Which British venue is Europe's first permanent drag strip?

Santa Pod Raceway is Europe’s first permanent drag strip.

The venue opened at Easter in 1966 at Podington in Bedfordshire, England. It was built on the former RAF Podington airfield, a Second World War base used by the United States Army Air Forces. The existing runway provided a practical foundation for straight-line racing, and Santa Pod quickly became the centre of British and European drag racing.

Its name combines Santa Ana Drags in California with the nearby village of Podington. That origin can cause confusion: Santa Pod is in England, not the United States, and “Pod” is not a reference to a racing category. The raceway hosts quarter-mile and eighth-mile events, including rounds of the FIA European Drag Racing Championship and British national competitions.

Santa Pod is also associated with record-setting passes and grassroots “Run What You Brung” events, in which licensed drivers can test road cars on the strip. Donington Park, Silverstone and Brands Hatch are famous British circuits, but they are not the canonical answer to this question.