18th MOPAREURONATIONALS , SANTA POD RACEWAY, ENGLAND 29th - 31st JULY 2011THE MOPAR BYS ARE BACK IN TOWN AGAIN.
 
When it comes to American car shows the MoparEuroNationals ticks all the right boxes, this ever increasingly popular event still manages to pull in the best muscle cars from around the UK and central Europe making it a major player on the Show circuit.

Now in its eighteenth year the show remains as fresh as ever as the organisers keep coming up with new ideas. A brand new "wheels-up" competition where the competitors try to keep the front wheels in the air for as long as possibly whilst hurtling down the track drew a huge crowd on Saturday night and ten entrants. This inaugural competition and a "first" for Santa Pod saw Craig Mcmanus of Surrey Muscle travel down the track on his 67 Chevy Nova's rear wheels and win the contest.

The hard-core participants started arriving on Thursday night and kicked  things off with a traditional barbeque and party on Airfield Road leading up to the Pod's main gate. This year they were joined by Doc Stingers 66 Coronet race team from Austria and the Wild at Heart funny car team from Belgium.

Over the three day weekend the track is open for 22 hours of racing time and as 1pm approached on Friday the fire -up line gathered momentum and the cars flew down the track. The Wellingborough KFC plays host to the customary cruise from the track and judging by the amount of cars crammed into the rear car park it must have been one of their busiest Friday night's this year! With everyone back at the track the evening's entertainment cranked up, following the muscle car drifting in the live action arena on to the open air stage where "Rock of Ages" performed a storming set of rock and blues classics.
As Saturday rolled around the sun came out, the crowds filled the stands, the cars stormed down the track and the show began to buzz. Maybe it's just me but there does seem to be many more 9 and 10 second cars running nowadays. For the first time ever at the Nats a Funny Car made an appearance on the track, all the way from Belgium, Ramon van der Weurf raced the nostalgia 71' Charger bodied flopper to rapturous applause.  On display over the weekend saw a Top Fuel dragster and the wonderful "old school" slingshot Allard. This car was the first ever purpose built British dragster, built by Sydney Allard and raced between 1961 to 1964, it was powered by a 354ci Chrysler Hemi engine. Brian Taylor chairman of the Allard Chrysler Action Group who are responsible for preserving this unique vehicle was on hand all weekend to answer questions. 

The day drew to a close, the air thinned and out came the Wheels Up brigade with Ronnie Piccardo leading the way in his wheelie Corvette, running the full quarter mile on its rear wheels.
So the scene was set for Chris Orthodoxou in the Ray Barton Hemi powered Dodge Viper who ran a blistering 7.88 secs @ 173.9 mph that grabbed the Fastest Mopar of the weekend award.
As night fell, the band "The Karma Heart" took to the stage and in between the firework display played a great set.

Sunday in recent years has belonged to the Show n Shiners and with the car corral bursting at the seams, all you could see was American Muscle everywhere. The Moparnats  is not just about Chrysler machinery it's really a coming together of all brands of American  performance cars, so whatever your fancy you are bound to find it at the show.

The very best turned out on Sunday, eventual Best in Show winner Carston Woitenek drove his immaculate 1970 Plum Crazy purple Hemi Super Bee from Essen, Germany. One of only 21 built.  That is no mean feat in a Mopar b-body, with a 426 ci Hemi, a 4-speed manual gearbox and 4.10.1 rear gears! An average of only 8 miles to the gallon and you can see why he stopped "many times" for fuel, now that's real Mopar dedication. 
On the subject of Hemi cars, a 1969 hemi powered Plymouth GTX  owned by Paul Lisle made a welcome appearance, the car is a fresh import and looks great in its original green paint and hub capped 15" steel wheels, one of only around 200 built.

Yet more Hemi's could be found in the corral, Kirk Claus from Halifax brought along three cars, a fantastic 1968 Hemi Dart Hurst tribute, a 1969 Hemi Road Runner and the sweetest 1966 Formula S Barracuda. Not surprisingly he carted off a couple of trophies at the Prize Giving.
The Classic American Car of the Year trophy went to long time Mopar owner Stuart Keen and his dazzling 1971 Sassy Grass Green Plymouth Road Runner, be sure to catch that at the NEC in November.

The best "modern muscle" a brand new category this year went deservedly to Chris Dufresne an American serviceman from RAF Alconbury, his Dodge Magnum SRT8 also ran the quarter in an impressive 10.024 secs.

Other outstanding non mopar's were Adrian Waller's Shelby GT 350, Gavin Shaw's teal blue Camaro Z28 and Guy Whitwam's 1970 Cougar convertible, you don't have to own a Mopar at the Nats to go home with a trophy, you just need an excellent muscle car.

Don Scott was presented with the Winged Warriors USA  trophy for his hemi # 43 Petty Superbird tribute and Adam Ford was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

My favourite car of the show has to be Mick and Craig Elliott's 1964 Max Wedge Plymouth Savoy, not yet finished completely but a real knock out if ever I saw one.

You would never guess there's a recession in this country as Santa Pod was heaving with fine cars and muscle car fans, some other events are falling back in popularity and attendance- but not the MoparEuronationals.

Well it all happens again next year, the dates are 27, 28, 29 July 2011. Meanwhile look out for the DVD and check out the website www.moparnats.co.uk

Tony Oksien.