30/06/2026
Dragstalgia... what can I say? 🥵 It was mega hot... like, melting hot!
Friday saw us manage three runs during RWYB. The ETs weren't quite where we wanted them to be, but after all the work the previous weekend—changing the diff gears and fitting a new accelerator mechanism—we thought we'd finally got things sorted.
But, in true drag racing style, just when you think you're getting somewhere, you're thrown another curveball!
On our last run of Friday, the scoop decided it had had enough, threw a little tantrum, and cheekily turned itself to face the wall! I carried on accelerating, lifting slightly because, with the weather being absolutely scorching and now no air going into the engine, there wasn't much point keeping it pinned. We crossed the finish line at 109 mph to be precise.
About three-quarters of the way down the shutdown area (right at the end of the sandy-coloured section), I went for the brakes...
BANG!
No brakes.
Lots of clonking.
Absolutely nothing.
Thankfully, Marie Mills was far enough ahead that she'd already turned off into the return road. I, however, was rapidly approaching the point where I was thinking, "I really don't want to end up in that field!"
There was absolutely no chance of making the left turn into the return road, but then, in a split second, I spotted the farm track on my right. Decision made—that's where we were going!
I made a sharp right turn, the back end bouncing around, while praying to the drag racing gods that we weren't about to roll the car.
Thankfully... we made it.
Phew!
Now all I had to do was actually stop... which seemed to take forever! I honestly thought I was going to end up having a cup of tea at the farmhouse—we went that far down the lane before the car finally rolled to a halt.
A huge thank you, as always, to the absolutely fantastic safety crew, who came to my rescue and pushed the car all the way back to the return road, where a very confused Mark, Rory, Morgan and Kassey—and an even more confused Marie—were all waiting for me!
Back in the pits, after removing enough broken bits to tow the car back, we found the culprit: a broken calliper bracket. Thankfully, the caliper itself had only suffered a little damage and was salvageable.
Then, once again (I think this makes about the fifth time now!), Nick Williams came to the rescue. He appeared with his collection of brake discs, brackets and callipers. The discs and callipers weren't the right fit, but the bracket was absolutely perfect!
With our repaired calliper and Nick's borrowed bracket, we got everything back together. While the car was in pieces, the boys also had another go at sorting the accelerator issue, ready for Saturday.
We missed the first round on Saturday morning but made it out for Round 2.
By Sunday, things were finally heading in the right direction. We were back into the low 10s with a respectable 10.29 @ 125.46 mph and 10.35 @ 127.72 mph.
So, all in all, it was a good end to a very emotional weekend—extreme heat, plenty of highs and lows, an unexpected off-road adventure (one we definitely don't want to repeat! 😂), and, most importantly, we got the car home in one piece and moving in the right direction.
It definitely wasn't the weekend we had planned, but that's drag racing for you... never a dull moment! Onwards and upwards—we'll keep chipping away, and hopefully we'll be back where we know the car belongs before long. 🏁💙
Finally, we'd just like to finish by saying a few thank yous and congratulations.
Humongous thank you to Ruaridh for still loaning us the engine and crewing the weekend
A massive congratulations to Ford Skipp and his crew on an incredible new PB of 7.31 @ 178 mph! 👏
Congratulations also to Harley Coulsell on his new PB of 8.17 (we think! 😄).
And, of course, huge congratulations to the entire Coulsell family on winning the SPRC Spirit of Drag Racing Award. It couldn't have gone to a more deserving family. Your absolutely fabulous and incredibly emotional display during the Cacklefest was something none of us will forget. ❤️
Last, but certainly not least, a huge thank you to every single member of the Santa Pod crew. Your hard work, dedication and commitment, whatever the weather or the challenges, never go unnoticed. Without every one of you, we simply wouldn't be able to do what we all love so much.
Here's hoping the rest of the season is a little less eventful... although, knowing drag racing, we won't hold our breath! 😂🏁
Go Pro video in the comments.