From June 27–29, Santa Pod Raceway roared to life with the unmistakable sights, sounds, and smells of the past as the 14th annual Dragstalgia took over the quarter mile. A full-throttle tribute to the glory days of drag racing and hot rodding, the event delivered three jam-packed days of tire smoke, wheelstands, dry hops, and old-school showmanship. Over 230 entries rolled in from across the UK and beyond, bringing with them everything from cackling Slingshots to straight-axle Gassers and wheelstanding Altereds.
But Dragstalgia is more than what happens on track. It’s a full-blown throwback experience, complete with live bands, a classic car show, vintage fair, beer & cider festival, and the legendary British Drag Racing Hall of Fame display.
Other highlights included the appearance of Ron Smith and Michael “Spike” Lauria, who brought their nostalgia bikes halfway around the world – from New Zealand – to race in the NSA Bike Shootout. And the display of the OSCARs – Old School Classic Altered Racers. Short wheelbase Altereds from Bob Glassup, Bryan Whitfield, and Nick Davies. Nick and his team had just finished the build and fired it up for the first time only a few weeks before the event. After the first rollout, he performed a textbook burnout to the delight of the cheering crowd. Later that weekend he even attempted some runs with a best E.T. of 7.431at 156.29 mph.
At the heart of the action was the Dragstalgia Cannonball, which puts nitro and methanol Nostalgia Funny Cars, Slingshots, and Altereds together to race in a cannonball format. Additional classes included the Gasser Circus, Outlaw Anglia, Wild Bunch, Willys Wars, Supercharged Outlaws, Nostalgia Super Stock, and not to forget about the two-wheeled machines represented by the Old School Stockers and the NSA Bike Shootout.
The Dragstalgia Cannonball has no traditional qualifying as such. Instead, three runs are made with the E.T.s added together. The final sees the two quickest face off for the win, third and fourth quickest for second, and so on. By the end of qualifying, Funny Car driver Tony Betts secured the top spot of the Cannonball field, followed by Tim Garlick and Dougie Hill to round out the top three.
In the finals it was Betts in the “Venom” Camaro Nostalgia Funny Car against Hill in the golden “Motormouse” Slingshot. Betts ran his quickest pass of the weekend – a 5.943 at 246.37 – to defeat Hill’s slower 6.935 at 195.54, taking home another Dragstalgia trophy.
John Gibson won the Gasser Circus category over Steve Matthews. Both went quicker than their indexes, but Matthews pulled a red light and handed the win over to Gibson. Gibson (10.76) 10.758 at 122.14 mph, Steve Matthews (9.57) 9.576 at 136.84 mph.
In the Supercharged Outlaws category, it was Aaron Windridge in his Altered who ran a 7.771 at 172.40 to win over Paul Dale in the “Acute Angle” Anglia – 8.412 at 164.25 mph.
Alan Rimell claimed the Willys Wars trophy. Rimell (13.91) ran a 13.838 at 100.12, closer to his index than Guy Davenport (14.69), who also broke out with a 14.614 at 91.57.
In the finals of Outlaw Anglia, Rob Stone met Martyn Payne. Stone ran an 8.414 at 157.38 to beat Payne’s 8.488 at 145.32. Payne was also disqualified for a false start.
Out of the 62 cars entered for the Nostalgia Super Stock class, it was John Sleath and Stuart Thomson who made it into the finals. Sleath (9.83) ran a 9.8477 at 133.71 and was closer to his index compared to Thomson (9.71), who posted a 9.781 at 137.69 to the boards.
Steve Howe ran an 8.442 at 156.89 against Dean Stevens’ 8.857 at 142.48 to take the win in the Old School Stockers Bike category.
The NSA Shootout win went to Colin Fallows, who ran 11.420 at 127.02. His opponent, Michael Lauria, had mechanical issues and idled to the finish.
Besides the winners’ trophies, Dragstalgia also rewards special showmanship trophies in various categories. Low E.T. of the Meeting went to Tony Betts, who saved his quickest run, a 5.94, for the Cannonball finals. The Best Appearing Vehicle prize was presented to Richard Colby with his fresh-looking Altered. The trophy for the Best Appearing Team went to Ian Merryweather and his crew. Dougie Hill received the Burnout of the Weekend trophy. Driving Job of the Weekend went to Liz Charman and her wild ride on her bike. Charlie
Bangers was awarded the Wheelie of the Weekend trophy. The trophy for the Backup Girl of the Weekend went to the backup bugs of Ben Kennedy. The Moment of Dragstalgia went to Nick Davies’ debut of the “No Quarter” Fuel Altered. And the Spirit of Dragstalgia prize went to Michael “Spike” Lauria and Ron Smith for making the effort to visit all the way from New Zealand to participate with their bikes.
An even bigger and better Dragstalgia 2026 edition is on tap, which will mark the event’s 15th anniversary – and you can bet it’ll come packed with some unforgettable surprises.
This story was originally published on July 17, 2025. 
