Dragstalgia: meeting the stars of the strip at Santa Pod

Change gear before the tyres hit the ground and hold on to second until the 330ft mark.

Accelerate up to the end of the quarter-mile, where you’ll be doing nearly 140mph. It’s all over in less than 10 seconds.

Want to go faster still? Look outside the Nostalgia Superstock class – which is limited to modified versions of roadgoing models – and you’ll find a wacky world of supercharged Fiat Topolinos, methanol-fuelled single-seaters, Daimler-engined dragsters and an Opel GT-inspired Funny Car.

Sean Milsom’s Morris Eight Series Z ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’ gets the jump on Harvey Turner’s 1964 Chevy Nova (left); tyre splatter from burnouts

All of these and more gathered at the UK’s Santa Pod Raceway from 5-7 July for Dragstalgia, a celebration of wild quarter-mile machines from the strip’s history.

What’s more, the 2024 event marked the 60th anniversary of drag racing on British shores.

The sport got big in America after WW2, when thrill-seekers would meet in the Mojave Desert and on the Bonneville Salt Flats to prove their mettle.

By the early 1950s, purpose-built venues such as California’s Santa Ana Drags and Lions Drag Strip had cropped up to give fresh-faced drivers somewhere to race their tweaked cars and hot rods safely, away from Sunset Boulevard and Rodeo Drive.

Looney Tunes’ fastest bird decorates this Plymouth Road Runner

It wasn’t until the following decade that drag racing gained traction in Britain, however.

By the dawn of the 1960s, Sydney Allard’s eponymous car company had wound down production of its own models and focus had shifted to building modified Ford Anglias, called Allardettes.

Never one to stand still, and inspired by the top-speed racers being developed in the USA – namely the most extreme ‘slingshot’-style dragsters – Sydney set out to build the first European competitor.

Unveiled in 1961, the Hemi V8-engined Allard-Chrysler attracted plenty of attention Stateside, and in September 1963 the Mooneyes rail dragster, along with driver Dante Duce, journeyed across the Atlantic to take on Allard’s creation in a face-off at Silverstone.

In 2024, Dragstalgia celebrated 60 years since the first British International Drag Festival (left); Santa Pod Raceway opened in the mid-1960s

The American outfit came out on top with a 9.48 seconds quarter-mile at 167mph.

The pair was back in action at the 1963 Brighton Speed Trials, this time joined by Californian Mickey Thompson aboard his Ford-powered Harvey Aluminum Special.

Two more events, at Church Lawford and RAF Debden’s airfield, catapulted drag racing into the spotlight in the UK: the final shootout at the Essex venue attracted a crowd of some 5000 people, despite it not being promoted for spectators.

The National Hot Rod Association collaborated with Sydney Allard to create the first British International Drag Festival in ’64, and Europe’s first purpose-built venue, Santa Pod Raceway, opened near Wellingborough in 1966.

And in 2024, Santa Pod is still going strong, as its annual Dragstalgia meeting proved. Let’s meet some of the stars of the strip at this colourful celebration.

Lloyd and Gavin Allard: Allard-Chrysler Dragster

Lloyd (left) and Gavin Allard pose with their grandfather’s ambitious dragster

There’s nothing comforting about the Allard-Chrysler Dragster’s cockpit.

Looking ahead, there’s a simple steering yoke, reputedly from a WW2 fighter plane (the blanked button might once have controlled the munitions), and your legs straddle the differential.

The side-exit exhaust pipes sit a few feet away from your ears and a thin sheet of metal separates your elbows from the rear tyres.

That said, you feel a whole lot more protected than you would do in one of its American counterparts.

The Allard-Chrysler was built in 1961 in response to drag racing’s growing popularity in the USA

“They had to follow the Royal Automobile Club’s guidelines for building a racing car,” explains Gavin Allard, Sydney’s grandson.

“Therein lies the problem: dragsters didn’t exist then [in the UK], so it’s in effect a sprint car.”

This called for proper brakes and an engine cover – both of which were missing from its Californian rivals.

The dragster was constructed in Allard’s workshop on Clapham High Street, London.

The Allard-Chrysler’s rev counter is located front and centre

Using Hot Rod magazine for reference, Sydney, plus engineers John Hume and Dave Hooper, built the car in a matter of months and tested it at sprints in 1961 and ’62, racking up plenty of trophies.

“What else could challenge it? It makes around 500bhp from a methanol-fuelled V8,” says Gavin, who speaks proudly of his grandfather’s work introducing the sport to Europe, where it peaked with the mid-’60s drag festivals: “It was a tremendous success.

“That’s shown by the number of people here, 60 years on.”

Chico Kodama and Shige Suganuma: Mooneyes rail dragster replica

Chico Kodama poses with the Mooneyes rail dragster replica

A business at the heart of the early days of drag racing, the Moon Equipment Company was started in Santa Fe Springs, California, by Dean Moon.

While still in high school and working at a local Lincoln-Mercury dealership, Moon designed and built his own style of fuel block, a component that distributes and regulates the fuel supply in a multi-carburettor engine.

By the mid-1950s his company was a big player in the USA’s burgeoning hot-rodding and drag-racing scene, and he opened a workshop in 1957, sporting a stylish logo created by a Disney cartoon illustrator.

A Disney cartoonist created the logo for the Moon Equipment Company

In a full-circle moment, Chico Kodama and Shige Suganuma – the latter was working for Disney in Japan at the time – opened their own parts shop in Yokohama and stocked some of Moon’s products.

Following Dean Moon’s death in 1987, the pair decided to buy the Moon Equipment Company to keep its story alive.

The original Mooneyes rail dragster had been used to develop the Dragmaster kit, which has proved popular for decades.

The original Mooneyes rail dragster’s chassis inspired the Dragmaster kit

“You’ll see this chassis design with different engine combinations,” explains Chico.

“The original car is at the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing in Florida, but this is an exact copy.”

The Moon Equipment Company’s original location in California is still open, too, and the American team has travelled to Dragstalgia for support, all dressed in Stetson hats and white jackets that replicate the original Silverstone crew’s outfits from September 1963.

Chris Goodale: Chevrolet Chevelle

Chris Goodale’s tuned Chevrolet makes 750bhp

American drag racer Frank Russo modified this 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle in period, a few years before it arrived in the UK.

“I’ve owned it on and off for 20 years now,” explains Chris Goodale. “I raced it, sold it briefly, bought it back again and then restored it to exactly how it was in 1970.

“These have been on there since 1969,” he adds, pointing to the decals on the Chevrolet’s side window.

“Others are reproduction stickers, but they’re the same as the ones that were on it back in the day.”

The Chevrolet Chevelle’s paintjob commemorates its early victories

Similarly, all of the signwriting has been reproduced, just as it was.

The Chevelle is powered by a big-block Chevrolet engine that makes 750bhp and can propel Chris to more than 130mph in less than 10 secs.

During the ’70s it was raced at venues throughout the UK, including at Santa Pod, before it was turned into a street car for a while.

“Now, it’s back where it should be,” smiles Chris.

Andy Bosomworth: Dodge Coronet

This 675bhp Dodge Coronet is very different to when it left the factory in 1966

“I bought it about 15 years ago,” says Andy Bosomworth, standing proudly next to his 1966 Coronet. “It was more of a street car then than it is now, but it still goes on the road.”

The engine, bored out to 493cu in, makes about 675bhp, but as per Nostalgia Superstock regulations it still uses standard-style suspension.

“It’s based on a class that came about in the USA in the 1960s,” explains Andy.

“Dodge, Plymouth, Ford, Chevrolet – a lot of manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon because, ultimately, drag racing helped to sell cars.”

Despite the competition upgrades, this Dodge Coronet remains road legal – as per the Nostalgia Superstock regulations

When Andy approached Chrysler’s historic division to find out more about his Coronet, he learned that it was sold new by Studio Dodge in Hollywood.

“We wanted to pay homage to the car’s history,” he says of the Dodge’s retro-inspired paintjob.

“Admittedly, when it left the factory it was a bit of a shopping trolley,” he adds.

“It would have had a smaller engine – a 5.2-litre V8 – and was used by someone to get from A to B. Many years down the line, it’s a very different car.”

Ian and Ruaridh Hart: Opel GT Funny Car

Ian (left) and Ruaridh Hart with their Opel GT-inspired Funny Car

Ruaridh and Ian Hart have 50-plus years of drag-racing experience between them.

As a result, their Chevrolet-powered Funny Car, ‘BraveHart’, is no slouch.

“Our personal quarter-mile best is 10.53 secs,” says Ian. “Every time we come we go quicker, which is a pain in a dial-in regularity class.”

Ruaridh has been racing since 2013, and he has had plenty of success in junior categories.

The Opel GT-esque bodywork hides a 300bhp Chevrolet engine

“It’s exhilarating, especially in a car that we’ve built ourselves,” he explains. “You know it’s you who has put the effort in. It’s blood, sweat and tears.”

Starting with a 1980s dragster chassis, their ’69 Opel GT-inspired Funny Car was completed three years ago.

Although few original chassis parts remain, the rear wheels are still attached to the Austin-Healey 3000 axle it came with.

“As standard, this engine would make about 260-270bhp in a Camaro,” Ian says. “Give it a decent manifold and a big carb, let it breathe freely and you’re looking at 300bhp without trying too hard.”

Like many dragsters, this Opel GT Funny Car is a mash-up of parts – the rear axle is from an Austin-Healey 3000

So what’s it like to be strapped into the driver’s seat?

“It’s the weirdest thing,” explains Ruaridh. “During the lead up to and after the run, you’ve got lots of adrenalin, excitement… everything is flowing through you.

“But when I’m actually driving down the track, I’m not really thinking about anything.

“You’re so hyper-focused on the steering, the gearshift points and everything else that it all blurs in your mind.”

Dave Billadeau: Dodge Challenger

Dave Billadeau has 40 years’ experience with American classics

“It’s quick, but it’s what we do,” says Dave Billadeau, who has been modifying and restoring American muscle cars since the 1980s.

“I’ve had a hand in a lot of the cars you see around here,” he adds.

Dave began his working life as a signwriter, before switching to building cars and engines full-time in the early ’90s.

He’s at Dragstalgia with the ’74 Challenger that he has been racing for three seasons.

Chunky tyres and a wheelie bar on this Dodge Challenger drag racer

“It’s an original Superstock car,” he explains. “It was built as a race car from day one. It was used for five years in the USA before being parked up.”

When the car was imported to the UK in 2017 it was in need of restoration, and although there was little in the way of rust, lots of parts needed updating.

Dave was careful not to overdo it, though, and he has kept many original components.

His best time in this car is 9.79 secs at 140mph. “It’s enough to get your attention,” he says.

Ian Wild: Wild Cat dragster

The Wild Cat dragster came together in Ian Wild’s shed

“I’ve always liked Jaguar straight-six engines,” says Ian Wild, who races in the Wild Bunch class with his homebuilt rail dragster, which is powered by a 1986 XJ6 motor.

The Coventry theme continues with the supercharger, which came from an XJR’s 4-litre V8.

The gearbox, originally a Borg-Warner item, is now a GM TH400 transmission from a Daimler limousine.

“It’s also got a Jaguar rear axle,” he continues. “Well, it’s basically a Jag differential with the hubs bolted directly to it.”

Cheeky logo alteration (left); Ian’s home-brewed dragster runs a supercharged Jaguar XJ6 motor

Despite its unlikely origins, this stray Big Cat often posts quick times at Santa Pod.

“I have a stupid grin on my face every time,” laughs Ian.

“The only scary moment was the first time I took it down the strip, because I wasn’t sure if it was going to hold together – it was built in a shed.”

Adam Kruczynski: Chevrolet 210

The off-roader-like ride height of Adam Kruczynski’s Chevrolet 210 aids rearward weight transfer to improve traction

Gasser classes were typically the home of street-inspired, gasoline-fuelled drag cars before Superstock regulations took over.

The comical ride height came about as competitors did their best to shift weight rearwards to maximise traction off the line.

Nearly all Gasser cars use a beam axle up front, such as Adam Kruczynski’s 1955 Chevrolet 210, which was raced in the USA in the 1970s.

Multi-lever gearshift (left); this modified Chevrolet runs in Gasser classes

“I’ve added glassfibre doors and bootlid, but the rest is genuine 1955 Chevy,” he says. “It had a small-block engine and a manual gearbox when I got it.”

Initially, Adam tried to keep the 210 as it was, but he decided to upgrade when the second clutch gave up the ghost.

Now it’s got a big-block Chevy engine, plus a GM TH400 gearbox hooked up to a multi-lever shifter.

The beam axle is clear to see on the jacked-up Chevrolet 210

“I’ve done a 10.99 secs run at 121mph,” he says, “but I haven’t been able to recreate that.”

Adam points to a panel gap on his Chevrolet: “It’s bigger on this side than it is on the other, but it goes down the track straight.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”

Grace Roaf and Don Scott: Plymouth SuperBird replica

Don Scott’s Plymouth SuperBird replica makes its presence felt at Santa Pod Raceway

Humidity, track temperature and wind direction are among the variables that crew chief Grace Roaf has to consider when calculating the dial-in time for Don Scott’s Plymouth Road Runner SuperBird replica.

“There are lots of factors,” she explains, “and it’s just guesswork, but you’re guessing to a hundredth of a second, which is mind-boggling.”

Teams set dial-in times based on a prediction of how fast they think they can complete the quarter-mile; the goal is to get as close as possible to this time, without going faster.

This Plymouth SuperBird replica’s livery is inspired by Richard Petty’s NASCAR icon

Grace helps to prepare Don’s car: “It’s set up for straight-line speed,” she says.

“There’s very little maintenance needed between rounds; we check for any leaks and sometimes we’ll pull out the spark plugs to see if it’s running rich or lean.

“The ethos of Superstock is that the cars have to be stock-bodied, pre-1980 American muscle cars.

“They’ve got to have a glass windscreen, plus standard-style front and rear suspension, so we’re running on leaf springs.”

There’s more to drag racing than fast reaction times and flooring the throttle, as Grace Roaf explains

“I’ve been coming with my dad since I was eight,” she continues.

“I just fell in love with the noise and how it makes you feel: when you’re standing next to the cars, you can feel everything shake. And because the pits are so open, you can talk to people easily.

“I got involved with some teams when I was about 12, and I started helping out as pit crew.”

Images: Jack Harrison

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