Morrice family were so excited for me to drive their car and it was a great opportunity since I hadn't driven in ten years. Both Collin and Stuart took me through the controls of the car and down we went. As for the run, well I was a bit rusty. There was not enough brake pressure in the burnout so it was a bit sideways, then when I staged the car was not pointing straight but as I tried to reverse there was a problem with the shifter. Stuart tried to correct it but we ended up just pushing it back enough to straighten up. Stuart then called me into stage, transbrake on and bang! Off she went. 1.21 to sixty feet and a new car PB for me of 8.85/151. I cannot thank the whole Morrice family enough for this opportunity: mum Christine, dad Sandy, and the boys Collin and Stuart. I had a great weekend. Bug Jam Street Eliminator review. 1st August: Round 5 of the Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator Championship took place in sunshine at Bug Jam 27 at Santa Pod Raceway. With seven cars entered for the event Street Eliminator Chair Matt Atkinson writes that he hoped for a really competitive meeting and that that was exactly what we got: 
One of the seven entries was Matt Smith, brother of Martin in the GTR, new to the class in his Escort RS Cosworth. After arriving at the Webster Race
Engineering workshop early on Thursday, Matt and the Team Extreme boys set about putting the finishing touches to the car ready for licensing runs on
Friday. Friday came around soon enough and Matt's eagerness to get down the track was evident (in hindsight turning up in the fire up road an hour before
the track opened may have been a bit excessive!). Matt was the first car out on Friday with Ian Marshall observing. The first run was a simple burnout,
stage and sixty foot comfortably accomplished. Following this Matt went on to a half pass and full pass getting his license signed off with a 10.33/139,
this was after a few teething problems building and maintaining boost up the track. Great to have Matt in the class though and confirmed for qualifying.
Defending Champion Brian Payne in the Mustang encountered problems at the SPRC Summernationals with a lifter failure causing major internal damage. He had a major thrash to get the car back together with the pushrods only arriving on the Wednesday evening! Well done to Brian and the team on getting everything back together I know it wasn't easy! Bug Jam also saw the return of Stu Williams in the Carmasupra. Following engine damage at the Main Event Stu was back out no after another mad thrash (big thanks from Stu to Mark and Phil for all of their help). Following the RWYB on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning it was on to qualifying. Jon Webster in the Comet was first out and straight away laid down the gauntlet with an 8.049/175.51 showing the track was up to scratch. Following a mad dash in the pits Matt managed to get the Escort down for his first competitive pass, running through with a 9.900/142.03 for number seven qualifier. A storming side by side run between Stu Williams in the Supra and Martin Smith in the GTR, Stu's 8.225 to Martin's 8.281 good for numbers two and three respectively. Problems in the first run for Brian Payne with no oil pressure registering towards the top end after a quick check Brian was out in round two with an 8.538/185.90 following wheelspin off the line. There was a huge cloud of smoke at the top end but luckily no oil on the track although every inch of the underside of the car was covered! The only other improvement was from Andy Bond in the Mustang with a 9.082 good enough for number five. The last qualifying run of the day and one of the most dramatic runs witnessed for some time. Jon Webster in the Autoglym lane and Martin Smith in the Alamo lane, Jon away first and seemed to be storming away with Martin close behind. All of a sudden just after the eighth a big plume of smoke and the Comet turned hard left straight towards Martin, a superb driving job catching it straight away with the car now sideways heading back towards the wall in excess of 125 mph. Jon managed to straighten the Comet and narrowly avoided the wall. It later transpired that the radiator had split causing water to pour out onto the rear tyres causing the car to get out of shape. A lengthy clean up followed but thankfully Jon was OK and so was the car. Next pair and into the eights for Andy Bond with an 8.924 cementing number five qualifier. 
Onto Sunday morning and another three qualifying runs scheduled. Thankfully Jon was able to fix the radiator and was back out on track for the first round
of qualifying, straight out with an 8.254. In the opposing lane it was Brian Payne who managed to take the number one spot with a 7.823 as some of the oil
pressure problems looked to have eased. Great side by side run for Al Williamson and Stu Williams, Al's first run in the eights in competition 8.986 making
him an extremely happy man! Stu run through with an 8.151/172.40, really starting to get a handle on the track.
Back out for round five and a massive improvement for Al in the truck with an 8.769/152.18 new PB ET and taking number five position from Andy Bond in the Mustang who despite an improvement to 8.850 moved down to number six. Problems for Matt Smith and the Cosworth meant that Matt was unable to make that run. Onto the last round of qualifying and with the top six qualifiers separated by less than a second everything was still to play for. First out was Andy Bond with a storming run, wheels up past the sixty foot marker and best run of the weekend by miles, snatching back number five qualifier with an 8.655/163.06. A great run in the next pair for Stu Williams, knocking on the door of the sevens again with an impressive 8.087 and new PB in the next pair for Martin Smith in the GTR with an 8.149 getting back to the form he showed at the Main Event. Qualifying had set up some great match-ups for eliminations with third (Andy Bond) and fourth (Martin Smith) in points together and a Stu Williams in the Supra against Al Williamson in the truck was sure to be close. Unfortunately Andy Bond in the Mustang was only able to stage for the first round as he needed to leave the track as soon as possible leaving Martin Smith to take the victory with an 8.160 nudging closer to the sevens. Next up was newcomer Matt Smith against race car builder Jon Webster, Jon taking it relatively easy on the tree and taking the win with an 8.053 to Matt's 10.189. A great weekend nevertheless for Matt who managed to get his licence and the team definitely learnt a lot so well done guys, a great addition to the class and we look forward to seeing you for the remainder of the season! Next up was Brian Payne in the mustang who was extremely grateful for the bye run courtesy of his number one qualifier. Brian had been experiencing problems throughout the weekend, no problems on this run with a 7.613/189.73 to set up a race with Martin Smith in the semi finals. Our last pair out was Stu in the Supra against Al in the Howlin Hauler Chevy Pick-up, Al knew a good reaction would have the Supra chasing him to the stripe and he did just that with a 0.088 to Stu's 0.344, problems for Stu as the boost pipe came loose which stopped any boost from building and Al stormed through with an 8.603/155.84 (amazing what can happen when you have full throttle hey Al!) another new PB, well done a team great effort and into his second ever semi final. Two great match ups as Martin Smith in the GTR looked to grab his first seven whilst Brian Payne in the opposing lane just wanted to get from one end to the other under full steam! Martin away first 0.082 to Brian's 0.090 and despite a valiant effort and new PB for Martin (8.094), Brian was on a charge with a 7.568/190.53 quickest run of the event and another final for the Mustang. In our next pair Jon Webster faced up against Al Williamson and after the problems Jon experienced on the Saturday evening he was hoping to turn his fortunes around and march into the final, however Al had something to say about that. Both cars into pre stage, then Al into stage followed by Jon in the Comet but just a little to much boost had built up nudging Jon into deep stage and a -0.011 red light to Al's 0.020. Commiserations to Jon but I would just like to say a big well done for getting back out following Saturday's mishap, great effort Jon. Al on the other hand couldn't hide his emotions, into his first final and all of the hard work, time and money was paying off. 
With turnaround times getting shorter and shorter we just about got back to the pits to be called again so off for the final after allowing Brian's transmission
to cool down. Both cars performing rolling burnouts and into stage Brian in the Mustang, number one qualifier and Championship leader up against Al in the truck
who had been running new PBs all weekend. Brian away first but unfortunately for him too quick with a -0.005 red light throwing away his 7.666 allowing Al to
take the win with an 8.682 and a slowing 142.92. The best part was crewman Ian on the line who didn't even realise they had won until being congratulated by
Paul 'Guv' Wright at which point he performed the biggest star jump ever seen by mankind! Well done team great effort by Al, June and team and well deserved.
Well done also to Brian and team as I know this wasn't the easiest meeting but another stellar performance and yet again increasing the points gap.
As always a big Thank You to our class sponsors to whom we are very grateful: Topspeed Automotive, Custom Car magazine, RPM magazine, Webster Race Engineering, Doctor Flock, Quartermile High / Zeon TV, Matt Woods Photography and Eurodragster.com, all of whom can be found on our web site at www.streeteliminator.com. We look forward to seeing everyone again for Round 6 of Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator, back to Shakespeare County Raceway on 24th-26th August. The quest for more power. 1st August: Dan and Rich of Dynodaze kindly allowed Mick Boot to tune the Shakespeare County Camaro at their rolling road facility in Hinckley last Sunday, further supporting Shakespeare County Raceway in addition to the highly successful event which they already sponsor at the track, which bears the Dynodaze name. Mick Boot will be a familiar name to many, having been around for many years repairing American cars and other marques. He is currently based in Pountney Motor Services, Cecil Street, Birmingham. Mick worked for Broadspeed at one stage earlier on in his career and is a bit of a gentle, quiet genius. Mick also raced a 1971 Camaro in the ASCAR series and has owned a 1969 Corvette for the last forty years which has been the subject of a recent complete rebuild and which sports a 427 ci V8 so Mick was an ideal candidate to sort the motor. The engine of the Shakespeare County Camaro had never felt right and clearly had much more to give. Mick discovered that the biggest problem was the advance and retard not working properly due to a leaking pipe to the dizzy. With Andy Frost's words of advice ringing in my ears, the car was run up in drive on the dyno and also allowed to cool between runs so as not to cook the gearbox... see Andy I do listen! 
The first run on the dyno was in order to establish a base line and produced a somewhat disappointing 255 BHP and 265 torque. The Edelbrock crate engine in the Camaro was rated at 435 BHP and 435 torque, so clearly we had work to do. Mick set about fiddling away under the hood and the second run was an improved 297 BHP at 278 torque. The engine had been set at fourteen degrees on the timing and it was time to adjust and see where it took us. Run three saw the timing set at twelve degrees and this resulted in further gains, 313 BHP and 270 torque. The fourth and final run had the timing set at ten degrees having allowed time for the engine to cool and this netted 311 BHP and 276 torque. The Edelbrock carb which came as part of the engine package is very different from a Holley and does not give much opportunity for tuning without changing needles and jets. Edelbrock saw fit to give it a huge 800cfm carb when most 350ci V8s are given just 650 cfm carbs. As the carb is not a popular choice, Mick had no tuning parts at his disposal so we were very much limited in what we could achieve on the day. Although short of Edelbrock's claim, we were pleased to see an overall gain of 58 BHP and took it out on the road for a test drive. To our surprise and amazement the Camaro felt gutless and on return to Dynodaze we put the timing back to twelve degrees before a second road test and thankfully it felt much quicker. Tuning is a bit of a dark art but now hopefully the Camaro should see an improvement over its PB of 13.74/99. The carb needs more investigation but then it's never going to be quick enough and in the words of a certain Mr Clarkson: "More power!". The saga continues. Swift snippets. 1st August: Rune Fjeld Motorsport have confirmed that they will be fielding four Top Fuel Dragsters at next week's NitrOlympX at Hockenheim. Team PR Polly Magnussen writes: Team Owner Rune Fjeld and RF Motorsport have been busy all summer to make this happen and we are now prepared to take on the Championship as hard as ever. Antti Horto is leading the Championship before Round 4, Jari Halinen really wants to race hard this weekend, Chris Andrews will continue from his last run in Finland and Duncan Micallef and his crew from Malta will be playing with what we consider the ultimate toy, a Championship-winning Top Fueller! UK Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator racer Colin Lazenby has entered the FIA European Finals despite not having rear bumper for his big Chevy. "I'm confident we'll have it in time, courtesy of a good friend", says Colin. "Unrelated to the wheelstand damage we're replacing the fuel solenoids in the hope that this will finally cure our woes with the second system; these were off the 707 ci motor anyway . If our fix works I am reasonably confident that we can eclipse the 7.5s and there's enough untapped power left to go 7.4s, maybe even 7.3s - that should give the turdos something to think about. As a result of the planned work, and in an attempt to avoid the three or four hour detour to Clive's, we've had to abort the idea for the Test Day so that we can fit the new parts. We'll also be trying out a singular radical change along with at least one new product from Nimbus Motorsport. Here's hoping and we'll see you race-ready in five weeks." European fans have someone to cheer on in the USA this weekend as Sweden's Adam Flamholc will be contesting Pro Modified at the ADRL Memphis Drags IV in Tennessee, which commences tomorrow (Friday). You will be able to stay in touch with Adam's progress this weekend courtesy of our Drag Race Central friends at www.dragracecentral.com. Good luck Adam and stay safe. Tomorrow (Friday) is the closing date for our NitrOlympX contest which offers the chance to photograph trackside on race day, a Quartermile Club package, or a pair of weekend tickets. For more details and to enter, check out our news item of 8th July. His crew and his fellow Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator racers have asked us to say a big Happy 50th Birthday to Andy Bond. Our pleasure guys, have a great day Andy. Serious business for Funny Cars. 1st August: 2013's new addition to the drag racing calendar, the European Funny Car Series, erupts into Germany for the first time when the quarter-mile sport visits Hockenheim for the 28th Annual NitrOlympX. 
The Hockenheimring is well-known as a venue for Formula One's German Grand Prix, but each August speeds get much faster when the circuit's drag strip hosts the NitrOlympX before a sell-out
crowd of 50,000, European drag racing's largest spectator attendance. This year, the fledgling European Funny Car Series and its groundshaking, 8,000-horsepower racing machines will be a major
new attraction on the NitrOlympX programme, which also incorporates rounds of the FIA and FIM European Drag Racing Championships. The Hockenheim drag strip has a fresh new surface. If it
has been sufficiently rubbered-in then records could fall.
British drivers occupy the forefront of the Funny Car Series. Jason Phelps won Round 1 at Easter and maintains the points lead. In Round 2, John Spuffard lost a thrilling, neck-and-neck final match to Sweden's Leif Helander and will be eager to seek revenge on the German quarter-mile. Spuffard holds the European Funny Car records for both Elapsed Time (5.050 seconds) and Terminal Speed (309.36 mph). Since his last competitive outing in May, Jason Phelps has been a featured performer at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, gingerly piloting his Marshall Amplification Mustang Funny Car around the hillclimb track's bends and executing loud and spectacular burnouts on the straights. The Marshall Mustang was the most powerful vehicle ever unleashed on the Goodwood track. The NitrOlympX takes place at Hockenheim, Germany, from 9th–11th August and then the 2013 European Funny Car Series concludes with Round 4 during Santa Pod Raceway's FIA European Finals from 5th–8th September. £1000 for Street Racer Champion. 
1st August: The annual race to find the UK's quickest street driven car will take place at the home of drag racing in the North of England, York Raceway, on
25th August with a £1000 prize for the Street Racer Champion.
In 1977 a young Dave Grady said "It's all about street cars, that is the future" and went on to create the UK's original drag race for street legal cars; one race in the drag racing calendar where all of the top street legal race cars in the country could battle it out to be the quickest, the best, the Street Racer Champion. Dave Grady went on to become one of the UK's best loved drag racers and was later inducted to the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame. The Street Racer Championship became the best loved drag racing event in the North of England and has produced some incredible performances throughout its fabled history. The racers who have competed over the years and those who have taken the Street Racer Championship title have gone on to race successfully at every level and some have become the biggest names in European drag racing. The Street Racer Championship has evolved through its history with minor tweaks to the rules here and there, but for 2013 it returns to its roots. Cars will have a valid V5, current MoT test certificate and race in full street trim. Tyres must be street legal on all four corners and remain within legal tread depth limits throughout the event. Drag racing on street tyres is a great leveller and judging by recent performances it is quite possible that for the first time, this year's Street Racer Champion could be driving a four- or six-cylinder car. Qualifying will take place on the morning of Sunday 25th August, with eliminations spread throughout the afternoon allowing proper turnaround time for the high powered competitors. The Championship final will be the last race of the day, and in keeping with tradition, the winner will then return to the start line down the drag strip for the prize-giving and trophy presentation. Also returning for 2013 is the £1000 prize thanks to event sponsors Wizards of NOS, LA Racing Parts, Harrogate Hot Rod and Kustom Show, Big Pete Ltd, Power Race Graphics and the Pennine Drag Racing Club. Competitors needing further information on how to enter or the Street Racer Championship rules should contact Chris Murty at York Raceway at info@yorkraceway.org.uk or phone 01422 843651. Further event sponsorship opportunities are available. Web site updates. 1st August: As promised yesterday we have now posted a gallery of Bob Roberts' shots from the weekend's Silverstone Classic. You can check out Bob's pictures, which are presented in association with 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. Our good buddy and contributing photographer Patrik Jacobsson has updated his Racebilder.nu web site with pictures from the Summer Nationals at Tierp Arena. You can take a look at Patrik's shots at www.racebilder.nu. Mark Skinner has updated his Flickr gallery with pictures from the weekend's Mopar EuroNats at Santa Pod Raceway. You can check out Mark's pictures at www.flickr.com/photos/fast_n_bulbous. Earlier news |
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