The young Dennis Priddle had aspirations to become a motorcyle circuit racer before he was taken by a friend to a Motorcycle Sprint meeting. The fact that competitors could do anything they wanted to their bikes to make them faster appealed to him and he decided to take it up. Then he attended the Dragfests in '64 and '65. After seeing the 8 car Top Fuel line up at the '65 meeting at Blackbushe he came away determined that he was going to have his own Top Fueller one day.
August 28th/29th 1966 SPR. The first British Drag Racing Championships.This meeting saw the use of handicapped starts for the first time and in the dragster division final Tony Gane hung on to a 2.1 second advantage in his 500cc Rudge engined Wicked Lady, to beat Les Turners blown 1500cc dragster. One of Tonys crew members was a teenager by the name of Dennis Priddle who had helped build the machine.

"Wicked Lady" Photo by Nick Pettitt courtesy of Jon Spoard
April 23rd SPR. The Easter meeting. Dennis Priddle set new E.T. and speed records in the I Dragster class driving Tony Ganes 'Wicked Lady' Rudge powered machine. The new marks were 12.639/101.94.
May 28th/29th 1967 SPR. BHRA Big Go. Dennis Priddle won his class in 'Wicked Lady' and was entered in the Top Eliminator but lost to Alan Ing in the ex-works Dragon dragster
June 24th/25th 1967 SPR. Dennis Priddle was driving Tony Ganes "Wicked Lady" and won the I class for Dragsters.
April 15th 1968 SPR. Easter Monday. Season Opener for cars. The debut of a new car, the Keith Black hemi powered Tudor Rose of the Priddle/Sluggett team which ran some promising low nine second shakedowns.
July 21st 1968 SPR. Combined car and motorcycle meeting including night racing. In the qualifying sessions Dennis Priddle had taken the weekends first drive in Tudor Rose and ran a 9.343/141.84. His second drive in the car clocked an easy 9.503/157.23.

Tudor Rose Photo by Nick Pettitt courtesy of Jon Spoard
August 16th-18th 1968 Scandinavian Raceway, Anderstorp, Sweden. S.H.R.A. 'First Go'. The S.H.R.A. sponsored the trip over to Sweden for the Sluggett/Priddle 'Tudor Rose' and the Allard/Skilton rail. On the Sunday Dennis Priddle took over the driving from Rex and put in an 8.53, making him the second quickest man in Europe by the end of the weekend. The first run off saw both machines pulling wheelies with Priddle winning at 8.80 seconds. Priddle took the second round also, both cars launching more smoothly, but Skiltons chute failed at the top end, someone forgot to remove the safety cord. The final round saw Skilton take an early lead but in his bid for revenge the blower let go and Priddle powered through for the win.
September 1st/2nd 1968 SPR. 3rd Annual Championship meeting. Cars only. Top time of the meeting (8.46) went to the 'Tudor Rose' Chrysler rail of the Priddle/Sluggett team who also recorded the fastest speed of the weekend at 171.23mph.
A new 200" frame had been built for Tudor Rose but the rail was dismantled early in the year and sold. Dennis Priddle took over the driving of the Mark Stratton/John Woolfe Racing 'Whistler' Reliant GTE.
May 24th-26th 1969 SPR. BDR&HRA Big Go. Dennis Priddle wins Top Competition Altered in the Whistler Reliant GT/E at 11.35/122
August 9th/10th 1969 Scandinavian Raceway, Anderstorp, Sweden. The Second Annual Anderstorp Trip saw six UK cars make the trip along with four bikes. They were John Siggery in Geronimo, Allan Herridge in Motovation, Harold Bull in Stripduster, Dennis Priddle in the Whistler and the fuelers of Tony Densham and Clive Skilton while the bike racers were Ian Messenger, Dennis Norman and two others (any ideas anyone?). The Whistler had clutch problems.
August 17th 1969 Woodvale. "On Tour" Meeting. Ed Gurney won Top Competition Altered in "Hush Too" at a hole-shot 11.67 to Dennis Priddle's 11.56 in "Whistler".
August  30th/ September 1st 1969 SPR. British Drag Racing Championships. Dennis Priddle won the Top Competition class in the Whistler with a 10.58/129.99 over Freddie Whittles 12.36/119.33
March 29th/30th 1970 Spring Nationals. SPR. In front of a record crowd of 12,000 spectators Dennis Priddle in the Woolfes Whistler  records a 11.1 at 116.55 mph.In the Top Competition final Priddle ran 11.77/110.99 to beat Whittles 12.09/114.42
April 19th 1970 SPR.The Inaugral Meeting of the NDRC. Dennis Priddle wins the Top Comp class in the "Whistler" with an 11.30/118.48 run in the final.
In his time driving the Reliant "Whistler" Altered Dennis had seventeen final wins.
June 7th 1970 Blackbushe. NDRC Meeting.The first appearance of the new Priddle-Riswick-Gane Fueller, unfortunately teething troubles kept it out of competition.
June 28th 1970 The Santa Pod strip speed record was broken three times at this meeting. Firstly, Dennis Priddle in the Quartermaster car ran 183.9 mph. Tony Densham in Commuter then improved the mark to 185 mph, and then Priddle came out again and re-wrote the record book yet again with a 193 mph blast.
July 11th/12th 1970 SPR holds the first of its International meetings. The meeting was run as two seperate eliminations, one on the Saturday and one on the Sunday. It appears that the main event was the Sunday elimination as many cars did not run on the Saturday.  Priddle won Saturdays Top Dragster elimination but crashed through some marker boards after getting some oil on his goggles. This wrecked the front end so he was unable to run on the Sunday. To make matters worse he had earlier borrowed the front wheels from John Siggery after a puncture. This meant that John would also be unable to run on the Sunday until Alan Blount nipped home to Kettering and lent him the wheels from his part built new car. For both days results click here. (Steve Collins)
August 9th 1970 Elvington. NDRC Meeting. Dennis Priddle (8.64) is runner up to Bill Weichelt  (8.830) in the  Top Dragster class. 
August 16th 1970 Hullavington. BDR&HRA 'On Tour' Meeting. Dennis Priddle and Tony Densham ran some demonstrations, Priddle recording two 8.36s and The Commuter running an 8.5.
April 11th/12th 1971 At the Easter meet at SPR Clive Skilton  debuts his new dragster 'Second Revolution' and becomes the first to run 200mph in the U.K. and set a new UK low E.T. with a 7.39/203 straight off the trailer! Clive lost to Dennis Priddle in the final when he pulled a red light.On the Monday both rails returned to duel a best of three match race with Clive taking the win in the first round. At the end of round two it was evens with both cars actually stopping the clocks with identical 7.67 s. Dennis then put together a best ever 197 mph pass for the decider but Clive got to the lights first.

"Hot Wheels" Photo by Dave Paddick courtesy of Jon Spoard
April 25th 1971 Gosport HMS Daedalus Navy Base. The BDR&HRA's first "on tour" meeting of the season. More than 10,000 people attended and were treated to three shattering match races between Clive Skiltons " Second Revolution" and Dennis Priddles Hot Wheels . Neither car was able to show it's full potential due to the strips uneveness but Clive won the final with an impressive 8.6 to Dennis's quicker 8.4.
June 13th Elvington. NDRC & Auto 66 Club meeting. Dennis Priddle ran low E.T. of the meeting at 7.30 seconds in the Hot Wheels fueler.
July 10th/11th 1971 SPR. BDR&HRA International Drags. In the final Clive Skilton faced up to Dennis Priddle in the JWR/Hot Wheels fueler who had been running the quicker E.T.s of the meeting (regular 7.3s). Dennis lost traction on the money run and Clive took the win with a 7.35 to Priddles 7.55/190.
August 8th 1971 Blackbushe. 120 competitors and 12000 spectators attended this NDRC meeting. Dennis Priddle in the Hot Wheels fueller and Bill Weichelt in Asmodeus held a best of three match race. As Asmodeus was a gas burning dragster Bill was given a two second head start and won with two out of three.
August 29th/30th SPR. BDRHRA meeting. Dennis Priddle took the European E.T. record down to 7.22 seconds in the Hot Wheels fueler. On the next run he tried to break into the sixes and destroyed his motor, putting a con rod through the sump. Dennis and Clive Skilton were jointly presented with a special trophy by Kelly-Springfield for the persons doing the most for the "furtherance of the sport" during the 1971 season.
October 10th 1971 SPR. Dennis Priddle runs the fastest outside the US with a 7.13/203.
April 2nd/3rd 1972 SPR. On the Monday Dennis Priddle runs unopposed in the final to record the fastest  E.T. outside the US with a 7.06 at 181mph. His opponent was to have been Clive Skilton but a sheared fuel pump drive in the fire up lane ended Clives race. Dennis had earlier set a new top speed record at 204mph.
May 28th/29th 1972 SPR. Big Go. Dennis Priddle achievesd the first six-second run outside the U.S. with a 6.995 /185 he followed it up with a 6.93/208mph  late on the first day. Clive Skilton had a bad back and did not run until the second day, by which time Priddle had run 6.95/208. In the final race Priddle beat Skiltons red-lighting 7.27 with a 6.93. As well as running into the sixes in his fueler Dennis Priddle took to the controls of the newly imported Stanford/Riswick 'Kielbasi Kid' Camaro in Top Street. Neither Pete Stanford or Dave Riswick had obtained competition licenses and so persuaded Dennis to drive.

Mr Six Photo by Jon Spoard
July 8th/9th 1972 SPR. "3rd Internationals". The entry list contained racers from Holland, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, the U.S.A., South Africa and the UK. The first day of the weekend was lost to rain. Sunday was better and Dennis Priddle and Clive Skilton ran a side-by-side 7.1 to 7.2 second race in qualifying. In the first race the Priddle followed up his first six second run a month earlier with a 6.88/185.19 holeshot win to Skiltons 7.07/203.25, new personal best E.T.s for both drivers. Later on they matched up again and Dennis made it three in a row with a 7.08 while Skilton lost four pistons and the blower on a 9.04.
August 20th 1972 Blackbushe NDRC Meeting. A crowd of nearly 20,000 saw Dennis Priddle smoke the full quarter mile to record a 6.91/211, the fastest speed so far in the UK. He was taking part in a match race with Clive Skilton who struggled to a 7.62/189 using the 392ci Hemi from the recently deceased 'Transcontinental' Funny Car. Earlier in the day the pair had run two other races. The first saw Priddle take the win with a 6.92/194 (the first six at Blackbushe) to Skiltons 7.87/180. In the second race Priddle had fuel problems after a strong burnout and shut off to leave Clive to clock a 7.89/189 solo.
August 27th/28th 1972 At SPRs Nationals Skilton lost to Priddle in the first side by side six second race. Skilton ran 6.89/211, Priddles slingshot ran 6.67secs.
September 23rd/24th 1972 Dennis Priddle sets a new Top Fuel et record with a 6.59second run, the quickest outside the US
September 30th/October 1st 1972 Elvington. International Sprint Organisation World Records Weekend. Dennis Priddle set a new 1/4 mile world record of 6.7seconds. This was achieved with a run of 6.69 (the first six second run seen north of Santa pod) followed by a return run of 6.75. The return run was however judged to be outside the one hour turn-around time allowed for record attempts so the team re-preparred the car for a second return run. This was achieved with a 6.65 giving the two-way average of 6.7.
October 21st/22nd 1972 SPR. BDR&HRA G Max Grand Trophy Meeting. Dennis Priddle ran a 6.98/153.74 to defeat Mike Hutcherson in 'Houndog' at 8.63/156.74. By the time the crew had turned "Firefly' around to race Priddle it was too dark for the cars to run so the pair sent the fans home with fire burnouts.
November 4th/5th 1972 SPR. BDR&HRA Meeting. Dennis Priddle and Allan Herridge came together for the final of Top Fuel. Priddle took the win with Herridge gaining at the top end before going sideways and striking the barrier of the spectator lane bursting a tyre and damaging the rear of the car. On pulling the chute the car straightened up and Bootsie managed to stop it safely.
With plans to run two cars Dennis decided to leave his job as a draughtsman at Westlands and turn 'Pro', devoting his time to building and running his cars. In an interview a couple of years later he revealled that financially he was earning half the salary that he made in his previous employment but as long as he could earn enough money to live and race he was happy.
February 3rd-17th 1973 At the Winternationals meeting at Pomona California Clive Skilton and Dennis Priddle become the first UK car drivers to race on an American drag strip. They had both gone out to purchase cars to bring back to the UK. Priddle qualified 25th in a 32 car field while Skilton made the bump spot. The event turned into a shambles and was possibly the longest drag race meeting of all time. For an  excellent full account of the event from Simon Groves click here.
May 26th/27th 1973 The Hot Car Big Go. SPR. 200 cars and bikes made up the entry list for this meeting with a record of seven British-owned fuel dragsters. Qualifying saw the debut of Dennis Priddles 'Mr Revell' slingshot with runs of 7.79/174 & 7.11/204.7. Tony Gane took the driving duties in Priddles 'Mr Six'. In eliminations the two Priddle cars met in the first round and both lost fire after the burnouts. They were re-started and despite a holeshot from Priddle Tony gane kept his boot in just failing to catch the more powereful car with a 7.45/173 to Priddles winning 7.20/198.41. Rain brought the meeting to an abrupt end.
April 1st 1973 SPR BDRHRA Season Opener. Top Fuel saw Dennis Priddle make number one spot with a 7.05. Priddle soled in the semis. In the final a hard wheel-lifting charge from Mike Hutcherson was never going to be enough to beat Priddle who got back into the sixes with a 6.96/176.99 win.
April 22nd/23rd 1973 SPR. Custom Car Springnationals. In a bizzare match race John Whitmore, in his 1300cc BMC rail, faced up to Dennis Priddles Mr Six. John was away from the line first but by the 1/8th Dennis was ahead to win with a 7.02 to Johns 10.50/139. Dennis also ran a two match race against Allan Herridge in Firefly. Priddle won both races, the first with a 7.80/205 after Bootsie red lit, and the second with a 6.87/208 hole shot to a 7.55/198. The first round of Pro Fuel saw Priddles Mr Six up against John Siggery in the Commuter. A foregone conclusion on paper but as Priddle performed his burnout the blower belt broke and took out an oil pipe. Siggery soloed for an easy win. Priddle and Herridge decided to run off for second place. After the burnouts Firefly cut out and the crew quickly re-started it. On the run the clutch gave way in Firefly and Herridge coasted through the lights at 8.94 behind Priddles 7.28/193.80 winner.
May 19th 1973 Goodwood Circuit. On a 600ft long strip Dennis Priddle put in some demo burnouts and launches in his 'Mr Six' slingshot. Southern TV recorded the action which was shown on the evening news and the 'Day By Day' programme.
From Custom Car magazine, May 1973 "Anyone who's ever complained about a lack of big fuelers should never have to worry again. This year they are almost coming out of the ground!

First, reigning Champion Dennis Priddle will have perhaps the ultimate front-motor car. Dennis built the car in the states, using a Woody Gilmore chassis with Donovan 417 for power. This will be the first car to leave the shores of the US with the potent all-aluminium motor, and must start the season as favourite. As you will probably have seen, Dennis will carry the Revell name as well as 208 and John Woolfe Racing, while the Croydon based Queensway Travel Service will also be helping out, as if that weren't enough, Custom Car will back the car too, making it something of a mobile Billboard!"
June 17th 1973 SPR. G-Max  Grand Fuel Meet. This meeting saw the completion of the rained off eliminations from the Big Go three weeks earlier. Dennis Priddle soloed for the Pro Fuel win after Clive Skilton failed to make the show. His 7.08/186 was the quickest time yet for the new car. In the meeting proper Priddle match raced the 'Houndog' slingshot. He took the win with a 7.20/203.25 while Mike Hutchinson ran a 7.52/196.08, the first seven second run for the Houndog team, knocking half a second of their previous best.
July 7th/8th 1973 BDR&HRA Peterson Publishing Internationals. Round 1. SPR. International entries included 5 Americans, 5 Swedes, 2 Dutch and 2 South Africans. Number three qualifying spot went to Dennis Priddle who was back in the seat of the 'Mr Six' slingshot which was sporting a new paintjob. He clocked a 6.99. Priddles new 'Mr Revell' car was being driven by its former driver Norm Wilcox and on his initial pass he used both lanes to record an 11.12. Round One saw an easy 7.45/112.61 from priddle after Firefly lost fire. Norm Wilcox broke his diff at half track leaving Roland Pratt to go on to round two with a 7.66/163.23. The semis saw Priddle defeat Skilton 6.63/191 to 6.80/207.90, the second side-by-side six seen in the UK. The final saw Pratt fail on the line while Priddle took the win with a 7.08/160.51.
July 7th/8th 1973 HMS Daedalus Royal Navy Air Base. Gosport, Hampshire. BDR&HRA Internationals. Round 2. Rain until midday held up proceedings and a Westland helicopter was used to blow the surface water from the 1000ft strip. With time limited it was decided to concentrate on putting on a show for the spectators and competitors were paired up for best of two match races. Dave Stone in 'Tee Rat' was paired up with Norm Wilcox in Dennis Priddles 'Mr Revell' slingshot. Wilcox took both wins, the first a 6.16/164 to Stones 7.49/155, while the second was the quickest time of the day, a 5.83/168.63 to a losing 7.45/156. Priddle was up against Tony Nancy and got out of shape in the first race, pulling the chutes and scattering marker cones in all directions. Nancy took the win with a 5.87 to Priddles 7.81/65. In the second race Priddle got there first with a 5.99/169 after Nancy went up in smoke off the line and then charged hard to catch up, finishing with a 6.97/210.03!
July 22nd 1973 BDR&HRA Internationals. Finals. SPR. Dennis Priddle ran a 7.37 in Saturdays qualifying session to make number three spot. He bettered this the following day with a 6.87/195 but destroyed the cars diff and had to sit out the rest of the day. Saturday also saw Norm Wilcox get  Priddles 'Mr Revell' into the sixes with a 6.96/168. Wheel balance problems had caused Norm to shut off early. In eliminations Wilcox had a bye in the first round and ran an easy 7.90/93.63. The semis saw Norm Wilcox up against Tony Nancy. Norm left a fraction too early and pulled a red. Nancy took the win with a 6.59/221.24 and Norm shut off early to a 6.55/187 making this the quickest race ever seen outside the USA. The final had the makings of a tense affair. If Nancy won he would walk away with the series trophy. If Skilton won the title would go to Priddle. Nancy was favourite but after the burnouts his clutch locked up and Skilton soloed for the win with a 6.93/203.67. Priddle took the series trophy.
August 19th 1973 Blackbushe, Surrey. NDRC Grandnationals. Castrol/RAC NDRC National championship Round Four. The NDRC came in for some criticism after this meeting for the state of its timing equipment and the lack of traction on the strip (the start line had been moved back from previous events). Three fuelers made an appearance, Dennis Priddle was first out but was unable to hook the car up and shut off to a 13 second pass. Clive Skilton took the first win with a 7.59/202 while Priddle smoked and shut off with a shelled rear end and an 8.28 timeslip.
August August 26th/27th 1973 SPR. BDR&HRA Nationals. Once again Priddle and Skilton made it to the final of Pro Fuel, Clive by virtue of a 6.99/223.21 (top speed of the meeting) win over a wheelstanding Mike Hutcherson in Houndog, while Priddle defeated Allan Herridges 'Firefly' with a holeshot 6.78/181.82 to a 7.13/206.19. Priddle had qualified at #1 with a 6.70/200 on the Sunday. In a close final Skilton got there first with a 6.72/221 to Priddles 6.68/210.
September 8th 1973 Brighton Speed Trials. Dennis Priddle put in a full pass on the specially adapted quarter mile course with an ET of 7.69s.
September 9th 1973 Castrol/RAC NDRC National championship Round Five, Long Marston. Dennis Priddle made what was reputed to be the last outing for the legendary "Mr Six". His best time of the meeting was 7.92/164
September 15th/16th 1973 European Grand Prix. SPR. In Pro-Fuel Dennis Priddle had things all to himself as Clive Skilton did not enter. He qualified with a strong 6.87 / 176mph getting slightly out of shape.
September 30th 1973 Blackbushe, Surrey. NDRC Championship Finals. Castrol/RAC NDRC National Championship Round Six. Clive Skilton had hopes of becoming the first RAC/Castrol series champion but a defeat by Dennis Priddle meant that Junior Street driver Robin Tallis took the title with a win over Lin Brown. Round One saw Priddle defeated Swede John Andersson with an 8.05 to a shut-off 12.78. In the final Skilton had backed off slightly in an effort to improve traction and, despite a good launch, Priddle got there first with a 7.47 to a losing 7.74.
October 6th/7th 1973 SPR. Castrol Championship Finals. Heavy rain on the first day put the qualifying session back by three hours, causing it to run over to the second day. More rain overnight and into the morning meant that the strip was not ready for action until noon on Sunday although the surface was still damp. The meeting was later called to an end before all the finals were run. Those that were unresolved were held over until the October 21st meet. Pro Fuel saw a three car field after Dennis Priddle failed to make the show.
October 21st 1973 Santa Pod Raceway. BDR&HRA Drag Racing News Trophy Meeting. Dennis Priddle debuted his latest creation, the Shell sponsored Chrysler Avenger Funny Car. On its first run the car reared up dramatically about 25 yards out and crashed back down to earth heavily. Dennis was unable to compete anymore until the front end could be straightened out! For all class results from both eliminations click here.
June 15th/16th 1974 Silverstone circuit held their second International meeting with the announcement that the strip had the "best adhesion possible for Drag Racing in Europe". In the first half of the year Silverstone Circuits and Clive Lanson Enterprises had spent in the region of £6000 on increased paddock space, double armco barriers the full length of the strip and a graded spectator bank. Funny Car saw the three entries of Dennis Priddle (STP Avenger), Bjorn Anderson (Volvo 'The Saint') and Leif Daback (Opel Manta) battle it out for the title. Priddle was the overall winner and was also the runner up in Top Fuel to Clive Skilton, 6.74/220 to 7.57/171.
March 30/31st 1975 SPR. Easter Meet. Dennis Priddle managed a 7.2 in his slingshot and blew his engine.
April 13th 1975 Blackbushe. RAC National Drag Racing Championship Round Three. Dennis Priddle set a new top speed record of 225mph
April 20th 1975 SPR. Dennis Priddle put in a single late qualifing run of 6.49 The final was Crane v Priddle. Peter Crane ran 6.79/204 while Dennis Priddle ran a 6.04sec E.T.at 218mph in his "Mr Revell" slingshot. This world  record for a front engined fueler stood until the 1990s.

"Mr Revell" Photo by Mike Dossett
May 3rd/4th 1975 Snetterton.RAC National Drag Racing Championship Round Four, round one of the Wolfrace Street Championship and a round of the 208 Pro Comp Championship. Dennis Priddle debuts his new Chrysler Avenger Funny Car. The car was built by Dennis and his crew and featured a 470ci alloy Donovan engine with a two speed B&J transmission in a 116in wheelbase chassis. Liz Burn, driving the ex Clive Skilton GTX Lizard Dragster ran 8.67/204mph. Liz missed her parachute release and while trying to find it crossed the centre line and hit Dennis Priddle in the Mr Revell fueler from behind. Both cars left the track and ended up in the field. Both Liz and Dennis were OK, Mr Revell was rebuilt but the Liz & Ollie car was a write off..
May 24th-26th 1975 SPR. May Day Holiday Weekend Big Go. Dennis Priddle ran 6.9 in his new Avenger Funny Car.
June 14th/15th 1975 Wroughton. NDRC International meeting including 2nd round of the TOR LINE European funny Car Championship, Skilton was the number one qualifier but Priddle and Pratt made it through to the final. Pratts car blew a blower gasket on firing up, a direct result of upping the nitro percentage, allowing Skilton to come back in and run the final. Priddle won however with a 6.95/204 to Skiltons 8.03. To see the elimination ladder for the Funny Cars click here.

Avenger Funny Photo by Mike Dossett
July 5th/6th 1975 SPR. European Grand Prix incorporating the first British funny Car Grand Prix.  Dennis Priddle has problems with the Avenger Funny Car and goes out to Dave Stones Tee Rat altered in round one. For the Funny Car elimination ladder click here.
July 27th 1975 Aintree. The first Drag Race event to be held at this venue (once a major motor racing circuit and the scene of the first win by a British Grand Prix car, the Vanwall driven by Tony Brooks and Stirling Moss in 1957) was promoted by European Dragways, organised by the Pennine Drag Racing Club and run on a narrow eighth mile strip. 55 entries turned up including two fuelers and two Funny Cars. Dennis Priddle brought out his Avenger FC and treated the crowd to an eighth-mile burnout followed by a 5.027/144 pass. The top cars were run singularly because of the narrow strip so the finals were run one car after the other. In Funny Car Clive Skilton was the first to run and he put in a 5.83/130 on six cylinders. Dennis Priddle then produced another storming burnout but got crossed up while reversing. He then cut the motor as part of the reverser linkage came loose. The decision was taken to make the run without the reverser and the car was re-started. Dennis then over-staged, the crew could not push the car back and the motor was cut again. With the car re-positioned the motor was fired again and Dennis proceeded to smoke the tyres for the whole eighth, obliterate everybodies view of anything and beat Skiltons time with a 5.53/161. Not to be outdone Skilton came back out later with the Vauxhall running on all eight cylinders and put down the fastest eighth-mile Funny Car run ever seen in the UK, a 5.16/165. For all class results click here.
August 1st-3rd 1975 Mantorp Park, Sweden. In the Tor Line Funny Car Cup Series Dennis Priddle and Clive Skilton met in the final. Priddle shut off with clutch problems before getting to the line while Skilton suffered a blown head gasket and ran a 41 second ET.
August 17th 1975 Blackbushe. NDRC meeting. The funny cars of Clive Skilton, Dennis Priddle and Liam Churchill were present.
August 23rd-25th 1975 SPR Holiday Weekend Supernationals. Dennis Priddle qualifies third in Pro Fuel  in 'Mr Revell' at 6.68/207.90 behind  Peter Crane and Owen Hayward.  He made it to the final round but lost out with a  7.10/151 to Haywards 6.58/221.73.
August 30th 1975 Aintree. Pennine Drag Racing Club Meeting. Full rounds of practice and qualifying were completed on the eighth mile but the meeting was brought to a premature end by rain. Just before the rain started Dennis Priddle and Trevor Young got ready to put in their first runs. Dennis took the Mr Revell slingshot to a 5.05/147.6 and Trevor didn't get to run.
September 6th/7th 1975 Snetterton International including 4th and Final round of the TOR LINE Funny Car Championship, (3rd round held in Sweden). With this the final round of the Series Dennis Priddle and Clive Skilton were level on points at the top of the table. Skilton ran an off the trailer 7.23/200 in qualifying while Priddle never made it out of the pits with transmission problems. Priddle got his first pass in on Sunday morning with a 7.36/196. He then defeated Ake Ryman with a 7.23/208 to an 8.19/185 to meet Skilton in the final. The winner of the final would also take the Championship. The lights failed so a flag start was called for. Priddle acknowledged his readiness and staged but Skilton was not ready. Having been staged for some time Priddle left as the flag went up followed by Skilton who crossed lanes in an effort to catch up. Priddle took the win with a 6.94/208 while Skilton shut off to a 10.58/65.
September 20th/21st 1975 The Funny car eliminations included nine floppers and a Fuel Altered, the largest FC field ever in Europe. Saturday qualifying saw Dennis Priddle breaking in a new '440ci steel' motor in his 'Mr Revell' slingshot to the tune of a gentle 9.04. Later in the evening a number of cars took advantage of the new floodlighting which had now been RAC approved for competition. Dennis Priddle took his Donovan powered Avenger to a 6.93/207.47 qualifier.The semis on Sunday saw Owen Hayward leave Priddle behind on the tree but the 'Houndogs' clutch went up in smoke at the three quarter mark. Hayward crossed the line first with a slowing 6.99/155.04 while a hard charge from Priddle saw an identical 6.99 with a 207.47mph terminal speed. In Pro Fuel Owen Hayward put a best ever 6.56/221.73 down in 'Houndog 8' but lost out to Priddles 6.69/211.42 in the semis. The final saw Peter Crane set low ET of the meeting with a 6.37/222.72 defeat of Priddles 6.67/210.97.
October 5th 1975 NDRC Championship Finals, Blackbushe, including finals of Wolfrace Street Championship and 208 Pro Comp Championship. Dennis Priddle won the 1000 pound prize put up by Custom Car magazine for winning a best of three Funny Car match race against Clive Skilton. With a win each after two rounds Clive had problems with his injector linkage for the final leaving Dennis to solo for the win.
November 1st/2nd 1975 SPR Fireworks Spectacular. The weather on Saturday was so bad that very little took place on the track, except some shakedown runs for the new track drier. With no qualifying completed eliminations were arranged using previous performances. The track was still quite slick and times were down on the usual. Funny Car produced a field of seven floppers. The final was between Dennis Priddle in his Avenger and Clive Skilton in his Vauxhall. Priddle had defeated Roland Pratt with an 8.16/203.25, after Pratt lost fire, and Allan Herridge with a 7.38/197.24 to an 8.00/152.67. The final saw Skilton lose traction and veer off line. Meanwhile Priddle had hooked up and gone with a win in 7.31/202.02. For all class results click here.
June 13th 1976 Blackbushe. NDRC. Ist round of 1976 Tor Line Funny Car Championship.Clive Skilton beat Dennis Priddle in the Final.
July 3rd/4th 1976 SPR. Euro Grand Prix. In Funny Car Dennis Priddle got through round one after Owen Hayward broke on the line. In round two he was up against Allan Herridge and  lost out with a 7.12 to Bootsies 6.63.
April 8th-11th 1977 Easter Spring Nationals Dennis Priddle sets a new Top Fuel speed record of 230mph in the ex-Don Garlits "King Rat" fueler.
May 15th 1977 Mantorp Park, Sweden. The First 1977 Swedish Spectacular. A team of Brits travelled to Sweden to compete at the event including Dennis Priddle in the "King Rat" ex-Garlits fueler. The Top Fuel and Pro Comp eliminators were run together with a 1/2 second handicap in favour of the Pro Comps. Priddle dominated the field and set a new E.T. record for Sweden of 6.50 seconds.
June 5th-7th SPR. Silver Jubilee Big Go. Rain hampered proceedings and the organisers struggled to run one days eliminations out of a scheduled two. Highlighting the meet was the Jubilee battle of the Funnies and Fuelers. Dennis Priddle debuted his new Monza Funny Car and, after a checkout half pass,  ran 7.55/124 to beat Phil Elson, a 7.13/185 to beat Ronnie Picardo, and dipped into the sixes although losing to event winner Roz Prior with a 6.98/185.
July 9th/10th 1977 SPR July Internationals. In the Funny Car Final Dennis Priddle was runner up to Allan Herridge.

September 17th/18th 1977 SPR. International. Dennis Priddle set a new lowest ET record at 6.5 in Olavi Knuutinens black Monza funny car.
Dennis Priddle is named as Custom Car Funny Car Driver Of The Year.
May 27th-29th 1978 SPR. Spring Bank Holiday Big Go. Dennis Priddle ran the best Funny Car time of the meeting, with a 6.74/207.8 in his Monza, to take number one qualifying spot.
September 16th/17th 1978 At SPRs September Internationals Dennis Priddle qualifies third in his Monza with a 6.76. In the first round Priddle ran 6.61 but lost out to Snows second new record time of 6.34.
May 18th-20th 1979 Mantorp Park International, Sweden. Dennis Priddle won Funny Car with a 6.66 in the JWR Monza.
June 23rd/24th 1979 BDR&HRA, in association with Santa Pod Raceway, organise the first Eastern Nationals at the re-named Sugarbeet County Raceway, part of Snetterton Circuit. The entry list included a Funny Car match race between Dennis Priddle in his John Woolfe Racing Monza and Owen Hayward in his SLD Olding sponsored Houndog 9.
July7th/8th 1979 SPRs Summer Internationals Dennis Priddle qualifies fourth in his Monza with 6.92. Priddle ran 6.84/196 to beat Ronnie Picardo who got out of shape and crossed the centre line. In the semis Gene Snow beat Priddle with a 6.51 to a 6.75
August 26th/27th 1979 Bank Holiday Supernationals. SPR Funny Car Eliminations saw top qualifier Owen Hayward (6.50/200) beat Dennis Priddle in the first round 6.50/203 to 6.64/206.

Photo by Chris Dossett
September 14th-16th 1979 World Finals. SPR. Dennis Priddle goes out in round one with a poor 8.00second run to Raymond Beadles 6.70.
April 4th-7th 1980 Easter International SPR. Pro Fuel saw the debut of Dennis Priddles new Keith Black powered fueler which produced a 6.61/217 on its first run. The first semi saw Priddle beat Ronnie Picardo 6.53 to 6.80. The final was held over due to rain bringing the meeting to an end.
April 20th 1980 Blackbushe. NDRC Meeting. The meeting was held amid 60 mph crosswinds. There were just two Top Fuel cars in attendance, Dennis Priddle and Alan Ritmeisters. In the dificult conditions, there was only one half decent pass from the two fuellers, and that was from Dennis who laid down a 7.57 at 204 mph.
May 3rd-5th 1980 SPR. Spring Nationals. Dennis Priddle made number two with a 6.73/215 behind Swedens Kent Persson. In the semi Priddle took the win with a 6.62/215 to a personal best 6.74/199 from Ludvig Bjornstad. The final was Priddle v Herridge. Herridge took the win with a 6.37/211 to Priddles 6.70/214.

10th May 1980 The NDRC opened their own  permanent  Drag Strip at Long Marston. Dennis Priddle performed a champagne burnout in his top fueller in celebration of drag racing returning to the strip. The new surface was not providing great traction and after three tyre smoking runs Dennis recorded a best of 7.18/204.
May 24th-26th 1980 Whitsun Big Go. SPR. Dennis Priddle makes it through to the final of Funny Car but  loses out with a 7.62/159 to Owen Haywards 6.83/202.

Qualifying saw Allan Herridge at #1 spot with a 6.46/214, followed by Gene Snow (6.48/197), Dave Stone (6.49), Lee Anders Hasselstrom (6.59/218), Harlan Thompson (6.88/217), Dennis Priddle (6.90), Ronnie Picardo (6.98/227-fastest speed of the weekend), and Raymond Beadle (7.65/149). Owen hayward was first alternate with a best of 8.27/210 but came into the eliminations in place of Dave Stone who had wrecked the Rodeck motor in 'Stardust'. Round One saw Lee Anders Hasslestrom launch his 'Red Baron' Monza with front wheels high in the air, cross the centre line and hit Ray Beadles 'Blue Max', the scarred Americans car making it through to the next round. The next race saw Harlan Thompson keep his boot down in a wild fishtailing drive against Herridge. Thompson crossed the line first but was judged to have crossed the centre line so his 6.90/199 lost to Herridges 6.68/212. Dennis Priddle lifted off the power at 1/4 track with low oil pressure (turned out to be a faulty gauge) while Gene Snow advanced to the semis with a 6.49/187. Owen Hayward shut down Ronnie Picardo 6.63/209 to 7.16/205. Pro Comp saw Gerry Andrews at #1 with a 7.00/
July 5th-6th 1980 Funny Car qualifying saw Dennis Priddle make number six with a 6.90 He went out in Round One after lifting off the power at 1/4 track with low oil pressure (turned out to be a faulty gauge). His opponent, Gene Snow, advanced to the semis with a 6.49/187.
August 23rd-25th 1980 SPR. Bank Holiday Supernationals. Highlight of the weekend was the match race between the fuelers of Allan Herridge and Dennis Priddle. The best of three match race, held on the second day of qualifying, produced three classic races. Herridge took the win in the left lane in Round One with a 6.42/215 to Priddles blower belt throwing 6.74/201. Round Two saw the left lane victorious again with Priddle crossing the line first in 6.25/223 while Bootsie left two black lines down most of his lane, took his turn to throw a blower belt and still crossed the line in 6.35/189. The final deciding race saw Priddle back in the right hand lane. He got a slight holeshot over Herridge and, in the closest race of the three, took the win with a 6.21/227 to Bootsies quicker and faster 6.20/232. The Pro Fuel class saw the fuelers and Funny Cars running together. Dennis Priddle ran a 6.31/221 to defeat rookie Top Fuel pilot Tina Page who had motor problems in Dave Priors "Fast Lady" slingshot. In the third pairing Owen Hayward wheelied the Houndog Funny Car as Allan Herridge took the win with another 6.31, this time at 207mph. This meant it was Priddle vs Herridge for the fourth time of the weekend. Tension was high as the pair took their time in staging and Herridge powered to the win with a 6.27/222 as Priddle threw another blower belt and crossed the line in 6.43/183.
October 11th/12th 1980 SPR. BDR&HRA National Finals including Hot Rod & Custom UK Street Eliminator. For this meeting, the Fuelers and Funny Cars ran together in one elimination. In the first round, both Dennis Priddle and Alan Herridge were on bye runs in their dragsters. Dennis ran 6.26/218 and Alan ran a troubled 7.26/194 in Alleygator. In the second semi, Ronnie Picardo broke a rod on the burnout leaving Dennis Priddle to take the win. He didn't take it easy on the run setting the top times of the meeting with a 6.25/219 only to fireball the engine through the lights.
November 8th/9th 1980 SPR. Firework Spectacular. Elimination positions were determined by emergency qualifying times as the strip surface was a little too slick for serious qualifying. Pro Fuel featured four cars. Ronnie Picardo in Highway Patrol which was running on methanol, defeated a troubled Alan Herridge. Dennis Priddle ran 7.06/183 to defeat Owen Hayward in the Demag altered which was the Houndog FC without its usual body. This was its first appearance. Both first round losers came out again with Owen recording a 6.92/186 and Bootsie laying down a 6.85/160 in Alleygator. In the final, Dennis clocked a 6.40/211 to defeat Ronnie's shut-off 7.92/58.
October 23rd/24th 1981 Circuit Paul Ricard, France. Dennis Priddle debuted his brand new 'Mr 5' machine at the meeting.
October 31st/November 1st 1981 Long Marston. NDRC Fireworks Meet. Dennis Priddles new, as yet unpainted, 'Insurance In Motion' sponsored top fueller made its UK debut. In eliminations Priddle beat Tony Boden while Trevor Young beat Alan Ritmeisters. In the final Young and Priddle smoked the tyres all the way down the cold strip, with Young blowing the motor at the top end, but not before he had taken the win over Dennis.
August 28th-30th 1982 Santa Pod Raceway. Supernationals Including The Flame & Thunder Jet car Nationals. Dennis Priddle ran a new personal best in an attempt to beat Peter Cranes long-standing E.T. record of 5.97. He ran a 6.02/229 in his fueler.
September 3rd 1982 Le Mans. France. The Blue Way Dragster Festival. dennis Priddle set anew track record on the 'French 1/8th' 200metre strip. In qualifying he ran 4.211 seconds to set the record. A solo in round one saw him better this with a 4.126. He backed it up in the final with a 4.196/262kph win over Tony Bodens 5.2 to give him both E.T. and speed records.
September 24th-26th 1982 SPR. World Finals. Dennis Priddle qualified at #1 in Top Fuel with a 6.23/225. He had a bye run in the first round and, instead of taking it easy for the next round, stormed through with a 5.99/230, the first five second run in the UK since Peter Crane was credited with a 5.97 in Easter 1976.  He narrowly failed to back this up for the record with a 6.10/230 in the next round. The meeting was rained off before the final which was to have been Priddle against Andy Craddock.
October 30th/31st 1982 Long Marston. NDRC Meeting. On Sunday the sixth and final round of the NDRC Gauloises Top Fuel championship took place. There were only two entrants, Dennis Priddles "Insurance In Motion" and Doug Bonds "Shoestring". Priddle took the wins in both races with tyres smoking the whole quarter. The times were 7.67/201 to 7.99/173 and 7.76/222 to 7.86/178.
November 6th/7th 1982 Santa Pod Raceway. Firework Spectacular. The second day was a washout. Dennis Priddle and Andy Craddock came out for a match race but the appalling track conditions reduced them to side-by-side burnouts before shutting off.
April 1st-4th 1983 SPR. Easter meeting. There were four Top Fuel cars in attendance but they didn’t put in an appearance until the Monday. In the first round Tony Pearson in Maiden Warrior lost fire leaving Dennis Priddle to cruise to a 6.81/171. In the final, Priddle holeshot Andy Craddock, but as they neared the finish line, Craddock powered past to take the win with a 6.29/no speed to a 6.56/197.
May 15th 1983 York. NDRC Meeting, Blackbushe. Headlining the meeting were match races between Dennis Priddle and Andy Craddock. In the Top Fuel match up, Andy Craddock put down a 6.77/212 pass to beat Dennis Priddle who virtually smoked the whole quarter in 7.23/190. In the second race, Craddock had to sideline his car after the burnout as the throttle stuck partially open, leaving Priddle to solo to a 6.95/200.
May 28th-30th 1983 SPR. The Big Go. In Top Fuel, four cars were entered. Dennis Priddle beat Alan Ritmeister 6.19/208 to a losing 6.90/204 in the first round. In the final, Priddle went up in smoke on the green but it’s doubtful if he would have caught Craddock anyway as he laid down a fine 6.13/226 pass.
July 2nd/3rd 1983 This years Cannonball event at SPR was sponsored by Budweiser. During the break between the funnies, Dennis Priddle debuted his re-bodied fueller as a computer designed wind tunnel tested 'Streamliner', sans rear wing. The creation being the result of an experiment for the BBC Tommorrows World programme. Pitted in an out of competition run against Gerry Andrews in the Hemi Hunter, Dennis suffered tyre shake off the line before hooking hard right onto two wheels narrowly missing the Hemi Hunter. A superb driving job by Dennis had the car straightened up before nearly hitting the armco. Pundits declared the lack of rear wing as the cause, Priddle put it down to clutch settings. Whatever Maggie Philbin (Tomorrows World Presenter) was all suited up to drive the car next! Her drive being postponed Until Dennis had checked the car out with a crack at a full pass........which never came about!
April 20th-23rd 1984 SPR. Easter Nationals. The Professional Drivers Class consisted of Top Fuel, Funny Cars and Pro Comp all racing together heads-up. In the first round Dennis Priddle broke allowing Dave Wilson in Krypton to solo through to the semis.
August 11th/12th 1984 Mantorp Park, Sweden. International Meeting. After qualifing with a 6.30 at an unprecedented 248mph, Dennis Priddle went on to record a quickest ever 5.89. He backed this up in the final round with a new European record 5.87/243.
August 25th-27th 1984 SPR. Super Nationals including Flame & Thunder Jet Nationals. Dennis Priddle recorded the quickest elapsed time of the competiton cars with a 6.03/217, despite not winning any  of the eliminations. Priddle made it through to the final of the Pro Drag Eliminator where he met Finn Timo Aartomaa in the ex-Steiner Stolen 'California Charger' Pro Comp FC. Aartomaa had got through the semis when his opponent, Bill Sherratt, had blown his motor in the burnout. In the final Priddle lost his concentration when his visor came loose as he tried to stage, he made a poor start and ran a slowing 8.30/120 while Aartomaa ran a  winning 7.54/165.
September 21st-23rd 1984 SPR. World Finals. Friday was cold and damp and only a brave few made any runs. Saturdays qualifying was held up by more rain. Dennis Priddle put in a single pass late in the evening, a low six. On Sunday it rained again ending the meeting
August 18th 1985 North Weald NDRC Inaugural Meeting at this venue. Dennis Priddle and Andy Craddock were the only two competitiors in Top Fuel. Dennis Priddle ran the top speed and low E.T. of the meeting with a 7.21/217.

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