2012 Santa Pod Main Event (1-4 June)
Discussion
Benni said:
RWJ said:
Take earplugs too.
My choice would be the biggest ear defenders your workshop has to offer,especially for the blown classes, if you´re sitting front row.
If you are wearing prescription glasses with antireflex coating,
be careful as unburnt nitro vapors can damage the coating permanently.
Don´t take your finest clothes as they might have some small black specks afterwards,
when the hot rubber in the burnout clouds descends onto fabric it sort of vulcanizes,
you haven´t been close to a track without "Goodyear freckles" which look funny though...
crikey said:
You don't watch dag racing, you experience it.
Dag racing?
Should be more fun that that!
I've seen a video on youtube shot by a guy in the stands at a drag race, and it showed a half empty bottle of water on the bench during the race...it's like something from jurrasic park how you see the water jumping in the bottle, then the whole bottle tips up and flys off the bench! That was what first gave me an impression of what it must be like to be there - the air filled with thunder. I'm sure, as many others have attested, that it's not something that can be accurately conveyed by a video or photos, you have to BE there... which is one of the main reasons for pulling my finger out and getting tickets sorted for this year.
(Written Sunday morning, having had a good day on Sat)
Oh My F*****g God!!!
That was amazing! I think it's fair to say that TV cannot prepare you for what it's like sitting between the staging beams and the christmas tree, in the front row, when a Top Fueller takes off down the strip!
It's a bit like being in an earthquake. The wall of noise hits you and I found I couldn't breath until the pass was over.... I was basically sitting there with my mouth agape for the whole run.
I've also never experienced as much adrenaline as just a SPECTATOR of a sport! I was quite literally shivering in my seat, not from the cold, but from the pure rush running through me, during the start up and burnout. Then I was just on a real high waiting for the cars to come into stage... becasue you know what happens next!
AND... that's only when there's ONE OF THEM! When there's two, I think it's fair to say that that really does translate into being twice as intense.
And the crazy thing is that all that is happeneing just from the AIR coming out of the exhausts! Those guys who strap in and pilot these things are really heros! It must be insane being sat in the middle of all that craziness!
They are also fast (obv!) but I never realised just HOW FAST they would look in real life. I was sat between the stage beams and christmas tree, then imagine someone to your left calls your name so you look over 90' to see them... well that's how fast you have to turn your head to watch a top fuel run!
The day started slowly due to rain in the air, but got underway about 1pm or so. We spent the morning walking the pits and watching the stunt show (terry grant could do with spending more time driving and less time chatting IMO!), which was a good way of passing the time but not really what we were there for. Was starting to feel a bit dissapointed, and wondering what the refund policy was! But when the action got underway, starting with the sportsmen and working up, the day just kept getting better.
We had intended to leave about 5pm, but we'd got chatting so some old hands who were sat near us, and kept us up to date with what was happening (and why) and some background on the rules and racers. Thanks to those guys we got a lot more out of the day. The best bit was probably watching the top fuellers for the 2nd round of Sat qually, because I knew what to expect... and also had been furnished with a couple of free cans of lager by one of my new friends by this point so ended up staying right until the 9pm curfew. (Track can't run beyond 9pm due to noise I think.)
The day ended up being far better than I could ever have imagined... was tempted to buy a tent and stay over, but I think the wife (who was at home) would change the locks and start selling my stuff if I'd tried that one! So no more racing for me this weekend, but I undertand there's another event in September... so might have to go seek out some tickets for that!
Cheers all!
Oh My F*****g God!!!
That was amazing! I think it's fair to say that TV cannot prepare you for what it's like sitting between the staging beams and the christmas tree, in the front row, when a Top Fueller takes off down the strip!
It's a bit like being in an earthquake. The wall of noise hits you and I found I couldn't breath until the pass was over.... I was basically sitting there with my mouth agape for the whole run.
I've also never experienced as much adrenaline as just a SPECTATOR of a sport! I was quite literally shivering in my seat, not from the cold, but from the pure rush running through me, during the start up and burnout. Then I was just on a real high waiting for the cars to come into stage... becasue you know what happens next!
AND... that's only when there's ONE OF THEM! When there's two, I think it's fair to say that that really does translate into being twice as intense.
And the crazy thing is that all that is happeneing just from the AIR coming out of the exhausts! Those guys who strap in and pilot these things are really heros! It must be insane being sat in the middle of all that craziness!
They are also fast (obv!) but I never realised just HOW FAST they would look in real life. I was sat between the stage beams and christmas tree, then imagine someone to your left calls your name so you look over 90' to see them... well that's how fast you have to turn your head to watch a top fuel run!
The day started slowly due to rain in the air, but got underway about 1pm or so. We spent the morning walking the pits and watching the stunt show (terry grant could do with spending more time driving and less time chatting IMO!), which was a good way of passing the time but not really what we were there for. Was starting to feel a bit dissapointed, and wondering what the refund policy was! But when the action got underway, starting with the sportsmen and working up, the day just kept getting better.
We had intended to leave about 5pm, but we'd got chatting so some old hands who were sat near us, and kept us up to date with what was happening (and why) and some background on the rules and racers. Thanks to those guys we got a lot more out of the day. The best bit was probably watching the top fuellers for the 2nd round of Sat qually, because I knew what to expect... and also had been furnished with a couple of free cans of lager by one of my new friends by this point so ended up staying right until the 9pm curfew. (Track can't run beyond 9pm due to noise I think.)
The day ended up being far better than I could ever have imagined... was tempted to buy a tent and stay over, but I think the wife (who was at home) would change the locks and start selling my stuff if I'd tried that one! So no more racing for me this weekend, but I undertand there's another event in September... so might have to go seek out some tickets for that!
Cheers all!
MajorLucky said:
haha, he's HOOKED,
Welcome to our world.
Run of the day for me yesterday was Esko's 2nd pass, got loose half track, pedalled lifted the front wheels by a good 2 ft, controled is and kept his foot in, i nearly fell of the bin i was standing on.
Yeah, definitly hooked!Welcome to our world.
Run of the day for me yesterday was Esko's 2nd pass, got loose half track, pedalled lifted the front wheels by a good 2 ft, controled is and kept his foot in, i nearly fell of the bin i was standing on.
I remeber that pass you're talking about... I though he was gonna bin it, or at least kill it early... But he got it down and then got back on it!! Crazy!
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