SEMA Challenge Trophy On Tour
Attracting plenty of interest from all walks of life at Santa Pod’s Dragstalgia was the display of historical drag racing trophies and memorabilia assembled in association with the BDRHoF, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu and Santa Pod Raceway.
Above: The SEMA trophy, not seen outside of the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu since its days at the Brighton & Hove Motor Club. Photo Jerry Cookson.
Taking pride of place inside Dragstalgia’s Historical Marquee was the SEMA Challenge Trophy, dedicated in 1963 by America’s then ‘Speed Equipment Manufacturing Association’ to the winner of the first AA/Fuel Dragster race series to be held on UK soil involving Americans Dante Duce and Mickey Thompson and ‘the father of British drag racing’, Sydney Allard.
Various automobile organisations in America and England had been trying to bring American dragsters over to England since 1958 (one of them being the nitro burning dragster of Calvin Rice to run at the Brighton Speed Trials), but without success. Things, however, changed when Dante Duce, a young Las Vegas Speed Shop owner who had read an article about Sydney Allard’s dragster, managed to break through the red tape and took things into his own hands. He simply placed an overseas phone call to Allard himself on July 23rd 1963 challenging him to a match race in England whereupon an invitation followed.
Duce was planning to use his own dragster until he mentioned the challenge to his friend and parts supplier Dean Moon who offered the use of his Mooneyes supercharged petrol burning Chevy powered dragster. Not only that but Dean and his team would come along too. Moon mentioned the deal at a SEMA meeting held in California and Wally Parks suggested they put up a trophy for the winner, the SEMA Trophy.
