Here’s some really cool vintage drag racing footage featuring top gas and top fuel slingshot dragsters that was actually made in England. In this video you’ll see the top fuel car known as “The Michigander” which was campaigned by Bob Gladstone and Bud Barnes along with the twin engine injected Buick powered dragster of McCaig – Jelinek – McCaig. The cars are shown as running singles at this event, which makes sense because we’re thinking that that the fueler would have cleaned the injected gas dragster’s clock. While this video says that the footage was taken in 1967, we’re going to bet to differ and we actually think it was taken at the opening of Santa Pod Raceway in 1966. We know that the Michigander was there for that event and we think that the team would not have made back to back trips two years in a row.
The things that we enjoyed in this video were mainly the jaunty British announcer, the guy chugging Budweiser, and the massive bump that seems to have existed at the end of the track. Watch the drivers of both dragsters when they cross the finish line and move to pull the parachutes. Both guys are nearly thrown completely OUT of their cars. It looks like they run over a ski jump! The push vehicle with the big A-board sign in the back is pretty awesome as well.
Alright British BangShifters….was this opening day at Santa Pod or something else?
PRESS PLAY BELOW TO SEE THIS COLORFUL AND ALTOGETHER COOL VIDEO OF AMERICAN DRAG RACER ASSAULTING THE POD –
It is 1967 – I’d just turned 16 and was one of the start line crew. I’m somewhere in the tyre smoke. This was Bud Barnes return visit after coming over in 1966 and he actually ran that car on a wet track!
A couple of interesting stories.
The team was organised by Al Eckstrand, he also bought over a pair of Fords and a pair of Plymouths for match racing but they weren’t allowed to race Ford on Plymouth – only Ford/Ford or Plymouth/Plymouth. I remember changing plugs on one of them after it went onto seven cylinders.
Before heading home Santa Pod Raceway bought Barnes’ entire stock of spare parts (blower, rear end, etc.) because at that time you couldn’t get anything like that in the UK without huge shipping charges and duty.
Many thanks for posting this – there is a lot more on YouTube including black and white Pathe footage featuring my ugly mug.
Just a bit more on this.
Bud Barnes fueler was called Ultrasonic.
The problems with the top end of the track were cured the following year when the start line was moved back 300 yards to its present location. Apart from that bump, the WWII USAAF runway that the strip is based on was also being dug up so the run off area was getting a bit shorter at each meet.
As part of the move a fire up road was positioned alongside the strip and instead of dirt-filled plywood boxes proper (although totally inadequate by today’s standards) crash barriers were installed.
I vaguely remember (too young to drink back then) the stocks of Bud arriving loaded into a ’56 Chevy.
Fun times and good memories.
Thanks for your input Mr Evans. How about the Mopar el Camino Ranchero. That would be fun to find and restore.
If I remember correctly that push car was originally either a saloon or a station wagon that Fibreglass Repairs (FGR) modified. It is normally referred to here simply as a Plymouth and served as the Santa Pod push car for years.
In the 1960s we inherited 1000s of American cars like that from military personnel based here. I think they were imported on some kind of tax free deal (thru AAFES?) but there were issues about shipping them back to the USA. In any case after two years on our roads, in our weather most were pretty trashed and ended their lives in junkyards. In those days nobody wanted big cars here so most of them ended up crushed.
But you are right, if it is still around that’s a serious piece of UK drag racing history.
Nick Pettitt is the man to get in touch with on british drag racing history. Not 100% certain but I think there were two FGR plymouths at one time. I
I remember it well, it wasn’t the opening of Santa Pod but very early, A good Family friend, Ernie Braddock was the land owner of the War time US Bomber Station RAF Poddington, a small Village close to many other Base’s around that area, about 15 miles from Twin Woods, the Air Strip that Glenn Miller left on his last flight, Close to Bedford. Poddington became Santa Pod , As a UK Disk Jockey working on many of the US Military Bases at that time I was the Track announcer at many of the early events, including this one. Then moved on to running cars of my own. Memories !
From what I remember from reading, Ultrasonic was originally called The Michiganda in the US. The front aerofoil at one time was made from wood I think. Can anyone verify this?