US racer and tuner John Smith is aiding Stig Neergard's Top Fuel team this weekend. John said he first met Stig when wife Rhonda Hartman Smith sold her Top Fuel dragster to Stig at the end of 2006. John has a busy race schedule in the US and after races at St Louis helping Terry Haddock and Bristol as crew chief for Mike Gunderson, this is the first weekend for a few that he can make the trip to the UK. "I grew up in the sport as I was born in 1967 and my Dad Paul drove funny cars in the 1970s. My brother Mike drove Dad's Funny Car at Gainesville. I tune cars and drive - I get a lot out of both. Tommy's incident earlier in our old car was a little depressing after such a good pass, but something went wrong in the barrel valve to make the throttle stick. The safety crews were right on it and every second counts. Overall the technology is a few years behind the US for instance Stig doesn't run a setback blower. I am here to give Stig advice that he needs to know without hurting parts. I hope to come over with Rhonda later in the year - she is at home looking after our kids Megan aged 10 and Dylan aged 3. I have followed European racing season for years but to actually be here gives me new respect for fans and racers."

Top Fuel licensee Tommy Rostgaard was totally unhurt after a high speed incident in Stig Neergard's second car. "The car was pulling real strong went to the middle of the track and knocked out the 990ft timing cell. The burst panel then went and the engine caught on fire. The chutes burnt and you can bet I was standing on the brakes. The car didn't hit the wall but ran off the end and turned over three times in the field. I hoped it would end the right way up and fortunately it did. There is a small bend in the chassis but it is entirely repairable on our jig. The block is reuseable and the heads can be repaired. So we plan to be back at Finland. I hope today's pass is sufficient to count for the license."

Tommy Rostgaard's burnt parachute is shown with a very second-hand piston and rod. The car is the sister car to Stig's brand new chassis with shared parts and tune-up. Tommy has been racing since 1991 and ran a Comp Eliminator dragster with Stig and later a blown Nova in a street class. In recent years he has been crew chief for Stig, so Top Fuel is a big step up for him and he showed much bravery in the face of adversity today. Thanks go to Jorgen Bentgsson or Stig's team for additional help and support.

Super Pro ET racer Brendan Clancy is racing again after going into the wall off the start line at last year's Mopar Euronats. "One incident in twenty years is not too bad a record. The damage wasn't too bad, some of the bars around the fuel cell bent and the carbon fibre front end had to be replaced and resprayed. Thanks to Jon Webster for the repair job. I'm half a second off my dial in time and the Big Stuff electronic fuel injection system is not playing ball. The mapping and downloading I need to do is difficult and I am rather guessing on the settings. There are four computer systems involved in collecting all the data. There is a wet and dry nitrous system but we will not use that until we get the fuel system to where I want it to be. The car should run 7.4s without gas and be capable of embarrassing Pro Mods with gas.

Super Street racer Jem Brittin's Camaro is one of those cars that would not be out of place in a show. The interior is a immaculate as the bodywork.

Pro ET racer Andrew Gibb is gradually starting to run the numbers in the restored Stripteaser, running 12.25 on an 11.99 dial-in. Jumping Doghouse antics will have to wait until the car is fully sorted.

Pro ET racer Roy Walker is at his first race meeting after testing. "I have always followed the sport, have also been into hot rodding but found sitting in fields was getting a little boring. The car has been at events in Belgium and Austria. I have driven the car on the roads for eight years after building it over a couple of years. All I have done to prepare it for running here is to put on slicks and take the exhaust muffler off. The engine is a 468cu in BBC running on pump gas with a TH400 trans without transbrake. The car is really easy to drive on the streets. I work at my own garage, Complete Autocare in Wellingborough (01933 228787) and built the whole car myself including the paint with a friend. I am just here for fun and to enjoy the event; next year I hope my son who is 16 will be able to race it slightly detuned." Roy's best yesterday was 11.4 and this improved to 10.72 with the addition of a replacement set of plugs, perhaps a sign that he is now a racer.

This is Super Gas legend Al O'Connor's fortieth year in the sport as he first got a competition license in 1970. Apart from an early Zodiac Rocky II, Al has run Anglias and he has raced the current car for thirty years. "I built the car with help from Bootsie. I raced a full year in the US in 1988 and lost out in the first round of the US Nationals with a 9.899. I then went back in 1990 and raced an Opel GT for part of the season until the money ran out." Al ran a pair of 9.95s to qualify mid-field. "I plan to do one more run on Sunday and then eliminations on Monday as I only have 1.75 gallons of petrol left; this is an economy team."

Super Pro ET racer Lee Cohen had a day to forget. In his first pass he discovered the inhibitors in the electrical system were the wrong way round causing the car to lurch forward and Nick Bruce to collect a glancing blow from the errant vehicle. "The first run was straight and I was getting used to it being the first time on track since last June. On the second pass the car launched softly and straight and I lifted slightly at half track and got back on it reaching 160mph at the finish line. I was off the the throttle getting ready to pull the chutes and the car got a mind of its own and went over. The problem was the side wind. It went for 100 yards on its roof and I saw sparks and got worried it would catch fire, but it didn't. The safety crew were perfect; I fell down when I undid the belts and they helped me out. A big THank You to Chris Isaacs for constructing such a sturdy car." The damage isn't too bad and Lee hopes to be out after replaicing the damaged bodywork, blower hat, rear wing and front steering arm. Sponsorshop is from Prolong and County Wide Lettings.

Pro ET racer Eddie van den Bos runs this beautiful Chevy Nova II with a blown big block engine. Support comes from www.usa-cars.nl and MPM Oil.

Congratulations to Pro ET racer Mark Bailey for winning the Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET award. The car runs a 512cu in Chrysler engine with a Dominator carb. Mark will be no.1 qualifier for Pro ET awards providing no other racer is less than seven thousandths.

Pro ET racer David Russell's 'The Van With No Name' Marina was in no.3 position after six sessions with a 9.002 on a 9.00 dial in, the quickest allowed for the class. The blown engine powers the van to 140mph plus at the top end, which wobbled on its first run with the side wind but thereafter was straight.

Super Pro ET and Super Comp racer Norbert Schneider ran a new personal best ET of 8.4722 in the VW Corrado in the first Super Pro session. Then came the quick turnround to run Super Comp and Norbert, shown here in the vending area pushing the car back to the pit, was unable to run. "We ran a 5.37 on the eighth at Lukau which is equivalent to the time we ran today on the quarter", he said. "The turnround time is so quick that we will run half the sessions of both classes today but for the race, Super Pro is our preferred category."

Steve Lewin (right) and Kevin Tearrell (left) of S&K Racing made light of a problem of the fuel leaking out of the Hogan inlet manifold, which has continued from the Thunderball. "If all else fails, bring out the bacon sarnies", said Steve.

Super Comp racer Peter Creswell had a problem off the line with the transbrake launch. "On the launch the car just revved and I think it may have stripped the gears off the Powerglide transmission." The team will have to get the gearbox out and look to see the damage and then see whether there are some spares available around the pits. "We are in Sharnbrook which is not too far away", said Peter. The car's new orange paint scheme for 2009 was applied by Dave Townsend of D&K Autos. Later the team found an input shaft to be the culprit - easier to replace

Super Comp Collin Morrice licensed yesterday and is having fun being back in the seat after four years out. "This morning was only my fourth run in the car and I launched in second gear but I suppose you're allowed one like that early on. The car has a new Jeff Bull 585cu in engine and can run in the very low eights with the throttle stop switched off. We had lots of problems and thanks to Geof Hauser for helping us fix the door by noon yesterday to enable me to licence; we then had a gearbox gasket problem and a broken starter motor but here we are." Collin, who is diabetic and carries Diabetes UK stickers on the car, had to go to Harley Street in order to get a medical certificate for competition, which will be renewed annually. The car is supported by Eurodragster.com sponsor Malcolm Francis, who is taking a year out of racing.

Swiss Competition Eliminator racer Roland Bolleter lives near Lake Zurich and has been racing mainly in France and Germany for twenty years. "This is my first time at Santa Pod and I was very impressed by the Santa Pod Racers' Club who made it easy for me to enter the event." Rob's early Mustang was self-fabricated in his own garage business www.robs-garage.ch. "The engine which I have had for some years is a big block Ford built by Pro Stock legend Bob Glidden. The car runs in B/NA and Roger Johansson has been supplying advice on running the car which has involved reworking various parts to get the car to quicker than its current best of 8.14.

Super Pro ET racer Nick Good pulled the front wheels up on the launch in the first session in the Beovax dragster. "We're still trying to get a handle on the tyres; they are now 34 1/2 inch tall which is 1 1/2 inches higher. The car is hooking up better than ever but still drifting slowly to the left. This is in spite of reducing the blower overdrive to 12% from 30% and putting more fuel in it." Crewing is Simon Rowland who licensed for the car yesterday and ran impressive passes of 7.6 and 7.0 in doing so; Simon will be driving the car at the Summernationals.

Best wishes go to Pro Stock Bike Jerry Collier who is tuned in to today's coverage. Crew Chief Baz thought he would like to see for the first time his new engine outrigger, pictured alongside the old part which was damaged at the Thunderball. The immaculate piece was custom-built by Graham Sykes using CAD technology and will be seen on the bike when it returns, hopefully at the Summernationals.

Super Pro ET racer Simon Cooper has moved up from Super Street after making the trip to Las Vegas and Pomona last Autumn with Eurodragster.com sponsor Robin Jackson. "We were looking for a car and saw some guys in the stands with Racingjunk tee shirts on and found this car about ten miles from Pomona so we did the deal on this early Nova and still got to see all the race." The newly-built car was imported with aid from Eurodragster.com sponsor Air Sea Logistics. "Thanks to Jon Webster for making the car legal to 7.50 which involved realigning the chassis and fitting a fire extinguisher system." The engine is a BBC with 8-71 blower and Powerglide; Simon is running without transbrake as he gets used to running two seconds faster than his old index and ran a creditable 9.4 to get the license upgrade completed.

Paul Mander is one of three Super Mod racers running in Super Pro this event. He said "We came out at the Thunderball and ran a new PB and have improved on this with a 7.72 this morning in Super Mod-legal trim. We are working to get the car running better times thanks to Clive Bond who is with the team of Mick Slocombe and Cliff Bagg and to Chris Isaacs who has helped with the suspension setup. The car was 50lb overweight at Easter and we have now shed the excess pounds which helps." Paul who works for BT, has joined the RAF Auxiliary and, after military training, works many weekends at Brize Norton. "I am loading big transport planes and would like to see active duty but this has reduced my racing schedule this season."

Super Pro ET racer John Everitt is short of four crew members this weekend and the remaining two are working very hard to make up. Kirstie is having to push the car up on the stands for between-rounds maintenance. In spite of the reduced staff level, John did a fine job to qualify no.1 with a 7.9896 on a 7.98 dial-in after trying a 5000rpm launch chip. Get Well Soon wishes go to Crew Chief Chris Coleman who is very poorly at the moment.

Super Pro ET racer Martyn Jones's Crew Chief Dave "Crunch" Crunkhorn said that after Martyn's PB of 7.0/185 yesterday a lot of aluminium was found in the oil pan. "The baffle in the oil pan came loose and the ends of the rods broke it into little pieces. We checked the crank and rods and there was no big damage. This sort of things are down to new car blues after the consistency of the old car." Crunch added the car's wing will need adjustment as the car was moving about down track and reportedly felt more like driving on marbles at the top end.

Super Pro ET racer Steve Johnson has changed torque converter to one which would launch the car better. "With the old converter which launched at 7000rpm the car did a 1.03 60ft time but this one which I am launching at 6400rpm is only producing 1.1 times. The car does 7700rpm at the finish line so there is not much variation in engine speed down the track."