British Drag Racing Hall of Fame
B.R.A.K.E.S. FOUNDER DOUG HERBERT HONORED BY BRITISH DRAG RACING HALL OF FAME
Herbert Recognized For Establishment Of Lifesaving Teen Defensive Driving Program As Well As On-track Championships
WEYBRIDGE, SURREY, UK – Doug Herbert, the multi-time Top Fuel drag racing champion and founder of the 
B.R.A.K.E.S. (Be Responsible And Keep Everyone Safe) national teen defensive driving program founder has received a special honor by the British Drag Racing Hall Of Fame (BRDHoF).
The presentation was made during the organization’s annual Gala at the historic Outlands Park Hotel in Weybridge.
“Doug Herbert is from a drag racing dynasty that began with his father, Chet Herbert, who introduced roller cams and zoomie headers to our sport in 1949,” explained BDRHoF Chairman Stuart Bradbury. “That lineage also includes Doug’s aunt, Doris Herbert, who published Drag News, the first great drag racing newspaper.
“Doug himself has won four IHRA Top Fuel championships at 10 NHRA national events,” Bradbury continued. “This award also recognizes and honors Doug’s his decision to establish the B.R.A.K.E.S. teen defensive driving program following the tragic deaths of his two sons is saving countless lives by training and educating teen drivers and their parents about the importance of safe, responsible driving.”
British Drag Racing Hall of Fame to hold Bench Racing session with US legends
The British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Gala, to be held on 23rd November at the Oatlands Park Hotel, Weybridge, 
Surrey, will again be preceded by the popular Bench Racing session, starting at 12:30pm lasting for two hours, and sponsored by US Automotive and Kelsey Media, publisher of Custom Car magazine. In the four previous years, a varied panel of US and European legends entertained a packed audience with their stories and views on the sport in the afternoon prior to the main Gala dinner and presentations in the evening.
The BDRHoF is delighted to announce that the Bench Racing session will again be held in the Terrazza at Oatlands Park Hotel. This year, the Bench Racing session marks the presentation of the Mopar Performance Lifetime Achievement Award to Bill Simpson who has done so much to improve safety in drag racing. Bill’s companies have introduced many innovations in the sport to safeguard racers, officials and spectators.
This year’s Bench Racing will contain many hair-raising tales of the exploits of members of the panel and include discussion of safety in the sport. The Bench Racing panel will be chaired by broadcaster, announcer and writer Bob Beck, who has been at the mic for a wide variety of motor sport disciplines, but is best known for announcing at Famoso, Los Angeles County and Irwindale Raceways.
The panel members include individuals from the US who have had a huge amount of drag racing experience over the last 60 years:
British Drag Racing Hall Of Fame Benevolent Fund donates patient monitor to Santa Pod Raceway
The trustees of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Benevolent Fund have made the donation of a patient 
monitoring device to Santa Pod Raceway. The G3H Portable Patient Monitor is battery powered and can easily be carried around. It is suitable for use in bedside monitoring in medical centres or hospitals and can print out graphs of patient readings.
Stuart Bradbury, Chair of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame and Trustee of the BDRHOF Benevolent Fund, said ‘This donation will be directly for the benefit of racers and of fans at Santa Pod Raceway and we hope it can help save lives at the track’.
Keith Bartlett, Santa Pod owner and CEO of Trakbak Racing Ltd, said ‘We at Santa Pod Raceway are very grateful to the BDRHOF Benevolent Fund for their generosity in making this direct donation to our medical services’.
There will be a start line presentation to mark the donation at lunchtime on Saturday 25th May at the Main Event, conditions permitting.
British Drag Racing Hall of Fame to hold Bench Racing session for Priddle book launch
The British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Gala, to be held on 17th November at the Oatlands Park Hotel, Weybridge, 
Surrey, will again be preceded by the popular Bench Racing session, starting at 12 noon, and sponsored by US Automotive and Kelsey Media, publisher of Custom Car magazine. In the three previous years, a varied panel of US and European legends entertained a packed audience with their stories and views on the sport for two hours in the afternoon prior to the main Gala dinner and presentations in the evening.
The BDRHoF is delighted to announce that the Bench Racing session will again be held in the Terrazza at Oatlands Park Hotel. This year, the Bench Racing session marks the launch of Mister Six: the story of drag racing legend Dennis Priddle by Keith Lee. The book, which has been the product of almost two years’ work by Keith, includes many anecdotes from the book’s subject Dennis Priddle, members of his team and others from the sport. The book will include many images not previously published.
The Bench Racing session, to be hosted by Graham Beckwith, brings together Dennis and some of his competitors, prominent personalities connected with him, and team members over the years. The current panel looks like this:
LUCAS OIL PRODUCTS TO BECOME HEADLINE SPONSOR OF BRITISH DRAG RACING HALL OF FAME
The British Drag Racing Hall of Fame is excited to announce that Lucas Oil Products has agreed to become its 
headline sponsor. Lucas Oil Products is an American manufacturer and distributor of automotive oil, additives, and lubricants and was founded by ex-trucker Forrest Lucas and his wife Charlotte in 1989.
In drag racing, Lucas sponsors several NHRA events and many drag racers in the US, Europe and Australia. It also sponsors other forms of motorsport with its marketing platform Team Lucas and, since 2011, has owned the cable network MAVTV, which it has transformed into a leading motorsports network Lucas Oil Racing TV. In Europe, Lucas has a network of retailers extending right across the continent.
Les Downey, Managing Director of Lucas Oil UK, said, ‘Since it was formed almost twenty years ago, Lucas Oil has been heavily involved in supporting UK and European Drag Racing. Our story has been built upon hard work, an unparalleled line of premium lubricants and fuel treatments and an unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction. So we are proud as providers of premium products to be associated with the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame, which has grown into an organisation that honours the great champions of the sport.’
BRITISH DRAG RACING HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES 2018 GALA AND NEW BOARD MEMBERS
The British Drag Racing Hall of Fame has announced that its 2018 Gala will take place on 17th November at the 
historic Oatlands Park Hotel in Weybridge. The BDRHoF also announces two new Directors, and a new adviser to the Board.
Chairman of the BDRHoF Stu Bradbury said “We are delighted to have made a firm booking for the dinner and awards ceremony which will once again happen in the York Suite of the hotel. The main focus of the event will be on inducting our new members of the Hall of Fame for 2018. There will be a Bench Racing session in the afternoon, and we will be welcoming an array of sponsors and special guests which we will announce in due course”.
At the 2017 Gala, British drag racing fans took part in a Bench Racing session sponsored by Beech Underwriting Agencies in the hotel’s Terrazza, or terrace, during the afternoon before the evening’s three course dinner and prize ceremony. A large contingent of special guests included Connie Kalitta and Jim Oberhofer from Kalitta Motorsport and Steve Gibbs, former NHRA Competitions Director and now organiser of the Nitro Revival nostalgia gathering to take place this year in May at WeatherTech Raceway, Laguna Seca. Steve was presented with the Lucas Oil Global Achievement Award for his long career in the sport.
Steve Gibbs and Connie Kalitta honoured at British Drag Racing Hall of Fame’s 2017 Gala
The twelfth annual British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Gala Awards Dinner, held on 18th November at the Oatlands 
Park Hotel, Weybridge, Surrey, was another huge success. New inductees to the Hall of Fame from the sport in the UK were joined by a group of sixteen US drag racing legends, and former land speed record holder Richard Noble OBE. The Gala is one of the leading motor sport presentation events in the world and the BDRHoF would like to acknowledge all who made it possible.
The evening, compered by writer and former NHRA Motorsports Museum Director Tony Thacker, included the induction of eight new members of the BDRHoF, presentation of the Sydney Allard media awards, the Lucas Oil Global Achievement Award, and special surprise presentation for a drag racing legend who has combined a racing career over almost sixty years with running successful international airlines.
LUCAS OIL TO SPONSOR 2017 SYDNEY ALLARD MEDIA AWARDS
Lucas Oil Products UK has announced that it is to sponsor the three 2017 Sydney Allard Media Awards that will be presented at the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame (BDRHoF) Gala Awards Dinner – this year being held at the Oatlands Park Hotel, Weybridge, Surrey on November 18th.
The crystal trophy awards are for best written journalism, best photo journalism and a new one for best video journalism. The judging panel, consisting of experts from the Guild of Motoring Writers, Octane Magazine and Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, have begun sifting through the entries. Lucas Oil is a major supporter of the BDRHoF, also sponsoring the BDRHoF Lucas Oil Global Achievement Award and co-sponsoring the pre-dinner drinks reception and the junior drag racers’ tables.
SPECIAL INDUCTION OF BRITISH DRAG RACING HALL OF FAME HONORARY CHAIRMAN STU BRADBURY
This year sees a special Induction Ceremony – that of British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Honorary Chairman Stu 
Bradbury. It had to be special because to protect the integrity of the selection process, the rules of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame prevent those on the Selection Board and the Management Board from being inducted. But it was felt that in the case of Stu Bradbury we needed to break these rules and with the unanimous backing of both Boards, the Honorary International Ambassadors, ten randomly selected existing inducted members and our Benefactor Geoff Stilwell, Stu was presented with his Crystal Trophy along with a special certificate on the Santa Pod 2017 Dragstalgia Meeting.
Stu’s drag racing career was mainly anchored to the startline at Santa Pod and it was felt that lunch time on the Saturday of Dragstalgia was the right time and place for Stu’s special presentation because many of his friends would be attending. But the weather had other ideas so it was held in the Quarter Mile Club that forms part of the Spectator side VIP Centre with Santa Pod Raceway CEO and member of the BDRHoF Selection Board Keith Bartlett making the special presentation. Stu’ detailed Citation can be found on www.britishdragracinghof.co.uk.
2017 BRITISH DRAG RACING HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES ANNOUNCED
The British Drag Racing Hall of Fame (BDRHoF) has just announced the names of the new members selected for induction into the Hall of Fame in 2017. They are record-setting Top Fuel team Principals Per Andersen and Karsten Andersen; long time photographer and the man who revived the Fuel Altered class Lawrie Gatehouse; legendary Suzuki drag bike racer Pip Higham; Top Fuel Bike racer Steve Woollatt and committed husband-and-wife racers, organisers and drag racing supporters John and Lesley Wright.
Their detailed Citations accompany this release and their names join those whose contributions to British drag racing are considered to have been extraordinary. The detailed Citations can also be found on www.britishdragracinghof.co.uk. The Induction Ceremonies will take place at the BDRHoF Gala Awards Dinner being held at the historic Oatlands Park Hotel, Weybridge on November 18th when drag racing personalities and fans from around the world will celebrate the commitment shown by these, all-too-often, un-sung heroes and the influence they have had on drag racing.
