Click on any picture for a large image. Click here to return to the Event Index.

Pro Modified racer Marck Harteveld has returned after a huge amount of work by the team and Andy Robinson Racecars in restoring the car after the accident and fire at The Doorslammers last year. Much is the same as before, including the engine, but there are new adjustable shock absorbers and more sensors to record how the car is functioning. Marck commented 'The car has been wanting to go left and we have adjusted the rear axle which should help it go straighter'. On the second pass, a 7.826, the car still went left leaving the team to make more adjustments overnight, two more qualifying sessions taking place tomorrow.	Top Fuel Dragster racer Maja Udtian is in a Top Fuel dragster for the first time since the 2017 National Finals, performing a launch today in the ex-Antti Horto car. Maja's car is owned by Rune Fjeld with a crew including four Norwegians and four Brits. The family also have their Super Comp dragster which first visited Santa Pod Raceway 15 years ago when Paul Ingar (pictured left) raced it; today Mari drove the car to the number one spot in Super Comp with a 8.917. Mona Kristin Udtian is team 'mum'.
Top Fuel Dragster racer Susanne Callin made an impressive launch in her ex-Jari Halinen car. The car ran to 60ft in 0.8657 and Susanne lifted after the car went into tyre shake, the run being a planned launch.	Junior Drag Bike racer Ciaran Lucas, who is the step brother of Blade Dummer, is riding the same bike that Blade rode in 2018. Ciaran said 'I licensed at the RWYB last weekend, my road bike is a 50cc automatic as I am 16 years old, so the race bike feels a lot different. The bike's setup is the same as when Blade rode it'. Ciaran went 10.42 on a 9.25 to qualify second.
Junior Drag Bike racer Blade Dummer has a new bike, the frame of which derives from an old funny bike, the rider of which is undetermined. The engine is a Suzuki GS500 loaned by Louis Davies and from his old Junior Drag Bike, with a standard box and lockup clutch. Blade said 'It feels different as it is a whole second faster than my old bike and has more grunt'. Blade plans to stay in Junior bikes for two more seasons and then put a larger engine into the same frame and run in 8.50 Bike. Gear selection issues prevented a representative run in the first session.	ET Bike racer Gary Hester was number one qualifier after the first session with a 10.541 on a 10.45 dial.
Super Twin Top Gas racer Les Harris has bought his old bike back from Eurodragster.com sponsor Derek Flynn. Les is running it with Accelerate for a Cause and a Cure and Bloodwise colours which are for the fundraising body for Bloodwise that is spearheaded by blood cancer sufferer Derek and wife Fiona with Nobby Clark. Les said 'My first run was a 9.6 which blew the cobwebs away and was very smooth, my first run on the concrete track'. Les continues to be scutineer at ACU and FIM events at SPR, subject to the arrival of a further member of the Harris household due in August.	9.50 Bike racer Craig Wright is at his first race on a bike - and he went straight to number 1 qualifier with a 9.529. He said 'I licensed with my first three passes and also went to the RWYB last weekend, Q1 was my 11th pass on the bike which is great'. The bike is a naturally aspirated 1300cc GSXR Hayabusa. 'Compared to the dragster, the bike hooks just as well but doesn't stop pulling at all in the quarter. There's no data recorder or shift light so I have to remember any mistakes I make'. The bike was constructed by 8.50 Bike racers Ian Crichlow and Jay Roe, and Ian has lent it to Craig. Team members include Bradley and Andy Head who gave Craig tips on drag bike riding.
Lucas Oil Junior Dragster racers Jacqueline and Lara Bartlett have had their cars wrapped by Graham Dance in a 'Slick Chicks' theme, with mother Susanne Callin having her Top Fuel Dragster wrapped similarly as 'Slick Chicks'. Crew for Jacqueline and Lara are Billy Everitt for Jacqueline and Joe Holland-Villa for Lara; the cars are owned by Santa Pod Raceway CEO Keith Bartlett.	Modurstang Pro ET racer Victor Parsons went number one in qualifying in the first session of his first race in the class. He said 'I have had changes to the roll cage to get the car tagged for Pro ET and thanks to Tom Arris for his welding. We had to take the gearbox out to get tags on the trans shield and flexplate. We also had a new carb and new inlet manifold on the engine and Dave Billadeau helped us with the engine work'. Victor, winner of the last race at Shakey (the Bracket Gamblers in October 2017) is joined by Christine Dove and Alex Sheriston as crew.
Hutchinson & Dibley Sportsman ET racer Cliff Houghton crewed with Ben Newsome last year but wanted to have a go himself, so he bought this Corvette C5 to join the class. 'It has a LS1 engine with an aftermarket exhaust. I ran a 13.29 yesterday to get my eye in before my first qualifying session'. Cliff's plans are to do all rounds of the Championship apart from Bug Jam - and will continue crewing for Ben as well.	Modurstang Pro ET racer Mark White is back for the first time after a couple of races early in 2017. He said 'I decided I had to work for a living and worked on the special effects for Game of Thrones, including fire based effects. Now the series has wrapped, I can get back to racing. The car is much the same as when I raced it in 2017, with its 355ci SBC and Powerglide, but I have moved to Pro ET as the field is larger'. Mark is pictured with son Tony and qualified with a 9.24 on a 9.01 dial.
Modurstang Pro ET racer Lee Huxley (pictured right, with Dad and team mate Brian) has a new pair of Hoosier D5 slicks and is running 100% C12 rather than a mixture of Super Unleaded and C12. He said 'This was the biggest burnout you'll get from us, usually we have a small burnout so that we can sell the tyres as useable. By changing to 100% C12 we are faster by a half second in ET'. Lee's tow car here is a '65 Mustang notchback which once competed in a SCR Gamblers race. The team's Comet is for sale as the team don't have time to concentrate on both cars and are committed to the Dark Horse Mustang Fastback. Lee's qualifying time was a 9.45 on a 9.50 dial, one of 11 cars to break out in the great conditions we have here.	Modurstang Pro ET racer James Oliver pulled a massive wheelstand in session one and the car promptly turned right towards the wall. Great driving by James kept the car off the wall. Crew man Lorne 'Larry' Denny said 'We will adjust the shocks so the front will come up slower and there will be a little tyre spin on launch. The engine has had a full rebuild at Williams Bros Racing, with new low tension piston rings and new camshaft, so there is a lot more power'. Dan Williams of Williams Bros Racing added 'We will be racing my Nova in the US later in the year at Indy and possibly one or two other races, and we have heads for James's car to enable him to race in Stock Eliminator'.
Modurstang Pro ET racer Ronnie Mercer has had his Outlaw Anglia modified so it meets the chassis requirements for the class. He ran a 10.77 on 10.58 to qualify 7th after the first session.	Lucas Oil Junior Dragster racers Damion Redshaw (pictured left and eight years old last Christmas Eve) and Harry Redshaw are in the Half Scale Odyssey team, with Dad Chris Redshaw as team owner and Grandad Brian Redshaw as crew member. Harry's car is ex-Joe Holland Villa whereas Damion's is ex-Scott Hauser. A coach was acquired and then a third of the seats and floor were removed to allow a double decker area to be created to house three junior dragsters and Chris's altered. The third junior, which has been acquired from the French Custom Gang team, will be driven by their sister Candra Redshaw including a trip to France. Sponsor Odyssey Batteries, who have in the past been involved in Top Fuel sponsorship in the US, were happy to be involved in European drag racing after sponsoring Chris in a Land Rover.
Lucas Oil Junior Dragster racer Ellie Fagg is in her debut meeting in an ex-Harley Darby. Dad Stuart said 'We did a RWYB two weekends ago to get licenced. Steve Taylor repainted the car which has the same JS engine as Harley used. Later in the season Ellie will share the driver's seat with brother Finlay. Ellie is sharing pit space with Harley-Jay whose Junior Modified went too quick and he was disqualified from the event.	Secret Worx Comp Eliminator racer Jordan Payne has had a great start in Dad Nigel's Corvette with a 7.897/175 in testing yesterday and a 7.868/176 in session one. Jordan said 'It's a completely different feeling to a Junior Dragster, it's 55mph faster to the eighth. I have set the digital tuning up to be soft in the launch but I would like to run in the 7.3-7.4 range which is what my Dad did when he ran it in Super Modified. We have had some work done on the chassis by Geof Hauser to get the Race Tech seat to fit. At the Main Event we will bolt two carburretors on with a higher rocker ratio and use Q16 VP Fuel so we can run closer to Fred Hone and Kev Perkins'. Jordan is joined by crew members Martin and Elaine Chesterton.
Wild Bunch racer Callum Swinchatt has had longer wheelie bars fitted to his Topolino altered and the car runs straigher now to a 9.24 on a 9.08 and he is in second place after the first session.	Wild Bunch racer Pete Brown's slingshot dragster has been performing well, with a PB of 8.53/159 yesterday with a 8.71/154 this morning. The car has a 420ci SBC with Holborn injectors and a Powerglide gearbox.
Another Small Fortune Super Pro ET racer Ron Bartlett's Anglia has show-winning looks and ran a 9.00 on an 8.30 dial in to go eighth after session one.	Taylor's Trophy Super Street Bike racer Steve Venables started his season superbly with a 7.032/211.81 to go no.1 after the first session and get the first half of a new ACU speed record.
Another Small Fortune Super Pro ET racer Joe Kellett went 7.882 and 7.888 yesterday and 7.863/169 on a 7.80 to go number five after the first session.	Another Small Fortune Super Pro ET racer Scott Hauser didn't run yesterday and a 7.59 on a 7.45 dial placed him in seventh after the first session.
Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator racer Andy Bond ran a best of 8.03/181 in three passes yesterday and in session one this morning ran 8.16/182 to go number one.	Phoenix Personnel Super Comp racer Gerd Habermann, without his jet car this time, ran a 8.7865/148 to go eighth in the class, after a burn down against Paul Hudson.
Fuel Funny Car racer Steve Ashdown ran a 6.02 in session one to go third. Other runners were Kevin Kent (5.222) and Kevin Chapman (5.387) as all three cars shut off early in their first runs of the season.	Jon Morton Super Gas racer Andy Dibley has acquired Jon's Camaro and re-liveried it for his own campaign in the 9.90 class.