31/08/2026
NitrolympX 2026 – Memories for a Lifetime 💜🏁
I honestly don’t know where to start.
What an incredible weekend. This year’s NitrolympX at Hockenheimring has given me memories that will last a lifetime with Nieve Deevey (DeevyMotorsport), PlumCrazyRacing family, and friends.
For Amelia’s first-ever NitrolympX and Neive Deevy’s fourth appearance at the event, travelling to Germany together as a team made the whole experience even more special. From the moment we arrived, it felt like something we would never forget.👍
We arrived on Wednesday to set up our pit area. After a bit of juggling and some creative use of space, we managed to get Amelia, Neive, Ronnie Mercer , and the whole team together for the weekend. It was tight, but we made it work!♥️
Thursday morning was scrutineering, and we were first in line. Everything was completed before 9am, leaving us plenty of time to service the cars, complete oil changes, and get race-ready. After breakfast, we took a walk around the track before spending the afternoon at the aqua park. Between the salt rapids, wave pool, slides, and a few brave dives from the boards, there were plenty of laughs and memories made before the racing even started.♥️
Friday brought challenging weather conditions, meaning the Junior Dragsters only received two qualifying sessions instead of the luxury we're used to at Santa Pod.👌
Amelia did an outstanding job in Q1, running a 0.08 reaction time and placing herself 4th. More importantly, she adapted brilliantly to a completely different track, learning the shorter shutdown area and procedures at the top end.♥️
With 20 Junior Dragsters from across Europe competing, we knew we were in elite company.
Then came Q2...
Amelia recorded her first-ever PERFECT REACTION TIME — 0.000!
The entire team erupted.
NUMBER ONE QUALIFIER AT NITROLYMPX!
Words can’t describe how proud we were. You can hear it in the videos — everyone was absolutely buzzing.💜💛🩵♥️
Rain unfortunately interrupted much of the weekend, cancelling Q3 and pushing eliminations back. Friday afternoon’s photoshoot still went ahead, but Saturday evening eliminations were rained off and moved to Sunday morning.😢☺️
Saturday night show, 8.15pm start was very good to sit and watch with everyone in the stands , have a right laugh, few drinks, plenty of photos, glow sicks and giggles for sure. Pictures state it all 🤣🤣🤣
There was also a discussion about reducing the field to a 16-car ladder, which would have sent four young racers home after only two qualifying runs. We felt that wasn’t right. Thanks to the support of so many people and officials who listened, the decision was changed and all 20 Junior Dragster drivers got the opportunity to race on Sunday. Thank you to everyone who helped make that happen.♥️
Sunday started perfectly.
Both Amelia and Neive won E1 against incredibly tough opposition, including French and German Junior Dragster champions. Winning those rounds was huge.
Amelia went into E2 full of confidence and produced an unbelievable race. It came down to the finish line — literally. A dead-even 0.000 margin at the stripe, separated by just 12cm, unfortunately on the wrong side this time. Congratulations to Emily on a fantastic race.👌💪
Neive continued her strong performance, winning E2 and advancing to the Quarter Finals. The whole team was on the start line cheering her on. Unfortunately, she went red, but it was another incredibly close race and a fantastic effort.💜
For me personally, this weekend meant even more.
After 15 years of attending NitrolympX, seeing my niece, Amelia Innes, competing on this stage and having the Innes name racing at Hockenheim was a lifelong dream come true.💜💛🩵♥️
NitrolympX 39 was also special because my best friend, Kieron Gates , finally made his first trip to the event. We've talked about it for years, and this year we made it happen.♥️♥️
Working alongside Ronnie Mercer and Annette Mercer in Super Comp was another highlight. Together with Team Annie, we worked on the nitrous data throughout the weekend.
Q1: 8.95 and sitting 4th.
A small 7% adjustment later...
Q2: 8.906.
BOOM.
NUMBER ONE QUALIFIER.
The whole team was ecstatic. Another track, another perfect hit on the number. We're really starting to understand this nitrous combination.💪
Round One was a tough draw against European Super Comp powerhouse Gerd. Ronnie fought hard, but Gerd’s strong reaction time gave him enough room to lift at the top end and secure the win. It was disappointing, but valuable qualifying points were gained and the focus now shifts to the European Finals.♥️
Of course, it wasn’t all plain sailing. We dealt with rain delays, disrupted schedules, and even a stolen AirPod along the way.😢
But none of that can overshadow what was an incredible weekend.♥️
A huge thank you to Richard Deevy for transporting Amelia’s car and being such a massive part of the entire weekend. Richard is genuinely one of the nicest people you could meet. His passion for drag racing, his support for his daughter, and the happiness he gets from seeing young racers succeed is something special. Thank you also for the flowers for my mum — she was genuinely surprised and absolutely loved them.♥️
To Mum, Dad, and Chris — thank you for helping make this trip happen and for creating memories that we will cherish forever as a family.♥️
Amelia, I tell you all the time, but I am so proud of you. Watching you grow into a confident, kind, respectful young person who always wants to learn and improve makes me incredibly proud. You win with class, and you handle defeat with grace even when it hurts. Keep being you. Love you always.💜💛🩵
What made this weekend truly special was the people. We met so many new friends, shared so many great conversations, and experienced an atmosphere filled with positivity, support, and genuine love for our sport. Janita Kempenaar, Aylani Verharen Fiona Kempenaar and the whole race team just amazing people cracking evenings together - awesome Thankyou. ♥️💙
Hockenheim 2026 will always be remembered as the year a family dream became reality.♥️
Now it's time for the European Finals, where we'll do it all again. This time we'll have 29 Junior Dragsters in attendance, and Simon will be joining the action in a huge 47-car Pro ET field.
We can't wait 😜🏁
Thank you, everyone.
💜 Plum Crazy Racing 💜
