In recent years the UK’s famous Santa Pod Raceway hosts an annual weekend of Mustangs running up the legendary drag strip. The three-day event is Mustang-only on the Friday and Saturday with other Fords invited along on the Sunday, creating something of a Ford festival. Over 1,700 people attended this year and on the Mustang-only days there were more than 200 track tickets taken by owners to test their cars on the strip.

We sent five of our own stable along to support the event; a Mustang Dark Horse, Mustang GT, Mustang GT convertible, Mustang Mach-E GT and a Mustang Mach-E Rally. Here’s what the organisers from Simply Mustangs UK and the Mustang Owners Club of Great Britain had to say about Mustang Nationals 2025.

Paul Tucker, Simply Mustangs

The best thing about the event was the vibe. Seeing over 200 members and their cars in one place provides a great feeling of satisfaction, knowing our small team pulled the event together. Whether our members wanted to drag race their Mustangs, enter them into the Show and Shine, enter the loudest exhaust competition, autocross them or just park up and enjoy the whole event, we had fantastic feedback and believe 2025 was the best event yet. We had lots of Mustang vendors, the Smallest Cog brought two of Richard Hammond's cars along and, of course, having the five Mustangs provided by Ford was greatly appreciated.

I've always loved Mustangs, although in my younger driving days I owned the European equivalent, the Capri. I owned four of those over the years and, for me, you just can't beat a great looking rear wheel drive coupe with a large engine. As Ford of Europe never directly replaced the Capri, I looked Stateside when the 5th generation Mustang was launched and managed to buy my first one from a US serviceman who had already done the job of importing one into the UK. The Mustang represents freedom and a carefree spirit.

However, the biggest benefit of Mustang ownership was one I never expected; friendship. I have made lifelong friends with a number of other Mustang owners and it's that social aspect that Simply Mustangs excels at. The Santa Pod event was another great opportunity to not only have fun with our cars, but also to have fun with each other, all with that wonderful V8 noise as the soundtrack.

Roy Stapleton, Mustang Owners Club of Great Britain

Like many single-marque communities, there’s a strong sense of camaraderie amongst Mustang owners, and Santa Pod’s unique blend of show-and-shine displays and quarter-mile action makes this event a firm highlight for our members.

Despite the heatwave, they could be found meticulously detailing their cars in the display area – a task made a little easier for those with newer models. Polishing chrome remains a labour of love for classic ‘60s examples. Further down the paddock, other members who had booked in for the strip were busy preparing their cars.

Some take it seriously, bringing heavily modified Mustangs built for the drag racing, while others are simply there for the fun of running their factory-standard cars. John Bean took two of his race cars along which were impressive and we had the jet car ‘Firestorm’ on the strip, which was amazing. Earplugs were definitely required.

For those of us spectating, drag racing delivers plenty of drama, especially with Mustangs. From tyre-smoking burnouts to the thunderous roar of V8s, to the thrill of watching elapsed times and terminal speeds flash up on the timing boards, it’s a great way to spend a day.

Though still a relatively recent addition to Santa Pod’s packed diary, I think many of our club members have already added this event to their calendars for next year. I know I have.