Smeatharpe Stadium, Clayhidon, Honiton, Devon
Not your average day out by any means, but very entertaining, and if you’re motorsports fan you really ought to give it a go. What they do at Smeatharpe Stadium is short oval motor racing; what people go to see is stock car and banger racing, and the laughter and cheers you hear from the grassed banks surrounding the track are a testament to how much the spectators enjoy a race day. The race day names alone give you an idea of what to expect – Westcountry Wreckfest, National Bangers Crasharama, Caravan Chaos, and they have regular Destruction events where the last moving car is the winner.
So what happens is the cars turn up and before the first race they have a Grand Parade where you can see all the vehicles and admire some of the paint jobs, then the racing starts. There are crashes, lots of them, and quite often a lot of cars are completely wrecked, or so you’d think, but you’d be surprised, they take them home, spend a bit of time on them and more often than not they’re back at Smeatharpe for another day.
Expect 12-15 races per meet and wrap up warm as Smeatharpe is a very windy spot high up on the Blackdown Hills and the weather has to be pretty bad for them not to race. Take chairs, blankets, and a picnic, find a spot and settle down for an entertaining afternoon. There are hot and cold mobile caterers, a tuck shop, and usually, a bar. For the less able bodied there’s a specified parking and viewing area.
See website for race dates. All information correct at the time of writing