Drag race sceptic are you ? Think that there's no skill , let alone spectacle , in racing in a straight line for  only a quarter of a mile ? Think that it's  just another crass American import , all style and  no substance ? Think that the Goodwood  Revival is the best show in town (and I won't deny it's one worth seeing even though I could live without the Hooray Henries) ?  But if  you 've got an open mind then prepare for it to be blown by your first exposure to the loudest and  most spectacular form of motor sport of all  .  I spent Saturday at Santa Pod ( or 'Down at The Pod ' as I must learn to say without sounding a complete tit ) and I had a wonderful day , especially as this time I remembered to take my ear defenders. There's no doubt a Formula  1 V10 is screamingly loud, and my perforated left eardrum  is testament to that , and the Chevy Big Block V8  in a McLaren M8 Can Am would wake the dead  but nothing prepares you for the apocalyptic thunder of a pair of Pro Modified drag racers as they erupt from the startline christmas tree (just google it if you aren't au fait with strip slang, ok? ). 

I interviewed  lots of drag racing people  and found  none of the corporate bullshit , privacy boards or security pass overkill which infects so much modern motor sport . Without exception they were happy to talk , especially the feisty girls in junior dragsters .And if you're at the Pod some time soon , just  check out the girls' reaction times,  which are displayed on the timing screens. They almost defy belief and I dare not tell you just how much quicker they were than my sloth like efforts last time I did a Run Whatcha  Brung in the Caterham .... 

And don't even get me started on the nutjobs who ride the Top Fuel bikes . The numbers will have to do for now as I don't have any words . 1000bhp ,  200 yard wheelies and 200 mph plus in 6 seconds  . Bloody Hell...... .