Member Inducted 2006
Allan Herridge
History
The legendary Bootsie whose image the Hall of Fame features and
after whom the trophy is named. Allan built one of the UK's first
dragsters and in a long and glorious career proved that he could
turn his hand to everything from managing a race track to driving
race cars and building them before his life was tragically cut
short in a top end accident. Allan's trophy was the first to be
awarded, at the joint APIRA/SPRC Dinner Dance in February 2006, and
was accepted by his then-partner Lesley Wright who read this
tribute:
In 1962 when Allan built his first dragster there was no rule
book, no drawings to follow - just pictures in American Hot
Rod magazine. In the early days the dragsters were run at
National Sprint Association meetings at various RAF and USAF
airfields around the country. If there were barriers they were
straw bales, the runways had no grip juice and there were no
spectators.
In 1966 all that changed when Santa Pod Raceway opened its gates
to the public. Allan fully engaged in the development of the sport,
helping to form an organising club and writing construction rules
for the safety of participants and spectators. Along with John
Harrison and Brian Sparrow, Dragster Developments made all their
own parts and became renowned for shortening rear axles.
When I met Allan in 1976 what struck me was his happy-go-lucky
attitude to life. He would say he was "Just lucky" being in the
right place at the right time to be offered the drive of the Santa
Pod-owned cars: the Gloworm Funny Car, Commuter,
Firefly, Asphalt Alleygator, and the
Gladiator Funny Car.
Bob and Roy Phelps popularised the sport by bringing over the
top drivers and riders from the States. During the course of a
meeting Allan would be helping out other teams by doing repairs
over in Number 6. He moved up to live close to Santa Pod and was
its full-time track manager. On Sunday he'd be driving a Fueller,
Funny Car, Jet or Rocket and on Monday supervising the litter
pickers and emptying the toilets!
I like to think that Allan's character - his friendly and
helpful nature, his passion to develop the sport - is still stamped
right through it today.
I know that Allan would be very humbled by the Hall of Fame
award being named after him. I can almost hear him laugh and rattle
off a dozen names of people he would think were more deserving of
it than him, but on his behalf and on behalf ot the magical memory
many of us have of him - thank you from the bottom of my heart.