Welcome back (finally). And here we are, mid July, and the race season is already half over.

By way of explanation, the older I get (thankfully) the slower I get in all aspects of everyday. Home duties, vehicle maintenance, yard work, etc all seems to suffer and be pushed aside and delayed. Same way with trying to stay up to date with this forum. Couple this with a thing referred to as “writer’s block”, I find myself avoiding things because I’m stumped.

I’m here to try and catch up, and to offer up a brief look for what’s ahead.

First, a hearty welcome and glad you’re here to our new members for this year…..

Mike Karels from the Twin Cities are of Minnesota. His injected small block Chevy powered, redone Anglia (“Too Tall Too”) in testing has shown itself to be a runner. So much so that he’s working on a competition license renewal. He comes from a background of going fast (fuel altered, and a blown Chevy powered dragster) so it should be no problem for him.

Dave Lewis from Pennsylvania is aboard with his small block Chevy powered ’37 Chevy coupe he calls “Attitude Adjustment.” Looks good, sits right, fits the bill as a gasser. Oh and by the way, it’s a STICK SHIFT car!!!!! With 2 events behind us, it’s shown itself to be a “go er’. And withs many stick shift cars, it likes attention and parts…..a clutch at Bowling Green, and u joints and a transmission yoke at Norwalk. Both generated early departures, but there’s still time.

Terry King and his ’41 Willys call Indiana home. The car is still in the construction and assembly phase, looking forward to seeing it in ’20.

Finally, Brian and Tami Spotts from Ohio bring their masterpiece blown, injected big block Chevy powered Anglia to the party. Between the polished everything that’s NOT painted, and the eye hurting brilliant orange paint, this thing is like gasser pornography. AND, it’s not just a
looker…….it went 174 and some change in the 7’s at Norwalk. Think about that…….the Rudyard Kipling line……”you’re a better man than me Gunga Din” comes to mind.

Return to the mix this year is The Verde family Racing Austin. Major engine issues sidelined them at Dragway 42 last year. Lots of time, LOTS of money and efforts paid off at Norwalk…..back to the L-O-O-W 9’s. Welcome back to all.

Also back with his new car is Charlie Long and the replacement for the ’47 Ford that was destroyed at Bowling Green 2 years ago. A ’53 Studebaker Starlight coupe is the starting point.
Big block Chevy powered, he’s chasing the bugs out of it. Should be a strong 11 second car, when all is right.

Work is continuing on Greg Burge’s all steel ’40 Willys. Last I knew, the chassis and suspension had been finished, the cowl/firewall had been replaced, the doors fitted and hung, body mounted, and the beginning of the roll cage has been set in. Maybe in ’20…….

Bowling Green in mid June was a roller coaster for all. Mother Nature smiled on us with NO rain during the event. Temperatures were never above 80 and next to nothing for humidity. As a result, the cars in most cases ran way better than usual. And, no overheated cars or drivers. There were a couple of casualties….John Swick’s small block ’37 Chevy decided it had had enough and gave up. And as mentioned earlier, Dave Lewis’s clutch became a casualty.
Congrats to Joe, Cynthia, and Dakota Bush for their win with the “Silver Bullet” ’41 Willys pickup, and to Dan Tackett for his runner up spot.

Norwalk and the Blue Suede Cruise brought 14 of us to run in the Gasser Magazine action. Friday, Saturday, and even Sunday were again, perfect weather days. No rain, low 80’s and tolerable humidity made for perfect conditions. The track was a bit weak, but that’s what happens when street cars and treaded tires have their turn on the quarter mile. Even then, our cars were for the most part were in the game, both for the index program on Saturday, and the followup open races on Sunday. Kirk Dupre’ and his injected big block Chevy did us proud by winning his index. He followed it up with a run to the finals on Sunday…..having to give up a 3+ second handicap start is a tough nut to crack, especially when the cars gets loose at mid track. And you remember the return of Charlie Long to Bowling Green with his Studebaker…….he followed it up with a win for his index at Norwalk……not too shabby a showing. Congrats to both of you. Don Moyer parked the “Rebel Reaper” Willys in favor of the redone Mickey Hart ’33 Willys, and has chased a large part of the bug population out. The car ran well, seemed to handle, and looked good going down the track.

Coming up in late August, Don Moyer’s Rock and Race event at Dragway 42 in Ohio should be a call out for a large group of us, probably a repeat of Norwalk’s attendance. Move in and set up on Thursday, on the track for the rest of the weekend. The hit of the event is the class racing. Like the old days, it’s weight to cubic inches for all. Blown cars step up to another class and are set into their own group. Along with the additional activities for the event, this is non stop action both on and off the track.

Finally, the end of the season for most of us will be mid October at Atmore Alabama for Jesse Holmes’ Gasser shootout. Looks like there will be at least 6 of us in attendance to show the southern boys some yankee race action. This is a very well run event, well attended, set on a gem of an eighth mile track. Off track hours can be spent at a neighboring casino/resort. Or, if gambling isn’t your thing, the facility is 30 minutes from the “Redneck Riviera” gulf coast. A great way to spend a week of vacation for the end of the year.

Stick around, more to come for what remains of the ’19 race season.