I’ve not been to Las Vegas before, but I’ve always heard about the legendary drag racing – and as a massive petrolhead, it’s something I’ve always wanted to watch.
Never did I expect to see a 300mph jet-powered “funny car” propel itself down a strip nestled in the English countryside, in Bedfordshire. But that’s exactly what I experienced during a recent influencer and content creator day at Santa Pod Raceway.
Organised by the “Petrolheadonism” club, founder Ciro Ciampi pulled together famous faces from across the motoring world – including former Top Gear Stig Ben Collins, famous YouTuber Tim Burton, known for his username Shmee150 – plus Mirror.co.uk.
In an exclusive outing for the Mirror, Santa Pod owner Keith Bartlett – who bought the famous raceway back in the 90s’ – pulled out all the stops on Tuesday morning, showing off two out-of-this-world automobiles that I’ll certainly never forget.
Fulfilling my dream of watching the American drag racers, Keith turned to daring driver Kevin Kent as he pulled out an almost 12,000 horsepower beast that can top speeds around 400mph on extended tracks. “We’re quite limited today,” he tells the Mirror.
I watched from the sidelines, alongside some of YouTube’s car racing royalty – including Calvin’s Car Diary, Adam C and even Trucker Tim. In just five seconds, Kevin launched the insanely loud “funny car” from the start line, all the way to the finish.
There wasn’t even time to think, blink or breathe for that matter – the US engine sound roaring past 280mph – echoing around the closed-off venue. “He left quite hard,” Keith explained. “It’s capable of running much faster than that. These cars are round about 12,000 brake horsepower.” Ciro tells the Mirror the sound “broke his brain”.
