Dragstalgia: Europe’s Premier Nostalgia Drag Race

April 2020 • By Tony Thacker

The very first nostalgia drag race was 40 years ago when drag racing was itself only 30 years old. It started in 1979 when Tom Prufer rented the San Francisco Bay Area’s Fremont Raceway so that he and his friends could go race with minimal rules for maximum fun. Sixty cars and 300 spectators turned up.

Over the next few years, the concept of racing vintage drag cars and hot rods grew and in 2010 the UK’s SantaPod.com launched Dragstalgia.  Usually held in the middle of July, Dragstalgia is now Europe’s number one nostalgia drag racing event attracting more than 300 racecars, motorcycles and attractions.

In the past, I’ve attended with Ron Hope’s Rat Trap AA/FA but last year TT was the guest of USAutomotive.co.uk one of the event’s sponsors, and Nick Davis of ICEAutomotive.co.uk who normally drives the Havoc AA/FA as well as a new Pro Mod Pontiac likewise sponsored by USAutomotive.  This time Nick was just walking the pits and keeping an eye on his customers including Andy Bond and his street legal patinated ’56 Chevy who ran a 6.99 at 210.92 (see separate story).

‘Dadstalgia’, as some joker named it, is all about is the Outlaw Anglias, the Gasser Circus and the Super Stocks. They all put on a fantastic show. Because I grew up in England, the Anglias hold a special place in my heart. They’ve been racing heads-up for 27 years and in 2019 there were around 30 of them many running in the low 7s. The winner this year was Scott Crookson. There are half as many Gassers but the group is growing and Nick Barnett got the chicken dinner. Winner in the Super Stock class was Kiwi driving his ’71 Plymouth Duster.

Sadly, I didn’t get to see everything Dragstalgia had to offer, everything from jet cars, wheel standers, a cacklefest, fire burn outs, vintage drags bikes galore, to a vintage fair with rides, stalls and a vintage marketplace. It’s a weekend of fun for all the family with three days of cool, vintage style quarter-mile drag racing thrown in for good measure.

For more information about future events visit www.dragstalgia.co.uk