Santa Pod Raceway once again turned back the clock as the 15th Dragstalgia, held June 26–28, 2026, celebrated the very best of British drag racing’s heritage. The three-day event brought the golden era roaring back to life, with the quarter mile filled with the unmistakable sights, sounds, and smells of vintage drag racing.
More than 220 entries from across the UK and Europe made for an outstanding mix of Slingshots, Gassers, Altereds, and other period-correct machinery. Despite scorching temperatures that made the racing surface tricky to manage, the cars treated spectators to smoky burnouts, dramatic wheelstands, and the kind of old-school showmanship that has made Dragstalgia one of the highlights of the British drag racing calendar. A particularly welcome sight was the return of several Swedish teams, adding an international flavor to this year’s festivities.
But Dragstalgia is about far more than what happens on track. Numerous live bands, a classic car show, a vintage fair, a beer and cider festival, and the legendary British Drag Racing Hall of Fame display and charity auction all combined to complete a weekend that truly celebrates the spirit of drag racing’s golden era.
One of the weekend’s main attractions was the “Dragstalgia Cannonball,” which pits Nitro and Methanol Nostalgia Funny Cars, Slingshots, and Altereds against each other in a Cannonball format. Additional classes included the “Gasser Circus,” “Outlaw Anglia,” “Wild Bunch,” “Willys Wars,” “Supercharged Outlaws,” “Nostalgia Super Stock,” and not forgetting 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 qualifying runs are made with the ETs summed together. The competitor with the lowest total time qualifies 1st, the second lowest 2nd, the third lowest 3rd, and so on. Then, on the fourth and final run, the No. 1 qualifier faces off against No. 2 for the event win. Third vs. fourth qualify for 3rd place, fifth vs. sixth, and so on.
In the Cannonball A-Finals, Swedish guest Erik Wallinder in the “Tre Kronor” Arrow Nostalgia Nitro Funny Car beat his opponent, Robin Read, with a 6.4784 at 212.89 mph. Read showed some nerves and left before the tree was activated. In the B-Finals, Robbie Grabham posted a 7.0268 at 192.97 mph to defeat Mark Flavell, who ran a 6.9089 at 196.28 mph on a holeshot. The C-Finals put Tony Betts against Mark Luton. In a rather close race, Betts’ 6.9022 at 238.92 mph was good enough to take the win over Luton’s 6.9376 at 198.90 mph run. In the D-Finals, Bob Hawkins ran an 8.1949 at 112.50 mph to defeat Fredrik Larsson, who suffered massive tire shaking and had to lift halfway through his run. The E-Finals saw Paul Harris take the win over Andy Raw, who ran his first-ever 5-second pass — 5.9864 at 222.19 mph. The crew and the crowd went bananas.
Supercharged Outlaws A-Final saw Luke Watts take the win over Jim Tucker. Watts ran 8.0605 at 164.88 mph to defeat Tucker, who posted an 8.3677 at 162.47 mph. In the B-Final, Kane Bodian ran 9.1227 at 146.17 mph over Mark Fairhurst’s 11.5211 at 121.88 mph. Keith Freeman was the winner of the C-Final, posting a 9.3278 at 145.79 mph to defeat Ian Merryweather, who left too early.
Jason Pickett won the Gasser Circus category over Nick Hewison. Pickett went quicker than his index (10.02) with a 9.9939, while Hewison red-lit and handed the win to Pickett. Pickett: (10.02) 9.9939 at 128.76 mph. Hewison: (7.35) 10.4984 at 124.10 mph.
The “Wildbunch” category was contested in a time trial format, where the winner is the one with the lowest average difference between recorded ET and declared dial-in over all completed rounds. In other words, the most consistent car wins. This year’s winner was Harley Coulsell in the “Ball Breaker” Slingshot.
In Willys Wars, it was déjà vu from last year as Alan Rimell defended his title with a 13.841 at 97.34 mph over Guy Davenport’s 14.5203 at 95.61 mph. Both broke out, but Rimell was closer to his index.
In the final of Outlaw, Colin Millar met Albert Carter. Millar ran an 8.1028 at 173.04 mph to Carter’s coasting 17.0987 at 42.17 mph. Carter left too early and was disqualified.
Out of the 62 cars entered for the Nostalgia Super Stock class, it was once again John Sleath who reached the final. Sleath (9.83 index) ran a 9.8477 at 133.71 mph and was closer to his index compared to Stuart Thomson (9.71), who posted a 9.781 at 137.69 mph.
Steve Howe ran an 8.442 at 156.89 mph against Dean Stevens’ 8.857 at 142.48 mph to take the win in the Old School Stockers Bike category.
The NSA Shootout win went to Graham Sykes, who recorded a 10.2907 at 113.35 mph, while Justin Newell broke and was unable to complete the run.
Besides the winners’ trophies, Dragstalgia also rewards special showmanship trophies in various categories. “Low ET of the Meeting” went to Tony Betts’ 5.7778-second run in his Camaro Nostalgia Nitro Funny Car. The “Best Appearing Vehicle” prize was presented to Stephen Pickett and his “Hemi Head Hunter” Willys. The “Best Appearing Team” award went to Mick Sharpe’s “Ridin’ Dirty” Ford Model T Altered. The “Burnout of the Weekend” trophy went to Frederick Larsson from Sweden. “Driving Job of the Weekend” went to Adam Clayton and his great, safe run in the “Firecracker” Fiat Topolino Altered. Andy Bloomfield was awarded the “Wheelie of the Weekend” trophy after putting his Anglia on the rear bumper on Friday and carrying it like nothing had happened. The “Backup Girl of the Weekend” award went to Shannon Cummins. The “Moment of Dragstalgia” went to Paul Harris, who recorded his first 5-second run after a complete engine rebuild over the off-season. The “Spirit of Dragstalgia” award went to the Coulsell family and team.
This story was originally published on July 10, 2026. 
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