HOT ROD DRAGS 21st ANNIVERSARY

As someone who has been into Rods and Customs right from the moment I saw “American Graffiti” back in the mid 70’s, I don’t know why I’ve never been to a proper drag strip to see the racing. But this year, 2009, was going to be different, I checked the racing calendar and put a big tick beside the Hot Rod Drags in September. Everyone who met me at shows this year would have heard me going on about seeing the Hot Rod Drags, well, what a race meet to pop my cherry on. From the moment I came off the M40 and followed a smoothed and low White MK1 Zephyr / Zodiac to the strip I just knew I was going to be in Hot Rod heaven.

As I entered Shakespeare County Raceway, two ‘55 Chevy gassers were being trailered out and as I parked up, in the distance I could hear the rude sound of uncorked V8’s shifting rapidly up the quarter mile. Like a kid at Christmas I couldn’t wait to get to the action and although the strip was only about 10 minutes walk away. It must have taken me a good half hour to get there because at every step and turn there was yet another Rod which needed to be photographed and drooled over. Most of the cars were new to me but there were a few familiar faces, the most famous being “Roarin’ Rat”. I first clapped eyes on this legendry car in the centre pages of Custom Car magazine and what a pleasant surprise to discover this was no show Queen but a proper full on 10 second gasser !and that goes for most of the cars there, they may look all show but believe me the majority are quick 10 - 13 second street driven cars.

I was only at the drags for the Sunday but it was obvious that every car there had at some stage raced over the three days. As I perched on the rickety bleachers watching show worthy Rods and muscle cars , outlaw Anglia’s and flat four gassers being pushed towards the burnout box, the sound of lumpy V8’s filling the air and in the background the roar of more V8’s dragging down the strip, I was hooked. The sights weren’t confined to the strip either, I took a wander through the campsite and it was a mini show on it’s own. A replica of the Graffiti coupe tucked away between two caravans, a ‘57 Nomad towing a caravan ! T buckets, Rat Rods, Pops, Deuce coupes and roadsters and tubbed out race cars littered the campsite.

You needed more than a day to see all of this. I’ve tried to capture some of this scene through the eyes of a first time visitor but I don’t think I’ve done it enough justice. For those of you that go regularly to the drags if you remember the first time you saw this spectacle of speed and sound and you’ll know what I’m trying to say. For those of you that haven’t been, get yourself there, I don’t know why it took me so long to go but I’m going back next year and this time I’m taking the Chevy to see what it’ll do on the quarter mile.