After seven long winter months and two years of countless cancellations the European drag racing season kicked off, without restrictions, over the Easter weekend. Easter in the UK is usually plagued by cold and rain, not this year, wall to wall sunshine, light southerly breeze and temperatures in the 70’s, perfect.
Long time readers will know that as well as butterflies, dragonflies and birds my other great interest is drag racing the loudest, fastest and most powerful motor sport in the world. I’ve been going to meetings for over forty five years and have witnessed so many changes. If someone had said back in the seventies what speeds and times these cars and bikes are doing now they would have been laughed at, we think we are at the limit now but are we? Take a look at a bit of action from the Sunday eliminations, just a handful of the hundreds of shots I took!
The final of Nitro Funny Car sees winner Kevin Chapman in the blue and white Mustang take on Steve Ashdown in the ‘Undertaker’ Dodge Stratus. Under those carbon bodies are 500ci (8 litre) supercharged, injected v8 Hemi engines running on nitromethane and producing 10,000 bhp. This wide angle shot took a bit of cropping to get it to look rightSuper Street Bikes are insanely quick capable of running the 1/4 mile in 6.8 seconds at over 220mph, if the power comes in too soon they can head skywards as Al Morrison jr found out!The ultimate class in drag racing are the Top Fuel Dragsters. They race over 1,000 feet and cover that distance in under 4 seconds at well over 300mph. In under a second (about 60 feet) they are already travelling at 100mph. This brave (crazy?) lady is Finland’s Ida ZetterstromAt the other end of the scale are the Junior Dragsters. For the 8 to 17 year olds they race over 1/8th mile. The top cars cover this in under 8 seconds at around 80mph, far quicker than most road cars! JMA 15 is Daniel Weir the event runner up‘Crew Killer’ is the name of John Tebenham’s Ford Pop for good reason, his burn outs are really wild. This time a gaggle of media photogs got a closer look than expected!As the sun went down it was finals time. I moved down toward the finishing line to see if I could get any shots of cars at top speed in the low light. This is Spencer Tramm winning Comp Eliminator in his Camaro
Nowadays it’s a very safe sport. Accidents do occasionally happen but the cars are so well built serious injury is rare. At this meeting there was not one crash in three days.
Interesting… although I think not environmentally friendly. Great shots!!! Some of the money they put into those cars would have made our heads spin also in the 1980’s.
Yes CJ an expensive sport with very little reward, the prize money barely covers running costs. As for environmentally friendly well very, very few of the machines run on ‘fossil fuels’ most use methanol (alcohol). There are far, far worse things polluting the world right now.
I didn’t know they ran on methanol. Interesting. I know, the airlines (which is the Hubby’s employer) and the shipping industry are far worse than auto sports. Not to mention the human desire to destroy everything with military hardware! Have a great weekend with Mrs H.!😊
Lucky you.
I watched Sunday on line. It reminded of Easter 76 and the weather that continued all that summer.
I’m going in May and September for the FIA rounds. Keep taking the pictures.
Butterflies are coming out too already.
Yes a warm, sunny Easter meeting Malvin, certainly lifts the gloom.
Looking forward to the ‘Main Event’ also but I suspect there will be very few entries from Scandinavia.
Amazing pics, they all deserve to be framed.
The evolution of the sport has been incredible, I got involved with drag racing in South America in the early 1990s and at the time we were getting from Top Fuels back then has been beaten by Pro Mods nowadays.
Thanks for the nice comment Rubens, I try my best with the camera!
Yes times today are crazy. There is a street legal car here that gets lots of road miles going quicker and faster than Fuel cars did in the late 70’s!
Brian, I bet you were happy as a dancing, singing lark being there amongst all the odeurs of burnt rubber, carbon monoxide, nitromethane, etc.—not that ANYONE there would’ve been able to hear you sing, which may have been a good thing, right? 😉 😄
I had a good high school marching band buddy who had an almost identical Chevy Camaro as Spencer Tramm’s there. Same color, white racing stripes over hood (bonnet?), roof, and trunk. Holy Crapola Batman, when he gunned it from a standstill, I swear my head hit the front of the headrest and was GLUED to it until he topped it off around 105–110 mph. 😲 He definitely had it souped up somehow! Unbelievable it was. I felt as if I was on top of NASA’s Saturn 5 rocket-boosters going PAST the Moon. And I was NOT next to Neil Armstrong or Buzz Aldrin… so I wasn’t totally comfortable with the possibility of never seeing my parents or sister again! 😬 😆 Anyway, great pics. I know you had a BLAST—no pun intended there.
If I may my trifecta footballing friend, we Yanks got some crushing news during & after the Borussia Dortmund game vs. Stuttgart, April 8th. Giovanni Reyna has been ruled out for Dortmund’s remaining season. 😔 Bad muscle and tendon tears, again for Gio. Geeezzz. This (below) is what we Yanks are going to miss… (if I may leave a YouTube highlight from WC Qualifying vs. Mexico…
Some Mexico color commentator compared this snippet ‘Diego Maradona-esque‘ in the 1986 WC versus England in Azteca Stadium no less! Woah NELLIE! Increíble! 😉 By chance, did you hear/see this about his performance?
Yes Prof a great meeting to start the season.
I didn’t know your star player has been crocked. We get very little news here on U.S soccer (I had to google to see if you had qualified for the finals when I got back from Germany!). There’s a long way to go before Qatar so he may recover.
Sadly the video you posted will not play so I’m guessing he’s not punching the ball in the net? 🤬😡 (still bitter after all these years).
😄 No Brian, Reyna had one more El Tre player to beat and he could’ve gotten a shot away. But even the Mexican fans were oooo-ing & ahhh-ing cheering him. Here, let’s try an American broadcast…
I am hoping Gio recovers soon enough to at least be a viable substitute come Qatar 2022. But first assessments by medical staff have their doubts. It will be a long road for Giovanni, sadly. Christian Pulisic and Weston McKinnie (and a few others playing in Europe) won’t be able to seriously compete & show the U.S.’s talent unless Reyna is in the starting eleven. 😞 Our bench isn’t deep.
Hemi engines and souped up Camaros – reads like you are back in the states ha. Clearly running faster than our backstreet runners – must be a hell of thrill to hit that accelerator (maybe they are buttons and not pedals now, not sure).
Great photos! I can hear the engines, feel the excitement in the air and see the smiles as people are getting to be back at the track. It must have been great for you to get to be there.
A site reminiscing on the glory days of drag racing and hot rodding culture, the history of our sport and keeping old school traditions alive in the 21st Century.
Butterflies To Dragsters 
Looks like a lot of fun.
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Sure is!
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You’ve had a long wait, so I’m glad it turned out to be a fine day for it. 🙂
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How about that Mike, Easter being warm and sunny!
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I think I would be too worried about crashes and other calamities to watch these races. I hope you haven’t witnessed too much mayhem.
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Nowadays it’s a very safe sport. Accidents do occasionally happen but the cars are so well built serious injury is rare. At this meeting there was not one crash in three days.
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I’m glad to hear it.
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Interesting… although I think not environmentally friendly. Great shots!!! Some of the money they put into those cars would have made our heads spin also in the 1980’s.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes CJ an expensive sport with very little reward, the prize money barely covers running costs. As for environmentally friendly well very, very few of the machines run on ‘fossil fuels’ most use methanol (alcohol). There are far, far worse things polluting the world right now.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I didn’t know they ran on methanol. Interesting. I know, the airlines (which is the Hubby’s employer) and the shipping industry are far worse than auto sports. Not to mention the human desire to destroy everything with military hardware! Have a great weekend with Mrs H.!😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lucky you.
I watched Sunday on line. It reminded of Easter 76 and the weather that continued all that summer.
I’m going in May and September for the FIA rounds. Keep taking the pictures.
Butterflies are coming out too already.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes a warm, sunny Easter meeting Malvin, certainly lifts the gloom.
Looking forward to the ‘Main Event’ also but I suspect there will be very few entries from Scandinavia.
LikeLike
Amazing pics, they all deserve to be framed.
The evolution of the sport has been incredible, I got involved with drag racing in South America in the early 1990s and at the time we were getting from Top Fuels back then has been beaten by Pro Mods nowadays.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the nice comment Rubens, I try my best with the camera!
Yes times today are crazy. There is a street legal car here that gets lots of road miles going quicker and faster than Fuel cars did in the late 70’s!
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Brian, I bet you were happy as a dancing, singing lark being there amongst all the odeurs of burnt rubber, carbon monoxide, nitromethane, etc.—not that ANYONE there would’ve been able to hear you sing, which may have been a good thing, right? 😉 😄
I had a good high school marching band buddy who had an almost identical Chevy Camaro as Spencer Tramm’s there. Same color, white racing stripes over hood (bonnet?), roof, and trunk. Holy Crapola Batman, when he gunned it from a standstill, I swear my head hit the front of the headrest and was GLUED to it until he topped it off around 105–110 mph. 😲 He definitely had it souped up somehow! Unbelievable it was. I felt as if I was on top of NASA’s Saturn 5 rocket-boosters going PAST the Moon. And I was NOT next to Neil Armstrong or Buzz Aldrin… so I wasn’t totally comfortable with the possibility of never seeing my parents or sister again! 😬 😆 Anyway, great pics. I know you had a BLAST—no pun intended there.
If I may my trifecta footballing friend, we Yanks got some crushing news during & after the Borussia Dortmund game vs. Stuttgart, April 8th. Giovanni Reyna has been ruled out for Dortmund’s remaining season. 😔 Bad muscle and tendon tears, again for Gio. Geeezzz. This (below) is what we Yanks are going to miss… (if I may leave a YouTube highlight from WC Qualifying vs. Mexico…
Some Mexico color commentator compared this snippet ‘Diego Maradona-esque‘ in the 1986 WC versus England in Azteca Stadium no less! Woah NELLIE! Increíble! 😉 By chance, did you hear/see this about his performance?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes Prof a great meeting to start the season.
I didn’t know your star player has been crocked. We get very little news here on U.S soccer (I had to google to see if you had qualified for the finals when I got back from Germany!). There’s a long way to go before Qatar so he may recover.
Sadly the video you posted will not play so I’m guessing he’s not punching the ball in the net? 🤬😡 (still bitter after all these years).
LikeLiked by 1 person
😄 No Brian, Reyna had one more El Tre player to beat and he could’ve gotten a shot away. But even the Mexican fans were oooo-ing & ahhh-ing cheering him. Here, let’s try an American broadcast…
I am hoping Gio recovers soon enough to at least be a viable substitute come Qatar 2022. But first assessments by medical staff have their doubts. It will be a long road for Giovanni, sadly. Christian Pulisic and Weston McKinnie (and a few others playing in Europe) won’t be able to seriously compete & show the U.S.’s talent unless Reyna is in the starting eleven. 😞 Our bench isn’t deep.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hemi engines and souped up Camaros – reads like you are back in the states ha. Clearly running faster than our backstreet runners – must be a hell of thrill to hit that accelerator (maybe they are buttons and not pedals now, not sure).
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Yes they still use the pedals B especially the ‘loud’pedal.
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Happy to hear the weather cooperated for what appears to have been a wonderful day! Terrific photographs of the action!
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Thanks Wally, nice to have my little ‘fix’ of racing.
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It’s wonderful to see your “racing” photos again Mr B.
Hope you and all your dear ones are continuing to stay well.
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Thank you so much Takami. Yes, we are all good over here. Have a great week. B
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Great photos! I can hear the engines, feel the excitement in the air and see the smiles as people are getting to be back at the track. It must have been great for you to get to be there.
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Hi Kim. Yes it’s great to be back, all we can hope for is a season unaffected by C-19 and good dollop of sunny weather.
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