Santa Pod Raceway was founded in 1966 as Europe's first permanent drag racing venue. It was built on a disused WW2 American Air base, RAF Podington, which was once home to the 92nd bomber group. It is now home to European drag racing, and has grown substantially over its 35 year existence. It now plays host to both the first and last round of the FIA and FIM/UEM European Drag Racing Championship, along with the British National Drag Racing Championships.

Santa Pod was the venue in which the current world drag racing record, a time of 3.58 seconds at 386 mph, was set by Sammy Miller in his Vanishing Point rocket funny car.

In the racing season which runs from January to November, Santa Pod is host to over 50 different events. These include: national drag race meetings; classic car events; modified car festivals, such as Redline Rumble, Mopar Euro Nats, The Fast Show and USC; Volkswagen Beetle shows, such as Bug Jam and Big Bang; Japanese performance car shows, such as The JapShow, specialist events including the Performance Vauxhall Show, the Classic Ford Show and the French Car Clubs Day; and its open turn up and go days for any vehicle capable of making a trip down the 1/4 mile circuit calledRun What Ya Brung.

Top Fuel Dragsters, Funny Cars, Jet Cars, Rocket Bikes, Pro Mods, monster trucks and other motorsport events are all situated in north-west Bedfordshire, England.