All Star Nationals Shakespeare county raceway 2005

WOW What a fantastic weekend. It featured everything that is close to my heart Drag racing, Kustoms and Hot Rods. With a full 3 days of racing and a show and shine on the Sunday I was in heaven. Shakespeare County Raceway along with Custom Car Magazine had billed this as the ultimate weekend and they did not disappoint. As an alternative to the street rod Nationals that were being held at Suffolk Showground they hit the nail right on the head as far as I was concerned and it was a shame that not many vehicles turned up on the Sunday but this is one show that WILL GROW I have always gone to the Nationals but since they moved the location, it is a hell of a distance for me to travel to and the cost involved far out ways the enjoyment. I am not a skinflint by any means but before I even set off I am looking at approx £ 300:00 and a 500 mile round trip plus whatever I spend whilst I am at the show, so the All Star nationals is a good alternative and a damn site cheaper too, being located in  Warwickshire it is easily accessible for most people with motorway access and good "A" roads once you leave the motorways. (Well thats my gripe over now to the report.)

We set off early Saturday morning as I didn't want to get caught in the  Friday night/Bank holiday traffic on the M6 /M5 junction it is bad enough on a normal day and ten times worse over the holiday period. A nice easy run down ensued and apart from a minor hiccup near the turn off ( Lack of sign posts for the event) we arrived at around 9:30 AM. Our pre-entry tickets were waiting for us on the gate (Thanks to my mother-in-law Pauline)  which we collected and made our way to the camp where the others who arrived Friday had set up. Twenty minutes later and we were set up and having a cup of tea and some breakfast. ( Way to early in the morning for a beer I'm afraid) As we were setting up a familiar sound rang out, the sound of  highly tuned V8's resonating across the park. We had camped next to the pit lanes and with the Eliminations scheduled to start at 10:00 Am.  I haven't been to racing for nearly nine years and had forgotten just what the smell and sound does to the senses. Time to go and watch some racing! We made our way to the grandstand and made ourselves comfortable. The eliminations would be taking part over 2 days and with a full calender of classes it made for some good racing. From our seats we could see the staging and fire up road allowing insight into what was running up next, the first cars out were the super street class these cars are awesome and are totally street legal having to complete a 20 mile cruise and 2 hot starts during the cruise as part of the class rules,what a sight this must be to see upwards of 20 road legal drag cars rumble along the British roads.

First car into sight was this Camaro. Eye catching paint helped in the looks department.

Wilf Stacy's revamped Zephyr looked fantastic. He has been missing from the scene for a couple of years and it was good to see him back on the track. It has been around for a long time and posted some good times over the weekend

My favourite racer of the weekend was this Straight six jaguar powered slingshot Overdose on Nostalgia looking like it had come straight out of the sixties, it was immaculate with engine turned aluminium body

After the morning session it was time for a demonstration run of the Firestorm jet car. They had been having problems with the jet engine and were doing a test run before tomorrows demo run. The sight and sounds of this car are amazing ( I would recommend ear defenders for children when this car is running ) After all the pre-checks it scooted off down the track and posted a 232mph not bad seeing as they were taking it easy.

Sound and Smoke display of the Fireforce Jet car

It was time to have a walk round the pits and trade stalls as an oil down meant that there wouldn't be any more racing for a while. Entrance to the pit lanes is free and allows you to get up close to the cars and look what goes into them and also to talk to the drivers. Unless they are busy  but even then most will take time out to talk and answer questions, it makes the whole experience more enjoyable to find out and learn what goes on behind the scenes.

Custom Car magazine had got together some of the past racers and show cars and were displaying them in a separate marque so we headed over there for a look. There were a few cars there but the two most outstanding ones to me are pictured below

Roarin Rat First cover car of the now defunct /changed its name Street machine magazine. 57 Chevy gasser is wicked and still blows my mind. Now regularly runs in the Gasser Circus and is a sight to see as it lifts the front end on launching off the start line.

"Money Hungry" Hands up those who remember this Show/Race car from the Eighties.

Heading back to camp for a chill out came across this little "27 T" rod what a treat for the eyes it was pure nostalgia. Running a four pot motor sounded sweet cruising round later

Tiki style impala wagon has been a regular show goer and still looks good. The pinstriping is soo cool have a good look at it next time you see it

Page 2 Sunday Show & Shine