On Easter 1966, Santa Pon Raceway opened in England as Europe’s first and (at that time) only dedicated drag racing facility. It began as many drag strips here began as an old airfield (Pod comes from the fact that it was the Podington airfield when in operation) and over the last half century has morphed and changed and grown and survived as the quickest all asphalt drag strip in the world. That’s right, no concrete there, it is a full asphalt track. It has seem triumphs by the likes of Sammy Miller, Andy Frost, and a host of others and on the other side of that coin it has seen dark days as well. Darrell Gwynn’s horrible career ending wreck is one that comes to mind. Every race track has that spread of emotions and memories. From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, The Pod has seen it all.
This promotional video below is a way for the track to kick off what promises to be a season long celebration of the history contained within the walls of this great facility. Chad and I have made no secret about the fact that we’re going to go over to Santa Pod someday and cover an event, hang out with our European pals, and bury more than a couple of beers.
Press play below to see this cool video and a look at this great facility.
I still think Santa (Saint) Pod is the patron saint of acceleration. And Brian – you and Chad need to practice drinking warm beer to prepare for this fantasy trip of a lifetime.
Dan
Santa Pod is an abbreviation of Podington – Paddington is a station in London.
Santa Pod is also the holiest place in the UK and should flourish for another 50 years – or until the tree huggers ban all forms of motorsport…
I started going to Santa Pod in July 1966 and was briefly on the start-line crew in 1967. In those days the pits were where the strip is now and the 1/4 mile began roughly where the current finish line is. Back then what passed for crash barriers were plywood boxes filled with earth and spectators could stand right next to the track. One particularly memory was John Bennett handing out £10 for every sub-10 second run. Got a lot of good memories from those early days. There is some classic footage of this on You Tube and I’m actually in some of it.
Because of other commitments I haven’t made a trip there since 1985 but this is a true landmark in UK motorsport and I’m rather proud to have been one of those who was there at the beginning.
When you guys come over, make sure you bring Les Mayhew with you…
If you guys make it over try and catch us for a beer (when were not racing of course 🙂 )