The Charlie Bang Special, built in 1963, held D class record in '65 at 10.32 and is nowowned by Brit’ Dean Butler - the flathead gasser still sounded tough.
In the past few years, the success and popularity of these nostalgic nitro displays has grown tremendously; this year it came to the UK, and it’s for sure the Goodwood Festival of Speed will never be the same after those magnificent machines unleashed the awesome sight, sounds and incredible smells of a nitro cacklefest.

For the first show on Sunday morning Tony Thacker invited me to commentate, thus allowing him to take a walk through nitro alley. Even so it was more than fun, the breeze carried the nitro up to us and the makeshift tower shook almost gently from the power blasts.  

Sunday afternoon was my time, though, and I made myself comfortable in a chair ahead of the “Glass Slipper”; the cars on the strip looked great, and when Thacker gave the command to fire ‘em up the sound and feel from those eleven engines cranking into life was incredible.

Then I took stroll down nitro alley, slowly taking it all in, finally placing myself just behind the “Fighting Irish” between the “Rattler” and “Over the Hill Gang” to enjoy the sound and fury of eight trunks trumpeting many times over – nitro power, the feeling and smell was AA awesome!

Cacklefest - oh boy, you guys over there don’t realize just how lucky you are! Having said that, thanks to Lord March, who with Thacker and the NHRA’s Wally Parks museum, handled the shipping of this incredible selection of cars so many thousands of miles and especially the owners and drivers, us Brit’s enjoyed a totally unique experience – nitro power unleashed on a cricket pitch more than 300 years old! 

Talking with the drivers and teams of these cars was more than just entertaining; however, other than running my Zippo on 90% G Max nitro, this cacklefest was my first real hit for many a moon, leaving my body limp and mind weak, trembling all over with ecstasy and lovin’ it to the max. Maybe the tears in my eyes were nitro induced, but they were also tears of joy at being able to celebrate more than 40 years of nitromania up close and in my face!

Click below f or some amazing mo'cycle riding by Dougie Lampkin through Goodwood House