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Vintage Drag Video: Legendary American Racers Running at Santa Pod Raceway in England


Vintage Drag Video: Legendary American Racers Running at Santa Pod Raceway in England

Santa Pod Raceway in England opened up as the first permanent drag racing venue in Europe on Easter, 1966. It has been going strong ever since as the awesome video we have unearthed proves. It was not uncommon for American racers to load up their junk and head off to a European tour during the late 1960s and 1970s. This video is a bit of a documentary showing the Santa Pod stop on said tour. Don Schumacher, Tony Nancy, Paula Murphy, and others mix it up on the quarter mile at Santa Pod. They also bitch about the showdown area. Ah, racers.

Some cool things to note here. One is the famous viewing area that Santa Pod boasted for much of its existence. Directly behind the burnout box was a covered structure affectionately known as “The Barn.” It was there from the beginning until 2007 when local authorities made the track tear it down to avoid potential injury. It looks awesome, but also pretty dangerous.

Another neat thing here is when Tony Nancy is talking about the timing system at the track, which at the time was not the same as American equipment. Nancy seems genuinely confused about what happened on the track. Lastly, listen to the English narrator to pronounce Don Schumacher’s name. He’s now Shoemaker.

This is some NEAT video.

 


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