Santa Pod Raceway, 30th July-1st August 2021
Saturday
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The latest updates are at the top of the page. Click on your Browser's Refresh key to be sure of seeing the latest news. Click here to return to the Event Index. 18:25 The rain increased to a substantial shower soaking the track. With the prospect of more to come and the time needed to dry the track, we have been called for the day. Thanks for looking in, we'll post our galleries from Diana, Kirstie, and Julian later. Nostalgia Superstock qualifying round 4 The #1 qualifier will have a trophy which is a genuine Wally. No change in the first four, then Gary Semper into #2, Craig Elliott #46 to #27. Pete Christmas from #33 to #29, James Ellis #38 to #9. On hold for spots of rain.
16:45 Run What Ya Brung A group of four diverse Chevy/GMC pickups at the restart, one doing a half track one-wheel burnout, following which the rubber deposited was removed by the tractor. Darren Peart with his Cortina looking to regain his quickest RWYB time, 8.1913/162.51, an improvement but staying in second place. Russ's Dutton 9.0065/149.11. Ray Coleclough from Watts Shop in a Dart to 9.9304/136.45. 16:45 On the restart we had Nick Barnett 11.853/113.46 vs Honky Tonkin 2 10.1606/113.30 on practice passes, Paul Riley 11.3396/122.54. Rod Atkinson (OS75) went off the line with a 1.6687 launch but a huge cloud of smoke signalled a large problem and fluid on track. On pause for sweeping the fluid which looks as if it was water not requiring lengthy downtime. Pete Lane on a 12.0056/109.35 in his Barracuda, OS98 Owen Forrest - Chevrolet Nova 10.6033/127.27. Pause for track grooming, then it started raining so we are now on hold. The wheelie contest is filling fast, to sign up go to the Mopar marquee by the main grandstand. Derren Brown OS43 10.6089/128.68 vs OS56 Doug Barracuda 10.5345/128.83. Taz Racing's Brian Nixon (105e) 9.2910/147.13, John Dewey (Chevy) 10.2610/139.53, Sally Woolner OS59 9.0867/150.56, Den Reynolds (Corvette) 10.6309/131.72 vs Chris Skinner 10.2264/130.68 first. Nigel Hale 10.9318/109.68 vs Bryan Whitfield 13.1506/105.44, Adam Skinner 10.1101/136.06 vs Paul Mags 10.3355/131.42, Darren Scannell 9.7835/141.58 vs Lee Denham (Taz Capri) 10.1037/136.96. Dave Mace in his Cresta ran 8.1253/163.07 to go quickest in RWYB.Steve Mitchell quicker still in Snow White, 9.8575/134.82. Pause for track grooming. Wild Bunch qualifying session 3 Bob Morgan 10.2885/129.41, James Auld 12.9478/103.74, Steve Garlant 14.1532/97.77, Jim Tanner 9.5632/143.93. Gary Atkinson 9.6417/135.22, Steve Field 8.6066/155.28, Rob Brown (Wrathchild) broke/ off line, Pete Brown (Rebel) 8.7012/153.16, Phil James 9.5826/136.05, Dan Boone 8.7210/151.10 Run What Ya Brung The new Williams Bros Racing COPO Camaro made another test pass to 8.8685/154.15 with 1.3210 to 60ft and 5.6835/122.84, new PB for Nic Williams, well done Nic and team! Phil Moules 10.1282/133.22 vs John Dalrymple 10.8396/88.73. Nice 10.4489/129.55 for Scott Collin, Steve Mitchell into the nines in Snow White, 9.9100/134.82. Ashley Bell's Trans Am with Ash by the wall to a 9.0195/142.04, I wonder who is behind the wheel? The answer is crew man Tony de Luca. Rob Smallworth brought his own '55 Chevy out for a test pass, the car making a move to the left at 60ft. Russ Pursley in his Dutton went 9.2665/146.73, Graham Butler in the rat rod 10.4738/123.74. George Ralph's red Vette C3 made a 17s pass, Paul Riley 11.8550/114.08. 14:50 Motorsport UK Pro Modified qualifying session 2 Kev Slyfield 6.125/215.12 vs Annie Wallace 9.2512/74.82. Straight pass for Kev with a lot of smoke in the shut down area, incrementals for Kev 0.9831 to 60ft and 3.9776/186.50 to half track. Drama for Annie as the car made a move to the left followed by a sharp move to the right before 330ft, Annie correcting rapidly and just grazing the wall, the chutes coming out just after half track. Annie made a 0.9941 launch to 60ft. Annie was reported by the radio to be perfectly ok but the car's rear quarter hit the wall and will need attention. Wayne Nicholson 8.4102/110.44 vs Nick Davies 6.1473/236.11. Nick staged to the left hand side the car made a slight move to the left but corrected and kept on the throttle. Nick up to #2, Nick's incrementals 1.0371 to 60ft and 4.0613/183.90 to half track. Wayne's incrementals 1.0122 to 60ft and 4.5408/ 124.43 to half track by which time he was off the throttle. Paula Atkin followed with another test launch, husband Stan and Rob Smallworth in attendance. Paula has had work done on the Fueltech engine management system and the launch was definitely more aggresive than before, bumping just past stage and getting an unrepresentative time.
14:20 Nostalgia Superstock qualifying round 3 The Paul Morrow trophy, a genuine Wally will go for 12 months to the #1 qualifier at the end of the final qualifying session which will be held at 16:25. Congratulations go to Stewart Arthur who wins £75 courtesy Cath and Tig Napier of Bad Habit racing for a perfect 0.0004 RT! Adrian Portelli up from #16 to #8. Rob Tyrrell up to #1, then later in the session John Davison up to #1 with +0.0034. Stuart Kiwi Thompson up from #15 to #5. Dave Simcock's Challenger running a bit smokey at the top end of the track as Paul Smail went from #35 to #1 with +0.0031. Glynn Boardman up from #36 to #17.
13:50 Gasser Circus qualifying round 2 Steve Matthews again heading towards the centre line as Billy Jones went from #4 to #1. Next up Jason Hollamby and Tom Margesson. Graham Barton vs Tony Pearson, Tony up one place. First run this event for Nogbad the Bad, into #9 for Nick Brooke Langham as Mark Dibley went -0.0024 on the tree. We have just heard the burnout competition has been shelved in favour of a wheelstand competition, if you've seen Youtube footage of the one from Byron Dragway in the US, you'll know what to expect.
12:55 Wild Bunch qualifying session 2 Tim Roy (Boston Straggler) 9.4512/139.88, James Auld 13.5553/96.68, Paul Tarry 12.1519/111.81, Gary Atkinson 9.8787/131.05, Phil James 9.5920/137.37. Run What Ya Brung John Sleath brought his pickup out for the first time in two years, plume of black diesel smoke to 8.2690/167.91, great first pass in a couple of years and FTD in RWYB! John told Colin he wanted to run sevens in the pickup but the cost might be prohibitive. Fantastic black '68 Charger spun the rear tyres, look out for it in today's gallery by Julian and Kirstie. The gorgeous purple and white '56 Chevy of Wicked Witch Racing ran a 15.68/85. Bryan Whitfield's second pass in his black Tri Chevy was a 12.5148/110.85. Dave Mace (OS23) brought his Vauxhall Cresta out to an easy 10.3427/130.15, more to come from Dave we suspect. Taz Racing Fiat 126 match up of Adam Skinner and Chris Skinner, Adam slowing to 14.621/93.71 as Chris went 10.2374/131.39. Sally Woolner 9.0728. Then Graham Butler's Rat Rod (OS28) against a very rapid red Dodge Dart 8.9936/146.78, well done team! Paul Riley's MorgaFolln went 11.9208/119.48. The ex Dave Smith Challenger ragtop went 11.0388/10.60 in the hands of its new owner. Followed by Darren Scannell (TAZ011) 10.4799/138.98 and Rod Atkinson (OS75) 10.3469/139.49, Darren hooking to the right. The red Nova King Chance ran 9.414/148.62, followed by Ashley Bell's Firebird on a 11.59/107 checkout. Darren Peart's Cortina with nitrous 8.2274/154.68 for quickest RWYB pass so far, alongside Steve Mitchell in Snow White 10.0564/132.91. Then a yellow 105e to 11.3385/106.54. Graham Scriven 10.335/128.34. Stuart Flitton and Paul Lorne's 100e's Stuart going 10.8371/125.50 to 12.538/103.98, then Scott Collin wandering a little to 11.0867/123.55. A late bodied Mustang from Outlaw Street alongside the Mini Mopar of Abi Bailey-Unsworth. Sally Woolner to 9.072/151.05, Dave Mahoney 10.3209/118.37, Dave Shelley 10.5620/126.52, Nigel Hale (OS39 and SE436) in his pickup 10.9450/126.65. Derren Brown 10.5660/128.46, Sara unsworth 10.009/138.55 vs Abi Bailey-Unsworth 19.9598/69.64. Pete Smith in the ex John Sleath Audi to 9.0857/123.41 with a very sideways burnout and a wander on the run. Yellow 105e to 10.7966/121.44. 12:10 Nostalgia Superstock qualifying round 2 Chris Layram went to #1 in the first pair, Vic Parsons #13 to #8, Gary Semper #31 to #19, Craig Elliott #43 to #27, Jake Cawthorne to #1, 0.006 off a perfect ET, Jim Chandler #34 to #16, James Ellis #35 to #27, John Davison #28 to #20, Dave Simcock #44 to #23, Adam Nowak #26 to #12, Don Scott #32 to #14, Ashley Rawson #16 to #8, Kiwi #19 to #12, Lee Chiles to #15 with a + 0.0067 RT, close to the Eurodragster.com/Bad Habit Racing Perfect Light Award. Duncan Watts got out of the groove and went #40 to #38, his car dislodging the 1000ft block as Gary Cork went #36 to #27, Neill Watkins #10 to #2 as Harrison Brown went 0.0044 RT close to the Perfect Light Award supported by Cath and Tig Napier who are watching from home. Followed by a observed run from Steve with the ex-WBR Imapala 12.6223/108.95 full pass.
11:40 Wild Bunch qualifying session 1 Practice session to establish dial-ins: Phil James 9.5564/136.50, Dan Boone 8.8397/149.18, Steve Garlant 14.213/95.10, Bob Morgan 10.3082/12867, James Tanner 10.6963/113.35 (on a bit of a wander down track), Paul Tarry was shut off for a problem, Pete Brown (Wrathchild) 11.8197/118.88, Rob Brown (Rebel) 8.7119/153.73, then Paul Tarry again to 11.9770/114.19. 11:15 Run What Ya Brung Initial run for the Williams Bros COPO Camaro, 1.4175 to 60ft and 5.8810/114.14 with 10.0687/99.39 from Nic in the driving seat, nice first pass. Followed by OS02 Beetle with V8 power to a 17.92 and Russ Pursley (OS60) 10.6096/127.36 and more to come. Derren Brown (OS43) 10.5719/128.67 and Cuda of OS56 10.5723/128.44. Pete Smith in the ex John Sleath Audi 9.4235/154.74 against a Challenger Hellcat OS102 to 9.9938/135.26. John Dalrymple's Willys 9.769/135.23 against Phil Moules 10.9133/131.39. OS39 Chevrolet pick-up 14.510/75.02 Sara Unsworth stopped on track in her and Steve's Mustang after a nice 1.5663 launch (broken throttle cable we were relieved to hear). Pause for recovery. Couple of Anglias next Graham Scriven's to 10.3177/129.05 alongside Andy Cunningham. Then OS54 Javelin 12.0449/120.91 followed by Rob Leyman (OS09) 11.108/112.37 against Pete Lane's Barracuda 12.0770/108.20. A couple of Outlaw Street's Chris Tyhurst (OS43) '32 3 window against Dave Mahoney's Camaro OS68 10.4564/122.87. Then TAZ017 Paul Mags to 10.7413/124.45. OS50 Roy Collins 11.971/110.45 OS59 Justin Woolner to 9.1260/151.64, quickest of the day in RWYB. Gary Atkinson in his '32 three window 9.7114/134.52, nice run, close to PB. Pair of '57 Chevys, Snow White withMitchell and John Dewey of Taz Racing, 10.1769/128.68 to 12.8040/115.66 with tyre spin for John. On hold now for small cleanup. 10:45 We'll comment on the cars we can recognise, as the timing system for RWYB only has race numbers. Scott Collin 10.8519/126.16 vs Paul Lorne (ME13) 12.9420/100.96, Paul running 400ci Ford power. Bryan Whifield came out in his immculate black Tri Chevy, 12.9967/105.54. Dave Shelley (MM65) 10.5099/127.23. Followed by a great Taz matchup Darren Scannell 10.5829/141.58 vs Adam Skinner 10.3249/139.48. Next the Morgan of Paul Riley 11.524/121.74. Another Taz matchup, Brian Nixon (105e) 9.4165/143.88 vs Chris Skinner (Fiat 126) 10.2642/131.04. Lee Denham 9.9007/142.94 vs Den Reynolds (TAZ009 Vette) 10.3002/133.76 Next against a fox body Mustang was Taz's Kev Preston in the Austin pickup, Kev pushed back for a leak. 10:30 Motorsport UK Pro Modified qualifying session 1 Annie Wallace 6.5351 vs Wayne Nicholson 6.4159/222.27. Annie burning out just over the start line, then brother Bobby bringing her into stage. Pedal for Annie, Wayne moving around 1.0151 to 60ft and 4.1684/170.72. Annie's chutes deployed by the electrimotion system so we don't know whether her time will be allowed. Nick Davies 8.82693/110.18 vs Kev Slyfield shut off. Kev lost fire as Nick was coming into stage and was pushed back. Nick moving around his lane, 1.0476 to 60ft and 4.4449/ 129.42 to half track. Paula Atkin came out for a practice run afterwards, not entered into Pro Mod but aspiring to get back in. Car rolled the beams so Paula shut off at 330ft.
10:05 Gasser Circus qualifying round 1 Nick Barnett first out, he's points leader, alongside Jason Pickett who broke out by less than 1/10 second. Sean Milsom and Graham Barton. Then Tony Pearson and Brian Gibson, Tony having done match racing last weekend, Brian into #1 at that point. Paul Dominey vs Jason Hollamby next, followed by Billy Jones and Tom Margesson. Steve Matthews then went into #1 alongside Mark Dibley in the Anson Anglia Steve making a move to the left on the way. No time or speed for Mark, but three more attempts today. Pause for track grooming then Pro Mod next.
10:00 Nostalgia Superstock qualifying round 1 Jack Bishop first down the track as Billy Mills pushed back with a rough sounding engine. Next Chris Layram who drove in and Clive Dandridge not in his Mustang byt a C15 Truck with 350ci engine, going into #1 spot. Adrian Portelli and Gary Semper next, Adrian getting a 1.5132 launch from his 540ci engine. Next Pete Christmas and Jim 'Lift Off' Chandler, big 543ci engine for Jim. Stuart Thompson and Stewart Arthur (NSS149) next, Stewart in a 440ci Roadrunner. Then class co-ordinator Don Scott and Jake Cawthorne in Flag Jumper, Jake's girlfriend blogger Nïamh Frances Smith helping us with identifying the new cars coming into the class. Nick Martin and Vic Parsons following, Nick into #1 , then Bob Main in another car, a very nice Tri Chevy which is for sale, against Paul Smail, Tri Chevys about the earliest cars you can race in NSS. Then Lee Chiles and Gary Cork, new boy Howard Holmes (493ci Coronet) into 5th and Bev Tyrell, Andrew Bosomworth into #2 and Rob Tyrrell. Simon Rickwood and Jerry Raymond, Jerry in a Plymouth Fury 440ci. Followed by Dave Billadeau who builds these race cars for a living and Chris Goodale, Dave wheelying off the line in his mobile showroom to take the #1 spot. Adam Nowak in a Roadrunner and newcomer James Ellis in a tidy Camaro recently imported. John Davison in Soper & Heck with Alan Medley next, Alan going into #4 in the Oldstimer. Mick Elsworth and Ty Strevett, gentle launch for both and Mick breaking out by less than 1/100th. Next James Sweeney with the Shake N Bake '71 Satellite alongside Ashley Rawson, Ashley making a move to the left and into #6 as James's dial in proved a little optimistic. Richard Granger and Joe Coleclough followed, next Jim Smith and James Dodd, 1.5323 60ft for James. Craig Elliott in a car bearing a distinct resemblence to Vic Parsons' and Glynn Boardman, Craig breaking out. Neill Watkins against Duncan Watts in the ex-Dave Boertman NHRA Championship winning Super Stock Challenger, Neill into #5. Harrison Brown in the Thatadoo Camaro alongside Dave Simcock's Challenger big breakout for Dave and side by side 1.4 60fts. Billy Mills then returned, engine idling at high revs but got down track. Finally on an observed run Steve Lloyd, the new owner of the ex Williams Bros Impala (8735), who reversed back with his seat belt needing to be tightened.
09:20 Good morning and welcome to day two of our coverage of the Mopar Euro Nationals from Santa Pod Raceway. The weather is dry but cloudy, the temperature 15C rising to 22C. Not a wheel turned yesterday due to storm Evert coming in and making a nuisance of itself. So we are starting with class qualifying today, Nostalgia Superstock at 09:30 or thereabouts and Motorsport UK Pro Modified at 10:05. Keep an eye on our report and the stream when it goes live for details of the action. No Nitro FM so the stream is the only way to get live commentary over the internet. A big Hello to all Eurodragsterholics tuned in. Hi especially to Kieran who is tuned in from home, we'll see you later in the month. Hi to site and Photo Finish Award Bob sponsor Roberts, we hope you have dried after your Silverstone visit. Also to competitors whose classes aren't involved here, we look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks. Stay tuned and we'll be back shortly. Reports and pictures ©Eurodragster.com |