Dragstalgia
Santa Pod Raceway, 12th-14th July 2019

Saturday



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Wild Bunch racer Andy Jackson bought the Econorail with its transverse blown V6 Ford engine and direct drive, and has now completely refurbished the car to run just at Dragstalgia. The car and team are in Union Jack colours, and the car ran 11.455/126 after a characteristically languid launch.

Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator racer Andy Bond was delighted with his run at the Summernationals, a 6.99/210 and said the engine was completely intact after the run. He said 'There is minimal maintenance on it compared with a nitrous engine. We are running in the Custom Car Invitational RWYB and intend to test some new Mickey Thompson tyres. These are bigger Drag Radials and are street legal and will be permitted to be used in the class from next year. We made a soft launch this morning, a 1.30 compared to a 1.18 on the six, and will go a bit further on each run. I hope to do six passes over the next two days which will give us great data'. The class's next outing is at Bug Jam.


Legendary US tuner Roland Leong is working on Tony Betts' tune-up this weekend and is getting to know Tony's crew who tested the car with him overseeing it last weekend. Immediately he arrived at Tony's workshop, he discussed the car setup and last Sunday the car did two test launches with a 1.18 and 1.08 60ft times. A further test pass yesterday resulted in a 6.93, the car still leaving soft and with a transmission problem down the track sending the revs skyward. This morning the car still was soft off the line, launching in second, and ran a 6.982 which placed Tony in fifth. However, he missed the second session to get the shifter button fixed.

Doc Stinger from Austria travels 1000 miles to get to the UK and then has a great time. The car sounded strong on the warm up but during the run it drifted right and grazed the wall. The car which runs on nitro is for sale turnkey, and it ran a best of 6.9s at last year's Dragstalgia.


Pete Grange (pictured right) and John Flood co-own this Mercury Cougar which they bring to RWYBs and started as a shell found in a local car park. Pete said 'I started the build 12 years ago and did it all myself, including building the chassis. The engine was built by Roger Luty (who ran a Olds 442 in Surrey Muscle) and is a 557ci big block naturally aspirated Ford which puts out 900hp through a Dynamics Powerglide'. The paint which Pete did all of nine years ago is in Lamborghini Orange and the car's best is 8.90/151 with a 9.0 in the second session today, the car wanting to fell the Christmas Tree in the first run, but admirably saved from doing so.

Gasser Circus racer Graham Barton was a team member for long time racer Ray Irish and decided he wanted to race himself rather than crew or spectate. So he looked at Racing Junk and found this '49 Austin Devon and bought it sight unseen. He said 'It has a 406ci SBC and was built in 2006-7 to run at the Byron Hot Rod Drags in the US where it ran 11.49. I have done a bit of work mainly rewiring it and the times have improved to 11.12'. The transmission is a TH350 with Ford 9" rear. Graham continued 'I have bought it in partnership with John Hill and it's my first experience racing, bracket racing means anyone who is consistent and good on the lights can win'.


Gasser Circus co-ordinator Nick Brooke Langham told us Graham Barton's day job is in 3D metal printing and as a father's day present, his son designed and printed this A for Austin bonnet badge with added flames while Dad wasn't looking. On his first pass Graham told Nick 'The steering felt very light'. In fact he had just experienced his first wheelie.

Gasser Circus racer Les the Hose (a fire fighter) was the original constructor of this '40 Ford Gasser which was displayed in the Netherlands at the Flatlands Motorama. It was largely self built with parts of the cage constructed by Wayne Allman.


Gasser Circus racer Tony Pearson, pictured with wife Sally, ran a new PB in his '56 Chevy of 10.85/122. He said 'I have altered the rear suspension and put in a better Powerglide, and installed a MSD 7AL digital ignition system which gives a good solid spark'. The injection on the 427ci engine is mechanical Hilborn.

Gasser Circus racer Mitchell Looker has bought the High Roller Ford Falcon from Steve Dixon and the gold paint has remained and the lettering renewed. He ran a 12.289 on a 11.75 in his first competitive outing.


In the bike pits, Peter Miller's engine is on display with a fascinating panel showing his engineering skills in creating a 900cc engine with Ray Baskerville, using a Norton crank, Triumph Cylinder head and custom engineered barrels and crank cases. The engine, designed to be the first into the sevens, never met its potential and Peter went on to other projects such as a two speed transmission and slider clutch, yet here 45 years later it is on display.

This Skoda was spotted in the pits with a rear mounted V8 engine and some wild air inlets and exhaust. Certainly a unique piece and you can find out more if you go to Velvet Revolution.


Nostalgia Pro Stock Bike racer Len Paget qualified no.1 on the Suzuki GSX 1100 ET with a 1500cc engine. Team member Dan Blight said 'The bike was built five years ago using 1984 bodywork but the rest of it is in the '70s by the skin of its teeth'. Len ran the bike's best ever numbers of 8.662/153. Dan, whose Dad Tyne co-ordinates the class, said 'It started with Andy Lambert and Nick Pepper running a bike five years ago and that inspired a lot to recreate bikes using chassis from Nick. As well as Dragstalgia, the class runs at the Retro Show and Straightliners. Also pictured is team member Amy Gooderham.

Nostalgia Pro Stock Bike racer Lee Gilmore, at Dragstalgia for the first time, rides a Suzuki GS1000 and he went 11.702/111.12 in session two to go tenth.


Nostalgia Pro Stock Bike racer Mark 'Nipper' Stevens runs a 750cc Kawasaki H2 and brought a bunch of them to Dragstalgia in 2014. Since then he has gone into the Nostalgia PSB class and he recorded a 10.092/117 to go fifth after two sessions.

Nostalgia Pro Stock Bike racer Kevin Melling, who is making his Dragstalgia debut, went into no.3 position with a 8.901/142 on his 750cc Kawasaki H2 which has a distinctive sound from the 3 cylinder two stroke engine.


Nostalgia Pro Stock Bike racer Charlie Draper started running his 1976 Kawasaki Z1000 in 2016 and has been here each year since, the bike owned by Andy Lambert. He said 'There is a new clutch on it this year but we are having ignition issues and it keeps stalling'. He has still to get a time on the board.

NSA racer Jan Honee on his 480cc Jawa on nitro ran a 9.34/144 this morning to go second fastest.


NSA racer Graham Sykes is on the blown Triumph 'Mistral' previously campaigned by Chris Richards (who set several records on it in the late 70s), Terry Sidebottom and Charlie Butterworth over a long period.

NSA racer Justin Newell has the ex Mick Hand 250 Honda which has received a rebuild and is looking great. With a sticky track, racers have to launch off the usual groove and be careful not to overstress delicate, and sometimes irreplaceable, parts but nevertheless Justin had a speed of 93mph on the tiny machine.


NSA racer Matt Norman is riding a copy of Conquest that grandfather Dennis Norman took to the 1970 US Nationals and ran a nine second pass. On returning from the US, he was one of the first bike racers in the UK to perform a burnout.

NSA racer Chris Illman is on the ex-George Brown Nero bike which ran at sprints in the late 1950s, and is usually on display at the National Motorcycle Museum in Coventry. The Vincent engine of 998cc precedes super Nero which ran at the Drag Fests and had a supercharger fitted. .


NSA racer Gary Norman on Conquest 2 was extraordinarily persistent with the bike on the rollers and eventually persuaded it to start before he put in a run this morning. This has twin Norton engines and although it never reached its potential, sounds extraordinary.

NSA racer John Hobbs announced he will be retiring the Hobbit after this meeting, but he plans to maintain and ride Olympus in future and ran a great 8.431/161.93 on the Hobbit in this morning's session.

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