"Tears and Cheers" at 2014 BDRHoF Gala Awards Dinner
In the company of royalty and the nobility, tears, cheers and standing ovations were in order at the 9th Annual British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Gala Awards Dinner held on November 22nd 2014. Four British drag racing personalities were joined by American legend Don Garlits and, in a sometimes emotional ceremony they were inducted as members of the Hall of Fame for their services to the sport.
The 2014 Award winners and the trophies; L-R Jon Spoard – Sydney Allard Trophy for Photo Journalism, Gerry Belton- 2014 BDRHoF Inductee, Russ Carpenter- 2014 BDRHoF Inductee, Don Garlits – 2014 BDRHoF Inductee and winner of Lucas Oil Global Achievement Award, Stu Bradbury – Chairman of BDRHoF, John Whitmore – 2014 BDRHoF Inductee, Dennis Norman – 2014 BDRHoF Inductee, Nick Brooke-Langham – Sydney Allard Trophy for Written Journalism.
(Photo; Andy Willsheer)
Don Garlits receives the Lucas Oil Global Achievement Award from Princess Katarina of Yugoslavia and Serbia. Manager Director
and Director of European Operations for Lucas Oil Products UK looks on.
(Photo; Keith Lee)
The most emotional moment came when Don Garlits became the first recipient of the Lucas Oil Global Achievement Award presented by Princess Katarina of Yugoslavia and Serbia. It will not be awarded every year but each time it is presented it will
have engraved on the base ‘In memory of Pat Garlits’ – Don’s wife who died earlier this year. As such it marks the role played by
the families of all drag racers. Without their support the sport could not happen.
Two other new awards were presented celebrating the role played by the media in furthering drag racing. These were the Sydney Allard Awards for Best Photo Journalism and Best Written Journalism. Sydney Allard Award Winners Nick Brooke-Langham (left for Written Journalism) and Jon Spoard …
2014 BDRHoF Gala Awards Dinner ‘Tears & Cheers’ DVD Now Available
Those who attended the 2014 British Drag Racing Hall of Fame (BDRHoF) Gala Awards Dinner in November will have many great memories of a fantastic evening. The good news is that if you want to relive the complete event it has been encapsulated on a 90 minute DVD supported by the special 16 page A4 size Souvenir Programme.
Although many fantastic ‘still’ photographs of the event have been published it is impossible for photographers to capture everything that happened during the evening’s presentation. That’s where the video comes in. From its unique opening sound of the 1961 Allard Chrysler dragster firing up and the new electronic theme music produced by the Essex based Hipnotic Jazz, you know this is going to be different.
Produced by AMP Audio Solutions, all the presentations are shown along with the accompanying cheers, tears and standing ovations. This photo is a screen shot taken from the video showing Don Garlits kissing his late wife’s name on the Lucas Oil Global Achievement Award that will always have the words ‘In memory of Pat Garlits’ engraved on it whenever it is awarded. Only the video has captured this. Her Royal Highness Princess Katarina of Yugoslavia and Serbia presented the award.
The five BDRHoF Inductee presentations and speeches are included as are those of the two Sydney Allard Media Award recipients. There is even a Don Garlits tribute film. It is special edit of footage covering 50 years of the NHRA Nationals made by Dean Papadeas who gave permission for it to be used at the Gala Dinner.
A trailer of the video can be found by following this link
While stocks last the DVD can be purchased along with the special 16 page Souvenir Programme of the event. In full colour, the publication was sponsored by …
MQQNEYES To Sponsor BDRHoF 2015 Allard Media Awards
The British Drag Racing Hall of Fame is pleased to announce that the Sydney Allard Media Awards will again be presented at the BDRHoF Gala Awards Dinner being held at the Savill Court Hotel, Windsor Great Park on November 21st 2015 – the crystal trophies this year being sponsored by MQQNEYES.
Introduced in 2014, these awards pay tribute to the influence of journalists and photographers in the promotion of drag racing. The recipients of the award will not enter the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame as such, but their achievements will be honoured and their names entered as BDRHoF Special Award winners.
One will be awarded to the writer of the best book, article, feature or blog on British Drag Racing published in print or on-line during the 12-months ending July 31st 2015. The Chief Judge will again be Guy Loveridge, author, journalist, publisher, broadcaster and auctioneer as well as Chairman of the Guild of Motoring Writers.
Guy Loveridge with last year’s winner
Nick Brooke Langham (Photo; Andy Willsheer)
Guy said,
“I’m excited to be involved with the Sydney Allard Awards again. Last year’s Gala Dinner was a truly amazing occasion and I met some fantastic people who have become my friends. Recognising the importance of the written word in promoting and describing drag racing – particularly to people who might not have attended a drag racing event yet – is something I am very keen to support. I’m pleased to say that last year’s winner Nick-Brooke Langham has become a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers“.
The second Sydney Allard Award will be presented for the best photograph featuring British drag racing, either published in print or on-line during the 12 months ending July 31st 2015, or remaining un-published. The winning photograph will be …