(Words and photos by Doug Gregory) – This is the last report from the Southeast Gasser’s visit to Mountain Park Dragway. Couple of things I didn’t get many photos of includes Quain Stott and later learned that Brad Anderson (yeah, that Brad Anderson) was checking the scene out. I missed Brad, but we were really running around with our heads cut off trying to shoot action on the track and stills in the pits.
Quain is a person you can’t really nail down and if you did….he’d break free. All over the place putting out fires, talking to the teams, checking out the performance on the track and more. He even did a tranny swap on his Willys between rounds. They have a slogan used in many of their promotional things and it is ‘nosissies’. That typically is accompanied by – front wheels up one foot – straight or dropped axle – straight-shift transmission – clutchless shifts are for sissies. Rules in a nutshell. We had a great time and enjoyed talking with the competitors. Looking forward to our next chance to see them. If you haven’t checked them out….you should. Their last event for 2016 is at Greer Dragway on November the 5th.
We have 9 more of the cars to show off along with a brief bio for each.
A/Gas Avenger ’37 Chevy coupe sporting weather-checked 1970s lacquer paint, a 427ci BBC, Jerico, and 9”. The rig is driven and owned by Sonny Burr and he likes to air this thing out.
A/Gas Ol’ Dirty Bastard ’56 510 of Justin Moses from Braselton, GA has a screaming, injected big-block, a Jerico gearbox, and a Ford 9” differential. I heard its rev-limiter more than I expected so I imagine there must have been something not going quite right that weekend.
C/Gas Hoopty Wagon ’64 Falcon ran by Billy Huff uses a 383ci Clevor for power and sends that twist to a Jerico and ultimately a 9” Ford. Don’t know what a Clevor is…? Windsor block with Cleveland heads. Was not uncommon a few decades ago. Now I never hear anything about them.
A/Gas Snake Bite ’66 Mustang wheeled by Jim Finley has the look, a 427ci, a Hightower transmission, and a Ford 9”. It also got the win in A/Gas in the postponed finals (ran during 2nd-rnd qualifying) from the previous event .
A/Gas Tazmanian Devil ’41 Willys of Gary Cline is another one we didn’t find out much about. Next time we visit the Southeast Gassers we’ll dig up more.
C/Gas One Gone Dog ’56 Chevy ran by Sonny Clayton and Ernie Smith. It features a 406ci SBC, Jerico, and one of those massive, old Pontiac differentials. It’s a colorful ride and runs like…..a gone dog.
A/Gas Black&Blue is the Plymouth Barracuda of Robert Frazier and though we don’t have a lot of details it IS Mopar-powered and puts on a heck of a show while fighting for respect among the Fords and Chevys.
C/Gas Atomic Hillbilly ’62 Chevy II Sedan of Todd Napier was one of the cars that had to leave Saturday night so we weren’t able to get any information about it. We’ll rectify that next chance we get.
A/Gas Pale Rider ’55 Chevy was sporting clean sides with no stickers or graphics for this event. The Shannon Smith ride from Gowensville, SC had the crowd on its feet on every pass. Motivation comes from a Fulton BBC with a Hightower trans sending much power back to a 9” differential. Wowza this thing has some dance moves. Brushed the wall on one pass and only grazed the wheel. I figured there would be body damage….but no.
