March 28th 1975 |
Snetterton.
The First Annual Easter Nationals. Dennis Priddle put down a smoky run in
his TF car but the clocks failed to record a time. |
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March 30/31st 1975 |
SPR. Easter Meet. Dennis Priddle
managed a 7.2 in his slingshot and blew his engine. |
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April 13th 1975 |
Blackbushe. RAC National
Drag Racing Championship Round Three. Four TF cars were entered, but Revolution
3 now driven by Trevor Young, misfired badly after its burnout and didnt
appear again. This meant a round robin. In the first race, Dennis Priddle
recorded a winning 7.40/198 to Liz Burns half pass 9.57/104. In the
second race, Roz Prior won with a 7.82/200 as Liz, still getting used to
the car, recorded 8.86/174. Unfortunately, Roz broke a half shaft and was
unable to come out against Priddle. So, Dennis soloed to a 225 mph run, the
fastest speed ever in this country. |
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April 20th 1975 |
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SPR. Dennis Priddle put in
a single late qualifing run of 6.49 The final was Crane v Priddle. Peter
Crane ran 6.79/204 while Dennis Priddle ran a 6.04sec E.T.at 218mph in his
"Mr Revell" slingshot. This world record for a front engined fueler
stood until the 1990s.
"Mr Revell" Photo by Mike
Dossett |
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May 3rd/4th 1975 |
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Snetterton.RAC National Drag
Racing Championship Round Four, round one of the Wolfrace Street Championship
and a round of the 208 Pro Comp Championship. Dennis Priddle debuts his new
Chrysler Avenger Funny Car. The car was built by Dennis and his crew and
featured a 470ci alloy Donovan engine with a two speed B&J transmission
in a 116in wheelbase chassis. Liz Burn, driving the ex Clive Skilton GTX
Lizard Dragster ran 8.67/204mph. Liz missed her parachute release and while
trying to find it crossed the centre line and hit Dennis Priddle in the Mr
Revell fueler from behind. Both cars left the track and ended up in the field.
Both Liz and Dennis were OK, Mr Revell was rebuilt but the Liz & Ollie
car was a write off.. |
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May 24th-26th 1975 |
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SPR. May Day Holiday Weekend
Big Go. Dennis Priddle ran 6.9 in his new Avenger Funny Car. |
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June 14th/15th 1975 |
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Wroughton. NDRC International
meeting including 2nd round of the TOR LINE European funny Car Championship,
Skilton was the number one qualifier but Priddle and Pratt made it through
to the final. Pratts car blew a blower gasket on firing up, a direct result
of upping the nitro percentage, allowing Skilton to come back in and run
the final. Priddle won however with a 6.95/204 to Skiltons 8.03. To see the
elimination ladder for the Funny Cars
click here. |
Avenger Funny Photo by
Mike Dossett |
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July 5th/6th 1975 |
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SPR. European Grand Prix
incorporating the first British funny Car Grand Prix. Dennis Priddle
has problems with the Avenger Funny Car and goes out to Dave Stones Tee Rat
altered in round one. For the Funny Car elimination ladder
click here. |
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July 12th 1975 |
Aintree. The first Drag
Race event to be held at this venue (once a major motor racing circuit and
the scene of the first win by a British Grand Prix car, the Vanwall driven
by Tony Brooks and Stirling Moss in 1957) was promoted by European Dragways,
organised by the Pennine Drag Racing Club and run on a narrow eighth mile
strip. 55 entries turned up including two fuelers and two Funny Cars. Dennis
Priddle brought out his Avenger FC and treated the crowd to an eighth-mile
burnout followed by a 5.027/144 pass. The top cars were run singularly because
of the narrow strip so the finals were run one car after the other. In Funny
Car Clive Skilton was the first to run and he put in a 5.83/130 on six cylinders.
Dennis Priddle then produced another storming burnout but got crossed up
while reversing. He then cut the motor as part of the reverser linkage came
loose. The decision was taken to make the run without the reverser and the
car was re-started. Dennis then over-staged, the crew could not push the
car back and the motor was cut again. With the car re-positioned the motor
was fired again and Dennis proceeded to smoke the tyres for the whole eighth,
obliterate everybodies view of anything and beat Skiltons time with a 5.53/161.
Not to be outdone Skilton came back out later with the Vauxhall running on
all eight cylinders and put down the fastest eighth-mile Funny Car run ever
seen in the UK, a 5.16/165. For all class results
click here. |
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August 1st-3rd 1975 |
Mantorp Park, Sweden. In
the Tor Line Funny Car Cup Series Dennis
Priddle and Clive Skilton met
in the final. Priddle shut off with clutch problems before getting to the
line while Skilton suffered a blown head gasket and ran a 41 second ET. |
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August 17th 1975 |
Blackbushe. NDRC meeting. The
funny cars of Clive Skilton, Dennis Priddle and Liam Churchill were present.
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August 23rd-25th 1975 |
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SPR Holiday Weekend Supernationals.
Dennis Priddle qualifies third in Pro Fuel in 'Mr Revell' at 6.68/207.90
behind Peter Crane and Owen Hayward. He made it to the final
round but lost out with a 7.10/151 to Haywards 6.58/221.73. |
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August 30th 1975 |
Aintree. Pennine Drag Racing
Club Meeting. Full rounds of practice and qualifying were completed on the
eighth mile but the meeting was brought to a premature end by rain. Just
before the rain started Dennis Priddle and Trevor Young got ready to put
in their first runs. Dennis took the Mr Revell slingshot to a 5.05/147.6
and Trevor didn't get to run. |
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September 6th/7th 1975 |
Snetterton
International including 4th and Final round of the TOR LINE Funny Car
Championship, (3rd round held in Sweden). With this the final round of the
Series Dennis Priddle and Clive Skilton were level on points at the top of
the table. Skilton ran an off the trailer 7.23/200 in qualifying while Priddle
never made it out of the pits with transmission problems. Priddle got his
first pass in on Sunday morning with a 7.36/196. He then defeated Ake Ryman
with a 7.23/208 to an 8.19/185 to meet Skilton in the final. The winner
of the final would also take the Championship. The lights failed so a flag
start was called for. Priddle acknowledged his readiness and staged but Skilton
was not ready. Having been staged for some time Priddle left as the flag
went up followed by Skilton who crossed lanes in an effort to catch up. Priddle
took the win with a 6.94/208 while Skilton shut off to a 10.58/65. |
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September 20th/21st 1975 |
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The Funny car eliminations
included nine floppers and a Fuel Altered, the largest FC field ever in Europe.
Saturday qualifying saw Dennis Priddle breaking in a new '440ci steel' motor
in his 'Mr Revell' slingshot to the tune of a gentle 9.04. Later in
the evening a number of cars took advantage of the new floodlighting which
had now been RAC approved for competition. Dennis Priddle took his Donovan
powered Avenger to a 6.93/207.47 qualifier.The semis on Sunday saw Owen Hayward
leave Priddle behind on the tree but the 'Houndogs' clutch went up in smoke
at the three quarter mark. Hayward crossed the line first with a slowing
6.99/155.04 while a hard charge from Priddle saw an identical 6.99 with a
207.47mph terminal speed. In Pro Fuel Owen Hayward put a best ever 6.56/221.73
down in 'Houndog 8' but lost out to Priddles 6.69/211.42 in the semis. The
final saw Peter Crane set low ET of the meeting with a 6.37/222.72 defeat
of Priddles 6.67/210.97. |
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October 5th
1975 |
NDRC Championship Finals,
Blackbushe, including finals of Wolfrace Street Championship and 208 Pro
Comp Championship. Dennis Priddle won the 1000 pound prize put up by Custom
Car magazine for winning a best of three Funny Car match race against Clive
Skilton. With a win each after two rounds Clive had problems with his injector
linkage for the final leaving Dennis to solo for the win. |
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November 1st/2nd 1975 |
SPR Fireworks Spectacular. The weather on Saturday
was so bad that very little took place on the track, except some shakedown
runs for the new track drier. With no qualifying completed eliminations were
arranged using previous performances. The track was still quite slick and
times were down on the usual. Funny Car produced a field of seven floppers.
The final was between Dennis Priddle in his Avenger and Clive Skilton in
his Vauxhall. Priddle had defeated Roland Pratt with an 8.16/203.25, after
Pratt lost fire, and Allan Herridge with a 7.38/197.24 to an 8.00/152.67.
The final saw Skilton lose traction and veer off line. Meanwhile Priddle
had hooked up and gone with a win in 7.31/202.02. For all class results
click here. |
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May 14th-16th 1976 |
Mantorp Park, Sweden. Eight
British cars and two bikes made the long haul to Sweden. They included Dennis
Priddle with his Funny Car. In Funny Car first round, both Allan Herridge
and Priddle had bye runs but they came out side-by-side with Herridge recording
7.24 to Priddles 7.78. In the first semi-final, Priddle had a solo
pass in 7.99 as John Andersson was unable to start his engine. The final
was marred by a mix-up to the tree. A handicap from the previous run had
not been taken out which meant Herridge left half a second before Priddle.
Bootsie ran 8.00 to Priddles 7.55 with Herridge being awarded the race
as he got there first. Everybody agreed that this was not a satisfactory
conclusion but nothing could be done. |
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May 23rd 1976 |
Snetterton. NDRC Meeting.
In Funny Car, Dennis Priddle was top qualifier with a 7.34/200 run but damaged
the motor at the top end and was out for the rest of the day. |
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May 29th-31st 1976 |
Holiday
Weekend 'Big Go'. SPR. In the first round of Funny Car eliminations Dennis
Priddle lined up against Pete Barnett and Barnett went through in 7.97/179
for an upset win as Priddles motor fell silent after the burnout. |
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June 13th 1976 |
Blackbushe. NDRC. Ist round of
1976 Tor Line Funny Car Championship.Clive Skilton beat Dennis Priddle in
the Final. |
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July 3rd/4th 1976 |
SPR. Euro Grand Prix. In Funny
Car Dennis Priddle got through round one after Owen Hayward broke on the
line. In round two he was up against Allan Herridge and lost out with
a 7.12 to Bootsies 6.63. |
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August 15th 1976 |
Wroughton. NDRC meeting.
Funny Car had three entries, Dennis Priddle, Peter Barnett and Geof Hauser
in the seat of Liam Churchills Euro Sting. Barnett qualified top with
7.21/211, followed by Hauser with 7.64/181 and Priddle with an easy 8.88/203.
Barnett ran a bye at 7.43/204 and then Hauser lined up against Priddle. Hauser
crossed the centre line chasing after Priddle. No times were recorded but
Hausers speed was 189 to Priddles 123. It was Priddle all the
way in the final as his 7.09/203 was too strong for Barnetts 7.45/184.
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August 28th-30th
1976 |
SPR. Supernationals. Rain
caused the abandonment of the meeting before any of the eliminations began.
In Funny Car Dennis Priddle qualified second behind Allan Herridge with a
7.26/158. |
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September
18th/19th 1976 |
SPR. Supernationals Re-Run.The
weather certainly was a lot better for the re-run. In Funny Car Dennis Priddle
soloed to 7.14/190 as Phil Elson was unable to obtain reverse after the burnout.
In the final Allan Herridge pulled a cherry handing the win to Priddle who
ran 7.05/197. |
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October
16th/17th 1976 |
SPR. Winternationals.
The final round of the Tor Line Funny Car Championship was contested at this
meeting with only Clive Skilton and Dennis Priddle in with a chance of winning
the title. Priddle qualified with 7.19/209. Skilton had borrowed Pete
Barnetts car but could only manage a lowly 18 second pass. Number one
qualifier was John Andersson at 6.63/187 although the run did cause some
controversy as a skirt had been fitted to the front end. By the time the
eliminations had started, some of the English drivers had skirts fitted!
In the first round Priddle, now fitted with front end skirt, put down a 6.49/200
solo. Even though Skilton had lost in the first round, he had amassed enough
points to win the FC Championship. In the semis Dave Stone defeated an off-form
Priddle, 7.46/183 to 8.89/97. |
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November 6th/7th 1976 |
Fireworks
Spectacular. SPR. There was no qualifying at all on the Saturday due to the
strip being too damp. In Funny Car Dennis Priddle put down low ET and top
speed of the meeting with a great 6.93/216 winner over Phil Elson. The track
really was slick for the final with Priddle taking the win over Dave Stone
in just 11.31/90. |
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April 8th-11th 1977 |
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Easter Spring Nationals Dennis
Priddle set a new Top Fuel speed record of 230mph in the ex-Don Garlits "King
Rat" fueler. |
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May 15th 1977 |
Mantorp Park, Sweden. The First
1977 Swedish Spectacular. A team of Brits travelled to Sweden to compete
at the event including Dennis Priddle in the "King Rat" ex-Garlits fueler.
The Top Fuel and Pro Comp eliminators were run together with a 1/2 second
handicap in favour of the Pro Comps. Priddle dominated the field and set
a new E.T. record for Sweden of 6.50 seconds. |
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June 5th-7th |
SPR. Silver Jubilee Big Go. Rain
hampered proceedings and the organisers struggled to run one days eliminations
out of a scheduled two. Highlighting the meet was the Jubilee battle of the
Funnies and Fuelers. Dennis Priddle debuted his new Monza Funny Car and,
after a checkout half pass, ran 7.55/124 to beat Phil Elson, a 7.13/185
to beat Ronnie Picardo, and dipped into the sixes although losing to event
winner Roz Prior with a 6.98/185. |
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July 9th/10th 1977 |
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SPR July Internationals. In the
Funny Car Final Dennis Priddle was runner up to Allan Herridge.
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September 17th/18th 1977 |
SPR. International. Dennis Priddle
set a new lowest ET record at 6.5 in Olavi Knuutinens black Monza funny
car. |
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October 15th/16th 1977 |
SPR.
Winternationals. In the Funny Car semi-finals Dennis Priddle soloed to a
6.91/206 win. The final was a goodie with Priddle recording a winning 6.55/211
to Allan Herridges 6.76/201. |
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Dennis Priddle is named as Custom
Car Funny Car Driver Of The Year. |
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March 24th-27th 1978 |
SPR. Easter Springnationals.
Funny Car qualifying was led by US racer Raymond Beadle in Blue Max with
6.54/217, followed by Dennis Priddle 6.77/202. After an out of shape solo
pass in the first round, Priddle overcame Hayward in the semis, 6.91/200
to a losing 7.22/183. The final was a good race with Herridges 6.54/215
too strong for Priddles 6.73/203. |
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April 16th 1978 |
Blackbushe. NDRC Meeting.Three
fuel cars were entered, Dennis Priddle in his JWR funny, Trevor Young and
Mickey Naylor in their dragsters. Unfortunately, Youngs car was sidelined
with a cracked liner. Priddle won with a time of 7.56/211. |
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April/May 29th-1st
1978 |
SPR.May Day Festival Of
Speed. Dennis Priddle qualified third in the Funny Car field with a 7.98/183.
In eliminations, Priddle just edged it over Allan Herridge with a 6.72/207
to a losing 6.79/207. The final was not run due to poor conditions. |
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May 21st 1978 |
Blackbushe. NDRC Meeting.Three
Fuel cars were in attendance with Dennis
Priddles FC taking the win in the final over the TF car of Trevor
Young. |
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May 27th-29th 1978 |
SPR. Spring Bank Holiday Big
Go. Dennis Priddle ran the best Funny Car time of the meeting, with a 6.74/207.8
in his Monza, to take number one qualifying spot. |
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June 3rd/4th 1978 |
Snetterton.
NDRC Championships Round Four, RAC British Drag Race Championship Round Four,
Gauloises/NDRC Pro Comp Championship Round Three and Round Five of the ACU
British Drag Race Championship. In the Fuel elimination, the FC of Dennis
Priddle beat Trevor Youngs TF car. |
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September 16th/17th 1978 |
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At SPRs September Internationals
Dennis Priddle qualifies third in his Monza with a 6.76. In the first round
Priddle ran 6.61 but lost out to Snows second new record time of 6.34. |
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September 24th 1978 |
NDRC Finals, Blackbushe.
Again, there were just two entries in TF which ended with Dennis Priddle
in his FC beating the TFD of Trevor Young. |
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October 14th/15th
1978 |
SPR. Winternationals.
The meeting was badly affected by fog and drizzle with most of the eliminations
not even commencing. Number 1 qualifier in FC was Dennis Priddle with a
7.39/185. |
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May 18th-20th 1979 |
Mantorp Park International, Sweden.
Dennis Priddle won Funny Car with a 6.66 in the JWR Monza. |
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June 17th 1979 |
Blackbushe. NDRC Meeting. Although
the weather was good resulting in a good crowd, it wasnt an excellent
crowd due to the current Sunday closing of petrol stations. Pro Fuel was
a match up between Trevor Young in his TF dragster and Dennis Priddle in
the FC. In the final of a best of three, Young took a 7.89/199 win over Priddle
as the FC smoked the slicks for two-thirds of the track. |
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June 23rd/24th 1979 |
BDR&HRA,
in association with Santa Pod Raceway, organised the first Eastern Nationals
at the re-named Sugarbeet County Raceway, part of Snetterton Circuit. The
entry list included a Funny Car match race between
Dennis Priddle in his John Woolfe
Racing Monza and Owen Hayward in his SLD Olding sponsored Houndog 9. However,
bad weather meant that only one of these races was held and even this was
affected by a damp track. Priddle won with an 8.12 to Houndogs losing
8.37/198.4. |
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July7th/8th 1979 |
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SPRs Summer Internationals Dennis
Priddle qualifies fourth in his Monza with 6.92. Priddle ran 6.84/196 to
beat Ronnie Picardo who got out of shape and crossed the centre line. In
the semis Gene Snow beat Priddle with a 6.51 to a 6.75 |
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August 26th/27th 1979 |
Bank Holiday Supernationals.
SPR Funny Car Eliminations saw top qualifier Owen Hayward (6.50/200) beat
Dennis Priddle in the first round 6.50/203 to 6.64/206. |
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Photo by Chris
Dossett
September 14th-16th 1979 |
 |
World Finals. SPR. Dennis Priddle
went out in round one of Funny Car with a poor 8.00 second run to Raymond
Beadles 6.70. |
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September 30th 1979 |
Blackbushe. NDRC Meeting. Top
Fuel had just the dragster of Trevor Young and the F/C of
Dennis Priddle entered. In the first match-up, Young
got there first with a 7.66/205 run. The final round was in semi-darkness
with Priddle lighting up the slicks for more than half distance but could
not catch Youngs winning 7.74/185. |
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April 4th-7th
1980 |
Easter International SPR. Pro
Fuel saw the debut of Dennis Priddles new Keith Black powered fueler which
produced a 6.61/217 on its first run. The first semi saw Priddle beat Ronnie
Picardo 6.53 to 6.80. The final was held over due to rain bringing the meeting
to an end. |
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April 20th 1980 |
Blackbushe. NDRC Meeting.
The meeting was held amid 60 mph crosswinds.
There were just two Top Fuel cars in attendance, Dennis Priddle and Alan
Ritmeisters. In the dificult conditions, there was only one half decent pass
from the two fuellers, and that was from Dennis who laid down a 7.57 at 204
mph. |
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May 3rd-5th 1980 |
SPR. Spring Nationals. Dennis
Priddle made number two with a 6.73/215 behind Swedens Kent Persson. In the
semi Priddle took the win with a 6.62/215 to a personal best 6.74/199 from
Ludvig Bjornstad. The final was Priddle v Herridge. Herridge took the win
with a 6.37/211 to Priddles 6.70/214. |
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10th May 1980 |
The NDRC opened their own
permanent Drag Strip at Long Marston. Dennis Priddle performed
a champagne burnout in his top fueller in celebration of drag racing returning
to the strip. The new surface was not providing great traction and after
three tyre smoking runs Dennis recorded a best of 7.18/204. |
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May 24th-26th 1980 |
Whitsun Big Go. SPR. Dennis Priddle
makes it through to the final of Funny Car but loses out with a 7.62/159
to Owen Haywards 6.83/202.
Qualifying saw Allan Herridge at #1 spot
with a 6.46/214, followed by Gene Snow (6.48/197), Dave Stone (6.49), Lee
Anders Hasselstrom (6.59/218), Harlan Thompson (6.88/217), Dennis Priddle
(6.90), Ronnie Picardo (6.98/227-fastest speed of the weekend), and
Raymond Beadle (7.65/149). Owen hayward was first alternate with a best of
8.27/210 but came into the eliminations in place of Dave Stone who had wrecked
the Rodeck motor in 'Stardust'. Round One saw Lee Anders Hasslestrom launch
his 'Red Baron' Monza with front wheels high in the air, cross the centre
line and hit Ray Beadles 'Blue Max', the scarred Americans car making it
through to the next round. The next race saw Harlan Thompson keep his boot
down in a wild fishtailing drive against Herridge. Thompson crossed the line
first but was judged to have crossed the centre line so his 6.90/199 lost
to Herridges 6.68/212. Dennis Priddle lifted off the power at 1/4 track
with low oil pressure (turned out to be a faulty gauge) while Gene Snow advanced
to the semis with a 6.49/187. Owen Hayward shut down Ronnie Picardo
6.63/209 to 7.16/205. Pro Comp saw Gerry Andrews at #1 with a 7.00/ |
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July 5th-6th 1980 |
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Funny Car qualifying saw
Dennis Priddle make number six with a 6.90 He went out in Round One after
lifting off the power at 1/4 track with low oil pressure (turned out to be
a faulty gauge). His opponent, Gene Snow, advanced to the semis with
a 6.49/187. |
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August 23rd-25th 1980 |
SPR. Bank Holiday Supernationals.
Highlight of the weekend was the match race between the fuelers of Allan
Herridge and Dennis Priddle. The best of three match race, held on the second
day of qualifying, produced three classic races. Herridge took the win in
the left lane in Round One with a 6.42/215 to Priddles blower belt throwing
6.74/201. Round Two saw the left lane victorious again with Priddle crossing
the line first in 6.25/223 while Bootsie left two black lines down most of
his lane, took his turn to throw a blower belt and still crossed the line
in 6.35/189. The final deciding race saw Priddle back in the right hand lane.
He got a slight holeshot over Herridge and, in the closest race of the three,
took the win with a 6.21/227 to Bootsies quicker and faster 6.20/232. The
Pro Fuel class saw the fuelers and Funny Cars running together. Dennis Priddle
ran a 6.31/221 to defeat rookie Top Fuel pilot Tina Page who had motor problems
in Dave Priors "Fast Lady" slingshot. In the third pairing Owen Hayward wheelied
the Houndog Funny Car as Allan Herridge took the win with another 6.31, this
time at 207mph. This meant it was Priddle vs Herridge for the fourth time
of the weekend. Tension was high as the pair took their time in staging and
Herridge powered to the win with a 6.27/222 as Priddle threw another blower
belt and crossed the line in 6.43/183. |
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October 11th/12th 1980 |
SPR. BDR&HRA National Finals
including Hot Rod & Custom UK Street Eliminator. For this meeting, the
Fuelers and Funny Cars ran together in one elimination. In the first round,
both Dennis Priddle and Alan Herridge were on bye runs in their dragsters.
Dennis ran 6.26/218 and Alan ran a troubled 7.26/194 in Alleygator. In the
second semi, Ronnie Picardo broke a rod on the burnout leaving Dennis Priddle
to take the win. He didn't take it easy on the run setting the top times
of the meeting with a 6.25/219 only to fireball the engine through the lights.
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November 8th/9th 1980 |
SPR. Firework Spectacular.
Elimination positions were determined by emergency qualifying times as the
strip surface was a little too slick for serious qualifying. Pro Fuel featured
four cars. Ronnie Picardo in Highway Patrol which was running on methanol,
defeated a troubled Alan Herridge. Dennis Priddle ran 7.06/183 to defeat
Owen Hayward in the Demag altered which was the Houndog FC without its usual
body. This was its first appearance. Both first round losers came out again
with Owen recording a 6.92/186 and Bootsie laying down a 6.85/160 in Alleygator.
In the final, Dennis clocked a 6.40/211 to defeat Ronnie's shut-off 7.92/58.
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October 23rd/24th 1981 |
Circuit Paul Ricard, France.
Dennis Priddle debuted his brand new 'Mr 5' machine at the meeting. |
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October 31st/November 1st
1981 |
Long Marston. NDRC Fireworks
Meet. Dennis Priddles new, as yet unpainted, 'Insurance In Motion' sponsored
top fueller made its UK debut. In eliminations Priddle beat Tony Boden while
Trevor Young beat Alan Ritmeisters. In the final Young and Priddle smoked
the tyres all the way down the cold strip, with Young blowing the motor at
the top end, but not before he had taken the win over Dennis. |
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August 28th-30th 1982 |
Santa Pod Raceway.
Supernationals Including The Flame & Thunder Jet car Nationals. Dennis
Priddle ran a new personal best in an attempt to beat Peter Cranes long-standing
E.T. record of 5.97. He ran a 6.02/229 in his fueler. |
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September 3rd 1982 |
Le Mans. France. The Blue Way
Dragster Festival. dennis Priddle set anew track record on the 'French 1/8th'
200metre strip. In qualifying he ran 4.211 seconds to set the record. A solo
in round one saw him better this with a 4.126. He backed it up in the final
with a 4.196/262kph win over Tony Bodens 5.2 to give him both E.T. and speed
records. |
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September 24th-26th 1982 |
SPR. World Finals. Dennis Priddle
qualified at #1 in Top Fuel with a 6.23/225. He had a bye run in the first
round and, instead of taking it easy for the next round, stormed through
with a 5.99/230, the first five second run in the UK since Peter Crane was
credited with a 5.97 in Easter 1976. He narrowly failed to back this
up for the record with a 6.10/230 in the next round. The meeting was rained
off before the final which was to have been Priddle against Andy
Craddock. |
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October 30th/31st 1982 |
Long Marston. NDRC Meeting.
On Sunday the sixth and final round of the NDRC Gauloises Top Fuel championship
took place. There were only two entrants, Dennis Priddles "Insurance In Motion"
and Doug Bonds "Shoestring". Priddle took the wins in both races with tyres
smoking the whole quarter. The times were 7.67/201 to 7.99/173 and 7.76/222
to 7.86/178. |
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November 6th/7th 1982 |
Santa Pod Raceway. Firework
Spectacular. The second day was a washout. Dennis Priddle and Andy Craddock
came out for a match race but the appalling track conditions reduced them
to side-by-side burnouts before shutting off. |
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April 1st-4th 1983 |
SPR. Easter meeting. There
were four Top Fuel cars in attendance but they didnt put in an appearance
until the Monday. In the first round Tony Pearson in Maiden Warrior lost
fire leaving Dennis Priddle to cruise to a 6.81/171. In the final, Priddle
holeshot Andy Craddock, but as they neared the finish line, Craddock powered
past to take the win with a 6.29/no speed to a 6.56/197. |
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May 15th 1983 |
York. NDRC Meeting, Blackbushe.
Headlining the meeting were match races between Dennis Priddle and Andy Craddock.
In the Top Fuel match up, Andy Craddock put down a 6.77/212 pass to beat
Dennis Priddle who virtually smoked the whole quarter in 7.23/190. In the
second race, Craddock had to sideline his car after the burnout as the throttle
stuck partially open, leaving Priddle to solo to a 6.95/200. |
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May 28th-30th 1983 |
SPR. The Big Go. In Top Fuel,
four cars were entered. Dennis Priddle beat Alan Ritmeister 6.19/208 to a
losing 6.90/204 in the first round. In the final, Priddle went up in smoke
on the green but its doubtful if he would have caught Craddock anyway
as he laid down a fine 6.13/226 pass. |
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July 2nd/3rd 1983 |
This years Cannonball event at
SPR was sponsored by Budweiser. During the break between the funnies, Dennis
Priddle debuted his re-bodied fueller as a computer designed wind tunnel
tested 'Streamliner', sans rear wing. The creation being the result of an
experiment for the BBC Tommorrows World programme. Pitted in an out of
competition run against Gerry Andrews in the Hemi Hunter, Dennis suffered
tyre shake off the line before hooking hard right onto two wheels narrowly
missing the Hemi Hunter. A superb driving job by Dennis had the car straightened
up before nearly hitting the armco. Pundits declared the lack of rear wing
as the cause, Priddle put it down to clutch settings. Whatever Maggie Philbin
(Tomorrows World Presenter) was all suited up to drive the car next! Her
drive being postponed Until Dennis had checked the car out with a crack at
a full pass........which never came about! |
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April 20th-23rd 1984 |
SPR. Easter Nationals. The
Professional Drivers Class consisted of Top Fuel, Funny Cars and Pro Comp
all racing together heads-up. In the first round Dennis Priddle broke allowing
Dave Wilson in Krypton to solo through to the semis. |
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August 11th/12th 1984 |
Mantorp Park, Sweden. International
Meeting. After qualifing with a 6.30 at an unprecedented 248mph, Dennis Priddle
went on to record a quickest ever 5.89. He backed this up in the final round
with a new European record 5.87/243. |
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August 25th-27th 1984 |
SPR. Super Nationals including
Flame & Thunder Jet Nationals. Dennis Priddle recorded the quickest elapsed
time of the competiton cars with a 6.03/217, despite not winning any of
the eliminations. Priddle made it through to the final of the Pro Drag Eliminator
where he met Finn Timo Aartomaa in the ex-Steiner Stolen 'California Charger'
Pro Comp FC. Aartomaa had got through the semis when his opponent, Bill Sherratt,
had blown his motor in the burnout. In the final Priddle lost his concentration
when his visor came loose as he tried to stage, he made a poor start and
ran a slowing 8.30/120 while Aartomaa ran a winning 7.54/165. |
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September 21st-23rd 1984 |
SPR. World Finals. Friday was
cold and damp and only a brave few made any runs. Saturdays qualifying was
held up by more rain. Dennis Priddle put in a single pass late in the evening,
a low six. On Sunday it rained again ending the meeting |
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August 18th 1985 |
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North Weald NDRC Inaugural Meeting
at this venue. Dennis Priddle and Andy Craddock were the only two competitiors
in Top Fuel. Dennis Priddle ran the top
speed and low E.T. of the meeting with a 7.21/217. |
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