Santa Pod Raceway is preparing to close out the 2026 European drag racing season in a big way. From September 9-13, the historic facility will host a packed stretch of racing that combines the FIA/FIM European Finals, the conclusion of the Carl Cox Motorsport Series, and a special car show celebrating Santa Pod Raceway’s 60th anniversary.
With approximately 300 car and motorcycle racers representing 17 countries currently on the entry list, fans will get everything from 10,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragsters and nitro Funny Cars to Pro Mods, motorcycles, Sportsman racers, and Junior competitors. Throw in championship battles, jet cars, a massive car show, and plenty of off-track entertainment, and Santa Pod is setting the table for one heck of a season finale.
European Drag Racing Championships Go Down To The Wire
The FIA/FIM European Finals will run Thursday through Sunday and serve as the climax of Europe’s 2026 drag racing season.
The entry list covers a massive range of two- and four-wheel categories, but there’s no question the nitro-burning machines will provide some of the biggest noise of the weekend.
Four 10,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragsters are scheduled to battle for the FIA European Top Fuel championship. Reigning champion Susanne Callin of Sweden will attempt to hold off Swiss former champion Jndia Erbacher.
Norway’s Øyver Jacobsen has returned to the Top Fuel cockpit after decades away, while Scotland’s Colin Millar is the lone male driver in the field. Millar has made the jump from Outlaw Anglia competition and will be trying to cap his season by defeating an all-female group of rivals at Santa Pod.
Six Nitro Funny Cars Battle For The UK Funny Car Cup
If Top Fuel isn’t enough nitro for you, six Fuel Funny Cars will also be pounding the Santa Pod racing surface.
Funny Cars use the same basic nitro-burning powerplants as Top Fuel dragsters, but stuff that power into a much shorter chassis covered by a lightweight replica production-car body. The result is one of the wildest combinations in all of drag racing.
The six-car field for the UK Funny Car Cup is entirely British, and some teams have brought in American tuning assistance as they chase the prestigious title.
Steve Ashdown won the Funny Car Cup last season, while Kevin Kent enters the European Finals leading the 2026 championship battle. That title will be settled during the weekend at Santa Pod.
Carl Cox Motorsport Series Adds A Pro Mod Bonus
Fans won’t have to wait until the FIA/FIM European Finals officially get rolling to see fast doorslammers on the track.
The Carl Cox Motorsport Series is ready to put on a show. Superstar DJ and motorsports entrepreneur Carl Cox has backed the three-race Pro Modified series throughout the season, with competitors battling for a lucrative prize fund.
Cox isn’t just putting his name on the series, either. He’s competing in his own American-built Pro Mod capable of running 250 mph. The Carl Cox Motorsport organization will also support the Junior Dragster and Junior Dragbike categories competing during the weekend.
FIA Pro Mod Championship Will Be Decided At Santa Pod
Things won’t get any easier for the Pro Modified teams once the Carl Cox Motorsport Series wraps up.
A 16-car FIA Pro Mod elimination field will be set for Sunday, meaning racers will first have to survive what should be a brutal qualifying battle just to earn an opportunity to race for the championship.
Finland’s Jere Rantaniemi is chasing his third consecutive FIA Pro Mod championship, but he’ll have some work to do. Estonia’s Andres Arnover enters the event holding a narrow points advantage over Rantaniemi.
With 250-mph Nordic turbocharged Pro Mods fighting for both qualifying positions and a championship, this should be one of the races to watch throughout the weekend.
The FIA European championships in Top Methanol and Pro Stock will also be decided at Santa Pod.
Top Fuel Bike Field Will Race In Memory Of Rikard Gustafsson
The FIM-Europe motorcycle championship portion of the event will carry additional significance in 2026.
Swedish Top Fuel Bike champion and 260-mph record-holder Rikard Gustafsson was killed while making a demonstration pass shortly after returning home from his most recent Santa Pod victory at the end of May.
Gustafsson had been the dominant force in Top Fuel Bike competition in recent years. An eight-bike Top Fuel Bike field will now compete for the 2026 FIM-Europe championship in his memory.
Super Street Bikes Bring Six-Second Performance
Super Street Bike will provide the largest motorcycle field of the European Finals.
These machines are especially wild because they’re capable of producing six-second, 220-mph quarter-mile performances while running street-legal tires and without wheelie bars.
Britain’s Jake Mechaell enters Santa Pod as the favorite to successfully defend his 2025 FIM championship. He’ll have to survive a 16-bike shootout to make that happen.
Pro Stock Bike and the nitro-burning Super Twin category will round out the major motorcycle competition.
Championship racing won’t be the only piece of history celebrated during the European Finals.
Santa Pod Raceway is marking its 60th anniversary in 2026, and a special car show on Saturday, September 12, will bring together vehicles representing every one of the track’s 60 seasons.
The display is scheduled to include race cars, hot rods, street rods, customs, and other machines that help tell the story of six decades at Santa Pod. Owners and drivers are bringing the vehicles together for what should serve as a rolling history lesson for European drag racing fans.
The FIA and FIM championship categories may headline the show, but they’re far from the only vehicles scheduled to make passes.
A full slate of Sportsman racing will support the professional categories, while Jet Car exhibitions will add another dose of noise and spectacle.
The entertainment continues away from the drag strip with Monster Trucks, stunt riding and driving demonstrations in the Live Action Arena, parachute jumps, historic aircraft displays, funfair rides, live music, fireworks, and numerous food vendors.
Fans who purchase multi-day tickets will also receive free camping. Live bands will provide late-night entertainment for campers, while free paddock access gives spectators an opportunity to get close to the cars, motorcycles, racers, and crews throughout the event.
Between the Carl Cox Motorsport Series finale, Santa Pod’s 60th-anniversary celebration, and European championships being decided across multiple categories, the September 9-13 weekend isn’t simply another stop on the calendar. It’s a five-day celebration designed to send the 2026 European drag racing season out with plenty of horsepower.
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