UK Nostalgia Super Stock
UK Nostalgia Super Stock is contested through six events at Santa Pod. In recent years, coupled with improvements and developments, plus the increase in competitors from the demise of York Raceway’s American Super Stock series, UK NSS has been pushed to become one of the largest classes in UK drag racing. The class brings upwards of 40 entries at Santa Pod’s ‘lifestyle’ events and typically around a dozen cars for the national, MSA/ MUK sanctioned events. This smaller number is largely because of the more stringent safety and other requirements of the national events. The national events and lifestyle events each have three rounds.
This is bracket or handicapped drag racing. Before each race, the drivers write their predicted quarter-mile time (or dial-in) on their car’s window. When two competitors draw up to the start line, the faster car is handicapped by the difference between the two times on the cars. So the slower car gets the head start and in theory both cars should cross the finish line at exactly the same moment. But does that happen? Hell, no! It’s a level playing field, no matter how quick and fast your car is. But it also means that winning is dependent on your consistency and reaction time when your start lights go down. Cut a perfect light with your reaction time, run exactly to your dial-in time and you’re a winner. Break the light beams on the start line by as little as a thousandth of a second before you get the green light, and you are a loser already. Once you understand what is going on, it makes for very close and exciting racing for both drivers and spectators alike. Regarding the rules, it’s all about keeping true to classic super stock racing; cars must be more than 40 years old with only bolt-on additions allowed.
