The 1st British Drag Racing Championship

I’m still over in the U.K. after an amazing Goodwood Festival of Speed weekend. There are plenty of fun car things to see and do around England, but traditional American hot rods just aren’t seen running around the streets of London. A few years ago I shared a news reel clip from 1967, and brief history of the Santa Pod Raceway, located about 75 miles north of London. Today I’ve got something a little more special- Color (or should I say ‘colour’?) films from the very first gathering at Santa Pod in 1966. Obviously not every car will be your ‘cup of tea’, but bear in mind how new the hot rodding and drag race scene was in Europe at this point, and it makes you appreciate what these pioneers of the BHRA and in Europe were able to do with their passion and ingenuity in these early days. You expect a number of British saloon cars running, but how cool is it to see their home-built rail jobs and karts running straight 4 and Jaguar 6 bangers?? Also great to see the American racers that went over to do demos and get the racers inspired…