Geezer Grumblings

December 2014

Greetings everyone.

No excuses or explanations are offered for the tardiness in this bit of update to all……I know it’s been 7 months and this whole season has been like that.

Needless to say, after Randy Addington’s horrible towing accident after the NHRA’s Reunion at Bowling Green, the group and the season as a whole became an exercise in patience and regroup. At this point, Randy is still “dealing” with the insurance carrier and the repair facility for the repairs to the toter. Thanks to Lester Bailey, Randy’s body man/painter, the cars are up and running….and to look at them and run your hands over them, you would never know they had been on their side, roofs and quarter panels crushed. It’s too bad Lester hasn’t been able to work his magic on the toter.

If you mix in the fickleness of Mother Nature and the human weather guessers being unable to give any kind of remotely close guess at weather conditions, and track operator/promoter miscommunications, the 2014 season will go down as probably our worst ever.

2015 will see some changes, both in participation as well as membership and cars. Greg Burge is hammering away on a ’56 Thunderbird, new member Dustin Corn is set to show off his ’57 Covette, and Kirk Dupre’ is in the midst of an injected big block Chevy for his Willys.

Hang in there fans and supporters….we will be back, better than ever.

Thanks to Bryant Kolle and Hagerty Insurance for their sponsorship this past season. We are in talks for their continued support and involvement for 2015. If you are shopping for race car insurance coverage (and you should be), it’s well worth your time to contact them for a quote.

Finally, if you’re stumped for a Christmas present for someone on your list, I have a fresh supply of Geezer T shirts, with good selection of sizes. If I hear from you within the next 10 days, you should probably have it before the holiday. $20 includes the shipping to the lower 48 states……Canada a bit higher and no promises on the shipping time. Contact information is here within the site.

Best wishes to all for the holiday season.

Chuck

May 5, 2014

May 5, 2014

The appearances scheduled for Beacon Dragway/Paducah KY on May 17 and August 30 have been cancelled. They could possibly be rescheduled,  but no guarantees.

We will be at the Blue Suede Cruise at Summit Motorsports Park in
Norwalk OH, July 18-20. This will be an open competition thing, so the guys will be in the mix running the cars for fame and fortune. This is a multi day event, beginning on Friday afternoon, July 18.

We’re working on finalizing the details for a visit to the all new
Dragway 42 in W. Salem OH. This one is scheduled for August 29-31. It’s an  inaugural event, with focus on GASSERS of all styles and generations. Looks like there will be a “gasser group shootout, pitting one group against another. C’mon out and cheer us on.

Don’t forget The Nostalgia Event of the year next month at Bowling
Green KY.  The NHRA returns to Beech Bend Park on June 12-14. We will be part of the action, starting Thursday, June 12.

March 24, 2014

March 24, 2014

Hello again gasser fans and Geezer followers. Man it’s been a L-O-N-G
winter and off season, but I’m sure you don’t need to be reminded. As I
prepare this, the local weather guessers are “predicting” a snowfall again
over the next couple of days. Man I need some sunshine, race gas fumes and
tire smoke/smells, and engine noise. Check out the schedule page for our
confirmed events.

On to the business at hand. In the off season, some VERY important things
have been in the works, and finally, have come to a happy conclusion.
These topics and discussions are intended to not only enhance the Geezer
program overall, but also, assure continued operations. We are beginning
our 15th year of continuous and productive operation, and thanks to the
membership and all of you, these areas updates should assure our operation
for continued enjoyment.

First, I welcome Hagerty Insurance aboard as our newest sponsor and
supporter. Hagerty has been in the classic and collectible vehicle
insurance business for a long time. As a part of their operation, they
were providing the antique and classic sports car guys with coverage for
their vintage races. Being tuned into motorsports and specifically the
increasing level of popularity for the nostalgia drag race phenomenon, they
made the decision to expand their racer insurance program and make it
available to the nostalgia racers. And, what better format and
representatives for this expansion than the Geezers. They started with a
“blank slate” having very little knowledge of the nostalgia scene, and did
a whole bunch of research before finalizing their product. Official Geezer
photographer Martin Libhart and I were fortunate enough to be asked to
advise and to offer opinions and insight, and during all of this, a
business deal was struck, for us as a group to help promote their entry
into the nostalgia scene. They are now our sponsor for 2014. The official
artwork and graphics are still in process, so for the meantime, here’s a
link to click on for the whole story. If you are a racer, this bears
serious thought……coverage and protection for your race operation
should be a part of your yearly preparation for race activities. Towing,
parked in the pits, sitting in the staging lanes, are all areas that cover
your investment. Keep in mind this is NOT any type of liability coverage,
but the protection for your race program investment. Check it
out……………

Next, there are a couple of internal changes to the Geezer program that
have been agreed to by the membership. And, these changes could affect you
as a potential participant and member of the Geezer family.

From our very beginnings, the Geezers were insistent that “gassers” were
to be fueled with gasoline, and the alcohol should be reserved for drinking
at the end of the race day. Last year, on a trial basis, we had several
cars enter into the mix, using alcohol as a fuel source. It seemed to be
successful, and caused no problems for the tracks, or for the rest of the
membership. So, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOL DERIVED (E85)
FUELS ARE ACCEPTABLE FOR USE BY MEMBERS. It seems as if there are no new
cars being built to use gasoline……alcohol is the fuel of choice, and in
order to remain a viable program, alcohol is now acceptable. It’s a
natural progression.

In addition to the alcohol thing, the Geezer Gassers have always had a
strict limitation on the cars accepted for membership and participation.
There have been repeated and continuing calls to loosen the year of
production rule for cars, expanding the program to accept cars up to 1957.
So, after a lot of discussion and thought, effective immediately, the rule
limiting year of production is being modified to ACCEPT PRODUCTION MODEL
YEAR CARS UP TO 1957. This will allow for acceptance and inclusion of the
widely popular TRI-5 CHEVROLET and FORD to the membership and participation
ranks. Like the alcohol provision, it’s a progression.

Neither of these modifications/changes will have no affect on the rules
covering safety and appearances. The cars will still have to look the part
with solid axles, nose up, paint and graphics. More importantly, ALL
safety provisions of the sanctioning bodies as well as ours will be
maintained and ENFORCED.

Simple economics is probably the single most relevant factor in these
decisions. Alcohol is less than half the cost of race fuel. And the cost
for nearly any body to start the build of one of these cars is crazy. It
seems like the only bodies left that are within most people’s reach, and
where the parts are most widely available for one of these builds is the
tri-5 car, either GM or Ford. We compromised the rules to make our program
more reachable for more of you. If you had an idea you wanted to be a part
of the craziness and comraderie of the Geezers, here’s your opportunity.

Finally, welcome to our newest Geezer Rick Deflon from Kansas City, MO.
He’s making great progress on his Hudson pickup, anticipating an initial
Geezer outing in mid May at Beacon Dragway in Paducah, KY. The pictures
are showing great potential with an injected big block Chevrolet and a
Powerglide. Welcome aboard Rick.

Some other things are in the works, so be sure to check back. And be sure
to look for the Hagerty banner, both on here and in our pits at our events.

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