Friday morning, we were excited, to finally be heading out to our first race of the season, at one of our favorite tracks. Mike had hoped our 41 Willys Blue Mule would be the first to arrive so he could at least say he beat Huffman Trucking, 33 Willys pickup, once during the event but Bryan and June were first on the scene. Willys pickups made up the majority, as Bob’s 38 Rat Poison arrived with wheelie bar intact. 52 Henry J’s were well represented by Ken’s yellow Henry and Joe’s Blown Money. Rounding out the field were the James Gang, 40 Willys coupe, Gun Slinger, Jack’s 62 Rumbling Rambler and Rod’s 48 Lost in the 60’s Anglia. Friday evening, we all made a couple of passes before gathering our chairs together to enjoy a cold drink and each others company.
The rains came, despite Accu-weathers prediction, but by morning the clouds passed, allowing the track to dry so the show could go on. Even with the hot humid conditions, the fans loved being able to talk to the drivers and sit in the cars. One young man like the Hero card fine but used his Nostalgia Gasser’s t-shirt for driver autographs.
With completion of our first pass about 4pm, it was time for our group meal. As usual, our members provided a wonderful feast. We were joined by prospective members, Jim and Nancy Anthony, who have a 1965 Nova, Novocain and Bob Browns friend, Randy Ramsdell, who had not raced in 10 yrs. His 1966 Chevy ll with a small block 406 consistently ran 6.20 which gave him the win in the 6.99 and faster class. Congrats Randy.
Another 2 rounds of friendly competition completed the days on track activities with no major malfunctions to report. Kaylor’s, Kaufman’s, Urish and Brown all packed up to make the drive home, while the rest of us extended the visit, camping out for the night, pulling out in the morning.
Our next event will be a new venue in Bonne Terre MO June 25th, set up by Ken Kapper. Come on out and see the Nostalgia Gassers in action!
Respectfully submitted by
Mike and Debbie Hoffman
