Stories of UK drag racing pioneers

Dante Duce and Mickey Thompson at 1963 Brighton Speed Trials - John Wood photos

Surrey pioneers

Derek Metcalf, Wombat / Strip Star - Part 3 22nd February 2021




Bill Haynes, Quarter Horse Racing - Part 2 8th March 2021




Mick Wheeler (Essex), Scorpion 15th March 2021




Tony Anderson, Trouble / More Trouble / Even More Trouble - Part 2 29th March 2021




Keith Stacey, Whiskey Peddler 5th April 2021





John Smith, mechanic and crew 12th April 2021

Former drag racer and event organiser John Hunt has contacted pioneers of UK drag racing, acquired their stories and transcribed them for Eurodragster.com to publish with original photos. The inspiration for people to become involved was the visits of U.S. racers Dante Duce and Mickey Thompson in 1963 (see above photos) and the Drag Fests in 1964 and 1965. The accounts are exclusive to Eurodragster.com, told in the original words of the racers and have been accompanied by photos and images from their collections. Eurodragster.com thanks racers for providing their stories, and John Hunt and Nick Pettitt for help with editing and proof reading the feature and making archive images available.

John Hunt writes: "I'm interested in all classes of cars and motorcycles. I would welcome hearing from anyone who would be prepared to assist the writing of others stories from the other classes? If anyone has memorabilia available to pass on to the group of drag racing historians please get in touch with me on johnhunt.drn@googlemail.com or 07855 598391".

If you would like to contact Eurodragster.com directly then send an E-Mail to editor@eurodragster.com.

Acknowledgements

The above links go to UK drag racing history sites without which it would have not been possible to publish the pioneers' stories. We're also grateful for the help of Clive Rooms who has been a tremendous help for dates, results, times and speeds.

Stories © original author and Eurodragster.com