Santa Pod Easter Monday 2011

Went to Santa Pod today courtesy of tickets won in a Cancer Care
raffle at ASDA !
It's the first time I've been back there in years and I was struck by
how much it has been improved. The wooden open barn directly behind
the start has gone, replaced by a modern unit with roller shutter
doors. Way back you could stand in the barn and watch the races
straight down the strip. It was always amusing to see people refusing
to listen to requests to leave the barn before the jet car went down
the strip and to see the singed results as it was flooded with a
sudden gush of flame.
The jet car was there today too. This time in the guise of a Funny Car
and very well turned out . The old jet car resembled a hospital bed
with a jet engine in it. Wonder what happened to that. Also Eric the
Frenchman had his rocket bike. Now that was something to see. Great
bursts of white smoke then swoosh until he went over the line at 217
mph in 5.4 seconds.
All this made me hungry. Mindful of the usual shit catering at UK
tracks I was not surprised that the only hot food available in the
grandstand area was fried chicken and chips so I made do with that.
Having got bored with saloon cars and other oddball 4 wheeled vehicles
conking out on the line or blowing up after 50 yards I went for a
wander around.
What an odd world the drag racing scene is. There were loads of stalls
selling all sorts of gear to turn English Joe Public into Southern
States White Cracker Pig Fucker. All you could ever want to go to a
Dukes of Hazard reunion gig. No end of T shirts and jackets in primary
colours plastered with American brand names. And then, miles away from
the grandstand, nice permanent facilities selling real food, yes,
vegetables and a healthy variety of good things to eat. Chicken man
and SSWCPF supplies need to be dumped at the end of the strip and this
lot switched to the Grandstand area where all the ordinary people have
money to spend.
Back on the track an ordinary looking VW beetle with a Rolls Royce jet
engine sticking out of the back was trundling back and forth at a
steady pace looking like our Weedwand gas burner stick on 4 wheels.
At last some bikes and an end to the circus acts. The Top Fuel bikes
sounded different. They used to make distinctive explosions on every
tickover stroke and go off the line sounding like a hundred road
whackers in a tin shed. Now they howl down the strip like anything
else. Standing at the finishing line when 2 of these go by you cannot
turn your head quick enough to see them. Street bikes looked like
variations on a Busa theme.
Best entertainment of the day was the kids races. Dunno how old they
are, the ones interviewed sounded very young but no one said. Anyway
they went down the track in miniaturised Funny Cars, Dragsters and
Street bike variants. All very professional and well controlled too.
" Oh yes " cooed one of them in an interview " I love my dragster and
I am so looking forward to racing in Tennessee with Daddy ".