Drag Racing 1965

In 1964 and 1965 the US National Hot Rod Association in conjunction with the British Drag Racing Association organised an exhibition tour of Britain which in 1965 included a drag race meeting on the runway of RAF Woodvale near Southport. This is a photograph of one of the American dragsters that took part.

I don't recall having a programme at the event but there were 8 of the US dragsters at this meeting and I think that this is Bob Keith’s car, in which case it has a 494 cu in Chrysler engine.

Drag Racing 1965

In 1964 and 1965 the US National Hot Rod Association in conjunction with the British Drag Racing Association organised an exhibition tour of Britain which in 1965 included a drag race meeting on the runway of RAF Woodvale near Southport. This is a photograph of one of the American dragsters that took part.

I don't recall having a programme at the event, but this is apparently Gary Casady's Ansen Forgings Chevy powered 400 Junior fueler.

Drag Racing 1965

In 1964 and 1965 the US National Hot Rod Association in conjunction with the British Drag Racing Association organised an exhibition tour of Britain which in 1965 included a drag race meeting on the runway of RAF Woodvale near Southport. This is a photograph of one of the American dragsters that took part.

It's Starlite III, built in 1964 by Chuck Griffiths and driven by him at Woodvale. He made 4 runs that day, the best being 8.11 seconds for the ¼ mile with a terminal speed of 198 mph.

Drag Racing 1965

In 1964 and 1965 the US National Hot Rod Association in conjunction with the British Drag Racing Association organised an exhibition tour of Britain which in 1965 included a drag race meeting on the runway of RAF Woodvale near Southport. This is a photograph of one of the American dragsters that took part.

'Moonshot' is a car created by Dean Moon and had a 392 cu in (6.4 litre) V8 Chrysler engine. The car was due to be driven by Merek Chertkow who had driven the car in the first of the two scheduled meetings at Blackbushe airfield which was largely disrupted by continuous rain. After the Blackbushe meeting, however, Merek Chertkow was involved in a road traffic accident in which he fractured two vertebrae, and arrangements were made for another member of the American team, Ben Griffin, to drive Moonshot at Woodvale. Ben Griffin made the first run but Merek Chertkow decided he wanted to try the next run himself, but despite clocking a 9.80 and 174mph he lost out.

Drag Racing

In 1964 and 1965 the US National Hot Rod Association in conjunction with the British Drag Racing Association organised an exhibition tour of Britain which in 1965 included a drag race meeting on the runway of RAF Woodvale near Southport. This is a photograph of one of the American dragsters that took part.

I don't recall having a programme at the event, but this is apparently Gary Casady's Ansen Forgings Chevy powered 400 Junior fueler.

Lister Jaguar

In October 1965 a group of American drag racers came to Britain on an exhibition tour organised by the National Hot Rod Association in conjunction with the British Drag Racing Association, repeating their visit of the previous year,  and one of the events was held on the runway of RAF Woodvale near Southport. Here's one of the photographs I took there that day.

I don't recall having a programme at this meeting so I don't know who entered the car for this event, but this is a 1958 Lister Jaguar, chassis BHL 105, that was originally an Equipe Nationale Belge car and took part, with a 3-litre engine, in the 1958 Le Mans 24 Hour race driven by Freddy Rouselle and Claude Dubois. The car retired early in that race after losing oil pressure, then continued to be raced by the Belgian team until it crashed during practice for the Helsinki Grand Prix in 1959. It went back to the Lister factory but was repaired elsewhere and passed through various owners until it went to Switzerland in 1986, but is now back in this country and has undergone an extensive restoration.