Short oval racing (hot rod and stock car racing) was, and remains, one of the best supported forms of motor racing in the UK, in terms of both competitors and spectators. Hot rod and stock car racing had seen packed terraces throughout the sixties and seventies as the public went to their local circuits each week to cheer on their local heroes (and of course see the crash and bash). The sport had developed much through these two decades and arrived in the eighties as a slick, professional looking sport which now boasted national rather than local heroes. Whilst the top level of the sport became more costly, the promoters began to introduce new classes to cater to the drivers who had got left behind in the race for purpose-built equipment. The new classes were to become the training ground for the star drivers of the future. This book is the first ever such work on the sport looking at the 1980s, and shows how the existing formulae developed throughout the decade and how the UK promoters continued to work with each other to keep the sport at a truly national (and in some classes international) level. Complete with 100 nostalgic pictures from racing throughout the decade and a comprehensive listing of major championship dates, venues and winners.