Santa Pod Raceway

Motorsport venue
Name = Santa Pod Raceway | Location = Bedfordshire, England


Image_caption = The finish line at Santa Pod Raceway
Events = FIA European Drag Racing Championship, UEM European Drag Racing Championship, British National Drag Racing Championships
Operator = Trakbak Racing | Layout1 = Dragstrip
Surface = Asphalt
Record_time = 03.58 seconds
Record_driver = Sammy Miller
Record_team = Vanishing Point Rocket
Record_year = 1984
Record_class = Funny Car

Santa Pod Raceway, in Bedfordshire, England, founded in 1966, is Europe's first permanent drag racing venue. It was built on a disused World War II American air base, RAF Podington, once used by the 92nd Bomber Group. It is now the home of European drag racing, and has grown substantially over its 40-year existence. It hosts both the first and last round of the FIA and FIM/UEM European Drag Racing Championship, along with the British National Drag Racing Championships.

It is leased and operated by Trakbak Racing which is based in London. Santa Pod regularly takes its promotional units to major events in motor sport and contributes much to the local community.

Santa Pod was the venue in which the current world drag racing record, a time of 3.58 seconds at 386.26 mph (621.61 km/h) was set by [http://www.draglist.com/stories/SOD-Nov-2002/SOD-110202.htm Sammy Miller] in his Vanishing Point Funnycar in July 1984 (a quicker 1/4 mile time of 3.225 seconds was set by Kitty O'Neil, but not on a drag racing surface) [cite web | title=Draglist.com: "Search: Exhibition, Rocket, All Time Quickest" | url=http://www.digitalwebzone.com/draglist/category.php?CATEGORY%5B%5D=ROCKET&x=exhibition&SORTBY=ET%2CYEAR%2CMPH+DESC] . Another record has also been set at Santa Pod, the world's fastest jet car (notably Santa Pod's "resident") Fireforce 3 piloted by Martin Hill broke the record in Easter 2005 with a terminal speed of 336.10 mph (540.89 km/h) [cite web | title=Eurodragster Website: "Easter Thunderball 2005 Event Coverage" | url=http://www.eurodragster.com/santapod/live/2005easterthunderball/reports/sunday.htm] . Several other European drag racing records have been set along with records unsurpassed outside the USA [cite web | title=Eurodragster Website: "European Bests" | url=http://www.eurodragster.com/timing/europeanbests/default.asp] .

Santa Pod remains the fastest all-asphalt dragstrip in the world

In the racing season, which runs from January to November, Santa Pod is host to over 60 different events. These include: national drag race meetings; classic car events; modified car festivals, such as Redline Rumble, Mopar Euro Nats, The Fast Show (car show) and USC; Volkswagen Beetle shows, such as Bug Jam, [http://www.big-bang.co.uk/ Big Bang] and in 2007 VW Action; Japanese performance car shows, such as The JapShow; specialist events including the Performance Vauxhall Show, the Classic Ford Show and the French Car Clubs Day; and open turn up and go days for any vehicle capable of making a trip down the 1/4 mile drag strip called [http://www.rwyb.co.uk/ RWYB] (Run What Ya Brung).

Top Fuel Dragsters, Funny Cars, Jet Cars, Rocket Bikes, Pro Mods, [http://www.streeteliminatoruk.com/ Street Eliminator] , [http://www.supermodified.co.uk/ Super Modified] and [http://www.vwdrc.com/ The VWDRC] are all regular competitors and many other motorsport events are all situated in north-west Bedfordshire, England.

The history of Santa Pod and drag racing

Tucked away in the corner of Northwest Bedfordshire, Santa Pod Raceway is one of the most famous car racing tracks in the world.

Santa Pod has earned the reputation as the home of European drag racing, which features the most powerful car and bike engines in the world, yet surprisingly little is known about the sport, which has a huge and dedicated following around the world.

Drag racing has its origins in the USA during the 1920s. During prohibition the sellers of illegal alcohol, the Moonshine Boys, outran the authorities by making their innocuous runabout cars, which became known as Hot Rods, fast and powerful by hiding bigger and more highly tuned engines inside. After the end of prohibition the Hot Rodders continued and all over America roads were being used to settle the 'mine is faster than yours' argument. Most towns had a main road running down the middle and junctions controlled by traffic lights, the Hot Rodders would race down the main drag from one set of lights to the other - the beginning of Drag Racing.

Drag racing took off in the UK during the 1960s when, as in the USA, many of the old disused airstrips around the country were converted to drag strips.

Podington airfield, near the villages of Hinwick and Podington, was formerly a wartime airbase used by the USAAF during the Second World War. In 1966 permission was obtained to use the airfield as a drag racing complex, the ¾ of a mile main runway being used as the drag strip. The track was named Santa Pod after the Santa Ana strip in America, combined with the name of the local village of Podington.

Since then the name Santa Pod has become synonymous with the sport of drag racing in Europe. Today the raceway hosts events throughout the year including the FIA European Drag Racing Championships and the 'Run What You Brung' (RWYB) events where anyone with a valid driving licence can have a go and put their own vehicles and skills to the test.

ee also

*Shakespeare County Raceway

References

External links

* [http://www.santapod.co.uk/ Official Santa Pod website]
* [http://www.eurodragster.com/ Site offering live coverage of Drag Racing events at Santa Pod and other venues]
* [http://www.fia.com/ Santa Pod's Governing Body for European Drag Racing]
* [http://drag.fawcus.com/ Photos and video from Santa Pod]
* [http://akciddento.com/ Akciddento Drag Racing VW Bus]
* [http://www.streeteliminatoruk.com/ Street Eliminator]
* [http://www.supermodified.co.uk/ Super Modified Racers Association]
* [http://www.vwdrc.com/ The Volkswagen Drag Racing Club (VWDRC)]
* [http://www.big-bang.co.uk/ Big Bang VW Show]
* [http://www.ultimatestreetcar.co.uk/ Ultimate Sreet Car (USC) official site]
* [http://www.bugjam.com/ Bug Jam VW Show]
* [http://www.oldstox.com/ Select section on "1960s UK drags" where there are many 1960s and 1970s photographs from Santa Pod.]