Sports Listings: Drag Racing: The Cannonball - Santa Pod

The Cannonball event at Santa Pod this weekend is the largest Funny Car meeting outside the United States. Funny Cars are the most spectacular machines in drag racing, borne out in their fierce acceleration and notorious handling. In the professional top fuel class, their huge engines produce about 50 times the power of an ordinary saloon car. Accelerating from a standing start to achieve speeds of 280mph, drivers experience g-forces of between four and five in the five seconds they are on the quarter-mile course. Unlike the top fuel dragsters, which are more stable because of their length, Funny Cars have a smaller wheelbase, making them difficult to control.

How to get there: Santa Pod Raceway, Bedfordshire, is signposted from junction 14 of M1 (Tel: 0234-781676). Weekend ticket (includes access to pits, banking and free camping): pounds 30 adults. Day tickets: Tomorrow: pounds 15 adults. Sunday: pounds 18 adults. Children aged 12 to 16 are half-price, 11 and under free. Racing tomorrow runs from 10am to dusk and on Sunday, 10am- 6pm.