Dirt
Dragstalgia
A look at Europe ’ s premier nostalgia drag racing event By David Beitler
Dragstalgia is an homage to the bygone area of drag racing and hot rodding . The three-day event in July brings together a colorful conglomeration of machines with diverse engine and chassis combinations , turning the grounds at Santa Pod Raceway into an engineer ’ s playground , a gearhead ’ s Garden of Eden . At no other European event will you see a front-engine dragster with an Allison V12 engine face off against a blown Ford V6 Sidewinder or a 4-cylinder-powered slingshot duking it out with an Altered powered by a straight 6-cylinder engine .
The headlining class , named Dragstalgia Cannonball , puts nitro and methanol Nostalgia Funny Cars , slingshots , and Altereds together to race in a cannonball format . Additional classes included the Gasser Circus , Supercharged Outlaws , Wild Bunch , Nostalgia Super Stock , Willys Wars , and the Custom Car invitational , not to forget about the two-wheeled machines represented by the Old School Stockers and the NSA Bike Shootout .
And if the racing didn ’ t already satisfy your entertainment cravings , there was plenty of off-track action as well . The festivities included numerous live bands , a beer festival , a show-and-shine Paddock with the best classics and hot rods from all over the UK , and much more .
For the Dragstalgia Cannonball there is no traditional qualifying . Instead , three runs are made with the elapsed times added together . The final sees the two quickest face off for the win , third and fourth quickest for second , and so on . In the end it was repeat winner Tim Garlick in his colorful “ Apache ” Pontiac Nostalgia Funny Car who made it into the final against Bob Hawkins in his
“ Time Traveller II ” slingshot . Garlick ran a 6.31 at 223 mph to beat Hawkins ’ slower 6.71 at 170 mph to take home yet another Dragstalgia trophy .
A welcome guest was Texan John Hale , who came over to race Rob Elsom ’ s “ Dirty Deeds ” Camaro Nostalgia Funny Car . After the first checkout pass , they encountered some clutch issues during the second run but had them fixed and ran a pair of decent 6-second passes during his third and fourth attempt .
Ray Irish in the “ Gas Junkie ” Willys Pickup Gasser won the final of the popular Gasser Circus field in which over 20 cars participated . His 10.17 at 128 mph beat Simon Prest ’ s 11.07 at 120 mph run and got him the trophy .
One of the big highlights in the Outlaw Anglia class was provided by fan favorite Colin Millar ,
PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAVID BEITLER
38 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 178