Santa Pod Raceway - The Story & History Of This World Famous Drag Racing Strip
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- čas přidán 30. 04. 2024
- #racing #dragracing #santapod
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Have you ever wondered why it's called Santa Pod? And what even is a Santa Pod? In this video we explore a brief history of this drag racing venue and how it came to be one of the worlds leading drag racing venues. Whether you attend Santa Pod to set your best quarter mile drag time or to look at classic VWs, there's something for everyone at this world famous venue. - Auta a dopravní prostředky
Don't you just hate people who move into an area and complain about something that's been going on for years with no complaints? Glad the council saw sense.
Had this near me. People moved near to an airport (operating for 80+ years) then complain about planes flying over their house 🤦♂️
That estate of twats that bought property beside Brands Hatch….that had been their for DECADES before, And tried to stop motorsport, It’s like DUUUUURRRRRR….
@phillwainewright4221 - I can just imagine: "Right. Well, I'm here now, so you can stop all that racing stuff!"
We had a development built at the end of the runway of a small airport. All the homes were ready for sale in the winter - the rainy times (strange that). In the spring the local pilots wanted to go out and enjoy themselves. The new home owners complained, saying that the realtors told them that the airport was closed. That it was, as it was a visual flight rules airfield and during rain and bad weather it is 'closed'. What the realtors did not tell them was that there were plans to upgrade the airport with more hangers, a longer runway, and all weather flying. Many council meetings, letters to the local papers, and threats of law suits later and they were told. Bugger off - the airfield was there for 40 years the plans for the improvement were on the table long before the developer put in the plans for the homes. The airfield, if they had visited it (i.e. walk across the road), was still active and had all the improvement plans on the a big bill board (visible from the road).
:)
@@watson956 i read this in Hyacinth Bucket's voice
Garden village = housing estate built on a green field site with absolutely no supporting infrastructure.
for "green field site" read "flood plain"
@@1anwrang13r Yes, developers seem to miss the fact that people have had centuries in which to build on certain areas, but never did... I wonder why ;-)
@hitzmanji1978 Well they'd be okay on a flood plain then wouldn't they?
@hitzmanji1978prove it.
@hitzmanji1978 No, far too expensive. They're for well heeled city dwellers who can get a larger house on such a site at the same price as their rabbit hutch in the city. And they can kid themselves that they're living in the countryside, although these developments destroy the countryside.
My Dad, King Harold Bull did the first timed pass at Santa Pod on 11th April 1966 and raced Stripduster for several years there. Sadly he passed away last March at the grand age of 98, we as a family spent many great times at The Pod, thanks for the video. Jane Maloney
I remember meeting your dad many times in the 60s, he was a true pioneer and a great character. You have my sincere condolences.
I went in 1967. At the end of the day the final race was between a Jaguar Mk2 and a Cobra, piloted by one Capt George Tzyack who had won every race that afternoon. His Cobra only just beat the Jaguar on the last run - an amazing day!
As we were packing up to leave I noticed the Jaguar and the Cobra drivers were fixing the number plates back on their respective cars and preparing for the trip home!
Classic days indeed.
Keith Sales and Gerry Tyack. Keith gave me a lift back to London in the Jag one weekend.
@@johnevans388 You lucky man!
The village of Poddington? I used to watch a documentary on that village.. it focussed on this area at the bottom of the garden, among the birds and the bees, where there was a lot of little people called the Poddington Peas. Fascinating documentary.
Came here for this comment! 😂
@@danielbaxter6203 Except the village in North Bedfordshire has one "d" or is that Pea, I am getting confused?
One "d" - That's my instinct... Maybe I'm too old, destined to be forgotten, maybe we're all detined to forgotten...
@@wisepranker YEAH! ^that's right I thionk... The documentary was about Peas in Poddington, a fictional places... So how it was a documentary?
@@podulox Did you not see the same documentary as me?
My grandparents live a couple of miles away in Wymington. Some of my earliest memories are sitting in their garden, and being able to hear the jet car. What utter tool thought building a housing estate next door was a good idea?!
Someone with ££ signs in their eyes - that's what it usually amounts to.
@@dw7920and who lives nowhere near it. There’s lot of turds out there just like that.
Great to see Sammy Miller getting a mention. Was lucky enough to see Vanishing Point run in 1986, and the thing that really stays with me is not just how mind bendingly fast it was, but also how quiet. No fuss, just a "pop" and a whisp of steam and he was at the other end of the track.
I was there on the day in 1984 that he set the record. Quite an incredible thing to witness. And it is still, almost 40 years later, the fastest 1/4 mile time recorded not just at Santa Pod, but at ANY drag strip in the world.
Saw S A Miller run three events at the Pod, can’t remember the year but Sammy had difficulty getting rocket grade peroxide, so he sourced some from Eastern Europe. They added what they referred to as fuel stabiliser, it caused a fire on the run & burned the parachutes and parachute pack. I have a burned pack strap, that held the pack shut until the wire was pulled out to deploy the laundry. It’s a treasured item in a display case at my home in Australia now. It was part of Vanishing Point when it ran those record elapsed times, Sammy’s business card also says 0-100 mph in .36 of a second. RIP Sammy 1945-2002
Good to see the world famous Santa Pod is allowed to continue alive and well.
Great video, full of accurate facts and proper research. 👍 anyone who has never been to The Pod I’d urge you to go to a drag racing meeting. It’s a simple sport that is straightforward and you see beginning, middle and end result of each race from your seat. Then have a walk through the pits - which unlike most UK motorsports are free and open to everyone. Chat to the racers (provided they’re not obviously thrashing to get their car repaired) and you’ll find the friendliest bunch of people imaginable who will be more than happy to explain about their car, the rules and the best place to stand at the bar later on. Santa Pod is one of the best venues on earth. Occasionally you even get sunshine to take the temperature above freezing…
Laguna Seca track has the same problem. Someone decided to build a housing estate near the track and all the residents have complained. Err, what was there first?
I love santa pod. Watching Eric on his rocket bike was incredible.
I never had John down as being into drag, ahhh!! Airodynamics, now it makes sense, still can't imagine him in drag though, thank christ.
I thought exactly that (nearly-that)
EDIT: Barely that at all...
@@podulox love the rapid climb down, a master stroke 😳
Just passed my driving test 1st time and an Auto Schenanigans video drops.....perfect 😁😁
Congrats. :)
Well done! You'll be able to make fine use of this drag strip now.
Congratulations :)
Congrats, but don't be boastful - it upsets those of us who took more than one go!
couple of flashes and you'll have to re take your test... careful.
Interesting fact, there’s a road called Bell End in nearby Wollaston. I believe it’s mandatory to pull over and take a photo with the sign on your way through.
With any body parts visible or not?
I was a schoolfriend of a chap called Paul Holder who's father owned a big chunk of Santa Pod back in the day and today still his auto battery firm is still going called S P Batteries or Santa Pod Batteries, used to pick me up the father did in his convertible Corniche a fresh pack of Benson & Hedges in the back as us lads gave the oiks plentisome two and one finger salutes, good friends but drifted apart when I embarked on my solo journey to hell and ended getting locked up for 3 years so I became persona non grata...
Santa Pod was used at the very beginning of the opening titles of the 1960's TV series The Prisoner.
That makes it even more hallowed ground in my book. 👍
Was that the prisoner theme played at the end of this video?
@JD-wn3cc No, it wasn't. I'm sure the theme will be on youtube if you have a look.
Be seeing you. 👌
Haven't been they're for 25 years. Used to go to 'run what you run days' where you could race your car. Truly great days with a great atmosphere.
I remember those days! Do they no longer do them? It must be getting on for 40 years since I’ve been. I hope to get there again one day.
Run what you brung is very much still a feature, it’s pads the gaps between the major events.
@boola6969 A friend (who hasn't really grown up) is taking me in June in his souped up BMW. Will be just like the old days apart from us being older and fatter.😄
@@zeb3144 .....and its a woke shithole now where fun is not allowed....zzzz thank go0dness I raced in the 80/90s when it was REALLY good, none of that boring "jr" crap and jet crap every 2 hrs...we rocked.
It's changed beyond all recognition in that time , Keith's done a great job and it's a fantastic facility now .
I went to Santa Pod for the first time with Scouts lol. Our leader Mick Brown was a boss dude! We were lucky enough to see Vanishing Point run, i think it was 87 and what stood out to a lot of us was all the glitzy paint jobs. Amazing intro to racing and I'll never forget it.
Must get to Santa Pod again soon, it's been a while. I remember when the top fuel cars were running they were setting off the car alarms in the car park and you could feel your internal orhans vibrating. Which was nice. Loving your videos and your presentation style.
I remember watching the Sammy Miller run, it was a surprise to see the record still standing 👏
I saw it too and it was amazing, especially as the top fuel dragsters did not get much above 200mph.
Me too What a sight! I didn't know the record still stood either.
@@themotorider1 Partly I think because nobody else has been mad enough to try it, but also inability to obtain hydrogen peroxide of the required grade. I think there were only a handful of suppliers at that time, and they have long since either shut up shop or declined to supply it. Given we've now had a 340mph 1000ft funnycar pass in the US, I'd be curious to see just how close a nitro car could get to that record over the full quarter.
@@phildaly3561 Something to look forward too, for sure. Certainly be an ear splitter!!🙂👍
I was there that day too. I stood half way down the track and when Sammy went past I could not turn my head quick enough.
From memory the acceleration figures were in the region of 0-60mph 0.2 secs and 0-100mph 0.4 secs.
You had to see it to believe it.
It's great to see Santa Pod still thriving in this crazy world. So many tracks have been shut down due to urban sprawl in the US.
About 2 miles from where i live there’s a whole village worth of houses going up right next to a power station, not the noisiest place but I can’t imagine it’s the best view in the world
I disagree, I think it's the best view in the world 😀, the track that is .
Theres a cracking video on yt of Sammy Miller blowing all the windows in on the startline overhead gantry....
Living "Up North" and having never heard of this place in 40 years of life, my wife just this morning picked up a calendar of events from a local shopping centre, simply a few hours later this video is in my feed... madness! Looks cool though
Simon ,go early on a top fuel event ,you will not believe what you see ,been going for 50 years , highly recommend it if your into power and speed .
Really enjoyed this one. Santa Pod is my happy place. Absolutely love going there, long may it live on.
Love Santa pod been many times since a child in the 1970's to camping there in recent years.Dennis piddle was Mr 6 and I remember Sammy blowing the windows out in the tower,with his rocket vanishing point!.Thank-you for a deep dive into Santa pod.
Fabulous video!! I used to go there most weekends in the 70s. A genius Englishmen called Richard Noble strapped 4 Merlin engines from Spitfires into a chassis and took that up the strip. Years later he became world famous for building Thrust SSC, which held the World Land Speed record which was set on October 15th 1997, by hitting a speed of 763 MPH which made it the first land vehicle to officially break the sound barrier. I remember seeing American Big Daddy Don Garlitz in his Pro-Fueller and Brit Peter Crane around the same time. Best fun of all were the Funny Cars and the 'sit up and beg' Ford Populars! What a place, and to watch plenty of burn-outs' on a dark October evening! ❤
I think you meant to say "October 15th 1997"😊
@@romanroad483 Oops yes a typo there. I was thinking of 1977 at the same time, when Star Wars came out. A year before I met Harrison Ford opposite Elstree Studios, the home of Star Wars and Indiana Jones. 😂
@@bobbybigboyyes No problem. I am re reading Richard Nobles book, Thrust, so had the dates in my head. A very good book by the way.
@@romanroad483 I haven't heard of that book. Sounds interesting. We kinda lose touch with our interests after getting married and having kids, though getting divorced is worse when I lost my home and my 87 Sierra Cosworth.
You need to change held to still holds as held is the past tense and I'm pretty sure Thrust SSC is the current land speed record holder.
I attended the first ever meeting here at Easter 1966 where the cars were a real hotchpotch.I had previously been to the Dragfests at Blackbushe & Kemble airfields In '64/5 & been blown away by George Mongomery & KS Pittmans Willys Coupes running 9,s & then Don Garlits & Tommy Ivo running 8,s at just under 200mph.Remember this was the mid 60,s!
Jerry Tyack(the old boy with the Cobra) was primarily a Hillclimber & Sprinter & was the owner of Curfew garage in Moreton-in- Marsh.Glos.
In 1976 I did a Run-What-You-Brung in a Hydrolastic Cooper S that had cost £200 with a very cooking engine & achieved a high 15sec run.I have not been there since!
I’ve been here a few times for Run What You Brung event back in the mid 2000’s. One year Mr Methane was there and I got dragged up on stage and he farted flour into my earhole. I was pissed as a fart and my “mate” lifted my hand up when Mr Methane asked for a volunteer 😂😂
Cheers Jon 👍🏼
What a claim to fame.
"Mr Methane farted flour in my earhole."
Thank you for your service.
The Gran Turismo music brings back so many memories!
Thank you! Came here looking for this comment, as I knew I knew it from somewhere but just couldn't place it.
I thought that no one noticed it! What a memory for the Gran Turismo music and the game itself!
Went to Santa Pod several times in the 70's and 80's. Remember seeing DLT winning Top Fuel in the Needle, Bootsie Herridge, Al's Gasser as well as Sammy miller in Vanishing Point.
Fun fact: I was at Santa pod once for a small event and was just wandering around the pits when I hear a low rumble. I look up expecting to see a regular plane but was shocked to see an Avro Lancaster about 200-300ft off the ground. I will never forget it.
As an Australian viewer of Santa Pod it gives me more context of where it all began Thanks
I used to love going to the Ford shows at the Pod...... and watching the rocket car tearing up the strip :D Happy days spent being soaked/sunburned/deafened whilst watching an Anglia leave a Mustang in its wake - everyone should go to Santa Pod at least once in their lives :D
I don't usually comment on your videos John but just know I don't miss a single one and I really do think you are fricking sweet awesome 😎.
Keep up the epic work mate and God bless Auto shenanigans and all who are part of this great channel.
Fond memories of being in the stands directly behind the start line as the jet engines primed blasting smoke and jet fuel directly into the crowd.
in the 'shed' you mean and you got covered in sticky black strands of traction compound
Around 1970 I was working at Hurn Airport, near Bournemouth, when Art Arfons brought his jet powered car Green Monster in an attempt to break the 0-300 mph record. I recall he didn't quite do it, but it was still one of the most spectacular events I've ever witnessed.
That car was back at Dragstalgia last year but didn't make a single run due to ignition problems.
That's me on the start line at 3:35 😀 At the time i didn't have the standard uniform white trousers and (showing my age here!) those were part of my school uniform. The site was owned by a local framer (Ernie Braddock?) who did start to tear up the runway for hardcore. Someone, I think it was Weekend Warrior, got caught out by this and went off the end once. Fun days.
John within earshot of my garden! Splendid coverage of a fascinating story. Glad they didn't build those houses, I like hearing the big stuff running!
Nice one, thanks for watching!
1st went in the 1960s . thanks for the history .
Good to read that the Bedfordshire MP for Santa Pod Richard Fuller fled the Cabinet when Sunak became PM ...
Long may it continue. A fantastic spectacle to watch. Can't help but think that the ambition to achieve net zero will kill off venues like this in the near future.
We bought a new house in Sharnbrook (2004) and discovered that Santa Pod was a short walk away along country paths after moving in. Loved the noise especially on the main event days with top fuel cars. Spent many weekends enjoying the various events and long may they continue. It was a shame the barns at the start end were converted to garages but understood the safety reasons as to why. Used to go home smelling of kerosene from the jet car 😂
Another interesting review. with some Council sense for a change. All the best Bob
I never spent much time at the Pod, but my first experience of Top Fuel was at the Avon Park Raceway, sitting in the end stands, in line with the exhausts of a Top Fuel car. Jesus H Kerist, my innards wobbled. I'd never felt anything like it.
Wen to the very first event there. Didn't have a car so caught a train from Leicester to, I think, Wellingborough. It was Sunday so no busses and a bloody long walk to the track. Fortunately a kind gentleman stopped and gave us a lift. At the end of the day we were trudging back to the station when same man stopped and picked us up, said he was keeping an eye out for us. What a lovely guy and a great day.
Been there did that in 1966. I was rescued by the then owner of Stripside Stores.
Never been to SantPod. Always wanted to. I remember Vanishing Point, the drag car. I used to buy Custom Car magazine in the seventies and they had features on some of the drag cars from time to time. Wish I'd kept those magazines now. A great video explaining the history, in your usual dry, laconic manner. Finally, a planning department that had some common sense?? I'm sure it'll be revived with an ammendment, (one that will include the closure of the race track to allow more houses!)
I lived next to RAF Lyneham. They build a few new estates and caravan parks. The old folks in the caravan parks used to complain about the aircraft... that had been there since the minor disagreement in the 1940s.
Fantastic!!!
Very interesting story, Jon - thanks for this!
never expected this crossover of my interests. great Video as always!
Thanks, love santa pod, not been in years but thanks for the info and mirth as usual 😊
Thanks a lot mate!
The fella who my mum used to work for used to take me and my brother down to Santa Pod when we were at school. He’d get pit passes so we could see (and hear!) the cars been fine tuned for their runs. I’d never heard anything like it, it was fantastic. I hope to take my lad there one day. Long may it survive.
Great thing about drag racing is you don't need pit passes. You can walk around the pits and talk to the teams and watch them work.
JOHN JOHN
JJOOOOOHHHHHNNN
Mate.
This is BRILLIANT.
I wont go on and bore everyone about my Pod tales,
But I HAVE TO SAY....
Santa Pod has been the centre of my universe for over thirty years.
Im absolutely buzzing that youve brought this short film to us with some of the history and highlights of such a well loved place for so many people of all ages through generations since it all began
I can tell also that its somewhere you too regard highly.
Great vid,
Great sentiment.
Thankyou.
🙌👍🍻💪👌
Any race venue is good in my book, I've been a few times :D
Never knew any of this, really informative video, thanks.
Great video. We live within hearing distance of Santa Pod, one of the reasons we purchased the house 20 years ago! We can hear the funny cars and jet cars going up the strip. I was at Santa Pod when Sammy Miller set the world record, fun times standing in the old shed behind the start line. I did not know about how it got its name so that was very interesting.
Fantastic video John ⚓️🧲👍
Another great and very interesting video 👍
I love this place! Used to go all the time as a kid and still go from time to time. Always amazing vibes
Lived virtually next door to this place all my life, they even used to test f1 cars till they banned them testing, fricking awesome stuff!!
Great video as always. I've been going to Santa Pod since 1988 and knew a few bits of info about the place but "every day is a school day" Cheers Jon, you're a Gent.
I've been to The Pod several times during the 90s and it was awesome. We camped there for Bug Jam, Max Power shows and the like in my teens n twenties and even saw Fireforce 2 in action. Highly recommended!
Wonderful backing track 😊
Santa Pod racecourse is just like being in the USA but in the UK. Love to go there as I have never been to it before.
Hi Jon, I have had great weekends there in the early 2000's , great facts about Santa Pod. Have a good week
Great video..... You keep them so interestingly dull! It's a compliment lol
Santa Pod has a great backstory and I'm glad that it's surviving and thriving, but to me there will always be a dark cloud over the place as it's where Darrell Gwynn had his career-ending (and nearly life-ending) accident in 1990.
Ace matey keep it coming
Santa Pod theme park for fast cars top notch video
Excellent video! I’ve been visiting Santa Pod for 25 years, but there’s still a wealth of information I never knew in there, I thoroughly enjoyed finding out some new nuggets, Thanks Jon!
5:53 they’ll be back. Same as Bourn airfield in Cambridgeshire. Or any rural airfield, not just race track. I’ve been to Santa Pod several times, it always has a light feeling of being a bit low-rent, and the food is good but massively expensive. The place needs a bit more bling, sort out the camping field drainage. And for a real planning travesty of massive proportions go back to just outside Bedford and have a look at Cardington.
Well done!
My cousin started racing at the Pod back in the sixties, my dad used his Humber Super Snipe as a pusher car with a railway sleeper bolted on the front, that could even be him at 3:43 and we would follow him up the strip after his run.
I used to work on a burger van right by the start line at Santa Pod in the early 1990s. The noise from the cars, particularly the profuelers was horrendous. It's a miracle that I still have any hearing left.
WHAT? 🙉
Bet it was worth it though
Great video Jon. We were there on Sunday for FIA main event ! You're right about that rain...
Super episode. Thanks
Nice one, thanks for watching!
Only been to the Pod once, for a VXR event and got to drive a VX220 back when Vauxhall had some (successful) ambitions with lairy BTCC and hot hatch motors. Nowadays I drive a dull as dishwater electric Vauxhall. Not the same at all.
When I met my wife, she was involved in a car club in Scotland that owned a small racetrack used several times a year for sprint meeting. There was only a couple of cottages nearby and the people in them constantly complained to the local authority about noise levels meaning some fairly strict noise embargoes being put on the track. The thing is, the racetrack was there before the people bought the cottage.
Well done
Went with my brother in the 70's-80s and was there to aee Slamin Sammy in VP. It was Epic.
Haven't been for years, but did go to the Pod regularly in the 70s (I was into american cars at the time) went with my nephew in '76 and watched Pete Crane in Stormbringer set the first 'five' (a sub 6 second run) outside North America.
We often went to watch drag racing at Santa Pod in the 70s, on our motorbikes. Riding home after a day watching drag races at close meant my ears were like going home after a really lod disco !
awesome video
We use to call it "Santa Bog" due to the water issues... glad they got it re-surfaced.
You sure it wasn't called that after its infamous toilets haha
Thanks!
Thanks a lot mate, appreciate that!
Working for Type2Detectives back in 2011 I was helping build up a camper van over the weekend for bugjam, on the Sunday they had an overlapping topfuel drag competition, the starting line being just the other side of the bleachers to where we were meant for that afternoon my entire body was shaken with the sheer volume of those engines. One of the best parts of the weekend 🤗
I was there that day slamming sammy miller did that run , I remember it being a cold place to camp out also remember the day two rocket cars collided killing one of the guys , last time I went to the pod as it woke me up to drag racing , sadly miller was killed on an oil rig situation , guess you never know how you’re last days would be , I’m nearly 60 now so a few years ago , great vid to bring back memories ,,👍
Now that was interesting, thanks.
Nice one, thanks for watching!
I like a happy ending..
Love you long time, John..
A housing development next to a drag strip? I was already on Rightmove before you finished telling the story 😂
1:45 😂😂😂 love the cheekiness 😂
Thank you Jon something I had heard about but knew very little. I even thought down to its name Santa Pod was in the US of A, sounds very Californian!
Great video. I saw Vanishing Point years ago at Santa Pod. Fast as F.
Whicked sweet awesome!
Thanks for sharing, driven past it with my (Late) mother often, always wondered why it was called Santa Pod. Pity I can't tell her.
Before the redevelopment, the management had numerous issues with finance and on one occasion they couldn't pay a marquee company (that I was designer for). After a brief court case the judge concluded that there was almost nothing of value at the venue, so we were awarded ownership of the Armco that divided the lanes on the original split track layout. Also worth a mention is that when Slam'n Sammy Miller did his run in Vanishing Point in 1982, he blew out a huge number of windows in the control gantry, and had stripped cladding of various bits of the infrastructure on previous occasions. Oh, and before the world became sanitised to the point of moderated torpor, DLT was a regular at the 'pod (ran a 6.6 in his car called The Needle) and judged the wet-T-shirt competition. Happy days...
Background/End song from Gran Turismo, not sure which one but it’s a song engrained in my head 👍 Wicked. Sweet. Awesome.
Great video - took me a minute to recognise the gran turismo music!!
I was hoping for the Poddington Peas theme tune at the end. Seems a bit of a missed opportunity, but no matter - still a brilliant video, full of humour, as always.
Nice closing tune
I've got a few timing slips from bike racing at Santa Pod, or "Podlington Spa" as my missus insists on calling it. Great video.