~ Gasser Magazine Reunion
~ Thompson
Drag Raceway, OH
~ 15-17 July, 2005
| 2005 Gasser Magazine Reunion |
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This year, unfortunately, we were plagued with
the remnants of Hurricane Dennis as they drifted north and
east, and were unable to escape some rain. What surprised many
of us was just how good the crew is at getting the track dried off
and ready for use after a deluge. Between Saturday afternoon
and Sunday afternoon, they were to perform this task at least 4
times, each time leaving us with a great racing surface. On
Sunday, the amount of water in the shutoff area necessitated
shortening the race to a 1/8th mile in the interests of safety, but
neither that nor the rains were able to dampen the spirits
and enthusiasm of those in attendance. We tried something new this year. Working with Ken McIntyre of Gasser Magazine, I tried to come up with some rules for nostalgia gassers with input from many people including Jack Olcott of the East Coast Gassers and several members of the Gas-FX group. The rules we finally came up with weren't as restrictive as some would have liked, and much too restrictive for others. The idea was to let nostalgia gassers race heads-up against nostalgia gassers, with other classes for the faster, more modern gassers, and separate classes for open wheel cars, stockers, etc. In retrospect, we did make a few mistakes both in the rules themselves and the in the application of the rules, but it was a start and we all learned a lot. I can promise you that we'll do better next year! Be assured, if you have a nostalgia racer, there'll be a place for you to race. That being said, it was pretty much a moot point this year as the rain-shortened schedule caused everything to be thrown together into a sort of big bracket race. Even then, the rains came yet again and after only 2 rounds, we all gave up and went home, albeit with a smile on our collective faces.
While I suppose that the rain may make it sound pretty dreary if you're reading this and weren't there, it was still a great time and, as you'll see by the photos, there was a lot of good action, great people, and beautiful cars! Before I end this, I need to thank several people. In no particular order they are:
Once again, thanks to everyone who took part in this great event. See ya'll next year! Byron Stack |
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Some of the Gas-FX members at Thompson Updated 31 July 2005 New 27 July 2005 |
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New 23 August 2005 |
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Photos by Dave Davis New 31 July 2005 |
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Photos by Vic Cooke New 30 July 2005 |
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New 27 July 2005 |
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Photos by
Byron Stack Updated 24 August 2005 Updated 27 July 2005 New 20 July 2005 |
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More Photos from the Gasser Magazine Reunion at: |
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Bob Wenzelberger's WebShots album |
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Well,
another Reunion has come and gone and if you missed it, I feel for
you. Jim Curtis and his staff at Thompson Raceway have
again outdone themselves and have our deepest thanks!
Another casualty of the weather this year was
the 1st Annual GasserMadness Shootout. Last year, we held the
Gas-FX shootout as a sort of "members-only" heads-up race and the
fans seemed to really enjoy it so this year we expanded it a bit as
an "Invitational" race. There were 16 cars signed up to race
each other. The idea was simple...draw names for each
round...everyone races heads-up, no indexes, no dial-ins, no
nothing...winner goes to the next round and the loser goes home.
This is a no-money, trophies only deal, by the way. That and
bragging rights is all the winner gets! Again, the rains
precluded the Shootout this year, so maybe next year. Keep an
eye on GasserMadness.com for signup information for next year's Shootout.
