A very Happy Birthday for today to British Drag Racing Hall of Fame member and pioneer of the sport in the UK Clive Skilton, and to team boss Graham McDonald, we hope you both have a great birthday!

A Happy Birthday for today to No Prep organiser Paul Marston, crew chief Dave Crunkhorn aka Crunch, German Super Gas racer Rene Kloss and Norwegian Top Methanol Dragster racer Fred Hanssen, have a great day all!

Happy Birthday for today to British Drag Racing Hall of Fame member and engine building guru Rob Loaring, FIA Top Methanol Dragster racer Jonny Lagg, Nostalgia Superstock racer Jack Bishop, VWDRC racer Jay Folley, and Super Pro ET racer Jan Scheppers. Have a great day all!

Since the announcement in January that Eurodragster.com editor Simon Groves will be stepping back from the role at the end of March, much work has been going on to ensure the site's longevity.

New editorial team Chris Winn (editor), Dave Nelson (web developer) and Graham Watkinson (classifieds, links editor and race reporter) have, with Simon's help, been working on a refresh of the site. You can see the new site from today.

The new site has many exciting features but retains all the information from the old site.

The site has been completely reprogrammed to display much better on mobile devices. You can click on a news story on the home page to go directly to that story.

In event coverage, pictures from photo galleries can be shared using mobile devices and race reports are more legible.

Readers can submit classified ads directly to the site and include photos. The different categories for classified ads remain as before.

Sponsors will benefit from more visibility and highlighting of logos.

Simon says "Good luck to the new team who have done a great job of taking over the site and developing it. Thanks to everyone for their support over my four years as editor and previous 15 years as pit reporter. The site will be in great hands in the future, and I look forward to continuing my participation as a correspondent."

JKE Race Works are pleased to announce our latest team member Kostas Giannopoulos who will join team owner Jake Mechaell and original JKE team rider Bradley Head for the 2024 race season.

Jake commented "Kostas caught my eye with his passion and commitment for Super Street Bike as a crew member with a goal to one day fulfil his dreams to race a Super Street Bike.

"I’m very proud to bring him into the team to help teach him race craft and bike setup so he can continue to improve throughout the year with the support he requires."

You can see Kostas race in the JKE Race Works 8.50 Bike championship starting at the Easter Nationals this weekend.

Videographer Simon Letkey of the VeeDubRacing YouTube channel has launched a new website which will include lists of best times from VW Beetles and air-cooled drag racing vehicles around the world. Simon said:

"The new website is now up and running, with pages for Events, Lists, YouTube and Clothing. Hopefully, more details will be constantly added and updated.

The lists for VW Beetles and Other Air-Cooled Motors are now on there, so they have a permanent home for everyone to see."

You can message Simon with any details to be added on via the chatbox facility on the site. Also, checkout the VeeDubRacing clothing, with TRACK, STREET, and VEEDUB designs. Purchase all designs from TeeMill and help support Simon in providing more content.

Thanks to Dave Grundy for this follow up on Spy picture posted on 29th February.

Dave writes: “Here is the almost finished product, just need to add the new race numbers - ETB3 - and get to the track.”


“Staying with the Street Triple for this year's assault on the ET Bike championship, determined to improve on last season's third place. Which was an improvement on the fourth place finish I have had every year bar one since the championship's inception.”

Special thanks go to Wack at Ghost Paint in Kettering for the paint job. He specialises in motorcycle paint of all types, from classic restoration to airbrushed custom paint.

Happy Birthday for today to Supercharged Outlaws racer Jim Usher, have a wonderful day, Jim. Also many happy returns to 8.50 Bike racer and member of the JKE Race Works team Kostas Giannopoulos.

Santa Pod Raceway announced yesterday this important information for crew camping for this weekend.

Due to the current rescheduling of events and with no public camping at the Easter Nationals this coming weekend, we can confirm that we will NOT be using any of our grass/field areas for camping and have therefore allocated the 2 circles as 'Crew Camping', which would normally be used for pitting the Pro ET class.

You will still need to get a crew camping sticker and will be directed through the pits to the new crew camping area.

This is a hard standing area, so we ask that you please park any vehicles/caravans on the tarmac and to not go on the grass. Should you have a tent, then please feel free to use the grass but just off the edge of the hard standing.

We would like to take this opportunity to remind all racers that you only pay for 1 electrical hook up with your entry and are NOT entitled to multiple sockets.

A good weekend's racing to you all - Race Safe!

Last year Simon Groves made a couple of interviews with Eurodragster sponsor VP Racing Fuels' main European distributors. The second of these was with Tom Bacon of Old Hall Performance

Old Hall Performance started in 2005 to offer the highest quality performance & aftermarket products from the United States of America into the UK & European marketplace. Initially it was started by Jim Morris and John Hotchkis, a close contact of Jim's who lives in the States. The business became the master importer for several lines of auto racing consumables for the UK and Europe.

A relationship with VP Racing Fuels started in 2016 with importing of Maddatives and fuel containers, and In 2020 the opportunity arose to take on the fuel as well and be the master importer for additives.

The interview with Fuel Sales Executive Tom took place at the start of September 2023 at Old Hall Performance's warehouse in Coventry. You can read Simon's interview with Tom by clicking here.

An intriguing announcement from Nitro Revival organiser and former NHRA Competitions Director Steve Gibb: "It was interesting to learn over the weekend that NHRA has opted to reverse courses and reinstate the “California Hot Rod Reunion” and to assign operational control of the event to Blake Bowser and his Famoso staff. It is a remarkable concession, this will take place on 25th-27th October.

"We wish Blake well, and will cooperate and support in all ways possible, his efforts in returning the CHRR to its former status. It's all about honoring the history and legacy of the sport, and we support that cause.

"Cindy and I will continue to make Nitro Revival at Irwindale the best that it can be...unique in offering a different approach, but with the same goals. As always, we appreciate your continued support."

Nitro Revival will be 8th-9th November, for the full official story from NHRA click here.

Happy Birthday greetings to Transatlantic Funny Bike racer and adrenaline junkie Dale Leeks and Street Eliminator burnout king Nick Hale, also to German Mopar Comp Eliminator racer Dirk Peiler and former Super Street Bike champion Graham Balchin, hope you guys have a great day!

The Santa Pod Raceway Easter Nationals, now a sportsman-only event following the wise decision by management to postpone the Festival of Power by four weeks, still has a great field of 238 entries. If weather and track conditions allow, there will be a great deal of racing during the packed two day event plus Good Friday testing. Due to ground conditions, only a limited number of day tickets only will be available, so go to this link to buy them in advance.

Streamed video will be running courtesy Santa Pod Raceway on the Saturday and Sunday.

Details of track opening and signing on at the rescheduled Easter Nationals including scrutineering times.

The main gates to the track will open from 8.00am on Thursday 28th March.

Friday, 29th March:
10.00-18.00 Signing on office open
10.00-18.00 Scrutineering for cars and bikes at the scrutineering bay

Saturday, 30th March:
08.00 Signing on open, scrutineering opens for cars and bikes
09.30 Track open for qualifying/eliminations

Sunday, 31st March:
08.00 Scrutineering and signing on open
09:30 Track open for qualifying/eliminations

The detailed running orders and entry list can be seen via our event coverage page.

Track Worx Comp Eliminator has eight entries, and it's good to see the return of Jordan Payne after a year off with missing parts and a truncated 2022 as well for educational reasons. The event also sees the competitive debut of Rouven Dawson in his COPO Camaro, who we wrote on in out 19th March update.

W.A Watts Automotive Super Comp, newly sponsored, features Team Dolly Daydream with defending champion Leah Kellett at the wheel, as well as new class sponsor Warren Watts in his gen 1 Camaro.

Tony Morris Carburetors Super Gas has Dave Fulton in a Brogie Roadster (based on a '27 Ford Model T), which means with Stu Doignie and Jazmine Tunstall, there will be three of this iconic type of vehicle in the class ranks.

Peter Nee Super Pro ET, has Allan Schofield's Scud Dragster II (rear-engined, with his supercharged 355ci Chevy engine) for the first time, after Allan raced a blown altered to seven second times last season. With 23 competitors, there will be tight qualifying.

Modurstang Pro ET has a fantastic entry of 42, meaning 10 cars will be watching on the sidelines on Sunday. Welcome newcomers Andrew Brooke in his The Appliance 250ci Chevy engined DRAGSTER, and ROUVEN DAWSON who will be double classing his Chevy COPO Camaro. Simon Gough returns, after a year off, with a VW Beetle, an unexpected combination for him and named in typical style Das Paket (The Package). Frankie Taylor is making her class debut in the beautiful Banshee Topolino.

Hutchinson & Dibley Sportsman ET has a generous entry of 27. Terry Attree in a Jeep Cherokee is joining his son Troy in class racing for the first time. Troy told us that Terry "Has watched drag racing since the late 60s and has a little dabble with Outlaw Street but this will be his first competitive race at Easter having done the Dial In Day". Sylvia Purcell also joins the class for the first time in a Ford Mustang 2.3 Ecoboost Cabriolet, as does Adam Wakefield in a Ford Maverick. Eurodragster.com sponsor Peter Walters has a new ride, a Chevrolet Camaro Z28.

Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator with 13 competitors has Michael De Souza who we saw last year in the SE Tryouts, Michael will be in his 408ci Ford Zephyr.

Lucas Oil Junior Dragster with an of 25 has no new entrants for this race, and competition between existing racers will be intense after 6 months away from the track.

Ashdown Bulk Haulage Top Fuel Bike (new sponsor name) will be a demo-only class with two entered, Phil Crossley at the track with two nitro-burning machines and the legendary ex-Brian Johnson Imperial Wizard on the entry list. Equally legendary is Steve Woollatt with The Dealer who will be blowing the winter cobwebs away.

Taylor's Trophy Super Street Bike has the class debut of Jonny Hines and Brad Head who have moved up from 8.50 Bike, quite a jump in performance. The class also sees the return of Chris 'Boisie' Reed who last raced in the class in 2019, and is celebrating his 21st year - since he first joined the class. Welcome to overseas competitors Daniel Donat Lencses and Margot Schmidt teamed as Brothers Racing. Multi-time champion Steve Venables is missing, a new bike being constructed for him by JKE Race Works.

Leeks Landscapes Funny Bike has a healthy entry of seven with Eric Richard from France now racing for the first time with the Brothers Racing team. From the Netherlands, Aswin Le Noble and Maarten Zijlstra have made the trip.

Suzukiperformancespares.Co.Uk Comp Bike continues its growth with 16 bikes in the diverse heads-up class. so will be ultra busy. Several others including double 8.50 Bike Champion Dan De'ath have for the last couple of years migrated to this class from Super Street Bike or 8.50 Bike, meaning great competition.

JKE Race Works 8.50 Bike has 11 competitors. 2023 9.50 Bike champion Carl Thomas has moved up to this class and will be relishing the challenge. Pete Slater and Kostas Giannopoulos both on Suzuki Hayabusas, are making their racing debuts and we wish both of them all the best. Atlantic Fluid Tech 9.50 Bike has three entrants after the retirement of Rick Swatzki and Carl Thomas moving classes, but more riders are expected later in the year.

Warpspeed Racing Et Bike (new sponsor) has 22 entries, Grace Pollen has graduated from Junior Drag Bike with a Hayabusa. Scott Smith makes his debut with a Honda Fireblade. The intriguingly named Runsienetly Schet is one of several from the Netherlands in the bike ranks. Kyle Rushby, one half of The 'Rents Go Racing Team, makes his competitive debut on a Hayabusa, and Casey Holgate also graduates from JDB on a Honda 600cc engined Junior Pro Bike.

Eurodragster.Com Junior Drag Bike has its largest entry to date with 15. Rico Patterson (Kimco 125CC), Isaiah Alvarez (Guilera Runner), and Sophie Pollen (KTM 125 CC) all make their debut.

Eurodragster.com will be reporting live from the event, including the test day, with galleries from each day thanks to Julian and Katie Higgs.

Happy 80th Birthday for today to British Drag Racing Hall of Fame member and five time FIA Top Methanol Dragster champion Dave Wilson, have a great day Dave! Happy Birthday also to 2013 FIA Top Fuel Champion Thomas Nataas, to 2022 FIA Top Fuel champion Antti Horto, to Santa Pod Raceway Commercial Manager Caroline Holden and drag racing historian Nick Pettitt. We hope you all have a wonderful day.

Eurodragster.com sponsor Chris Goodale has announced a special race on the Monday following the Mopar Euro Nationals:

Monday 12th August, Goodale American Speedshop are hosting an invitational bracket race the day after Mopar Euro Nationals open to UK Nostalgia Superstock, Gasser Circus and Nostalgia Eliminator UK cars. There will be prizes and giveaways from Goodale American Speedshop. More details to follow, but mark the date in your diaries!

Santa Pod Raceway have announced the addition of 7.60 Heads Up to Doorslammers 2024. As ever, the class will be sponsored by Swap Meet sponsor Jeff Bull Race Engines. With £5,000 on offer for the winner, (7.60 total class prize if £10,000) this addition means this year's overall Doorslammers prize fund is £𝟭𝟬𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬!

Here are the rules to compete in 7.60 Heads Up:

Any engine and transmission combinations allowed.

Must have chassis tag 7.50 or quicker.

Pro 400 tree will be used.

In Qualifying running quicker than 7.60 will drop you to the bottom of the Qualifying Ladder.

Running quicker than 7.50 will be classed as a foul and won't be recognised.

Open to RWD or 4WD.

You can see more detail on Doorslammers 2024 being held on 𝟭𝟳th-𝟭𝟵th 𝗠𝗮𝘆 by clicking here.

The announcement was greeted with favourable comments and this addition will hopefully attract more Europeans/Scandinavians over, especially with the Main Event the week after.

Thanks to Dan Bennett from Steve Read's Top Fuel Team, here is exclusive news: Dan writes:

Livery
As you're aware, Andrew Green was down under and oversaw the new livery being applied to the dragster, along with signwriter, Glen Atholwood. We chose a burnt orange, black and white design. The car looks fantastic, and will be spectacular during day and night racing.


Team Name Change
In December 2023, one of the founding partners in the team, Nick Packer, informed us he could no longer continue as a financial partner and parted ways with our program. We wish him the best and thank him for his contribution. This has prompted a name change to our team, which is now Read McCarthy Racing (or RMR).

We've opted to merge our website name to Steve Read TF in line with our other social media. This decision was made to keep our digital properties more uniform, and easier for audience recall. Our social media handles are @stevereadTF on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Race Date for this season
Our racing debut is now the Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway, June 6-9, 2024

An early 2024 debut was originally planned. Our local track (Willowbank Raceway) has encountered several setbacks in their track resurfacing and upgrade process. It has always been our intention that we test at Willowbank first before we embark on any 'away' races. As the track hasn't re-opened yet, we have taken our time piecing the car together.

Testing
It is believed that Willowbank will re-open in early May. We will use May as a 'test month' as a lead-up to the Winters.

Our crew chief - Ray Ward - has a long history with Steve, the pair worked together in the late 90's and early 00's when Steve drove for Santo Rapisarda. The pair are chomping at the bit to get the car to the race track and begin collecting data.

Special Thanks to Tim McCarthy
We are very proud of the car we've assembled. Steve's racing partner, Tim McCarthy has been phenomenal in sourcing the necessary parts needed to ensure we're competitive in Australian Top Fuel competition. A heartfelt thanks to Tim!

Special Thanks to Ty and Anthony
Ty is a highly talented welder, with a strong mechanical aptitude. Anthony has previously been involved with Steve's racing in 2015, Rachelle Splatt Racing and is making a return. Ty and Anthony helped design and install a custom awning for the race trailer, which includes some time-saving features for us at the track. We can't thank them enough for their hard work in the construction of the awning, and their commitment to the team.

Partners
My involvement with Read McCarthy Racing has moved into an Operations/Partnerships capacity.
We have some announcements leading up to the Winternationals, which we're finalising at the moment.

Team
We have almost assembled a full crew. Apologies as I don't have all their full names and roles yet. Anthony Leppou - Cylinder Heads, Ty - Clutch/Welder, Jake - Bottom End, Jacob, Ian Walker, Nick, Alice Metz - Photographer, Social Media, Dan Bennett - Director Operations and Commercial Partnerships, Ray Ward - Car Chief, Tim McCarthy - Co-Owner/Cylinder Heads and Steve Read - Driver/Team Principal.

Merchandise
We have partnered with WildInk who are in the process of designing our shirts, polos, caps, and jacket range for the Winternationals.

Our team merch will be available through their website anywhere in the world, closer to June.
WildInk are investing heavily into Drag Racing merchandise management and we're thrilled to partner with them.
Their management of our merchandise range means we can offer our fans a wider range.

Happy Birthday for today to Funny Bike crew and engineer Lucy Moore, to Tierp chief starter Nettan Heleander, long time scrutineer Glenn Stockton and to former Pro Stock racer and Super Gas champion Conrad Stanley, have a great day all.

Thanks to former eurodragster editor Andy Rogers (Tog) for the report of Practical Classics Car and Car Restoration Show from 22nd March, you can now see the gallery by clicking here.

The UK's Nostalgia Super Stock racers are represented at this weekend's Practical Classics Car and Car Restoration Show at Birmingham's NEC with Jake Cawthorne's Dart, Bob Gallagher's Fairlane and Chris Goodale's Chevelle. Andy Rogers (Tog) went along to the NEC yesterday to check out the display.


"I had to ask if anyone wanted to display their car here, it’s difficult to get racers to come because shows are a bit dull compared to what they normally do" said organiser Nïamh Smith. "I wanted a good spread of representation and budget. We were coming so we brought Jake’s Dart, Chris Goodale has just done a massive restoration of his Chevelle and Bob Gallagher has been working on his Fairlane. I spoke to the NEC, I got Chris to bring stuff from his museum, and then it was a case of setting up the stand. We were winging it because we haven’t done this before."

Nïamh said that off-season work on her Gasser Circus Nogbad the Bad Devon has been comparitively light. "We haven’t really done much with Nogbad apart from move it from one garage to another", she said. "Just new shocks and brake calipers. I will do a Run What You Brung before the season starts."


The already-large UK Nostalgia Super Stock class continues to grow. "We will have a couple of new cars, a couple of cars have been brought in from the States, and of course we have a lot of returning racers", said Nïamh. "Ours is the biggest class at some events, such as Dragstalgia, which is a goal we have achieved."

Nïamh's partner and NSS racer Jake Cawthorne said that they had done "Just a bit" of work on the Flag Jumper Dart over the off-season. "It has an all-new drivetrain", he said. "A completely new 408 Small Block by Dave Billadeau which makes 506 horsepower and 497 ft/lb torque, an all-new transmission also by Dave, a lightweight front end with Frontrunners to save weight and a new rear axle which is slightly narrower so that I can fit wider tyres. I will try to get a full chromoly cage in time for the new season. I’d like to dip in to the tens but to be honest I want the front end to pick up on launch just for the pictures. It’s a good goal but an expensive one to achieve! After running after Niamh’s car last year it will be good to get back. I want to get my car to a point where I only have to touch the tyre pressure, change the oil filter and the spark plugs.


"My previous motor is going into a Valiant and my dad will drive it in the class. The great thing about Nostalgia Super Stock is it’s that it’s accessible, and it’s certainly popular. We’ve had to set a limit of 74 cars for Dragstalgia and we have 40 entered already. I’ll be going chasing Pete Christmas, he’d best watch out!"

Eurodragster.com sponsor Chris Goodale explained the history of the spectacularly-restored Russo's Rat Chevelle. "The Chevelle came over here in 1973", said Chris. "Richard Smith imported it as well as the Super Pumpkin ’57 Chevy. He raced it in Top Street then in 1974 sold it to Mustapha Errol who raced it in Top Street and other classes. It was registered for the road in 1976 and actually ran on the road in 1976. It had a whole series of owners and had a Small Block at one point. It was orange, then Russo’s Rat colours again, then orange with graphics. I bought it in 1999 and painted it black. I raced it in Street Racer Sunday, it ended up with a 540 and ran tens. I blew up a couple of engines and fitted a 454 with four-speed and ran high elevens. I sold it in 2013 but then bought it back and Dave Billadeau restored it.


"When it was new the car had an SS 396, an L78 high-horsepower motor. It ended up with a 427 within six months. Frank Russo ran it in Super Stock E and was successful at the 1970 and 1971 US Nationals.

"When we restored the car we stripped it down. The floors were good but we had to replace the doors, quarter panels and inner firewall structure. Dave McCallan did the roll cage, EDA did the motor, Frank Luty did the transmission. Ash Rawson did the body, Bryan Whitfield did the fade-away paint and Craig Ainge did the signwriting. Dave Billadeau took it apart and put it back together; he assembled it all from the bare shell including the wiring and the plumbing.


The car is now back to where it was back in the day, with as much as possible preserved. The motor is a 548 Big Block Chevy running on pump gas with a Turbo 400 and a Dana 60 rear axle. It runs easy 9.80s at 132 mph and has run 9.76 with a tailwind.I am very pleased with it, in fact it’s hard to believe that it’s mine! When the car was finished I looked at it and I understood why some people keep them indoors. But I went round to see a mate and whilst I was there I did a burnout, the paint was chipped and that was it – it’s been used now!


"We are here to push the class and to make it as big as we can. It’s a good class, everyone is friendly and we help each other out. It’s dear enough but it’s accessible."

You still have time to attend the Practical Classics Car and Car Restoration Show as it is open today and tomorrow; more details at www.necrestorationshow.com.

Thanks to Sportsman ET class sponsor Andy Dibley for sending some hints for new racers at the Easter Nationals next weekend:

With the Easter Nationals only around the corner, I thought I'd mention a couple of things to the new racers that help make the class run quicker and keeps the track marshalls happy!

If you can get a car cover, I'd highly recommend one! Avoiding the R-word, but if there is a downpour overnight or during the day, it makes drying cars much quicker and also stops a lot of the water from getting into the undertray and sills etc which can then dump on the startline when you launch.

While also talking of dumping water, please take time to warm up your cars before the first run of the day and try to get as much water and condensation out of the exhaust system as you can. It's Easter, it's going to be cold, so it's just something we're going to have to try hard as a class to help keep the class running smoothly. If you spot someone in the pairing lanes chugging a bit of water from their tailpipe let them know, nobody likes a dribbler!

Thanks to Andy Thetford for this follow up on Spy picture X posted on 21st March.

The owner is Phil Toppin and his new Altered 'Grandads Toy II'. It was originally owned by Roy Wilding, and was sold to Phil as a roller, Hauser Racing built the engine and Dave Russel (Van with no Name) has done the wiring and assembly.

Big Block Chevy Tall Deck 540cui with an 8:71 supercharger and 9" Ford Diff, he will be running in Super Pro and should be at Santa Pod at Easter. Phil is itching to get out there to see what his new 'toy' can do.

Happy Birthday today to Super Pro ET racer and British Drag Racing Hall of Fame member Mark Flavell, Pro Modified racer Mick Payne, Top Methanol Dragster racer Tony Bryntesson, expat Dutch Top Fuel racer Lex Joon, nitrous guru Trevor Langfield, and Outlaw Anglia and 9.50 Bike racer Scotty Crookston. Have a great day from all of us at Eurodragster.com.

Happy Birthday for today to Nostalgia Superstock and Pro ET racer Matthew Dowdy, run what ya brung regulars Mark Bull (Frite), Steve Summer (Dodge Lancer), and Simon Foster ('32 Ford #22), German Super Pro ET racer Harry Scherschinski and Swedish former Top Methanol Dragster racer Marcus Wålm. We hope you all have a great day.

Video playlists of Malta Drag Racing Association's round 1 from Hal Far have been posted by MDRA secretary Konrad D'Anastasi at his Youtube channel which you can see by clicking here. Round 2, titled Fueltech Malta Mayhem, takes place on 3rd-5th May following Racewars Easter on 28th March starting at 7pm, and Banzai Japfest on 21st April.

Last year Simon Groves made a couple of interviews with Eurodragster sponsor VP Racing Fuels' main European distributors.

Bengt Ljungdahl is Sweden's distributor for VP Racing Fuels. Always competitive, Bengt's passions have been football, from which he was deprived of a career when he suffered an injury as a youth, and drag racing which he raced competitively for several years, winning the FIA Pro Stock Championship in 2017 and 2018.

Bengt's relationship with VP Racing started in 2016 at the same time as he acquired the Chevrolet Camaro from Gray Motorsport. He has built the business based on his track and racer contacts, unrivalled customer service and expanding into lines that were in demand, including lubricants from 2022.

The interview with Bengt took place during a rain delay at the 2023 Summit Racing Internationals at Tierp Arena, Sweden. You can read Simon's interview with Bengt by clicking here.

Private testing organiser and FWD racer Scott Lewry has announced that sign-ups are required as numbers are low for the next Yam Yam Racing Drag Club Private test day at Santa Pod Raceway, Scott writes:

"We currently have low number of the racers already signed up for Monday 15th April, just to make the day go ahead. We need 65 or so more and now have three weeks until the day. For the next couple of weeks I will keep a close on eye on numbers and see what happens".

Monday 15th April Test Day at Santa Pod Raceway.
£110 racer entry and 4 crew.
£10pp Camping.
£10 Spectators.

If you are interested, please do so ASAP. You can sign up by messaging Scott on Facebook or join the Yam Yam Racing Drag Club on Facebook by clicking here.

Eurodragster has been provided with this spy picture devoid of comments.

If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at [email protected].

Happy Birthday for today tocar constructor and racer Bill Felstead who reaches the landmark of 65 years, Funny Bike racer and tuner Stuart Crane, Super Pro ET racer Jack Brewster, Sportsman ET and Nostalgia Superstock racer Alan Medley aka Captain Caveman, Outlaw Anglia racer Martyn Payne and FWD racer Mart Dainty.Have a great day all.

Drag racing historian Nick Pettitt has posted video of Saturday's NSA Sprint at Dakota Raceway which you can see by clicking here. Nick has also posted photos from the event which you can see by clicking here.

Happy Birthday for today to Finnish Top Methanol Funny Car racer Ari Pietilä and Swedish Top Doorslammer racer Fredrik Lundh. Have a great day guys.

Ian Marshall from Santa Pod Racers Club has announced with just over a week to go to before the first round of the National and Club Championships begin in earnest.

Following on from our press release regarding Class Title Sponsors (of which there are 2 spaces left if any company is interested) we have new Sponsors on board for Comp Eliminator, and Super Comp this year, regardless of new or continuing we thank you for your support.

Returning to Comp Eliminator again for 2024 are William Bros Racing, BSI Transport, Engine Data Analysis, Pro Race Engineering and new for 2024 are Marshall Body repair and Restoration based in Mansfield.

Williams Bros Racing.
As many know, William Bros not only build cars, engines, paint, and supply all the race parts you will ever need to keep your race car on track, but also race within Comp Eliminator, with Nic Williams in the Late model COPO Camaro and Dan Williams in the 70 Camaro, Nic being the defending Champion in 2024. Not only are they sponsoring the class financially but also with product support along with VP Lubricants, who recently announced details of their huge racer support programme for 2024. Contact Williams Bros Racing at Williams Bros Speed Shop, Brook Farm, Bugbrooke, Northamptonshire, NN128LQ. Email us by clicking here and by calling us on +44(0)1327 220777.

BSI Transport Ltd.
BSI Transport Ltd is a family run business based near Milton Malsor, Northampton and have been in the transport industry for over 25 years. Barrie Smith started the company as an owner-driver and during these years has grown the company to the position we are in today. We would consider ourselves to be a hard-working, customer driven, successful business full of enthusiasm. Our success has been built upon our reputation for competitive pricing, on time deliveries and a high-quality customer service.

Our work is interesting and varied and ranges from print machinery, construction machinery, exhibitions, concerts, as well as sound, light and stage equipment. To complement our general haulage service, we offer an overnight palletised solution which does provide a geographical option across the UK.

Our fleet consists of various sized Vehicles and trailers differing in specification to accommodate a variety of freight movements. Always looking to strive for excellence our fleet is undergoing a continual cycle of replacement to ensure we comply with the latest LEZ (Low Emission Zone) regulations and industry standards such as CLOCS and FORS.

BSI Transport Ltd, Milton Trading Estate, Gayton Road, Northampton, Northamptonshire, England, NN7 3AB. Email us by clicking here and by calling us on +44(0)1604 859560.

Engine Data Analysis.
Engine builders to the stars of American touring cars, circle track and Drag Racing based in Castleford with complete engine dyno facilities.

Engine Data Analysis, Unit 10 Ashley, Carr Wood Road, Castleford, West Yorkshire WF104 4SR. Email us by clicking here and by calling us on +44(0) 1977 516622.

Pro Race Engineering.
Pro Race Engineering are a race engineering company with many years’ experiences, building high performance race engines and chassis setups. We specialise in custom works and builds. We also have our own line of products from billet steel main caps, pulleys and connecting rods. We have worked together in various industries as multiskilled engineers for eight years. We have taken our passions of cars to start a race team followed by a company called Pro-Race Engineering.

Our first year of testing/developing components has been very successful and the company is growing quickly. We now have four types of rod fitment, two girdle kits and two billet crank pulleys to our portfolio with much more coming soon.

By appointment only: Pro-Race Engineering, Unit 1D, Little London Farm, Wash Lane, Little Totham, Essex, CM9 8LX. Email us by clicking here and by calling us on +44(0)1621 473023.

Marshall Body Repair & Restoration.
Marshall body repair and restoration have been in business since 1980, it's owned and operated by a father and son team, carrying out restoration, paint and bodywork in the Mansfield area on Classic American and more modern vehicles.

Marshall Body Repair & Restoration, Rear of, 79-81 Clip Stone Rd W, Forest Town, Mansfield, Notts, NG19 0ED. Call us +44(0)1623 652067.

W.A. Watts Automotive.
New to Super Comp for 2024 - W.A. Watts Automotive is a reputable provider of vehicle repair services and MOT testing in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. Our facility is equipped with state-of-the-art technology to ensure the maintenance and repair of a wide range of vehicles, from classic cars dating back to the 1950s to modern hybrid vehicles. Additionally, we offer a selection of high-quality automotive products, including Millers Oils and Morris Lubricants. Our experienced team at W.A. Watts Automotive can meet the needs of mid-season maintenance for race cars, providing specialized services to ensure optimal performance.

Additionally, Racers in Super Comp are being offered the opportunity to win the following contingency award, a can of oil from the Millers Classic Pistoneeze range for the number one qualifier, along with a £50 cash prize for each event winner, to be eligible you just need to carry a W.A. Watts Automotive decal on each side of your race car, theses will be available through the signing on office at Santa Pod.

W.A. Watts Automotive, Unit 1 Cross Green, Cockfield, Bury St Edmunds, IP30 0IG. Email us by clicking here and by calling us on +44(0)1284 828325.

Should you or any business look to have your name attached to a class with either cash or product sponsorship, please contact Ian Marshall by clicking here or call 01933-313625 as little as £450 will sponsor a class for the whole season, it may not seem a lot, but every little help and all funds or product go to the Racers not to the club, that includes Cars and Bikes.

Thanks for Andrew Flavell for contacting Eurodragster.com to announce that less than a month to go for The XHYPE Spring Nationals at Melbourne Raceway.

Lots of time and money spent over the winter redeveloping the pits making for a cleaner and smoother experience for riders, drivers and spectators. The tower and signing on office have had a major makeover and with the new backing from XHYPE Oils too it should be a great season.

The car classes that were developing last year will continue along with the ever-successful NSCC. NSCC headed by Shaun Wilson is the home of street/strip, street legal drag n’ drive style racing. These guys race, cruise out Saturday night but outside the race events regularly attend NSCC car meets and cruises.

It will be the second round of the Straightliners Championship, the only multi venue national championship in the UK which of course includes the No Mercy Bike ET Bracket series with the Scooters and Junior Bike Championships.

RWYB is always available: £50 including admission and entry for unlimited runs.

New for this year, we also have the Melbourne Heads Up Shootout! Come up to Melbourne and have a go at something a bit different. New elimination 8 car field heads up shoot out open to all cars entered in any of the classes running.

This is an extra class that is FREE to enter to all cars that have already entered NSCC or another Straightliners Class. RWYB Cars can also enter for an extra £20 if they have a NORA LICENCE.

Remember a NORA LICENCE is needed for competitive events at Melbourne but is cheap and easy to apply for. Use this link: click here

How Does the Melbourne Shootout Work:

Each day, drivers make at least 1 run at any point of their choosing up to lunchtime (1pm).

Once you have recorded a time your quickest time will go onto a list and upon the completion of this qualifying cars wishing to participate will be grouped into 8s depending on how quick they have run. The aim is the 8 cars’ ETs will be very close together creating close heads-up racing.

A list of willing competitors will be gathered and with this elimination ladders for the afternoon will he set.

The A FIELD will compromise of the 8 quickest qualified cars. They will compete heads up together with random pairings.

The B FIELD will be made up of #9-#16 qualifiers and if there is enough for a C FIELD, this will be made up of #17-#24 qualifiers depending on the number of cars choosing to enter.

This competition will be heads up with a .400 pro tree and (obviously) run over the 1/8th mile.

B + C FIELD INDEX SYSTEM:

B + C Field Index System: This 'floating' index number will be established as follows: The index number will be set based on the top qualifying elapsed time of each field.

The index will be two tenths below that number. For example, after the final qualifying session and if the 'B' field top qualifier's elapsed time is 6.51 , the 'B' field index for eliminations will be a 6.31 for eliminations. This means they still run heads up but cannot go quicker than this time.

Another example, the 'C’ field top qualifier's elapsed time is 7.14, the index for 'B' field eliminations will be 6.94.

Enter now by: clicking here

Competition Entries: click here

The name Rouven Dawson is known mainly in the Classic American car community - until now. You can see some of his cars over the last 10 years including a Camaro and a '68 El Camino which was documented in Classic American Magazine by clicking here.

He has also acquired and entered a '56 Chevrolet 3150 Truck in Street Weekend 2023/4 and run what ya brungs. But his first foray into championship drag racing is with a more modern machine, a 2019 Chevy COPO Camaro 427. Rouven has entered his upgraded COPO Camaro in Competition Eliminator and Pro ET at the Easter Nationals and we can't wait to see it on track.

Rouven explains: "Myself and my good friend Aaron, who is also my crew/engineer/guy who puts up with my cr*p, went over to the States last August and bought the car and trailered it 2000 miles to our shipping guys, stopping at Maple Grove Raceway on the way to give the car its first ever pass.

"Not long after arriving in the UK, we took her to Santa Pod and ran in the low 9s, after which we started looking for ways to improve performance. We reached out to David Barton of Ray Barton Race Engines, and before we knew it the motor was on its way to him.

"Since then it’s been a mad rush to get ready for the first event. The motor is back now and in, and we hope to fire her up very soon. She’s an awesome bit of kit. The first time we line up next to Nic Williams in his COPO will be an awesome moment, especially for bowtie fans!!

"When the car arrived, the first person I reached out to was Nic Williams at Williams Bros as I knew he had the only other COPO in the UK. Nic was super helpful and helped get us on track to race in Comp Eliminator this season.

For those interested in the specs, GM has kindly put the 2019 COPO specs sheet online and you can see them by clicking here.

Happy Birthday to Comp Eliminator team boss Nigel Payne, Santa Pod Raceway supporters and marshals Ben Skinner and Jack Skinner, and French team Toxic Drag Racing member Sébastien Lajoux. We hope you all have a great day.

Thanks to Remco Scheelings for sending eurodragster.com this article after kicking off the 2024 European SFI re-certification tour at Santa Pod Raceway on the Tuesday, it was time for the Dutch stop on the Thursday morning, March 13. Racers and team members from Germany, The Netherlands and even Italy, travelled to Hotel Ibis, located almost at Schiphol Airport, to re-certify parts to be race ready when the new season kicks off in a few weeks.

The Dutch Hot Rod Association, represented by Jaap Blom and Gerard Roelofsen, were host to the Dutch stop on the European SFI re-certification tour. Jennifer Faye, Luke and Andy Robinson and Lars-Göran (LG) Eriksson once again were on duty to do the re-certification.

Especially in the early hours, it was very busy for the SFI crew as several German racers arrived on the Wednesday evening to be in time. The Scappocin family (Gemelli Racing) had to travel more than 1.000 km from Italy to re-certify some parts. Because everybody was in time, the SFI crew were ready before 12 pm to catch their flight to Helsinki for the third stop on the European tour on Friday.

Bell housings, flex plates and clutches, were the post popular items in The Netherlands to be re-certified. FIA Pro Mod runner up David Vegter made a quick visit to Badhoevedorp, together with Jan Scheppers (Velocity Racing, Velocity Classics). Other racers from The Netherlands were Michel Huis (House Brothers), John Baron and Herman Zijlstra, to mention a few.

From Germany came Michael Winter (Heartbeat Racing), Clarissa Czekalla, Gerd Habermann, Dominik Reinhardt (Fast Damage Racing Corvette) and last but not least Jürgen Nagel, the Top Methanol Funny Car racer who will try to start his FIA season at The Main Event. As mention before, the Scappocin family came all the way from Italy.

Friday, March 15, the SFI re-certification tour continues in Finland where the FHRA are host to the third stop on the tour. Saturday the SFI crew will have a busy day at ME Racing Service AB, Borlänge, Sweden.

Text and photos: Remco Scheelings

>Outlaw Street celebrates its 16th year in 2024 with a season of eight lifestyle race weekends.

The series already has 80 cars signed on for this season, with a mix of American muscle cars, hot rods, classic British tin and various fast VWs and Japanese cars.

The class is organised by Mark Wallington who keeps all competitors informed via its Facebook page.

Membership is £40 per season, you receive access to the series, vinyl race stickers, OS logos, lanyards and unique membership cards, to race at the track you will need to pay the normal entry and race voucher fees.

The rules for the class are simple: members' cars must have a current MOT & current paid up vehicle tax, (if applicable), a full functioning exhaust system, tyres with road legal tread depth, and adherence to the rules and regulations of the track. Open headers and slicks are not allowed.

Of the eight rounds listed, 6 count towards the final score and decides the series winners.

Points are scored by racers recording their quickest ET & improvement from previous round.

In addition there are trophies & prize money for the Fastest RT from each round, and for the racer who makes the biggest ET improvement from their previous round.

At the end of 2023, Arnie Pamment was awarded the 2023 Outlaw Street Championship crown.

He will return for 2024 and over 80 others will join him for this year's competition. Of these, 24 have also entered into Street Weekend.

Some of the new vehicles to the series include Chris Jenkins' Veeteor LS-Seven, Chris Wrench's 1972 nitrous Chevy Nova, Cody Wallington's 1995 Z28 Camaro and Joe Baxter's tube-framed Mustang to name just a few.

Here are the dates for Outlaw Street this season:

Round 1
Saturday 6th - Sunday 7th April, Santa Pod Raceway (including Straightliners opening round on Sunday) - all years.

Round 2
Saturday 4th - Monday 6th May, Santa Pod Raceway (NSRA Nostalgia Nationals) - pre-73 only.

Round 3
Friday 14th - Sunday 16th June, Melbourne Raceway (incorporating Street Weekend) - all years.

Round 4
Saturday 13th - Sunday 14th July, Santa Pod Raceway - all years.

Round 5
Friday 9th - Sunday 11th August, Santa Pod Raceway (30th Mopar Euro Nationals) - all years.

Round 6
Friday 30th August - Sunday 1st September, Santa Pod Raceway (VW Action) - all years.

Round 7
Friday 13th - Sunday 15th September, Santa Pod Raceway (NSRA Hot Rod Drags) - pre-73 only.

Round 8
Saturday 19th - Sunday 20th October, Santa Pod Raceway including Saturday Night Special) - all years.

Prize Night
9th November at 18:00 - The Crown Lodge Hotel, Outwell, Cambridgeshire.

Niamh Smith has announced they already have some brilliant sponsors on board for UK Nostalgia Superstock’s 2024 season, but we are still looking for anyone who may be interested in this brilliant opportunity.

If you or anyone you know may be interested in supporting Europe’s biggest drag racing class please get in touch with a committee member or by emailing Niamh Smith by clicking here or directly on [email protected].

We have opportunities for both businesses and ‘sportsman’ sponsors meaning everyone has a chance to support the class in different ways if they wish to. This goes towards many different aspects of the class and these are outlined in our sponsorship proposal which is available to you or your business upon request, as well as the benefits you would be receiving.

Happy Birthday for today to Power Race Graphics and RAD Design Lines proprietor Darren West, Nitro Funny Car co-owner Jackie Hawkins, former Shakespeare County Raceway announcer and Wild Bunch crew Barry Bohannon and Pro ET racer Rhiannon Bellenie, have a great day from all of us at Eurodragster.com.

Happy Birthday to British drag racing pioneer John Wright, Swedish Nostalgia Funny Car racer Erik Wallinder and European Drag Racing Videos administrator Pascal Koch. We hope you all have a great day.

Many readers will know Joe Harris, crew member for some well known cars including Paul Watson's Grumpy's T altered, Tony Betts' Venom NFC, Mick Taylor's Banshee Outlaw Anglia Fordson and hopefully later in the year, Rob Elsom's Dirty Deeds Big Show Funny Car. In March Joe had the opportunity to visit Famoso Dragstrip and crew on not one, but two quick altereds at the March Meet.

Joe got to know Chris Bates, driver of both the Panic A/Fuel altered and the Boudakian Brothers 7.0 Pro altered. It was the first time the Boudakian Brothers car was run since the sad passing of Jack Boudakian, the last of the three brothers who ran this car back in the day.

The cars both went well, with only small issues and nothing that stopped the team from missing a round. Joe said "It was epic. The crew was top drawer, jumping between both cars sorting everything out in time for the next session. The Crew for Panic was Kin Bates Jr (Crew Chief) Chris Bates, James Shimko, John Pierce and myself.

"The Boudakian crew was run by Brian Boudakian, son of the late Jack Boudakian, with Serg and the rest of the Boudakian family. Brian and the family had a really emotional weekend but came away happy with a undamaged car/motor.

"The Panic car has a 468ci Donovan 417 block with AJPE heads, 5/8 stroke Bryant crank, 4.060 bore JE pistons and GRP rods running on 100% nitro (injected) for the A/Fuel class. It has a manually shifted 2 speed clutch Lenco behind it. Panic's best run is 6.4 at 217mph, and best 60ft is a 1.01. The goal is to be the first unblown altered to run a 5."

"At the March Meet, Chris first ran 7.0 @ 195 in Panic, but hurt a pushrod. After installing a replacement pushrod, it ran 6.67/ 214 and 6.45/217. The plugs still looked brand new, and we agreed we could have got way more aggressive. There's a lot more to come from that little hot rod!"

"The Boudakian 7.0 Pro car runs an AJPE wedge motor with a 14/71 TBS blower with a 3 speed air shifted clutch Lenco behind it. The first run was aborted due to shifter linkage failure (the car couldnt get into reverse after burnout). The second run was a good "banker" with a mid ish 7s to get us in the mix of things but not what we had hoped for. The third run was late in the evening. With no sun and a cold track, the car didnt make it to the 60ft before tyre shake hit hard. The final run was early morning.

"It was very busy getting both cars ready, as 7.0 was only 1 class away from A/Fuel, meaning Chris would finsih his run in the 7.0 car, get out at the top end, run to a waiting golf cart and speed back to the pairing lanes to strap into Panic for A/Fuel witch he did without fault all weekend!

"Huge crowds and sunny skies were the order of the day after Saturday's rain. We ended our 7.0 weekend with a double breakout our competition running 6.98 to our losing 6.95. Our A/Fuel weekend ended, Chris losing out to his dad Kin Sr in the US Airforce A/Fuel dragster, after the Panic decided to do what altereds do, making a big move and going for a wander around just before mid track trying to chase down Kin Snr's FED.



Joe thanks all the guys for having him on the team, Chris Bates and Kin Bates Jnr, John Pierce, James (Shimmy) Shimko, Nicki Bates, Tasha Pierce, Brian Boudakian, Serg, and the whole Boudakian family.

Team picture: Andy Willsheer

Happy Birthday to Supercharged Outlaw racer-in-waiting Purdie Hadfield, Comp Bike racer and Big CC Racing boss Sean Mills, French Gasser Circus racer Laurent Levi, Suzuki Performance Spares boss Nick Pepper, SPR Thrill Ride crew and former SPR startline marshal John Hackney and former Wild Bunch racer and APIRA official Tony Smith. We hope you all have a great day.

The final story in this season of Pioneer Stories comprises memories of two racers. Ken Cooper's memories going back a long time, and Rich Butcher who met Ken relatively recently and got into racing a slingshot in the Wild Bunch. You can see at this link.

Ken Cooper met and talked to many American visitors over the years including Dean Moon and Roy Gammell who wrenched on the Mooneyes dragster in 1963. Also that year he had a chat with the legendary Mickey Thompson.

10 years later more Americans came over and Ken’s flathead digger got the attention of Tony Nancy who had started out in the ‘50s with a flathead roadster. Tony gave Ken some tips on getting more horses out of the flathead and at the same meeting Ken met Paula Murphy and found her to be an amazing lady.

In 1976 Ken had a chat with Don Garlits thanking him for replying to his letter back in 1963. Rich Butcher first saw a slingshot dragster in the ‘70s and thought “one day, I'll have one of them crazy things” but it wasn’t till 45 years later that he actually got one. Not only that but it was a Ken Cooper slingshot built in the 1970s and originally raced by Andy Swaffield...

Ken and Rich's stories were produced by John Hunt and Nick Pettitt, and published by Eurodragster.com editor Simon Groves.

You can read many more stories of pioneers of UK drag racing at our Pioneer Stories page.

Thanks to Markus Münch for contacting eurodragster.com to announce that D.R.U. celebrates its 10th year and the entry for the Pro and Supro ET Challenge opens at the Weekend, Markus writes:

“After rain comes sun,” an old saying with a lot of truth. When the Grand Nationals in Bechyne were washed away in 2013, a small group of Austrian and German bracket racing friends gathered under the half-dry tent roofs to come up with an idea that, although it was alcoholic in nature, was not a crazy idea is. What is next with our sport, our bracket classes?

The Pro ET class, pushed by Tony Brandes, “Carl” and a few supporters’ years ago, did not really get off the ground; Tony had withdrawn a bit. “We need a challenge” like with Supro ET. No sooner said than done, the “Pro ET Dragracing Europe” association was born in idea and founded in January 2014. The club was then renamed Dragrace Union a year later, and since then it has organised challenges for Pro ET, Supro ET and Extreme Outlaw, hung out at racetracks as helpers and pit marshals... and hey presto, 10 years are over.

"What can you say, the club also tried to provide some starting help for Sportsman ET, but the only thing missing is the person power. People who like to take responsibility in the background, lend a hand and see that our acceleration sport moves forward. We could also imagine offering challenges for the super classes. The only thing missing is the people who will take care of it.

Challenge = Championship. Born in the time when there was no drag racing championship in Germany and Austria, we are still one step ahead of other championships. At the end of each challenge there are trophies, prize money and non-cash prizes for the winners and runners-up. Where does this already exist in our sport (on the continent)?

If you are interested in being a hands-on person and supporting the challenges with your commitment, just get in touch by visiting our website at this link. We will find the right volunteer position for you. 10 years over and not a bit quiet.

The Dragrace Union in the DMV, a living piece of European dragster history.

Nigel Fitzmaurice from Essex-based, but available world-wide, radio station Phoenix FM, has announced a special guest on his show this coming Sunday evening:

"Oh yes, oh yes! Coming on my Phoenix FM Stepping Out show is Fast and Serious Paul Marston Racing. A competitive pro drag racer from Romford, Paul will chat about the 2024 UK drag racing season, and more".

"Plus - if there’s any drag racing people who want to come on my Show, whatever class, please get in touch. You'll hear the best soul, funk and northern soul".

"Thats Phoenix FM, 98FM in South Essex, North Kent, and East London. Plus on www.phoenixfm.com and Mix Cloud.

Catch you Sunday 6pm!"

You can contact Nigel by clicking here.

Happy Birthday for today to Pro Modified racer Michel Tooren, Pro Stock racer Robin Norén, Comp Eliminator racer David Swift, former Super Pro ET champion and colour commentator for the class Chris Parker and Pro ET racer Chris Newsam. We hope you all have a great day.

Wossner Pistons, a leading manufacturer of high-performance pistons with a rich history spanning over 40 years, is thrilled to announce its new partnership with Santa Pod Raceway, the renowned home of European drag racing.

With its roots deeply embedded in motorsport and engineering excellence, Wossner Pistons has consistently pushed the boundaries of innovation to deliver cutting-edge solutions for automotive enthusiasts and racing professionals alike. From its humble beginnings to its current position as a trusted industry leader, Wossner has remained committed to delivering top-quality products and unparalleled performance.

As part of its ongoing commitment to supporting the motorsport community, Wossner Pistons is proud to join forces with Santa Pod Raceway, a cornerstone of the European racing scene and a hub for adrenalin-fuelled action. With its state-of-the-art facilities and world-class events, Santa Pod provides the perfect platform for Wossner Pistons to showcase its products and engage with the vibrant racing community.

Wossner Pistons is proud to announce its sponsorship of the 4-cylinder class at the 2024 Doorslammers Drag Racing event (17-19 May). This sponsorship further solidifies Wossner’s commitment to supporting the motorsport community and providing opportunities for racers to showcase their skills on the track. As a leading manufacturer of high-performance pistons, Wossner is excited to see how its products will enhance the performance of competitors in the 4-cylinder class and looks forward to witnessing the thrilling action unfold at this prestigious event.

This partnership represents an exciting opportunity for both Wossner Pistons and Santa Pod Raceway to collaborate and drive innovation in the ever-evolving world of motorsport. By combining Wossner’s expertise in piston technology with Santa Pod’s passion for performance, the two organisations are poised to make a significant impact on the racing landscape.

“We are thrilled to partner with Santa Pod Raceway and support the growth of the racing market,” said David Wheeler, Director at Wossner Pistons. “As a company with a long-standing tradition of excellence, we are able to align ourselves with Santa Pod’s commitment to delivering unforgettable experiences for racing enthusiasts. Together, we look forward to pushing the boundaries of performance and taking motorsport to new heights.”

Santa Pod Raceway shares Wossner Pistons’ enthusiasm for the partnership and looks forward to collaborating on exciting initiatives that will benefit both racing fans and participants. With Wossner Pistons on board as a sponsor, Santa Pod Raceway is well-positioned to continue its legacy as Europe’s premier destination for drag racing and high-octane entertainment.

For more information about Wossner Pistons, please visit www.wossnerpistons.co.uk. For details about upcoming events at Santa Pod Raceway, click here.

For further information, please contact: Press Office, Santa Pod Raceway. Tel: (01234) 782828. Email: [email protected].

Top Fuel Bike racer Phil Crossley will be appearing at the rescheduled Festival of Power on 26th-28th April with not one, but two nitro burning machines. Phil explains:

I suppose I best explain what's going on before my entry at the Festival of Power causes too much confusion.

So this is the deal: I've entered the event on Keith Edward's fabulously restored ex-Brian Johnson 'Imperial Wizard' top fuel bike. I've been helping Keith get the bike finished recently, and the next step is to start it on nitro and try and get it running nicely (i.e. angrily).

However - I'm also taking my own Vforce V4 fuel bike (winner of best bike at the Elvington Top Speed show), which is also ready to go, and again it just needs to be started on nitro, and with any luck it also makes the right noise!

Both bikes will be taken for scruitineering and, barring any unforeseen problems, one or the other, or both could make it to the track! With only 2 entries in Top fuel bike it will be demo runs only, but we need the track time more than anything, so it will work out good for us.

Come along and see both bikes in the flesh, plus everything else that's going on - it's always a great event for spectators.

Following our news stories and media links published in yesterday's news, here are the results of the first round of the 2024 Malta National Drag Racing Championship, which was organised at the Hal Far track by the Malta Drag Racing Association over the last weekend of 9th and 10th March 2024.

Congratulations to:

Dragster D4: Ruben Scicluna

Dragster D6: Mario Borg

CA6 Class: Anthony Vella

Open 6 Class: Clifton Abdilla

Open 5 Class: Lewis Vella

Front Wheel Drive 10.0: Neil Vella

Front Wheel Drive 9.0: George Cutajar

Escort Class 3: Rosello Cassar

Escort Class 2: Justin Muscat

Extreme 2 Class: Justin Muscat

DTA 6 Class: Alan Muscat

Wild Street Class: John Martin

Bracket 13.00-13.49: Matthew Attard

Bracket11.50-11.99: Neil Caruana

Bracket 11.00-11.49: Paul Pace

Bracket 9.50-9.99: Michael Caruana

Bracket 8.50-8.99: Karl Mifsud

Motorcycle SS1 Class: Simon Giordimaina

Motorcycle All Motor Extreme Class: Luke Farrugia

Motorcycle Top Fuel M/C: Stuart crane

Motorcycle Open Class: Simon Giordimaina

Best Reaction Time: Luke Farrugia

Congratulations to all the winner of the first round of the MDRA Haltech Winter Nationals. Round 2 Of May Mayhem will be on the 3rd, 4th and 5th of May at the Hal Far raceway, Malta.

Thanks to Graham Watkinson for his help in coding today.

Many thanks to photojournalist Andy Willsheer for sending a gallery of photos from the final day of the NHRA Amalie Oil Gatornationals on Sunday. You can see Andy's gallery by clicking here.

Andy's 63 pictures include racing from many classes with an emphasis on nitro, and some winners' circle pictures, including Ulf Leanders's team following his Top Alcohol Funny Car triumph. The Kalitta Motorsports team are also depicted after their clean sweep of Top Fuel, with Shawn Langdon victor, and Funny Car with J.R. Todd the winner. You can see detailed results at www.dragracecentral.com or on the NHRA website.

We're sure all our readers will be glad of Andy's continued efforts to cover European racers over the pond.

Happy Birthday for today to Dutch photojournalist and pit note reporter Mike Kraaij and 8.50 Bike racer Patrick Rawnsley. Have a great day guys!

Simon Letkey has posted to his VeeDubRacing Youtube channel video of the Top 20 cars he filmed at the first RWYB event of the year at Santa Pod Raceway. Simon comments that there will have been other quicker cars, as he was unable to video all of the runs. Nevertheless, it is an entertaining watch from the sell-out event. You can see Simon's video by clicking here.

Santa Pod Racway has announced this important update for racers: It is with deep regret and much frustration, that Santa Pod Raceway has made the difficult decision to make necessary changes to both the upcoming Festival of Power and Springspeed Nationals events.

After the very wet start to this year, our region has continued to experience persistent rain during what has become the wettest February on record. This has rendered all of our waterlogged grassland car parks and campsites unusable and therefore unsafe for the expected camping and traffic movement.

All PRO classes will be moved from Friday 29th March – Sunday 31st March to the weekend of the Friday 26th April – Sunday 28th April.

This change of date ONLY applies to: Nitro Funny Car, Nostalgia Funny Car and Round 1 of the Motorsport UK Pro Modified Championship.

ALL Sportsman classes and racers entered into the original event on Friday 29th March – Sunday 31st March will remain on that weekend. This championship round will be rebranded ‘Easter Nationals’.

Friday 29th March – TEST DAY

Saturday 30th March – RACE DAY 1

Sunday 31st March – RACE DAY 2

Please beware that whilst racers will be able to stay on site as usual, we are no longer able to offer camping to the general public over Friday 29th March – Sunday 31st March. If you have anybody intrinsic to your race operation that would normally camp on site with general admission tickets, please contact the office on the channels listed at the footer of this announcement as campsites will be out of bounds.

All Sportsman classes and racers entered into the original Springspeed Nationals event on the Friday 26th April – Sunday 28th April will remain on that weekend. This weekend will be rebranded ‘Festival of Power Rescheduled’. At this time, there will not be a test day for this event.

Friday 26th April – RACE DAY 1

Saturday 27th April – RACE DAY 2

Sunday 28th April – RACE DAY 3

So, in summary, nothing will change for the Sportsman Racers in terms of events. Just the dates and lengths of the two events.

Given the fundamental changes to these two weekends, Santa Pod Racers Club will be putting out a press release in due course, with information regarding any changes to entry fees. All questions on this matter should be directed to the SPRC.

If racers have any other questions, please contact either; Max Frost by clicking here or Chris Schreier by clicking here.

The British drag racing media was well represented at the MDRA Winter Nationals Presented by Haltech at the weekend, and we present below links to their coverage, plus some racers' highlights.

Thanks to Kieran Jenkins for providing pictures from the weekend, you can see them by clicking here

Kieran's video covers all the action from Day 2 of the event from Hal Far, Malta. You can see day 1 by clicking here. Future episodes are promised which you will be able to see at the Mk1Kieran Youtube channel by clicking here.

You can see photos already posted from the event at the following links:

Alex Buttigieg - Facebook album click here.

Samuel Mifsud's photography - Facebook pictures click here.

Pudgey's Pictures (Callum Pudge) - Facebook album click here.

MotorsMT - Facebook Streaming video click here.

There were some outstanding and spectacular performances. Clifton Abdilla ran his grey Anonymous Toyota 2JZ powered dragster to its best times ever of 6.03/228 (0.953 to 60ft and 3.903/187.06 to half track), backed up by an earlier 6.05/225. In all, Clifton ran seven passes between the record 6.03 and 6.14, an awesome achievement, particularly in windy conditions. Congratulations to the whole team for an outstanding series of performances.

John Martin drove Mario Mifsud’s orange Cosworth small tyre YB Mk1 Escort to a PB 7.31 at 193 mph launching hard to a 1.21 60ft time on 70+psi of boost, and carrying the wheels past 330ft. The car was tuned by Clifford Cassar who had his own spectacular moments.

Clifford stood his white roadgoing Sierra Cosworth on its rear bumper, necessitating the fabrication of a pair of wheelie bars overnight by Joe Bambinu. The car ended the event with a new PB of 8.5 sec on a very soft setup, Clifford posted.

There was a big win for Neil Vella of the Boost Brothers team driving a Corsa in the new Open FWD 10.0 Class using a SAAB B204 motor with stock internals.

Thanks to Cinel Automotive, Kieran Jenkins and Luke Stevenson for posting updates on the event.

Happy Birthday for today to Junior Drag Racing supercrew Andy Fensome to Andy's son and Super Pro ET racer Aaron Fensome, also to Supercharged Outlaws car chief Mark Windridge, Super Pro ET racer and painter extraordinaire Marc Manning, and Comp Bike racer Tony Clark. Have a great day guys!

The Doorslammers entry list, already filling up with 23 FWD cars, 16 Wössner 4 Cylinder and 17 6 Cylinder, has its first entries in VP Racing Fuels Pro Doorslammer - Eurodragster.com sponsor John 'First of the Fast' Tebenham and Przemyslaw Sochacki from Poland. Keep an eye out for many more entries for the big money race.

Personnel changes have taken place at both British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Limited and the BDRHOF Benevolent Fund.

Simon Groves has relinquished the formal duties he had undertaken on behalf of both organisations and has resigned as a trustee of the Benevolent Fund. The Hall of Fame’s directors and the Benevolent Fund’s trustees are indebted to Simon for the essential services he has rendered. Simon set up the Hall of Fame as a limited company and established the Benevolent Fund as a registered charity and thereafter prepared and presented the accounts of both organisations to their respective official authorities.

We are delighted to welcome Michael Dowdy who has kindly agreed to serve as the Hall of Fame’s Company Secretary.

The British Drag Racing Hall Of Fame Benevolent Fund has appointed two new trustees. The Benevolent Fund is registered with the Charities Commission to create a professional fund-raising platform within the drag racing community to support those connected with the sport who have fallen on hard times and to make awards to organisations which provide vital services to the community – ‘From the Drag Racing Community, for the Drag Racing Community’.

Nikki Marshall is appointed a trustee and has kindly agreed to co-ordinate the Benevolent Fund’s activities to help increase its profile within the community. Nikki may be contacted for Benevolent Fund purposes at this link.

Nigel Payne has also kindly agreed to serve as a Benevolent Fund trustee.

Current personnel:

BRITISH DRAG RACING HALL OF FAME Ltd:
Directors: Lesley Wright (Hon. Chair), Bev Bradbury, Jerry Cookson, Phil Cottingham, Robin Jackson.
Company secretary: Michael Dowdy.
Honorary advisers: Philip Evans, Keith Lee, Nikki Marshall, Ian Messenger, Julian Parsons, Nigel Payne, Nick Pettitt, Tony Thacker, Colin Theobald.
Selectors: Keith Bartlett, Graham Beckwith, Frank Brachtvogel, Jerry Cookson, Phil Cottingham, Philip Evans, Robin Jackson, Keith Lee, Ian Marshall, Ian Messenger, Darren Prentice, Lesley Wright.

BDRHOF BENEVOLENT FUND:
Trustees: Graham Beckwith, Phil Cottingham, Robin Jackson, Ian Marshall, Nikki Marshall, Ian Messenger, Nigel Payne.

The Hall of Fame’s directors, advisers and selectors and the Benevolent Fund’s trustees all serve in a voluntary capacity, pro bono.

Organisers of drag racing at Agrinio Raceway have announced the Agrinio Raceway Cup 2024 with the approval of Greek motorcycle regulatory body AMOTOE.

The championship will have seven rounds and be competed in the standard classes for Greek drag racing. The dates are:

Steve Read will be making his return to the sport at the Gulf Western Oil Winternationals on 6th-9th June. The event will take place at Willowbank Raceway. British Drag Racing Hall of Fame member Steve will be racing in the Read McCarthy Top Fuel Dragster which we first reported on last October.

Various issues have delayed the team's debut, but the team fired the car up for the first time at the end of January. Steve commented "Thrilled to be firing up our Top Fuel Dragster for the first time. Can't thank the crew enough for all their hard work and dedication!"

Roving superfan Andrew Green who has been to more tracks than most, posted "Just before I left Australia earlier this month myself and Glen Atholwood brightened up the colours on Steve's latest drive.

"Orange and white vinyl was purchased by Steve and this is the end product, looking forward to seeing it on track at the end of the season."

Happy Birthday for today to Santa Pod Raceway fire crew member Angie Daly, to Super Pro ET racer Mark Turner, and to VW Pro racer Bruce Kopasz. We hope you all have a fantastic day.

Today's Pioneer Story is the story and history of UK hot rodding and drag racing pioneer Maurice Takoor, told in his own words, which you can see at this link.

Maurice Takoor met John Bennett in 1963 and became a member of the BHRA. He also became photographic editor on Drag Racing & Hot Rod magazine and later worked with John at Spa Engineering.

From 1968 to 1978 Maurice along with John Hill worked as the tech crew at Santa Pod alongside the RAC Scrutineering Bay.

In the early ‘90s Maurice organised a 30th anniversary BHRA Meet which was well attended and led to the forming of the BHRA Pioneers Club open to anyone who was involved in drag racing in the 1960s.

Maurice is still very much involved in drag racing and recently ran the ex-Dave Miller BMC powered Spirit slingshot from the 70s with help from Dave Gibbons and Dick Hogben.

Maurice's story was produced by John Hunt and Nick Pettitt, and published by Eurodragster.com editor Simon Groves. You can read many more stories of pioneers of UK drag racing at our Pioneer Stories page.

Supercharged Outlaws chairman Andy Hadfield has announced the dates for the popular and spectacular class for 2024. They are:

GTI Show: 20th-21st April (racing Saturday and Sunday)

Nostalgia Nationals: May 4th-6th (racing Saturday-Monday)

No points round: Retro Show/Sportsman Nationals: June 8th - 9th (racing Saturday & Sunday, Test Day Monday)

Dragstalgia: July 5th-7th (racing Friday evening-Sunday, RWYB Friday morning/afternoon)

Mopar Nationals: August 9th-11th (racing Saturday & Sunday, RWYB Friday)

VW Action: August 30th-September 1st (racing Saturday & Sunday)

Hot Rod Drags: September 13th-15th (racing Saturday & Sunday, RWYB Friday)

Simon has assembled a table analysing the stats for all supercharged racers who ran with the Outlaws last year. Shown are the number of events attended, number of runs in class (excluding test passes), best in 2023 and overall personal best for times and speed. The class goes from strength to strength and will be a major attraction at lifestyle events during 2024. Any queries should go to [email protected].

The Supercharged Outlaws are sponsored by Good Vibrations Motorsports.

Congratulations to Top Alcohol Funny Car racer Ulf Leanders for winning the class at the NHRA Amalie Oil Gatornationals held last weekend.

Ulf's third National Event win came after defeats of a broken Wayne Morris in round 1, Sean Bellameur in the semi final and a holeshot over Phil Esz in the final. Ulf's times were ultra consistent 5.494/261.67, 5.439/265.12 (class low ET of the event) and 5.454/263.67.

As ever, Ulf was supported by crew chief and brother Jörgen as well as his crew. You can see video of Ulf's championship round, posted by Trond Høst, by clicking here.

Happy Birthday for today to Wild Bunch co-ordinator Claire Meaddows and Pro ET racer AC Bell, have a great day both!

Drag racing historian Nick Pettitt has added to his website another gallery of pics from Antony Billinton's collection, this time from 1972 - 1973 visiting Crystal Palace, Santa Pod and Brighton. You can see Antony's pictures by clicking here.

On 16th March Straightliners will be running their first Drag N Drift of the year at Dakota Raceway, sponsored by XHYPE performance lubricants.

The event features a two lane, 1/4 drag strip for cars & bikes, large drifting circuit. There will be ample seat time with a playpen for beginners. Gates open at 09:00 and racing concludes at 16:00. Dakota Raceway can be found at Upottery, Honiton EX14 9RF.

You can buy tickets online from the Straightliners website by clicking here. Drifting Entry is sold out, but you can put your name on a reserve list. Drag entry is £50 and passengers can ride in a drag car for £40. You can read Straightliners' rules by clicking here.

Catering facilities will be available on the day. All spectator tickets are sold at the gate. Cash or card. Under 16’s are free admission. Dogs are allowed if kept on a lead. Tickets can be bought on the day if not available.

A big Happy Birthday to Hawaii-based British Drag Racing Hall of Fame international ambassador and nostalgia drag racing legend Bob Muravez aka Floyd Lippencotte. Have a great day Bob. Also Happy Birthday to US-based Premium Motosports Products founder and Top Fuel tuner Mike Domagala, and to two VWDRC racers, Charlie Roberts and Bruce Collins. We hope you all have a fantastic day.

Good luck and stay safe to Top Alcohol Dragster race Julie Nataas and Top Alcohol Funny Car racer Ulf Leanders. Julie qualified #4 with 5.262/270.27 and improved in round 1 to defeat Mike Coughlin with a 5.248/270.48, then defeated Randy Meyer Racing teammate Hunter Green in round 2 with a 5.231/269.46. Ulf is through to round 2 at the Amalie Oil Gatornationals with a 5.494/261.67 defeat of Wayne Morris in round one of the eight car eliminations yesterday evening. Commiserations to Pro Modified racer Dmitry Samorukov from Russia whose 5.899/241.50 was good for only 22nd out of 26 qualifiers.

Many thanks to photojournalist Andy Willsheer who flew from California to Florida during the week to capture images taken on Wednesday and Thursday at the season-opening NHRA Amalie Oil Gatornationals and the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame induction ceremony held on Thursday evening. You can see Andy's photos by clicking here.

Included are photos from around the pits and from the first Top Alcohol Dragster qualifying session held on Thursday afternoon. 18 cars made the call for the first TAD qualifier, with expat Norwegian, and 2023 TAD National Champion, Julie Nataas qualifying no.2 with a 5.263/263.51 to Joe Maynard's 5.228/271.02. In Top Alcohol Funny Car, Europe was represented by Ulf Leanders who ran a 5.512/261.72 to go no.4 at the end of the first session.

You can see results from the Gatornationals by clicking here, and full coverage by clicking here.

On Thursday evening the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame induction ceremony was held at at the Hilton UF Conference Center in Gainesville, Florida. The 2024 inductees into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame are Pat Austin, Walt Austin, Walt Barbin, Joe Gibbs, Pamela Hardy, Garth Hogan (New Zealand), Scott Kalitta (posthumously), Rickie Smith and Gary Southern (posthumously). The Pat Garlits Memorial Award was presented to Rosalee and Terry Noble while the Founders Award went to former National Dragster editor Bill Holland. Andy attended, as he has for many years, and captured shots of some of the honorees and IDRHoF founder and member Don Garlits.

We will publish further galleries from Andy as received.

Happy Birthday for today to Engine Data Analysis head honcho and Outlaw Anglia racer Ben Rushforth, former Roarin' Rat racer Ken Brookes, former Super Twin racer Andy Watson and Top Methanol Funny Car crew and wife Iris Krivan. We hope you all have a great day.

Santa Pod Racers Club secretary Ian Marshall has reminded us that the deadline for entry for the first round of the SPRC National and Club championships.

FESTIVAL OF POWER - Normal Entry now CLOSED!!

The current entry list for the event is at this link. You can enter by clicking here. Late entry may cost extra, so competitors are urged to sign up today.

Today's Pioneer Story concludes the history of British Drag Racing Hall of Fame member Alf Hagon, told in his own words, which you can see at this link.

In the fifth and final part of Alf’s story he concluded our interview with recollections of his retirement from racing in order to concentrate fully on his business commitments. However with the JAP sold to the other side of the world he began to build a new machine that he felt had the capability to run down into the eight second bracket. His business went from strength to strength and his products continued to be world beating. He also told us how, many years later, he and Martin found and bought back the JAP, restoring, displaying and running it once again.

Many thanks to Trakbytes webmaster Chris Dossett for interviewing Alf and editing his story, also to John Hunt for arranging the interview.

You can read many more stories of pioneers of UK drag racing at our Pioneer Stories page.

Chris Dossett from Trakbytes (www.trakbytes.co.uk) has announced that the Trakbytes website has been updated this week. This time there are a total of 42 updates and new entries. At the top of the list for this update is an article telling the story of a remarkable quarter scale model of Alf Hagon’s JAP Drag Bike that was built over fifty years ago, and still survives today. The idea for this piece came about whilst I was researching material for Alf’s tale in the current series of Pioneer Stories on Eurodragster. You can find out all about it in the “Special Features” area of the website.

The rest of the new material spans 42 years of UK Drag racing History, from 1961 to 2003. Many events that were previously detailed quite sparsely have been updated, and there are plenty of new entries of meetings where I previously had no details at all. I've added quite a lot of new material to the 2003 section, which is as far as the archive goes currently. These events are now an astonishing 20 years ago, something I struggled to comprehend as I researched them. I was working on the crew of the Showtime Funny Car in those days, and it really doesn't seem that long ago.

There are also several updates to the 1980’s section provided by long-time contributor Clive Rooms. There are updates to the Hall of Fame files for Sydney & Alan Allard, Allan Herridge, Peter Crane, Dennis Priddle, Clive Skilton, The Pages, The Stones and Sammy Miller. All the new material has also been added to the Competitor Index, which contains an alphabetical listing of over 2500 names of racers who have made trips up the quarter mile, with links to their places in the archive. Check out the “What’s New” page on the site for a list of all the new material, and don’t forget I’m always keen to hear of any details you think should be included in the archive. Anything goes, from glaring omissions about landmark events to your Uncle Bert’s one and only run in 1966 on his Scott Flying Squirrel.

The Enemed MDRA Drag Racing Series season kicks off this weekend at Hal Far Raceway from today, 8th-10th of March with The Winter Nationals, Presented By Haltech Engine Management Systems. Included will be 220mph+ import Dragsters, big horsepower door cars, 6-second side-by-side dragbikes, and much more!

Many thanks to MDRA committee member Konrad D'Anastasi for sending us the entry list and running order which you can see at our event page by clicking here. Keep an eye on the Facebook MotorsMT page by clicking here for live coverage. A spotters guide for vehicles competing this weekend is in preparation.

You can see video of 118 runs from the February Hal Far Run What Ya Brung posted by Konrad by clicking here.

We look forward to posting photo galleries and links to videos from Kieran who is in attendance with other UK drag racing media and quite a few fans.

Happy Birthday for today to British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Chair and member Lesley Wright, former UK Top Fuel racer and BDRHoF member Roz Prior, Street Eliminator racer Joe Stevens and former drag bike racer and future Super Comp crew chief Jerry Collier. We hope you all have a great day.

Readers with access to National Geographic UK (available on Sky and Virgin Media) are urged to catch up with the first episode of the new series of Car S.O.S. broadcast yesterday evening, where hosts Tim Shaw and Fuzz Townsend rebuilt a V8 powered 1955 Ford Pop hot rod. The owner, who in true style was surprised with the reveal of the restored car, is cerebral palsy sufferer Andy.

Thanks to Keith Lee for contacting eurodragster.com with the announcement: The Norton twin-engined machine that dominated motorcycle drag racing back in the 1970's is to feature at this year’s Dragstalgia event at Santa Pod on July 5-7th.

A small group of seasoned drag racing motorcyclists wanted to recognise the huge contribution that US rider Tom ‘TC’ Christenson, and engineer and tuner John Gregory, made to the sport of motorcycle drag racing. It is especially relevant following Tom Christenson's passing in 2023.

Today’s announcement appropriately comes on the day that John Gregory celebrates his 90th birthday. Photojournalist Keith Lee has kept in touch with John for over 50 years and has passed on very useful information from him to help run the bike. John commented: “It is great that you guys are doing this. I just wish I was there to see it run again.”

From a kernel of an idea, Neil Baskerville, son of Ray, who was a respected builder and rider back in the day, approached Chris Illman to ask what were the chances of approaching the National Motorcycle Museum to see if we could borrow Hogslayer to display at Dragstalgia as a fitting tribute to Christenson and Gregory. Chris, who has a long-standing relationship with the National Motorcycle Museum, approached Museum Director James Hewing, to ask if he would grant permission for Hogslayer to be released for display at Dragstalgia. Not only did he readily agree but suggested: “If you can get it running again and ridden, that would be a real bonus!” That was an offer not to be refused, and hopefully a long-held dream turned into a reality. What more encouragement do we need?

Having been on static display at the National Motorcycle Museum for some 20 years since coming from the USA in 2004, it was clear that a considerable amount of work would be required. Plans are currently in place to relocate the machine to a secure location, where recommissioning will be carried out. The prospect of seeing and hearing Hogslayer’s mighty roar again at Santa Pod will make this year’s Dragstalgia an event not to be missed. Watch this space!

Many thanks to Santa Pod Raceway for supplying this announcement: Award-winning brand Kestrel Beer has renewed its sponsorship agreement with Santa Pod Raceway, the UK’s most action-packed drag racing venue. The package sees Kestrel continue the high-profile sponsorship as the official Left Lane Sponsor at the north Bedfordshire motorsport venue.

Kestrel was acquired in 2012 by Nigel McNally, founder and CEO of Brookfield Drinks Ltd., who said: “As a bold brand we continue to develop interesting and exciting properties that communicate the originality and personality of a beer that’s been enjoyed since the 1980s.”

The brand has undergone a recent design overhaul which is part of the brand’s repositioning strategy. In addition to this, the range has been extended to introduce two other products alongside the iconic Kestrel Super Premium lager. Kestrel continues to be one of the most enjoyed British lager brands and is achieving strong sales performance in the UK off-trade and in international markets.

Mr. McNally continued: “We at Kestrel Beer are extremely excited to be continuing our partnership with Santa Pod Raceway as part of our ongoing investment in the Kestrel beer brand. Santa Pod is an iconic venue which has constructed the foundation for Kestrel to become a brand linked with the motorsport industry and a continuation of the sponsorship will play a pivotal part in our communications strategy going forward, focussing on driving the awareness of Kestrel beer with a new audience. In addition to the sponsorship agreement, Kestrel has negotiated continuation of the Pourage rights for Kestrel beer as the only draught lager at Santa Pod. The beers have been received extremely well by visitors at Santa Pod. The results from the initial sponsorship and supply duration have been encouraging, so we are looking forward to continuing to build this relationship over the next few years and beyond.”

Santa Pod’s Commercial Manager, Caroline Holden, said: “We are delighted to announce the continuation of Kestrel Beer as our Left Lane Sponsor. This great-tasting draught beer has proved extremely popular with Santa Pod‘s customers and has outsold all previous brands. Our Lane Sponsorship is one of the highest-profile programmes on offer and we look forward to continuing the relationship throughout 2024 and beyond.”

Thanks to our roving photographer Andy Willsheer for sending in his fourth gallery from the Good Vibrations March Meet from Famoso Dragstrip, Bakersfield last weekend. You can see Andy's photos by clicking here.

Congratulations to Nostalgia Funny Car racer Cory Lee for winning the March Meet over a highly competitive 16 car qualified field. Those with long memories, or readers of the excellent Trakbytes website, will have noted that Cory, who has enjoyed a 30+ year career in the class, started in 1991 in the UK Cannonball run.

Rancho Santa Maria, California-based Cory's first opportunity came at the age of 17 when British Drag Racing Hall of Fame member Harlan Thompson fielded a second car in the Cannonball that year for Cory to drive in Europe. Australia followed and after a tuning opportunity in the US with Tom Hoover, Cory has remained in the nitro ranks as a driver and tuner to this day. Further outings at the SPR Cannonball in 1992 and 1993 saw Cory get down into the low 6s bracket.

You can read a 2016 interview with Cory about his history on Competition Plus by clicking here. Last weekend, Cory in Gary Turner's 1979 Challenger, with the unlikely name Pedaler and race number 13, qualified 5th at 5.682/257.68, going on to defeat a red-lighting Matt Melendez, Drew Austin, Cameron Ferre and Jeff Arend in the final round for his first ever Funny Car title. Not only did Cory race his Funny Car, he also made qualifying runs in a fuel altered.

Complete results from the March meet can be seen on Competition Plus by clicking here.

You can also see Youtube videos of action and pit shots from the March Meet, camera work by Les Mayhew, on Competition Plus's Youtube channel by clicking here.

Supercharged Outlaws UK treasurer Mark Windridge has announced the continued sponsorship of the class from Good Vibrations Motorsport. Also announced is a change in the class's racing format this year, competing for the Good Vibrations Motorsport Cannonball championship, and a new Retro Revival event.

Mark said "We have sponsored Pro ET again as we have done before. We also continue to sponsor Melbourne Raceway to help our sport survive.

"With this in mind, we have organised an event at Melbourne Raceway, the Melbourne Retro Revival. The event will be for all Retro Nostalgia vehicles from Supercharged Outlaws, Wild Bunch, Gasser Circus and Nostalgia Stock. It will be held at the 13th-14th July Melbourne Raceway. All classes will run heads up and all retro vehicles are invited to join in.

"The first round will be drawn from a hat, the winners and losers will race against each other and over two days the winner will be the one with the most wins. A prize fund of £200 will be paid and a Good Vibrations Motorsports trophy awarded.

"It will be great to see these different classes go head-to-head over the 1/8 which should make for close racing."

A very Happy Birthday to honorary Eurodragster.com member, SPRC official and Competition Eliminator racer Spencer Tramm, have a great day Spencer. Happy 80th Birthday to British Drag Racing Hall of Fame member and drag bike engineer Pete Davies, Happy Birthday also to tuner and crew chief extraordinaire Karl Harrison, Danish Super Street Bike racer Mogens Lund, Supercharged Outlaws racer Nigel Rigden and Supercharged Outlaws racer in waiting Lee Merryweather. Have a great day all.

Those still suffering withdrawal symptoms for UK nostalgia racing are directed to the Pod Wheels Youtube Channel. Terry Robbins has posted footage of Outlaw Anglia from the NSRA Hot Rod Drags last September which you can see by clicking here.

Thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club secretary Ian Marshall for this announcement:

The 2024 season is just days away and many of you who have pored over the entry list will note that most classes now have a Class Title Sponsor, there are just 3 classes without at present, Super Comp, VW Sportsman and Outlaw Flat Four, if you feel that you would like to have your company name attached to the title of any of these three classes then please get in contact with me at [email protected] it's not as expensive as you might think, and you will be listed on all entry lists, in all of the major event programmes on all of the winner and runner up trophies and of course mentioned regularly over the P.A at Santa Pod Raceway.

The class titles that are sponsored by a variety of companies are important to us at SPRC and would ask that the next time you need a product or service perhaps look at using those people that support our sport, remember what goes around comes around, the more we support them the more they can support you and so on.

Comp Eliminator - Track Worx
Track Worx have been involved in motorsports for over 10 years, and strive to be the best whilst providing a one stop workshop for all Motorsport needs. When it comes to Race cars for Circuit, Drag, Sprint and Professional Drift cars, we can offer all aspects of work, from basic service and event preparation to complete car builds, and it doesn’t stop there. We offer complete tailor made Motorsport aftercare packages from big race team’s right down the owner/driver privateers in your choice of event, anywhere in the world. If you have a need for support at a Race facility anywhere on the planet, we have the facilities to accommodate you and your requirements, contact us at [email protected].

Super Gas - Tony Morrice Carburetors
Tony Morris and Dave Gibbons are delighted to announce that Tony Morris Carburetors will once again be the headline sponsor of the 2024 Super Gas series! As the sole UK agent for Tony Morris Carburetors, Dave Gibbons’ TMC with RDR Performance Carburetors operation will also offer a 10% discount on parts and labour on servicing, as well as keen pricing on new carburetors for Super Gas race car requirements. Tony Morris Carburetors specialize in performance carbs on the 4150 and 4500 Holley platform, and each carburetor is hand built for its application. Not only do TMC supply traditional four barrel racing carbs, they also supply twin blade carburetors featuring the patented upper jets, which provide superior tunability and offer the advantage of a wider range of flow rating to optimise your combination. Contact Dave via messenger on TMC with RDR Performance Carburetors | Facebook, on Instagram at #thecarbfellas or by e-mail on [email protected] with your requirements.

Super Pro ET - Peter Nee
Steve and Babs Saunders write: Pete was a true Hot Rodder at heart, he lived and breathed drag racing, hot rods and American muscle cars. He was with me from the very early hot rods days in the beginning of the 80's and at the very start of my drag racing. He loved NHRA Drag racing, British Drag Racing and going to the states travelling visit as many drag racing meetings as possible. Apart from being my Crew Chief, he himself had many different cars through his life ending up with his much loved Firebird which he was planning on racing himself in 2022.

Pro ET - Modurstang
Modurstang is the UK's premier Mustang specialist. Anything from an approved routine oil change for your brand new S550, to a full restoration of your 1960’s Mustang. If you have any ideas or would like to chat about a project, feel free to call us. We can put your mind at ease. For example, S550 supercharger packages are tried and tested to offer you the best possible performance at a competitive price. Modurstang is the one-stop-shop for all your American motor servicing needs. We can make your Mustang dreams a reality. Please take a look at our web site at www.modurstang.co.uk or phone us on 01608 678818, or mobile on 07774 712000.

Sportsman ET - Hutchinson & Dibley
Hutchinson and Dibley Ltd is a Buckinghamshire based precision CNC engineering company specialising in the production of 'hard-to-manufacture' parts. They have over 50 years of experience in most industries including defence, oil, gas and marine as well as machining most common metals and plastics but also working with difficult materials such as Titanium, Magnetic Iron and Inconel. Our shop facility includes CNC turning and milling as well as welding and fabrication equipment. Our entire production is ISO9001:2008 approved and accredited.

Junior Dragster - Lucas Oil
Lucas Oil have been looking after many Riders and Drivers in Motorsport, with their second to none Oils and Oil based products, Junior Dragster has been fortunate enough to have had Lucas Oil’s backing for more than 10 years, and 2024 is no different, Lucas oil products can be found at Santa Pod Raceway or on the Lucas Oil website at www.lucasoil.co.uk.

Street Eliminator - Top Speed Automotive
Although historically trading for nearly 50 years, Topspeed Automotive in its current guise was founded in 2007 by two brothers, who having been key members of the Motor Sport Industry for over 30 years (and still active today), wanted to combine their love and passion for all things automotive and their knowledge of warehousing and corporate finance into an exciting business venture. Initially focused on the on-premise retailing of automotive parts, both standard and performance/racing, this grew rapidly with the introduction of our ecommerce site and later, our acquisition of the UK Automotive distributor, CM Frost. Now based in central England, at our 15,000 square feet distribution centre, with offices in Surrey, England and Dallas, Texas we have focused on combining exceptional automotive application experience with a strong supporting technical infrastructure.

Contact us at [email protected] or call us on tel:0044 (0) 1933 225 564 or visit our store local to Santa Pod at. Topspeed Automotive Limited, Unit 6 Everitt Close Dennington Industrial Estate, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, NN8 2QE. United Kingdom

Nostalgia Super Stock - VP Lubricants
VP Racing Lubricants are proud to be class title sponsor of UK Nostalgia Super Stock. Our range of oils includes Break-in oil, Classic Racing Oil, High Performance Synthetic Blend oils and Professional Grade Fully Synthetic Oils. Please call our sole UK importer and distributor Williams Bros. Racing with any trade, racer or retail enquiries on 01327-220777 or email [email protected].


VW Pro - Pro Race Engineering
Pro Race Engineering are a race engineering company with many years experience, building high performance race engines and chassis setups. We specialise in custom works and builds. We also have our own line of products from billet steel main caps, pulleys and connecting rods. We have worked together in various industries as multiskilled engineers for eight years. We have taken our passions of cars to start a race team followed by a company called Pro-Race Engineering. Our first year of testing/developing components has been very successful and the company is growing quickly. We now have four types of rod fitment, two girdle kits and two billet crank pulleys to our portfolio with much more coming in the near future.

Outlaw Anglia - TMC
Tony Morris and Dave Gibbons are also delighted to announce that Tony Morris Carburetors will also be the Title Sponsor of the Outlaw Anglia class. As the sole UK agent for Tony Morris Carburetors, Dave Gibbons’ TMC with RDR Performance Carburetors operation will also offer a 10% discount on parts and labour on servicing, as well as keen pricing on new carburetors for Super Gas race car requirements. Tony Morris Carburetors specialize in performance carbs on the 4150 and 4500 Holley platform, and each carburetor is hand built for its application. Not only do TMC supply traditional four barrel racing carbs, they also supply twin blade carburetors featuring the patented upper jets, which provide superior tunability and offer the advantage of a wider range of flow rating to optimise your combination.

Contact Dave via messenger on TMC with RDR Performance Carburetors | Facebook, on Instagram at #thecarbfellas or by e-mail on [email protected] with your requirements.

Wild Bunch - Springbridge Direct
Bob Hawkins of Wild Bunch class title sponsors Springbridge Direct Ltd has been supplying high quality topsoil using the finest constituents for over 25 years. As well as screened and blended topsoil Springbridge also supplies quality turf, barks, composts and a large range of aggregates in either bulk bags or loose loads. A general bulk and grab haulage service is also always available at extremely competitive rates. Springbridge’s own fleet of low-carbon lorries can deliver to your site, anywhere in the south east, including London and to all low-emission zones. Springbridge will help you save time and money on your next outdoor project. You can call them on 0333 456 1919 for full details, or visit the website at www.springbridgedirect.co.uk.

Top Fuel Bike - Ashdown Bulk Haulage
We provide a wide range of waste management services and Civils works services across the entire South East of England. No job is too big or too small for Flexiwaste and Flexiwaste Civils- we’re always happy to help. Get in touch today if you need us. Email us: [email protected] with your requirements. Call us: 01622 619383, Message/ Whatsapp us: 07494 474504, Flexiwaste Environmental Services LTD, Unit OY21, Elm Court Business Village, Gillingham, ME7 3JQ.

Funny Bike - Leeks Landscapes
The Leeks Landscapes Group, is a group of companies catering to all aspects of Landscaping, Waterscapes, ponds, lakes, civil engineering and more delivering projects to the commercial and domestic sector throughout the UK. www.leekslandscapes.co.uk.

Comp Bike - Suzuki Performance Spares.co.uk
Suzuki Performance Spares, are your premier source of quality guaranteed new and used parts for major motorcycle brands, they specialise in spare parts for modern, classic motorcycle, racing and Drag Race parts. Contact details: - suzukiperformancespares.co.uk or 07900 362 809

Super Street Bike - Kathy Taylor
Kathy Taylor a long-time supporter of all things Drag Bike, on this occasion taking the Super Street Bike Title Sponsorship as her way of puttingsomething back in to the sport.

8.50 Bike - JKE Race works
We welcome the return of Jake Mechaell JKE Race Works, who once again is sponsoring the class title for 8.50 bike. Jake says:

"I’m pleased to be the class sponsor again for the 8.50 bike championship during the 2024 season. The class is perfect for racers to have a stepping stone between 9.50 Bike and Superstreet/Comp Bike. It’s such a competitive class with a great bunch of riders. With the volume of bikes, we have coming through the workshop in preparation for 8.50 bike it’s a class which is only going to continue to grow. "JKE Race Works offer a huge range of services including complete bike builds, bespoke fabrication, engine building, one off turbo kits specifically designed to suit your needs, bike setup, track support, engine tuning, suspension servicing, 1-1 tuition and much more.

We are located next door to Santa Pod Raceway which gives our customers the convenience of an accessible drop off and collection location. It also allows us to provide support to all racers if they have an unfortunate part failure which can be repaired during the meeting to keep them out there making the most of their race weekend. "Our dealership statuses are growing every month and we can offer great racer prices on the following brands so far: MTC Engineering, Racing lines, Putoline Oil, Antigravity Batteries, HEL Performance and Ramair Filters. Our aim is to give the highest standard of work at a reasonable price and help our customers reach their goals with all the support and advice needed.

"Please follow JKE Race Works on Facebook and Instagram to see the work we produce and to keep up to date with future projects. Contact details are 07841 389360 and email on [email protected]."

9.50 Bike - Atlantic Fluid Tech
Atlantic Fluid Tech Ltd has been trading since 2009 and is a major supplier of hydraulic valves to OEM companies in the UK and Ireland. It is the British subsidiary of an Italian Group that is based in Modena. The company has a warehouse in Coventry from where it distributes products to a wide variety of companies, particularly those involved in the manufacture of construction machinery. The Coventry building houses a hydraulic test facility and a CAD function for the design and supply of bespoke valve assemblies. Both UK Directors of the company have a long history of involvement in Motor Sport, and are very pleased to be associated with the Santa Pod Racers Club and sponsorship of 9.50 bike. Atlantic fluid Tech can be contacted at +44 (0)2476 617143 or email [email protected]

ET Bike - Warpspeed Racing
At Warpspeed Racing we pride ourselves on a precision engineering and fabrication and machining processes honed on the drag strip. Using a wide range of materials, we are able to produce one off and replacement products for the road and race industry, specialising in billet aluminium, From Funny Bikes to bespoke custom parts. Whether you are chasing a personal best, wanting best in show or just making your mark on what you have, talk to WSR we can do it all from start to finish. We offer the following services, Full or part build for all drag bike classes, Engine tuning and rebuilds, Turbo Systems, Nitrous systems, Bespoke fabrication, One off billet parts, Servicing, dyno work, and MOT's. :For all enquiries: Tel: 01263 821764, or 07782-205021, email [email protected]. or to visit our website click here.

Junior Drag Bike - Eurodragster.com
Eurodragster.com was created 26 years ago and provides comprehensive and timely reporting of European drag racing news. As always, we are excited about the forthcoming season, are attending over 50 races and will post in-depth live reports on 20 of them, including all FIA/FIM-E and UK National championship rounds. Our news and race report pages are viewed by over 12,000 racers and fans across Europe monthly. We are proud to be supporting Junior Drag Bike which has an increasing field with newly built machines, the riders of which are becoming the championship bike racers of the future.

Many thanks to Andy Willsheer for sending in a gallery of photos from Saturday at the March Meet, Famoso Dragstrip, Bakersfield. You can see Andy's gallery by clicking here.

You can see full results from Famoso on Competition Plus by clicking here. At the end of qualifying, Shane Westerfield was #1 in Nostalgia Funny Cars of an entry of 23, running a 5.613/258.57. The tight 16 car field was separated by 0.31s.

In Top Fuel Dragster, 13 cars tried to qualify for the eight car field with Tyler Hilton in #1 on 5.625/257.14, a mere 0.25s ahead of the similarly named #8 qualifier Tyler Hester. Fuel altered saw ten cars trying to get as close as possible to the 6.00 index, with Mathew Leonard on top with a 6.031/228.89. Some noted Funny Car racers are getting into Fuel Altered racing, the qualifiers including Johnny West, Ron Capps and Cory Lee.

Pictured: Drew Austin in his '79 Mustang ran 5.753/245.00

As well as providing the gallery we posted yesterday, Kieran has posted video of Sunday's Santa Pod Run What Ya Brung to his Mk1Kieran Youtube channel. You can see Kieran's video by clicking here or on the embedded video.

Kieran reports "The first RWYB of 2024 was a busy one with track time selling out in advance! There was plenty of high power & quick BMWs on site as well as plenty of other racers testing out their winter upgrades."

Simon Letkey of VeeDubRacing was also in attendance too and his video features a battle of the quickest B58's in the World. Marcus Daley in his 950bhp Serkes Motorworks built RWD BMW 140i was up against Tom Wrigley in his 980bhp Tom Wrigley Performance built X-Drive BMW 140i. You can see the results with driver interviews by clicking here.

Do you like speed, fan and drag racing? Now we need more reps/travellers for our competitions in the 2024 season.

The competition season spans from May-September and our series runs in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Your task will be to inform drivers and the audience, distribute information about the show and our sponsors.

We are looking for help at awards ceremonies and liaising with the contest organisers.

The minimum age is 18 years. For questions and more information, send an email to: Helene Rapp, Project Manager for Summit EDRS helene by clicking here.

Happy Birthday for today to Super Gas racer Andy Harrison and former Wild Bunch racer Nigel Lane, have a great day guys.

Although freezing temperatures were experienced at the start of Sunday, Santa Pod's quarter mile was in race worthy condition by noon and over 440 timed runs were able to be made. Thanks to Kieran for sending a gallery in which you can see by clicking here.

The sold-out day was dominated by fast road cars, with BMWs being in the majority. There were a number of race vehicles testing as well. In the car ranks, Pete Lane brought out his Firebird with a blown carburettor setup which we hope will be in competition in bracket racing later in the year.

Wayne Gill in his Mk7.5 Golf R, newly built over the Winter, with help from D.H Automotive and Four Strokes Performance put in two sub 10s runs, which you can see video and more details from VeeDubRacing by clicking here

On the bike side there was newcomer Rico Patterson on a Kimco 125CC doing licensing passes before his competition debut at the Festival of Power, and Scott Smith who, on a Honda Fireblade, is entered in ET Bike at Easter.

Thanks for VWDRC for announcing this weekend at Santa Pod is the Dial In Day, places are running out for this years Dial in day at Santa Pod. You can see more details and enter by clicking here.

Graduates from the previous events have gone on to achieve great things in the National Drag Racing championships in classes such as Sportsman ET, the VWDRC and beyond. There have been multiple event wins, number one qualifiers, perfect ET’s & reaction times and even a couple of championships won by those who started it all by attending the dial in day.

If you’re thinking about getting involved with drag racing, or just want a little insight into the world of participating, the dial in day will not disappoint. It’s a no obligation day that consists of classroom based sessions before track based mini events allowing you to experience full qualifying and eliminations. You absolutely do not need a race based vehicle; in fact we restrict the day to vehicles completing the ¼ mile in 12 seconds and slower to re-enforce the accessibility of drag racing as a sport. Only the RWYB rules apply so in most standard road cars, that means you need to bring nothing more than yourself, your car and your driving licence.

Shortly after the end of last season, the well-known Pro Dutch Racing '71 Plymouth Barracuda was put up for sale to be replaced by a new weapon for the 2024 season. The Cuda has now found a new home, but what will take its place? Remco Scheelings has penned an article which shows a spy picture and reveals that the debut of the new Pro Dutch Racing Pro Mod will now be at The Doorslammers, and that the new car will be travelling by container across the Atlantic in the next few weeks. You can read Remco's article by clicking here.

Johan Lundberg of Malmö Raceway has announced that at the Raceway's 20 years Jubilee Summer Nationals on 5th-7th July, a special Top Fuel match race will take place between Dennis Nilsson and Stig Neergaard. As announced last year, Dennis's brother Tindra will also be in attendance.

We believe this is the first time that a pair of the 11,000 horsepower cars will be racing at the eighth mile track.

In the 20th anniversary season, Malmö Raceway has announced 15 dates, including no-prep events and a night race on 17th August. You can see the details by clicking here.

Happy Birthday for today to Box of Frogs Funny Bike racer Roger Moore and to Super Street Bike racer Jonny Hines. We hope you have a great day.

A belated Happy Birthday for yesterday to Stock Super Stock racer Rick McCann.

A reminder to racers wanting to enter for the Festival of Power on 29th-31st March, entries close at the regular price this Friday 8th March.

As a follow up to our well received Pioneer Story posted yesterday, drag racing historian Nick Pettitt has added some scans taken from two recently found Brian Sparrow albums on his website which you can see by clicking here. Nick says "Brian loved all forms of motorsport, both two and four wheeled and these albums cover Sprints, Speed Trials and Speed Hill Climbs from 1961 - 1964. I also found Brian's collection of programmes from the '50s to mid '60s and have scanned these too." They can all be found by this link at the top of the page just after the heading British Drag Racing and Hot Rodding Photo Galleries. Well done to Nick for an excellent job of cataloguing the photos and adding captions.

US-based journalist and author Tony Thacker has published an article on the Grand National Roadster Show which you can read on the Torq Talk blog by clicking here.

Today's pioneer story is that of one of the founding fathers of British drag racing, the late Brian Sparrow which you can read by clicking here.

After seeing George Brown’s ‘Nero’ sprint bike at the 1960 Motorcycle Show Brian joined the National Sprint Association, soon becoming Competitions Secretary running the Sprint Meetings. He met Allan Bootsie Herridge and Brian Witty early in 1962 and joined them on a trip to Long Marston with their home-built Chrysler hemi Dragster with plans to take on Sydney Allard in his Chrysler Dragster. Brian then teamed up with Bootsie, John Harrison and Robin Evemy to form Dragster Developments building and running a straight 8 Buick Dragster followed by a state-of-the-art Cadillac slingshot and a smaller Austin powered slingshot.

Brian also joined the British Hot Rod Association and the British Drag Racing Association soon working on the committees of all three associations and was told he would not get away with it, but Brian was able to get along with anybody by simply playing along. As Brian said... “By playing along you would get things done, that was the main thing. Whether you had to prostitute yourself to do it, it got done.”

When Santa Pod opened Brian became a roving reporter in the pits, taking pictures and making notes of every detail and modification to each machine for his regular ‘Scene in the Pits’ writeup in Drag Racing & Hot Rod magazine and as Brian said... “I am in fact obsessive with detail, to the point of being a pain in the ass.”

Brian was always fascinated by Jet and Rocket powered cars and in the 1970s he got involved with Barry Bowles and the two Blonde Bombshell Rocket cars. Brian continued to attend drag races up to his passing in 2023 and was inducted into the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 2011.

This story, told by Brian, was produced by John Hunt and Nick Pettitt and published by Eurodragster.com editor Simon Groves.

Thanks to Mat Cooper for this follow up on Spy picture IX posted on 23rd February.

Mat writes: "2015 and a memorable trip to March Meet in Bakersfield had my mind made up, watching the legendry Mike Sullivan run in his Topo in the 6.0 fuel altered class had us in awe! I knew at some point we had to build a car with a similar look as in my eyes it was perfection!."



"Back then we were running in Outlaw Anglia with our little 350ci Blown Alcohol Pop, as the class started to get quicker it became apparent our little pop was not really competitive (along with my slow reaction times), basically meant we were 2nd round fodder at best – only so many times you can get beat by a certain Mr Colin Millar and keep smiling."

"The car was sold on to a fellow OA member and the motor and trans sold to Arron Bird.

"2020 construction started on the new car, I’m not going to lie, we found the prospect of trying to build a car ground up in my garage a bit daunting! However, with a lot of advice from friends in the states progress was made when funds allowed, and we now find ourselves really turning a corner with the billed as the finishing line draws closer! The car is running a KB 526ci alcohol motor, 3 speed pedal clutch and full floater rear end."

"The whole car has been built in house ground up – Something we are very proud of! We would like to say a special thanks to Chassis Guru Ron Austin for his time answering my questions, Martyn Hannis for my constant badgering for the odd part for the motor, All round good guy Wayne Allman again for answering my questions and Barry Woodford for the paint job and John “The Brush” for the artwork. Also, everyone for the messages of encouragement from the offset."



"Despite the car looking pretty much complete in the photos, the is still a fair amount of cash to spend, so at the moment I’m not sure when the car will be out to play, we are getting their slowly."

"Anyone who’s interested can follow our progress and car build up here on Facebook Cooper Bros Racing."

Drag racing historian Nick Pettitt has posted an hour of video of the NSRA Southern Swap Meet held yesterday at North Weald Airfield. Nick says, "Plenty of Classic Cars turned up and the Swap Meet was busy". You can see Nick's video at this link.

Footage of action from the Straightliners speed show at Elvington Airfield last weekend has been posted by no less than the Yorkshire Post which you can see by clicking here. Also you can see the marquee exhibits with two videos from veteran bike drag racer Pete Williams clicking here, and burnouts from Mark Flavell which you can see by clicking here.



After a tough World Series of Pro Mod where expat Swedish racer had to substitute his '58 Corvette with Russian teammate Dmitry Samorukov driving his own Camaro, following an engine swap. Dmitry ran a great 3.76 eighth mile time - but with the 32-car field's bump spot an incredible 3.67, he joined thirty-three other non-qualifiers. Dmitry and Adam's next race is the NHRA season-opening Gatornationals next weekend.

Gerda Joon, wife of expat Dutch racer Lex, has been named as the crew chief for second-generation nitro racer Travis Shumake’s Top Fuel dragster. You can read the full story by clicking here.

Bob Beck has confirmed he will be coming to Dragstalgia in July, Bob is a lifelong automotive enthusiast who has built vehicles that gained prominence in automotive magazines, shows, and books. His career after college started as a High School auto shop instructor. Later he worked for major vehicle manufacturers at the corporate level including BMW, Nissan, Isuzu, GM, and most recently as the Collector Car Representative for AAA in Southern California.

Bob has been an NHRA drag racing announcer at multiple tracks over the last 40 years and he has been an announcer for the California Hot Rod Reunion and Holley National Hot Rod Reunion for the past 20 plus years. He is a regular contributing personality at Speed Scene Live TV and he does guest spots on the nationally syndicated Horsepower for an hour radio show and on Talking About Cars with Randy Kerdoon. Bob is also the host of the Great American Auto Scene show.

Thanks to photojournalist Andy Willsheer for sending pictures from Friday’s qualifying and first round of Nostalgia Funny Car and Nostalgia Top Fuel at the Good Vibrations Motorsports March Meet at Famoso Raceway, California. You can see Andy's shots at this link, supported by Lucas Oil Products.

Happy Birthday for today to Competition Eliminator racer Kevin Jenkins, Gasser Circus racer Lee Pike, German Super Pro ET racer Jens Könnecke and German Super Twin Top Fuel Racer Christian Jäger. We hope you all have a great day.

Eurodragster.com sponsor Jon Webster posted on his Facebook page about his Morris Minor Old School Fuel Altered: The guys came over and stripped the Outlaw Anglia down. The motor from the Anglia is now residing in the Altered so that we can get it running and shake it down at ‘Dragstalgia 2024’. The budget just isn’t available to build the Nitro motor this year, so the decision was made to move the project forward.

Adam Flamholc announces big change of plans during testing at Bradenton for the World Series of ProMod the last couple of days. Unfortunately found a problem on the Corvette that won’t be able to fix here at the track. Last 10 hours they converted Dmitry Samorukov NHRA car to an outlaw Pro Mod Car! Screwblower etc from the Corvette is on it and will make the first ever run with this setup in Q1. Follow Adam on his Facebook page by clicking here

Thanks to Santa Pod Raceway's Neale Saunders for letting us know Santa Pod Raceway and DFDS have joined forces once again, renewing their long standing partnership for the 2024 season. This partnership has proven to be a game-changer for racers, providing discounted travel across the channel.

Continuing for 2024, racers can enjoy exclusive benefits on cross-channel ferry bookings through DFDS, thanks to this renewed deal. We understand the importance of a smooth and cost-effective travel experience, and with DFDS, you're not just getting a ferry ride – you're getting a racer-friendly discount that'll save racers money before they hit the track.

Whether you're coming from the continent or planning a journey to a continental track, DFDS are committed to ensuring your voyage is as seamless as your quarter-mile run. Take advantage of this fantastic opportunity to save on ferry costs and focus more on what you do best – racing!

We appreciate the continued support of our racing community, and this partnership renewal with DFDS is our way of saying thank you. Details on how to access these discounts and book your travel for the coming season, Bookings can be made by downloading the new 2024 Booking Form. This form will also be available on the SPRC website.

Booking requests must be sent to [email protected] and the DFDS team with take care of the reservations.

The 2024 Good Vibrations Motorsports March Meeting got underway on Thursday with a test and tune session for Nostalgia Top Fuel, Nostalgia Funny Car and Fuel Altered, photojournalist Andy Willsheer was there to capture those that were making test hits. With the support of Lucas Oil Products, we have posted Andy's photos in a gallery which you can see by clicking here or going via News, then Features in the main menu.

Test sheets are posted on Competition Plus via this link. after testing Nostalgia Funny Car Geoff Monise with 254.09 / 5.632 and Fuel Altered Mathew Leonard 224.66 / 6.208. Q1 and Q2 results are available now on CompetitionPlus by clicking here. Thanks to Andy for sending in pictures. You can see live action today from Famoso Dragstrip via the video stream provided once again by Frankie Larrabee, and Mark McCalla (Funny Car only).

Pictured: Geoff Monsie driving the '70 Firebird.
Thanks to Graham Watkinson for generating the gallery on today's update.

Thanks to The Maynard Family Racing for announcing that JCM Racing’s Ida Zetterström has been selected to join the Swedish National Motorsport Team, the Swedish Automobile Sports Federation announced today. The three-time series champion on the European drag racing circuit is the first straight-line racer to be selected into the prestigious program, which aims to develop Swedish auto racing drivers by providing access to various resources intended to help racers reach their full potential.

The Swedish National Motorsport Team, which is supported by the country’s National Sports Confederation, offers its participants access to top-notch physical training, nutrition plans, data logging, networking, and on-track and simulator testing, among other resources. As part of the program, Zetterström will receive a custom-tailored development plan, which will help ensure that she is at the top of her game, both physically and mentally, when she makes her NHRA Drag Racing debut later this summer competing alongside teammate Tony Schumacher aboard JCM Racing’s second Top Fuel entry.

“This is the first time that the Swedish National Motorsport Team has selected a drag racer to be represented in their line-up of drivers, so this is a big deal for me, and for the Swedish drag racing community in general,” said Zetterström, who originally hails from Stockholm, Sweden, but relocated to the Indianapolis area in January to be close to the JCM Racing shop in Brownsburg. “Being invited into this group is something we have been working toward for a while now. It’s an honour to be included and break some new ground as the team’s first drag racer. I would love to see drag racing have a permanent place on the National team, and that is something Swedish National team captain Pier Steffansson and I will be working on together. Their goal is to produce more Swedish drivers who will compete in various forms of auto racing at the highest level. For us drag racers, NHRA is the pinnacle, and I look forward to opening doors for other Swedish racers interested in pursuing a career in professional drag racing”.

“My goal right now is to put myself in the best possible position to compete for NHRA’s Rookie of the Year, and ultimately, one day become an NHRA champion. Having the support of the Swedish National team will be a huge asset as I work towards these goals. I look forward to making the team proud as I represent our country over here in the U.S., competing with JCM Racing on the NHRA circuit.”

With the invitation, Zetterström joins an elite group of her fellow countrymen and women, including Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson, Linus Lundqvist, and Felix Rosenqvist. Other standouts include Oliver Solberg, Johan Kristoffersson, Kevin Hansen, and Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky, who represent the Swedish National Motorsport Team in the Rallycross arena, and Formula 3 star Dino Beganovic, among others.

“Ida Zetterström is a new addition to the Swedish National team and with that, we have a new discipline represented with drag racing,” explained Steffansson. “If you look back many years, you will find that the National team has focused on five disciplines and drag racing has not been one of them. Last year, the National team worked a lot on exchanging experiences and knowledge, and through that, we’ve been able to see a valuable development between the disciplines. This is a part of that work. With Ida serving as an ambassador for drag racing, she will be able to provide valuable input to the National team for further development of up-and-coming drag racers.”

Like her Swedish National Motorsport Team peers, Zetterström boasts a lengthy list of accomplishments, including becoming the first woman and youngest competitor to win a Super Street Bike title when she won her first of two championships in the category in 2019. In 2023, she reset the FIA Top Fuel records for both E.T. and speed en-route to winning the FIA series championship. Other accolades include becoming the first female to post a sub-seven-second run in the FIM Super Street Bike class and clocking the first 3.8-second FIA Top Fuel pass in 1,000-foot competition.

"We are incredibly proud to start working with Ida,” Steffansson added. “Her experience and the way she has made it to the absolute elite level is an inspiration for the Swedish motorsports industry. We look forward to a multilateral partnership, both for Ida’s career and to start building the foundation of how we can help develop aspiring young racers that are aiming to compete at an elite level of drag racing."

For more information about the Swedish National Motorsport Team, please visit: this link.

Happy 80th Birthday to Swedish Funny Car legend Leif Helander of Starkotter Racing, thanks to Magnus Larsson for notifying us! We wish a Happy Birthday to Santa Pod Racers Club official and awards evening organiser extraordinaire Yvonne Tramm, also to former Funny Bike rider and drag bike engineer Bob Brooks. We hope you all have a great day.

Today's Pioneer Story continues the history of British Drag Racing Hall of Fame member Alf Hagon, told in his own words, which you can see at this link.

Part four of Alf’s story sees him continuing with sprinting and building his JAP powered machine for the Dragfests. He recalls the help given to him by Don Garlits and the American bike racers. He began to ride at the newly opened Santa Pod and began his domination of the strip where he held the track record for an incredible eight years. As the times continued to fall development of the bike continued to evolve and he became the first rider into the nines and the first to top 200mph.

Thanks to Alf for the loan of items from his collection, many of which are shown in the article.

You can read many more stories of pioneers of UK drag racing at our Pioneer Stories page.

The NSRA Southern Swap Meet takes place this Sunday 3rd March at North Weald Airfield starting at 9:30am until 16:30. Access to the Swap Meet area is from Merlin Way, Epping CM16 6HR. Follow this link.

The event has traditionally been a mart for hot rodding cars and parts. The event this year comes after an announcement in January that 52 acres of land the airfield was sold to Google for development for a new data centre, with no confirmed timeline for development.

Whilst drag racing at North Weald taking place from the mid-1980, the only automotive activity on the site in recent years has been the swap meet. The North Weald Airfield Strategic Masterplan which you can download from this link shows the airfield will remain intact after the new development.

Expat Sweded Adam Flamholc will be racing at the World Series of Pro Mod at Bradenton Motorsports Park this weekend from 1st-3rd March. Adam has been sorting out the setup of his '58 Corvette (pictured).

Adam said last weekend "We have changed 4-link setup, shocks, changed rods, did a valve job, went through the Tydrive and the Liberty gearbox. I feel Im missing something on the setup and will head up to Bradenton Sunday or early Monday, gonna keep at it, until we figure this car out! Thanks to the guys in my team that worked hard over the weekend to get the car done! We will give it all we have!"

You can see the event live on FloRacing by clicking here. Various Youtube videos of testing are available by searching World Series of Pro Mod, and NC ProModer is posting live streaming of testing.

On the grudge racing Rivals Night on Friday, Adam will be up against Puerto Rican Raymond Matos, who races a turbo 1970 Camaro and has gone as quick as 3.620/208 with it.

Thanks to Adam Gleadow for this follow up on Spy picture VII posted on 17th February.

Adam writes: “The spy picture was my freshly painted helmet, to match our recently finished paint on Motor Psycho. I'd like to say a massive thank you to Steve Kenny for the stunning paint job, photos don't do it justice".



"We're currently awaiting a new camshaft to get the engine back together, along with a few fuel system changes and general upgrades we're looking forward to testing before Dragstalgia".

"As always a huge thank you to Titan Speed Engineering for their support, good luck to Shawn & Krista at the March Meet this weekend in Nostalgia Top Fuel".

Happy Birthday for today to Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator competitor and Santa Pod Raceway marshal Antony Wilkins and superfan Kerry McCartney Jeyes, we hope you have a wonderful day.