(By Doug Gregory) – For 2017 C-Gas has had the highest car counts. These cars have a 2500# minimum and must weigh 8lbs per cubic inch of displacement. Run 6.499 or quicker and you’ll immediately get weighed. With the exception of a few characters, this class is a little more tame than A/Gas though the competition is super tight. Most of these folks are close to being declared telepathic on the tree. The threat of rain and thunderstorms only interrupted the action once and it was fairly short. It looked bad on radar, but slipped just to the South. Track prep was being overseen by SEGA officials and I personally saw plenty of resin being put down on the starting line. Cool stuff. After much tire smoke and exhaust fumes Todd Blackwell took his white ‘Sling Shot’ Chevy II to the winner’s circle. Oh…but the fun wasn’t over. After a weigh-in it was time to get pumped. Quain carries three pumps and used two in three attempts to ensure compliance. 350 was the stated displacement and each test computed to less than that. Good to go. Everyone gathered around as it turned into an event all its own.
Just like A/Gas…I do not have complete information on all the cars. Below I’ve included the tidbits I have.
I missed getting a close shot of Danny Graham’s blue Studebaker on track because I was always out of position when it ran. I didn’t see the hood open and have no real details on this rig. I will fix that the next time I see it.
Danny Byrd’s Junk Yard Dog Chevy II never left the line with the front tires near the track surface and the rear tires always wrinkling hard under the strain. It was entertaining to say the least.
Rusty Sampsel’s authentic, real-deal Bad Banana ’55 has had some struggles in 2017. At this event it was leaking coolant. A lot of it. The decision was made to run her dry went rounds this way and was fine. The Banana runs a 427ci SBC backed by a Jericho sending high-winding power back to a Dana 60.
The bright orange Obsolete II ’63 Chevy II is campaigned by James Beard and features a 377 SBC, Autogear M23, and a 12-bolt. It is always a good looking ride.
Art Beeler’s Sour Grape Chevy II is another one lacking details. It’s a looker and goes like stink. It is also one I seem to miss getting many action shots. Having only two hands and one pair of eyes seems to be the limiting factor.
The Grey Ghost ’63 Chevy II of Dean and Alesia Harris runs a 434 SBC, a Hightower-modified top-loader and a nine-inch Ford. Bulletproof stuff to take the beating these row-your-own folks put on their drive trains.
Larry Noel’s blue ’55, he tells me is called ‘Crazy Horse’, had a 460 BBC, Hightower trans, and a 9” stuffed with 5.13 gears. He plans to run D/Gas in 2018 with a 355 SBC. The paint was done at home and is awesome-looking.
One of the cars I really enjoy shooting is the Freebird ’64 Chevy II sedan of Jerry Birch. This thing puts on a show with its 355 SBC, Hightower top-loader, and 5.14 cogs in the Ford 9”. This rig is always a threat to win.
Mopars in SEGA are few and far between, but that doesn’t mean they are less-capable. Robert Frazier’s Barracuda is Mopar-powered and was sporting some cool paint for 2017. We like variety and this ride helps fill out the field.
Zak Hall’s Home Grown ’57 is a stout machine. Powered by a 396 BBC it spins a Jericho trans ending up in a Dana 60 with 6.17 gears…!!! This white wonder is a clean looking car and a strong runner.
Jimmy Huff’s Hoopty Wagon is a closet favorite of mine. While I am not a FoMoCo camper, I do know what is good and this is it. The monster runs a Clevor to stress-test the Jericho which attempts to shred the 9” out back. Frankenstein-motors to the front.
The Atomic Hillbilly Chevy II is ran by the Napier’s. One of the things that always grabs my attention on this rig are the eight-bolt slotted mags bolted on to that massive differential. Even if an axle breaks….the full-floating caps make servicing it a snap.
The Bailey’s, Jared and Tim, run a couple cars in C/Gas. The Hitman ’41 Studebaker is one. The red Alley Cat ’41 Willys is the other. Both are beautifully-finished cars and hard chargers.
The red ’66 Chevy II known as Medicine Man is wheeled by Doug Dobbins. Doug’s Nova ran consistent enough to finish top in points for 2017 and was awarded the C/Gas championship for the effort.
We mentioned Todd Blackwell’s event-winning Nova earlier. The photos show a great-looking car that gets the job done. The pics also review the post-race compliance check which it passed with flying colors.
Lee Vickery is known as ‘Two-Lane Lee’ and runs both SEGA and Straight-Axle Mafia events. His ’55 shows up in our coverage of races out at US60 and others. The car is still street-legal and he has a set of AR Daisys for some authentic TLB cruising. It is powered by a healthy, tunnel-ram-equipped 454. A G-force trans sits next in line then a Dana 60 with 5.13 gears sends the grunt to the tires.
Thanks for checking this out and stay tuned for D/Gas and more.
Excellent shots Doug. Thank you. These guys really put on a show. I understand Quain ruffled a few feathers in the beginning, but he wanted his show his way, and the results certainly speak for themselves.
I’m sure this has been covered before but growing up back in the day of 1960’s gassers and seeing mostly action in the south why does SEGA not have a passion and class for the blown gassers? limit them to 6-71’s and Hilborn injectors just like they were, all across the south like, Cartlon Franks, Billy Holt, et al.