Friday was a beautiful day as most of our scheduled 12 car field to pull into the track and took our spot along the staging lanes. Hoffman’s and Huffman’s were the first to arrive, followed by Ken Kapper w/ Ralph and our favorite nostalgia dragster driver Jim. As the afternoon went on Jesse James, Mark Campbell, Robb Rothweiller, Kaufman’s, Jack Kaylor, Steve Bacon and Bob Brown arrived. It was great to see Bob back at the track after the damage done at the Eddyville spring race. Pretty much the first thing he did after pulling Rat Poison out of the trailer was put that wheelie bar on! That evening we paired up and hit the track. Checkout the picture of the 2 Henry J’s. Couldn’t have timed that any better if I’d tried. Bob went straight down the track without setting it on the tailgate and Mike got to try out his line lock for the first time. After our run, many spectators came to the pits to get a closer look at these awesome Gassers.
Saturday Bill Eveland and the Urish’s arrived and so did the crowd. Like Jack Kaylor said, these kids are the future of our sport. Hopefully we are priming a few of them to maintain these wonder pieces of history for the next generations to enjoy too. After our first pass, late in the afternoon Saturday, we got busy preparing our feast. A first, having spaghetti at the track featuring Mark’s homemade meat balls and sauce. Additional offerings of brisket, various sides including grilled garlic bread and of course the desserts were enjoyed. We have the best potlucks of any group I’ve ever been involved in. Thanks everyone.
In spite of threatening weather, spectators filled the stands. Down by two cars, Robb’s ’55 Chevy, and Marks Rambler, we were able to get in two more passes before the rains came. But even the weather can’t dampen the comradery of this group; as we managed to get several chairs in a trailer behind the car and others with umbrellas in hand so we could continue to visit and tell stories well into the night.
Eddyville Raceway Park is a wonderful venue with a great staff. Bryan said they love having us and have invited us back next year for both a spring nostalgia event and the World Fuel Altered Nationals in the fall. Dates TBA
Respectfully submitted,
Mike and Debbie Hoffman
