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Issue 14
the official online magazine of
8 page preview!
The 2012 MSA Pro Mod Championship
Developing Graham Ellis’ new turbocharged Pro Mod
Plus!
Bennett Racing’s plans for 2012
Going to the drags for the first time!
Santa Pod’s new E-ticket system explained
And more.....
Cover photo: Simon Hodder
es!
behind the scen
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Issue Number 14 January 2012
All material © Drag Racing Confidential 2012
Welcome
to issue 14 of Drag Racing
Confidential.
With another Christmas
under the belt, we’d like to
begin by wishing you all a
very happy New Year!
At this time of year you
tend to find yourself thinking ahead, musing over
what the year might bring,
at least I do. Naturally,
much of that musing has a
drag racing flavour to it,
and over Christmas I was
thumbing through some of
last year’s event programmes (as you do) and
found myself wondering
what Pro Modified would
be like this year. The more
I thought about it, the
more excited I got, because this year looks like
being a truly fascinating
battle, both within the domestic MSA and the wider
European FIA championships.
We have new cars, new
drivers and of course,
seasoned regulars, who
will all be battling for supremacy. We limited our
preview feature to the
MSA competition, mainly
because we’d have filled
the entire issue with Pro
Mod stuff if we’d looked at
the FIA as well. Maybe
we’ll look at that next time.
The season is not far
away now, in fact the
RWYB action will be kicking off any day now, and
of course there’s the Autosport Show to look forward to in a couple of
weeks. Hopefully we’ll see
some of you there.
In the meantime, let us
know if there’s anything
you’d like to see in DRC,
after all, it is your magazine!
Simon Hodder
Editor
simon@drceurope.co.uk
Nigel Holland
Technical Editor
nigel@drceurope.co.uk
We welcome editorial submissions from anywhere in
the world, but we do not guarantee to use unsolicited
material. You must be the copyright owner of any material you send to us for consideration. If you do not
own the copyright, you must obtain the express permission of the copyright owner for reproduction in
Drag Racing Confidential before sending it to us.
Team DRC 2010 - 2012
Ian Blackett As well
as his obvious talent
with a camera, Ian has
a huge knowledge of
the sport. His personal
web site is at
www.blackettphotography.com
Vince Gibbs has been
drag racing for about
25 years and contributes regularly to
our technical features.
Visit his site at
www.nosferatu-racing.co.uk
Julian Hunt is a very
talented snapper and
has joined our team as
a photographic contributor.
Visit his personal web
site at www.julianhunt.net
We aim to publish an issue of Drag Racing Confidential on the first Wednesday of every month, but because we do not suffer
from the same scheduling limitations that are imposed upon traditional magazines by printing and distribution deadlines, we
might decide to delay an isue from time to time so we can include material from an important event or show. The best way to
ensure that you never miss an issue is to fill out the FREE subscription form on our web site, or by clicking on the subscribe
button above. All material is subject to copyright. If you want to use anything, please refer to the Terms and Conditions on our
home page.
What’s inside?
Preview
issue 14
Cover photo:
Mick Payne’s
Pro Modified
Camaro
MSA Pro Mod 2012
We preview what should be an intriguing season in Europe’s premier
doorslammer class
Feature
ICE Automotive
We talk to Nick Davies and Rob Loaring
about how they spent a year developing a
car they hope will take Graham Ellis to the
top of the tree in domestic and European
competition
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Feature
E-tickets
Santa Pod’s new high tech ticket system
should bring us all some benefits...
Interview
Bennett Racing
The Bennett family are something of a
dynasty in the world of drag racing. We
caught up with them to see what they’re
planning for the coming season...
Advice
First timers...
There are some things that you might
like to know if you’ve never been to a
drag race meeting before. Here’s our list
of the most important ones...
Competition
Win!
If you can answer all these questions
then you can consider yourself a real
drag racing fan! Don’t worry though, the
answers have all appeared in previous
issues of DRC, so you can always look
them up!
The way it was
The Art of Drag Racing
No, not a selection of tips on how to
be a good racer, but a few examples
of drag racing art from the late1970s.
In a future issue we’ll take a close
look at how modern racers adorn their
vehicles
Centrefold
Blast from the past!
An Alfa Romeo powered altered pictured
at Santa Pod an 1980
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ICE Automotive
Main image: The Superbird went through an entire season of testing and development without the need to dip into the spares box.
Just as well really, since the spares box only had one piston in it!
Tell us about your involvement with Graham Ellis’ Turbocharged Superbird!
“Graham talked about turbo charging a couple of years ago, but at the time it wasn’t right for him. He knows you need support with anything like this. Selling somebody a product of this nature is just a complete waste of time, what they need is
a programme. A couple of years ago he still had designs and ideas on the supercharged stuff, he hadn’t fully explored all that at the time.
Then he bought the Barracuda a couple of years ago and pounded the supercharged stuff pretty
hard. By the end of the year he didn’t think that the future looked that bright, so he called us and
we started talking about turbocharging, and my thoughts on it were that yes, it is a good option.
It’s extremely difficult now for a small independent racer / engine shop to make any kind of dent
on the supercharged stuff, you need to be very well connected to understand when you’re being
sold something that is gonna work or isn’t gonna work. You’ve got a huge number of people
who’ve refined it over a huge number of years, and if you’re not locked into one of those people
you’re really gonna work hard.
The turbocharging scene is different. What that opened up was opportunities for a small, progressive company that was driven by development. The technology was obviously gonna move
quite fast, and if you could react quickly you could probably get in front.
The horsepower output was never gonna be an issue, turning it into a competitive race car was
a slightly different deal. You could see that the chassis dynamics were gonna change, massively.
To take 120 pounds away from what was effectively the windscreen level and put it down at the
bottom of the firewall, things were gonna change!
So, when I spoke to Graham, I said yes, in principal it sounds great, but I said I’d like us to run
the programme for a year while he continued with the Barracuda. I thought Graham’s race team
would find the development programme incredibly frustrating, because there was gonna be three
quarters of a season of part runs. That’s because with a supercharged engine, if you damage
anything, if you damage a piston, or the end of a plug, it goes through the exhaust valve, out the
pipe and up into the crowd somewhere, and there will be a nominal amount of damage. If you
take the end off a spark plug with a turbocharged engine, you run it through the exhaust system
and through the turbo, and you damage the turbocharger, so damaging the engine was not an
option because we had no spare turbo parts. So, it was obviously gonna be 100 foot, 150 foot,
100 foot, 150 foot just one after the other until we were confident that we could actually go a bit
further down the track without wrecking anything, because the day we wrecked something it
stopped. So we proceeded on the understanding that he would allow us as a stand-alone unit to
cut down the hunting ground in the set up so we could at least make a run and have some idea
about chassis and aero before it became the A car, as it were. Graham was fine with that, he
thought it would be a good idea, and he was comfortable enough with our background that we
wouldn’t throw money at it, we just proceeded on that basis. I think it was a very brave decision
of his to go “OK, here’s the car”. We said that if this thing goes over, we couldn’t repair it, and he
said do it, get on with it.
By the time we’d run 239 mph it had broken one valve spring, we’d done no damage. When we
started the year we had one spare piston, and it’s still here in the shop now. By the end of the
year he could see this was a fairly good gamble, and by the time he’d tied up the MSA championship at the National Finals, he said he was so done with the supercharged stuff. I think he’s
now in quite a good place. There’s a danger that the technical regulations are gonna be fluid for
a while, you never really know what you’re gonna get next year, but because we’re a small company and he doesn’t have 10 turbos sat on a shelf, he has one pair, if they change the rules on
size, if they mandate an 88mm or 85mm turbo, it doesn’t kill us, and we can adapt and change.
Certainly for the next 2 to 3 years, I think he can make hay.”
Opposite, top: The Superbird running a traditional supercharger set-up
Opposite, bottom: The turbos are hidden inside the bodywork, but the weight’s the same
Did the programme go as planned?
“Yeah, but we probably should have got to where we eventually got to a bit earlier. We
probably missed a couple of signals which we could have picked up earlier. It would
have been nice to put tyres on it, which we weren’t able to, we ran one set of tyres
all season, we ended up having to put Marc Meihuizen’s tyres on it at the European Finals, it needed clutch discs, but I wouldn’t knock Graham for that at all.
So, did it go exactly according to plan? No. By the end of the season we’d run
6.29 seconds at 239.8 mph, which as I understand it is over 5 mph faster than any British Pro
Mod car has been, and it shook in first gear when it did that. So, were we satisfied that at the end
of the year we delivered a product that can race very competitively throughout 2012? Absolutely.
All that we wanted to do at the start of the year, by the end of the year was to be in the position
where we could deliver a product capable of competing for the 2012 FIA championship. Do we
think we’ve done that? Yes we do.
We will support Graham during this season, giving whatever input he needs, but by August we’ll
probably be surplus to requirements.”
How do you ensure the turbo is producing enough boost for the launch?
“The boost rises in a linear manner, but it does need sufficient time for it to reach a
certain level, then the boost controller will keep it at that level, by opening and
closing waste gates, at both the first and second stages of boost.“
“It takes just under 6 seconds in pre-stage to get the boost
level that we need. Within that time the waste gates are
metering the boost level that we need, within a pound or
two of what the car will launch on, so the vast majority of
the boost is done in pre-stage. When he goes into stage and puts the
second light on and puts it on the rug then it might jump up to 21 or 22
pounds, but most of the boost is already there.”
Explain the popping and banging we hear from turbo cars on the startline
“To build boost you use a huge amount of ignition retard. What you do is take the energy you
would normally have in a cylinder driving a piston down, delay it an enormous amount and take
that event and put it in the exhaust, so rather than driving the piston down you’re driving the
turbo. As soon as his foot comes off the clutch, that switches back to the normal ignition timing.
You’ve got a burn time, so if it takes (for argument’s sake) a second for the fuel in the cylinder to
burn, it doesn’t, it happens way, way quicker than that, when you light the mixture at say 30 degrees before top dead centre, it will build pressure going up towards top dead centre, both the
valves shut, when the crankshaft rolls over TDC all that pressure is then used to drive the piston
down. By the time the piston is past 70 or 80 degrees top dead centre the next cylinder is doing
the work. What we do when we go onto anti lag is rather than firing it at 30 degrees before top
dead centre and starting that process then, we start it a lot later, near top dead centre, so the
whole event moves round, so at the point the exhaust valve opens, there’s still an enormous
amount of unburned fuel there inside the cylinder, which is driven into the exhaust. That’s really
how we manage the boost within the map, we modulate the ignition timing from driving the piston down to driving the turbine. It’s an interesting process.”
With all that going on, how long can you survive in a burndown situation?
“As long as the startline marshal thinks is long enough. If I go into full stage and
stick it on the wood and you sit there, then I’m an idiot. There are 2 stages of
boost, you may or may not detect, but if you watch closely you’ll see there are
2 stages of boost. There’s a pre-stage level, you sit there on this limit and it
starts popping and banging. You go into full stage and it goes to a different RPM. If
you go into the first stage it could live there forever. So as long as you don’t go into second stage
until you think it’s appropriate, you’ll be fine. If you go into full stage before the guy’s in pre-stage
it’ll die, the same as any car will die. It will live in pre-stage, on the first level of boost, for as long
as you want to put it there.”
When you have turbos nestled inside the body, and no supercharger sticking out above the
bonnet, what difference does all that make? What about aerodynamics?
“Rob will explain this better than me, but the big issue that we have is a race car acts kind
of like a lever, and it’ll take a certain amount of energy to lift the front of a car. If you’ve
got weight high up as with a supercharger, it’ll help to keep it pitched if you’ve got
enough power. If you’ve got that weight lower down, and you’ve got pretty much
the same weight with the twin turbos, you’ve got a completely different issue. I
wouldn’t have thought the aerodynamics make the slightest difference.”
“By taking the injector off you’d look at the car and think it’s 10 times more aerodynamic, but that’s eyeball aero, because air doesn’t behave how you think it’s going to
behave. I think it’s fair to say that taking the supercharger and injector out of the
airstream probably doesn’t do any harm. The issues we have with aero were by
half track. You’ve got the same problem as you’ve got on the startline, to get the
car pitched and get the weight on the back tyres. I’ve got a 2,800 pound car and
with the front wheels in the air, discounting the wheelie bars I’ve got 2,800 pounds on the rear
tyres. As soon as I put the front wheels down I’m taking weight off the back tyres. So if you get to
half track and the car’s not pitched hard, it’s useful to have some help from the aero package, so
if you can build 50, 60 or 70 pounds of downforce on the back end of the car, it makes life a little
bit easier at half track, it stops the car getting nervous.
At the beginning of the year our deal was that Nick had 18 inches to move either side, because
we don’t own the car. If it was our car he’d happily drive it a lot further towards the walls, but as it
was he would shut the thing off if he got 18 inches either side of the middle of his lane. We found
that as the thing began to move towards half track, it was taking a fair bit of driving. At that point
we came back and put the gurney flap and the rest of it on and its fine now. If we still had the
weight up high it would be relatively easy to keep the car pitched, but with the weight where it is
you’re always struggling to keep it pitched. If you have good grip it isn’t an issue, but as the grip
becomes marginal it becomes harder and harder.“
ICE Automotive
Unit 2235, Silverstone Technology Park,
Silverstone Circuit, Northants NN12 8GX
Tel 01327 858992 www.iceautomotive.co.uk
Let’s talk about ICE Automotive for a moment. You were telling us you’re both
building a car...
“I’m building a Vega, a nostalgia funny car. The decision we made 10 years ago to
move into circuit racing was an economic one. It’s a bigger market, but we like drag
racing, that’s what we enjoy doing, so now we’re basically looking at drag racing
again, so what car do you fancy building? That sounds almost arrogant really, but
because we have the facility that we have and there’s no rush to do it, it doesn’t
form part of our business strategy or anything like that, it’s just fun.
We ran the Bantam, and it was fun. Then we fancied running nitro, but I haven’t driven anything for
maybe 25 years. The funny car thing interests me so we started building a funny car, then Tim (Garlick) turned up and he wants to do a car so mine goes into storage and his takes precedence. It’s no
secret that when we did the Bantam I was leaning towards the mid 70s and Nick was leaning towards the mid 60s, so now he’s just taking the opportunity to do the Fiat, which you’re doubtless
aware of is going to be a nightmare of a car, but there you go that’s just my own opinion, I thinks it’s
going to be monumentally entertaining to watch!
It’s just being done for the sake of doing it. There are no great plans for global domination or anything like that.”
“For us to be given the opportunity to build and run Graham’s car last year was
fantastic, and Graham and Gareth were fantastic as customers. They backed us
100 percent and we couldn’t have asked for more support. We genuinely couldn’t.
But to consider that Rob and I could do it and run our own Pro Mod car... there’s
just no way. We love the class to death, but with the best will in the world we
know we could never afford to do it. We want to build and run something that
we can afford to run and build. We ain’t bracket racers, I want to run a clutch,
and we believe everyone should run a car on nitro before they die. I don’t have
an interest in running top fuel or modern day funny cars, so we gotta do something.”
“The difficulty isn’t a question of economics, the difficulty is if you’re a competitive person. When we raced Pro Mod, our success within Pro Mod was directly opposite to
our success in business. As soon as you start to race, with us, the business suffers. The meeting doesn’t start Saturday morning and finish Sunday night. It
starts on the Wednesday and finishes the following Tuesday, at least. It just
burns you, it consumes you. We won’t put ourselves in the position where that
could happen again, so you build these odd things. The Bantam has nowhere
to race...”
“If you wheel the Bantam next to Joe Bond’s car, or Chaos, everyone just
thinks “this is the mis-match from hell”. We kind of made a rod for our own
backs because we ran so quick...”
Well yeah, it was a European speed record holder at one point
for an alcohol altered. The thing that saves us is that nobody’s
going to build another one. The difficulty would come if someone built a similar car and went 6.50, then we’d be off again.... You can’t stop it, it’s in you.
So, what you do is go somewhere where you’re not exposed to that sort of
thing, which is why we’re building a nostalgia funny car and Nick’s Fiat.
Is there going to be a nostalgia funny car class in the near future then?
“Right now, if we walked down the pits and said who wants to build a nitro funny car,
50 people would put their hands up, but building a car and racing a car isn’t standing
on a rostrum waving a trophy, it’s a cold miserable Tuesday night in the middle of
December smashing your knuckles on a bracket. It’s awful, and when people are
confronted with that the whole thing looks very different. They’re expensive
things to run, especially if you tune them inappropriately, I think few people
would doubt the damage nitro methane can do, and the truth of the matter is I
don’t know where it’ll go, in all honesty I can see it getting to 10 or 12 cars, it
just won’t.
But you know what? So what if there’s just 2 or 3, that’s 2 or 3 cars that we don’t have now. I’m
sure Tim Garlick won’t mind me saying that we’ve got a budget to test his new car all next year,
which will amount to 30 or 35 part runs next year, and it’ll be exactly the same as it was with the
Bantam, and with the Superbird. If you want to see it run, don’t go stand at 1,000 feet because you
just won’t see it.
We’ll then obviously run it a lot harder the following year, and ultimately we’d like to take it to Bakersfield, in 3 or 4 years when we’ve recovered from the initial outlay for the car, accumulated some
spares, and built up some useful contacts in the States. Whatever comes out of it comes out of it.
You may get 4 cars, but the country’s not big enough, and since it became illegal to run nitro in
sportsman racing, people have forgotten how to do it.”
Above: Nick and Rob’s beautiful Bantam altered. Hopefully it won’t be too long before we
see their own new cars on the track, but in the meantime look out for Nick Garlick’s new
nostlagia funny car, which ICE automotive hope to start testing early in the 2012 season
Bennett
Racing
The Bennett family are something of a drag racing
dynasty! We have a quick pre-season chat with them
to get a feel for what we can expect from them over
the coming year...
Photos and images supplied by Bennett Racing unless otherwise stated
“We were p
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but the carb
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ny cars,
What can you tell us about the new Superpower Unlimited Supercharged Outlaw
Bantam altered?
Luke Bennett: Well, I bought a rolling chassis over from the States in early 2007, plans
were to build a very simple iron big block Chevy and keep it simple and cheap with a
carb. However late in 2007 I was diagnosed with cancer so that stopped progress on the
car as I had no money thanks to my work not paying sick pay. Then as time went by we
realised we had a lot of bits to build a blown car, then Kenny at Superpower Unlimited offered me a great deal as sponsorship and the choice was made to go blown!
The build is still in progress and thanks to the great rendering by another sponsor, Peter
Walters Race Design, (pwrd.co.uk) we should hopefully turn out another good looking
race car.
Is there going to be a lot of testing for this new car?
Luke Bennett: Not really, I will go to a quieter event before I compete in the Supercharged Outlaws to
iron out the bugs that will be there with any new car, but I already have a soft tune up for the car and
the set up will be very similar to the early ‘90s with the Topolino. The aim is for mid-to-low 7s. Yes, it
could run a 6 but for now due to cost I will keep it in the 7s.
Tell us about your first altered, the ‘23 T altered that you raced in wild bunch.
Luke Bennett: I loved that car, bought in 2004 and rebuilt during 2005, adding a rear wing, wheelie
bars and a few other bits and pieces, kept as a manual but ran a 4.6 Rover V8. I really enjoyed launching that car at 7,000rpm! Not too shabby 1.32 second 60 foot and a best of 11.14 at 125mph. We sold
that car at the end of 2006.
Bennett racing has be
en in existence for 30
years now, how did it
Frank: I had watched
all start?
drag racing at Santa Po
d
from the age of 13. Th
Ford Pop and I then ra
en a chance came up
ced in the early ‘80s. At
to buy a
that time we were in th
were known as ECA 14
e Competition Altered
and called the car Phan
cla
ss. We
tasm.
What’s your view on
1000ft racing?
Frank: I agree with it fro
m a safety point of vie
w as the cars need to
ing on tracks and shut
be slowed down as th
off areas built in the ‘50
ey are racs and ’60, and they’re
the concrete posts at
sim
ply too short. Added to
the end of some track
that
s... the tracks also need
to be held accountable
for safety.
Sponsors of Bennett Racing
Autoglym
www.Autoglym.Co.Uk
Battery Energy Drink
www.Buyenergydrinks.Co.Uk
BRE Titanium www.Bretitanium.Com
Chronos Engineering Supplies
www.Chronos.Ltd.Uk
Escape Website Design
www.Escapedesign.Net
Forge Motorsport
www.Forgemotorsport.Co.Uk
King Engine Bearings
www.Kingbearings.Com
Slick Attire
www.Slickattire.Com
Smiths
www.Smithshp.Com
Superpower Unlimited
www.Superpowerunlimited.Co.Uk
Avondale Composites
Contact Bennett Racing For Tel No.
HRB Automotive
07709047849
K&N Air Filters
www.Knfilters.Co.Uk
OBP
www.Obpltd.Com
PWRD
pwrd.Co.Uk/Index2.Html
Silicone Hoses.Com
Http://Siliconhoses.Com
GST Racing Seals
www.Gregseal.Com
RPM Performance
Http://Rpmperf.Com
Tillett Racing Seats
www.Tillett.Co.Uk
Top Film Posters
Http://Topfilmposters.Co.Uk
Adam, you’re going to be racing a slingshot for 2012 in
Wild Bunch, tell us about it.
We’re aiming for a totally new look to the car! So far we’ve
fabricated a new roll cage, which has reduced the height by
4-inches. We have also added extra safety bars behind
and below the driver, and we’re planning to replace all the
panel work with new. We also intend to replace the brake
and fuel systems, and will be moving the engine back for
better weight distribution.
Currently the engine includes a 2.1 Cosworth bottom end,
lightened fly wheel etc, it has a Pinto top end running twin
45 Webber carbs. We intend to fabricate our own exhaust
system.
The long term aim is to run the current car for a season
and to be the first to run a 10 second pass. Then move
onto higher class with an altered or Chevy slingshot.
What changes have you seen over the 30 years you’ve been racing?
Frank: Some good, some bad. Good ones include the introduction of junior dragsters, I wish I could
have raced at their age! Another would be Santa Pod's track improvements and investments in facilities and track safety. Not so good... the loss of race competitors and crews.
What have been your career highlights so far?
Frank: There’s been so many! Bringing the funny car over from USA in 1989 then racing it as an altered. Achieving our first 6 second pass doing over 200mph in 2007. Finally winning the championship with all my family and close friends there to share it with me. Talking to Don Garlits about my
car appearing in a book called Crazy Horses during a visit to his museum in 2010.
What’s the future like for Bennett Racing?
Frank: Before we change the funny over we intend get the European title with the car as an alcohol
altered car. My sons will also be taking their own cars to the track. My eldest, Luke (crew chief) has
already been down the track in his first altered in the Wild Bunch class. His new car will be in Supercharged Outlaws. My younger son Adam will be racing for the first time in his slingshot as part of
the Wild Bunch class.
Photo by Simon Hodder
g
Art
n
i
c
a
R
g
a
Dr
the
of
Most people who wander around the pits stop
to admire the artwork
that many racers use to
decorate their cars and
bikes. It’s a real tradition in drag racing, and
although computers are
increasingly used to
create amazing designs
on huge sheets of vinyl,
stick on graphics
haven’t replaced the tradition of commissioning
one-off works of art
from people skilled with
the airbrush!
We’ve been taking detail shots of modern artwork that appeals to us
for the last couple of
years, with the idea of
showcasing some of it
in DRC, but as a starting point, Simon
thought it might be
worth digging some examples of 1970s artwork out from one of
his old shoe boxes...
Above:
The Oxford Builder competition
altered driven by Geoff Martin. It was
powered by a 4.2 litre Jaguar engine.
Not quite sure where the idea for the
name of this car came from...
Below: A Ford Pop that goes drag
racing couldn’t have a more apt name
that Pop Dragin! This car is still
around, 30 years later, although these
days it’s painted bright pink and
called Fatal Attraction
Main photo:
Ron Picardo, you know him, he
drives wheelie cars and jet Beetles
these days, used to drive this fuel
funny car called The Force, which
was a yellow coloured Monza body
decorated with this dark and sinister
image!
The battered looking Gladiator funny car after
its rollover in 1979 at Santa Pod. If you look
closely, there’s more than impact damage visible... the car had suffered a big fire earlier on
and had been patched up enough to make the
elimination rounds. It’s pretty bad luck to have
a fire, but a fire and a rollover in one weekend
is a bit much!
The look of the gladiator wasn’t popular with
everyone, but it was my favourite funny car
of the ‘70s. Despite all the scuffs, cracks
and gaffer tape, I think it still looks good
here! The painting of the Gladiator being
pulled along by four horses is very fitting!
Another thing that’s interesting to
see, although it has nothing to do
with artwork, is the tiny rear wing.
Fuel funny cars were very basic
machines back then!
We’ll look at some more up
to date artwork next time...
Enter the E-ticket
Santa Pod has introduced a brand new ticketing
system for 2012, and it should result in a whole
range of benefits for race fans.
We look at what the new system means for you...
The system that
Santa Pod has introduced for the 2012
season is already
used by premiership
football teams, pop
concert promoters
and will be used for
the 2012 Olympics,
and is provided by
Ticketmaster.
Despite this proven
pedigree, it’s taken
quite a bit of work behind the scenes to get
the system working
with Santa Pod’s wide
ranging ticketing and
pricing structure.
The system is now
live, so what does it
mean for race fans?
Pre-booking
Previously, if you
wanted to buy your
tickets in advance you
could only do so up
until the Friday of the
week before the event.
You can now pre-book
your ticket as late as
the day before an
event,although the
early booking discount
only applies until the
Friday before the
event.
Print at Home
One of the great
things about the new
system is that you
don’t have to wait for
your tickets to arrive
by post, they arrive by
e-mail and you simply
print them off!
If you’re booking
tickets for a group of
people you can forward the email so they
can print off their own
Above: This is what part of the grandstand booking page looks like on the
web site. Available seats are represented by a green dot, and you can
book it by clicking on it. As you select seats, a running total of the cost is
displayed at the bottom of the screen, so you know just how much you
are spending
ticket.
Grandstand seats
Another significant improvement is
the ability to select
your desired grandstand seats online
and then print off the
appropriate tickets.
Previously you
had to discuss your
seating arrangements over the
phone, or wait until
you arrived at the
track, by which time
long queues might
have formed at busy
meetings.
The web site features a diagram of
Above: A great feature of the new system is that
when you select a grandstand seat, you can see
what the view from it will be like by clicking on the
binocular icon!
the grandstand, so you
can pick your desired
seats without any difficulty, and ticket prices
are clearly diplayed on
the site. You then simply click on the seat
you want and the computer does the rest,
and shows you a running total of how much
you will be billed. If
seats have already
been allocated,
they’re greyed out to
avoid confusion.
Don’t forget to print
your grandstand tickets off and bring them
with you to the track
though!
Ticket security
You should print off
the whole page that
your tickets come on,
because other relevant
information is included
on the page.
The tickets are all
bar coded, and when
they are scanned at
the gate, the ticket details are stored in the
computer. This means
that only the first person to use an individual ticket will be
allowed through the
gate, so there’s no
point printing off a few
crafty extra tickets!
Future plans
At some events, notably Bug Jam, demand for tickets can
outstrip supply.
For this reason,
tickets are sold on a
first come, first served
basis. Up until now,
Santa Pod has never
had ticket only events,
but anybody who
doesn’t pre-book for
an event like Bug Jam
is risking disappointment.
This new system
will make it simpler
and easier for people
to get their tickets.
It’s hoped that dedicated E-ticket lanes
will be opened at the
gate, because it will be
possible to fast-track
people holding these
tickets onto the site.
This will hopefully reduce queues at big
events.
As with any new
system, there will no
doubt be teething
problems for the Santa
Pod staff to overcome
in the initial stages, but
as everyone becomes
familiar and satisfied
with the results, then
more features will be
Above:
Your E-ticket will
look something like
this. Bring the whole
sheet to the track because there may be
additional useful information on it.
added. So, make sure
your printer cartridges
are full and that the
paper tray is loaded!
Paul Croston
’s Alfa Romeo
powered alte
in 1980. The d
red at Santa P
esign of thes
od early
e altereds loo
safe 30 years
k
ed so modern
ago, but with
and
the benefit of
look so terrib
hindsight, the
ly exposed!
drivers
WIN VIP
FAMILY
TICKET
What better way to start 2012 than a great
opportunity to bag a great prize. You could
win…
An afternoon of awesome stunts and displays
for all the family, featuring some of the top UK
stunt drivers and riders. The perfect high
octane half term entertainment for kids.
VIP Family ticket to Stunt Fest Saturday 18th
February 2012 at Santa Pod Raceway
An opportunity to experience this event in the
comfort of Santa Pod’s VIP areas. The prize
includes Event admission, Raised viewing
(Balcony), Refreshments throughout the day,
including Buffet served at 1pm, Privilege
Parking, Meet and greet the drivers plus a
family photo taken with Nitro the Dragon to
keep as a memory of a great day out.
All you need to do to win this great prize is
answer the questions below.
1. Who won the 2011 FIA European Top Fuel Dragster
Championship?
2.What is the most significant change in top fuel
racing for 2012?
3.Can you name the Radio DJ that raced the top fuel
car “The Needle” in the late 70s?
4.Who pilots the twin seater
dragster “Thrill Ride”?
5.What’s so special about this
black VW Beetle?
Send your answers via email to
competition@drceurope.co.uk
The closing date will be
the 3rd February and the
winner will be selected
randomly and
announced in the 15th
Issue of Drag Racing
Confidential on 8th
February.
Family ticket allows 2
adults and 3 children.
For more information about this amazing event visit
the Stunt Fest website http://www.stuntfest.co.uk
First
Timer?
If you’re thinking about coming to a drag race for the first time, either on your
own, with some mates or with the whole family, there are a few things you
need to know if you really want to get the most out of the experience! Our 14
top tips for complete beginners should help you get the most out of your first
trip to the strip...
About this photo!
Spectators at drag ra
cing events get supe
rb views of the actio
Shockwave Fuel Funn
n. This shot of the
y Car was taken from
a public area at Sant
For keen amateur mot
a Pod in 2010.
orsport photographer
s, drag racing offers
unique opportunity to
th
e almost
get the same kind of
shots as the professi
the fun (and the skill
onals. Part of
) of getting great shot
s is working out wher
won’t give it all away
e
to stand, so we
here, although once
at the track it will be
Why not come along
pretty obvious!
this year and give it
a go?
All the photos in this
feature were taken fro
m spectator areas, to
great the views are!
illustrate how
Ear protEction!
Perhaps the most important piece of advice we
can give you! If
you’ve never been drag racing before, you have
no idea how loud
it’s going to be! If you don’t already have some
ear defenders,
make a point of buying some at the track before
the action begins.
You can always pick up a pair for around £5. If
you have youngsters in your party, don’t forget them!
Book your tickEts Early!
We all want to save money, and by booking your tickets early you can save a bundle! For example, if you want to go to the FIA Main Event at Santa Pod in June, a full 4-day ticket will cost you
£56 if you book before January 31st. If you book your ticket before the close of business on the
Friday before the event the same ticket will cost £70, and if you buy your ticket at the gate it will
cost you £80. So, by planning ahead, you could save yourself £24!
Santa Pod
www.santapod.com
Tickets and general enquiries: 01234 782828
York Raceway
www.yorkraceway.org.uk
General enquiries: 01422 843651
Shakespeare County
www.shakespearecountyraceway.com
Ticket hotline 01789 414119
tunE in to nitro fm
If you’re going to Santa Pod, tune your car radio to
96.2 FM. That way, as you cover the last couple of
miles, or if you’re sitting in queues up Airfield Road,
you can get the latest information about what the
day has to offer. Santa Pod’s Nitro FM broadcasts
live commentry from the track announcers, as well
as interviews and music.
arrivE Early
e
cast from behind th
Above: Nitro FM broad
startline at Santa Pod
Particularly important at big events! Arriving early means no sitting in long lines of traffic queing up
at the entry gates. It also allows you time to wander round the pits for a close-up look at the cars
and bikes, to grab a coffee or snack for breakfast, and then bag your favourite viewing spot.
car parking
Car parking is included in the entry price at all drag strips in the UK, so there’s no extra cost to
worry about. If you arrive early you will generally have a short walk to the track, but at big events
you might have to walk a few hundred metres. Car parks can get a bit muddy after wet weather, so
make sure you wear sensible shoes!
what to wEar
All our drag strips are based on old airfields, which means they are exposed to the elements. Even
on a warm sunny day it can feel chilly if there’s a bit of a breeze (which there nearly always is!). Always wear more layers than you think you might need, you can always take something off if you
get a bit hot, but there’s nothing more likely to spoil your day than getting freezing cold! A windproof outer layer in all but the warmest weather is recommended. Bring a high factor sun cream,
even in cloudy weather, or you could end up being a Pod Lobster!
finding your way around
Whichever drag strip you visit, finding your way around is very simple. Marshals will generally be
available to show you where to park, and then finding the drag strip is a matter of walking towards
the noise! If you’ve arrived before the track opens, you can usually hear music and announcements being made on the loud speakers. It is possible for groups to get separated, so you should
pick a prominent landmark and arrange to meet there after a pre-determined period should you
lose each other. Relying on mobile phones is not a good idea, because it’s so noisy that you probably won’t hear your phone ring, even if you get a decent signal, which is not guaranteed because
of the remote location of race tracks.
watching thE
action
Leaving aside the VIP viewing areas
(we’ll have more about those in a future
issue) spectators have the choice of
watching the action from tall grass
banks or grandstands. On a warm,
sunny day, the grass banks at Santa
Pod and Shakespeare County Raceway take on a real picnic atmosphere,
and new friendships are often forged
there. Views from the grass banks
and grandstands are superb, and just
about any camera with a zoom facility
will allow you to get good close-up
shots of the action!
A
Photo A
This is the kind of view you get from
the grandstand at Santa Pod, where
a small charge is made. Seats can be
pre-booked by phone, online, or
bought on the day.
Photo B
A view from the grass bank at Santa
Pod. If you stand down towards the
finish line, you get to see the parachutes being deployed to slow the cars
down!
B
Photo C
You can see the entire track from any of the seats
at Shakespeare County.
C
Photo D
Wide angle view from the back row at Shakespeare
County. There’s no extra cost for grandstand seats
at Shakey.
Photo E
Wide angle view from the back row at Santa Pod.
E
D
visit thE pits
Unlike some forms of motorsport, drag racing lets you get up close and personal with the race cars
and teams. You can watch the crews strip engines down between races, and provided they’re not
too busy they’ll be happy to answer your questions. A walk round the pits at a drag race meeting is
an essential part of
the day. There is
no charge for entering the pits, so
make sure you
don’t miss out!
camping
Camping for the
weekend at a race
meeting is great
fun. It’s not always
as busy as in this
photo, and at most
weekend events
there’s loads of
room to put up your
tent, park your motorhome or erect
your trailer tent.
Camping allows
you to enjoy the
evening entertainment, which often
involves live bands,
or to visit the bar
and enjoy a pint or
two.
Teams often work
late into the night to
get their race machines repaired
after blowing an
engine or hitting a
wall, and a wander
round the pits in
the dark can give
you an insight into
how much effort the
teams make to
reach the next
round!
whEElchair accEss
Viewing areas have been built by Santa Pod and Shakespeare County to ensure that race fans
who require a wheelchair to get around in have an unobstructed view of the action. Toilet facilities
with wheelchair access are also available, although some help might be required for people with
limited upper body strength. Have your Blue Badge card handy to show the parking marshals as
you drive into the car parks, and ask to be directed to wheelchair friendly parking areas.
food and drink
The number of food outlets varies with
the size of the meeting. However,
there’s always plenty of vendors selling
hot and cold drinks, burgers, fish and
chips and that vital ingredient, the
cooked breakfast!
Many people take a cool box packed
with their own food and drinks, especially if they plan to spend the day on
the grass bank.
long day
People often expect that drag racing
events will last for two or three hours,
but in fact the action typically starts by about 9.30 in the morning and can continue until it gets
dark. Sometimes the racing carries on even after dark at Santa Pod, because it’s one of the few
race tracks that has a night racing licence! So, be prepared for a full day of action, and if you’re
planning to sit of the grass bank, why not bring some camping chairs and a windbreak, and make
yourself really comfortable?
rain
Drag racing cannot take place if the track is wet. The track crews can get a wet track into racing
condition in a couple of hours, so it’s not often that the race is cancelled, but if it is, tracks offer
what is called a rain-off value rather than return money. So, if you are unlucky enough to get
rained off, make sure you keep your tickets and check with the track (or their web site) to see what
value is assigned to your ticket. If no racing took place, then you can use the ticket to gain free
entry at a future event. If some racing took place, then a pro-rata rain-off value will apply. Full details are available from the relevant tracks.
the
2012 MSA
Pro
Modified
Championship
w
e
i
v
e
r
P
The MSA British Drag
Racing Championship
for
2012 will be fought ove
r five rounds, all held
at
Santa Pod. We take a
quick look at some of
the
drivers who we think
will be taking part in th
e
championship this ye
ar, and the cars they’ll
be
driving...
ng
of drivi
e
r
u
s
a
e
oints
he pl
hared t
nship p
s
o
i
t
p
h
g
m
i
:
a
r
Ch
oto
yW
ts
Main ph field and And upe last year. A Racing poin on?
e
o
B
gl
C
as
Bert En cing ‘38 Ford e added to the or the 2012 se
f
a
r
t
e
R
men
ver w
the BA
arrange
ach dri
e
s
i
y
h
t
b
e
d
ntinu
gaine
they co
l
l
i
W
.
y
tall
Graham Ellis will be swapping a blower for a turbo this year
The UK Pro Modied
field for the 2012
season will include
an interesting mix of
supercharged,
nitrous and turbocharged cars. Throw
a newly licensed
driver or two into the
mix, along with an
untried car or two,
and the outcome of
the races will be anyone’s guess!
We haven’t yet had
any confirmation as to
which of the UK drivers will be contesting
the MSA championship, so most of
what follows is guesswork, but we thought it
would be great fun to
take a look at how the
season might take
shape!
As you can read
elsewhere in this
issue, Graham Ellis
will be campaigning
his Plymouth Superbird, running a turbocharged 521 cubic
inch (more than 8.5
litre) motor. Bearing in
mind that this car was
being developed by
ICE Automotive last
season, and spent
most of the year making partial passes, it
still managed to finish
fourth in the standings!
The car managed a
storming 6.2 second,
239 mph pass towards
the end of the development year, so stick
Graham Ellis behind
the wheel and he has
to be a good bet for
the 2012 title, despite
the fact that the team
will be on a steep
learning curve, at least
for the first half of the
season. They will be
supported by Nick
Davies and Rob Loaring, who won the Pro
Mod championship at
the end of the ‘90s,
and that makes for a
strong partnership.
He’s not going to
have it all his own way
though. Roger Moore
will be looking to go
one better this year
and lift the crown. He
seemed to get a handle on his 732 cubic
inch (almost 12 litre!)
nitrous oxide injected
Dodge Viper last year,
and only narrowly
missed out to Graham,
finishing in second
place.
Andy Frost will be
hoping that he’s left
his engine woes behind him as he campaigns his new Red
Victor 3 turbocharged
road legal Vauxhall for
its first full Pro Mod
season. There’s no
doubting Andy’s ability
as a racer, so despite
the fact that he’ll still
be developing the car,
you’d be mad to count
him out!
Then there’s Wayne
Nicholson in his blown
Lucky Devil Corvette,
Steve Hall (who got
his Pro Mod license
late last year) in his
stunning black blown
Corvette, and Bert Englefield’s The Hot Rod
blown Ford Coupe (will
Bert be doing all the
driving, or will he
share the duties with
newly licensed Andy
Wright?). Then there’s
Mick Payne in his yellow blown Camaro,
and maybe French
MSA Pro Mod 2012 seasonPreview
racer Jean Dulamon,
who contested 4 out of
5 MSA rounds last
year in his 780 cu inch
( that’s over 12.5 litres
to you and me!) nitrous car? Will Kev
Slyfield be out this
year?
And last but by no
means least, Andy
Gus Robinson. He
won’t be fielding his famous Studebaker this
year, so will his new
2012 ’69 Camaro be
ready for the first
event? We don’t know,
but one thing’s for
sure, this car is being
built as a state-of-theart Pro Mod, and Andy
is building it to make
sure he keeps pace
with the best of the
mainland European
Pro Mod teams.
Whether he can be
quick enough straight
off the trailer to make
his mark on the 2012
MSA championship
we’ll have to wait and
see, but he probably
knows Pro Mod cars
better than anyone
else in the UK, so he’ll
undoubtedly be right
up there with the
quickest runners from
the get-go.
The 2012 MSA Pro
Mod championship is
going to be a thrilling
spectacle, and it will
kick off at the Easter
Thunderball at the beginning of April. Make
sure you’re there to
watch this first event.
Only then will we
begin to get any idea
how the championship
might play out.
One thing for sure, It’ll
be an awesome ride!
2012 Race dates
y
All races will be held at Santa Pod Racewa
April 6-9
Auto Trader Easter Thunderball
May 1-4
The FIA Main Event
June 23-24
The Summer Nationals
September 6-9
The FIA EuropeanFinals
September 22-23
VP Racing Fuels National Finals
For more information:
l
MSA: www.msadragracing.co.uk/index.htm
Santa Pod: www.santapod.co.uk
Eurodragster: www.eurodragster.com
Mick Payne’s lovely Camaro
How many MSA rounds will French racer Jean Dulamon contest this year?
Steve Hall will be looking forward to his first full Pro Mod season in this awesome looking
car
MSA Pro Mod 2012 seasonPreview
Wayne Nicholson’s Lucky Devil Corvette has been around for a while now and is a popular
car with the fans
Andy Robinson won’t be racing this Studebaker any more. All we know about his new ride
is that it will be a state-of-the-art race machine. Everyone else better watch out then!
Roger Moore finished the 2011 season second in the championship. His impressive Dodge
Viper was pulling big wheelstands during the year, and this obviously did the trick as far as
getting down the track quickly and reliably was concerned! Will he be able to repeat his
strong performance this year?
MSA Pro Mod 2012 seasonPreview