Nostalgia Racing on the Other Side of the Pond

By Andy Willshire

With England’s Santa Pod Raceway gearing up to celebrate its half-century mark in 2016, there’s a number of special attractions planned for the venerable drag strip. And if the fifth annual Dragstalgia meeting held this summer is any kind of portent, I hope it’ll be a golden anniversary year of prime performances.

Although headline attractions of the calibre that wowed the crowd in 2014, a pair of AA/Fuel Altereds, Rat Trap and Pure Hell, were brought over from the USA to be top of the bill on that memorable occasion, the cars were unfortunately not on hand for Europe’s sole pukka nostalgia drag race. There was nonetheless an excellent turnout of old-timer cars and bikes ready to assault the asphalt in the manner of yesteryear. Add in a variety of debut machinery to the mix of 11 classes and it would be fair to say that fans desirous of a trip down Memory Lane were truly in their element.

On Friday of the three-day meeting, entrants were afforded an opportunity to strut their stuff on the strip during a run-what-you-brung session that extended from midday to early evening. It was gratifying to see numerous teams getting into the spirit of the occasion by having backup ladies dressed in period fashion, their sartorial style extending to complementary coiffure and cosmetic treatments.

Noteworthy among the first-time-out entries was a pair of slingshot dragsters constructed by Webster Race Engineering, whose premises are conveniently located adjacent to the Pod’s main entrance gates. Proprietor Jon Webster was commissioned to build one for a customer and, with the former Top Fuel pilot himself having a desire to get behind the butterfly tiller of a front-engine rail, decided to simultaneously construct a duplicate for his own enjoyment. The trick twosome was initially planned to make their maiden check-out passes side by side on Saturday, but this plan went awry when the constructor’s 509-ci big-block Chevy-motivated rail (named Hephaestus, the Greek god of fire and metalworking) wheelied away from the line when the loud pedal was stabbed in earnest for the first time, then pivoted up on one wheel before crashing down and making its way across track with the hapless driver being concussed through the impact of the dragster returning to terra firma. Damage was thankfully minimal as the errant entry brushed both guard walls before spluttering to a halt at the top end, back in the lane in which it started. The small wheel affixed to the lower extremity of the chassis has subsequently been replaced by a more conventional wheelie bar extending well to the rear of the chrome-moly frame.

Other debuts included the long awaited Ford Capri Mk 1 Nostalgia Funny Car commissioned by Bob Glassup, a name that may be familiar to readers who attended the 2007 California Hot Rod Reunion, where he was paired to run his Fiat Topolino-bodied BB/FA alongside the Mike Boyd-driven Winged Express AA/FA, making for a memorable excursion for the self-financed racer from this sceptered isle. A couple of check-out launches to provide clutch data proved promising for the owner/driver of Bubblegum in what was his first experience in a blown fuel car. Speaking of fuel, there was a booked performance mismatch between two of Europe’s high profile floppers: Holland’s Rockin’ Ramon van der Weurf’s Wild’r at Heart ’71 Dodge Charger-cloaked, methanol-guzzling entry and the best-looking AA/FC on this side of the Pond, the Garlick & Antoniou Apache ’77 Firebird. The beautifully detailed, NHRA Heritage series-legal NFC recorded its best numbers to date, 6.13/224, with a conservative 80% nitro mix. Ramon’s steed was running a tad off pace, but even though it was never going to top Apache’s E.T.s and Top Speed, the popular twosome’s runs received much applause from spectators.

A slew of Outlaw Anglias, Gasser Circus entrants, Supercharged Outlaws, Super Stockers, the Wild Bunch (celebrating their 20th anniversary season), Outlaw Street and Outlaw Flat Four each added to the speed bonanza when vying for the showmanship trophies, as did the bumper turnout of participants in the second annual Willys Wars. The latter category was well supported by devotees of the marque, with the only thing to be gained being bragging rights and the satisfaction of putting on a worthy battle. With a six-second Pro Mod contender on the entry list, there was little in the way of top dog boasting remaining for any other contender in the kudos crusade.

A highlight of day two had to be a couple of slingshot drivers volunteering to perform fire burnouts behind the start line.

A further point of note had to be a matchup between a pair of bike riders from yesteryear, John Hobbs and ex-pat limey Jonny Munn, who flew over from his current home in Australia to be reunited with Hobbs’ Hobbit, which he campaigned in 1981-82. The National Sprint Association arranged for a selection of old-time race bikes to make demonstration passes, a high spot being the Hobbs versus Munn race on Saturday. John was astride his 500cc Cyclops, whilst Jonny was reunited with the 1,700cc blown double, Weslake, following a more than three-decade absence. Although the smaller-engined machine was away first with a fine holeshot, it wasn’t long before his opponent quickly made up the arrears and shot past before the finish-line stripe, carding 9.24/142 over the losing 10.66/125. Methamon, the supercharged Vincent V-twin motorbike and sidecar outfit upon which “TV” Tommy Ivo took a well-chronicled passenger ride during the 1964 Drag Fests, was present to add its own note of haulin’ from times gone by, and although not the quickest of the demo delights, it nonetheless brought back fond memories for longstanding members of the quarter-mile fraternity.

It was unfortunate that following two fine days of action, Sunday’s proceedings were brought to a premature end by a downpour that had everyone scurrying for shelter; the event was called by the race director due to the large volume of water on the track. Some things never change, and the fickle British weather is unfortunately one of them!

Still, with the certainty of Nostalgia Funny Car becoming a proper eliminator and being a prime attraction—thanks to there being eight cars that should be race ready in 2016—fans are already looking forward to Dragstalgia VI. Although the event may seem small potatoes when compared to the unsurpassed California Hot Rod Reunion, it’s fair to say there’ll likely be more than a modicum of Famoso flavor at the racetrack located on the Bedfordshire/Northamptonshire border and which, interestingly, was formerly part of an RAF wartime base that became the home of the U.S. 8th Army Air Force 92nd Bombardment Group.

In the cause of furthering closer ties between aficionados of the nostalgia scene on either side of the Atlantic, I can only hope that Anglo-American competition will continue to be well received through further transatlantic collaboration in the years ahead. Bring it on.

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