Bowling Green Hot Rod Reunion – KENTUCKY FRIED GASSERS

The Bowling Green Hot Rod Reunion in Kentucky is a hot and steamy celebration of speed. Held at historic Beech Bend Raceway in a park-like setting, it’s the perfect nostalgic location for this annual festival. This year, we turned our sights on all of the Gasser action.

If a hot rod is factory stock car modified to go faster and look cooler than when it left the factory then a Gasser is the hot roddenest hot rod around. The famously popular drag racing class got going when enterprising racers swapped big power into castaway cars and transformed wheezy Willys and otherwise sleepy stockers into high-performance, wheelstanding dragstrip heroes.

Plenty of authentic Gassers recently converged at the Holley NHRA Hot Rod Reunion presented by AAA Insurance. It was fat fendered mecca.

Bowling Green Hot Rod Reunion Gasser Roundup:

The Geezer Gassers fielded nearly two dozen contenders who tossed it up on the quarter mile. Scott Rods rolled out four pairs of faithfully restored AA/GS blown heavy hitters in the Scott Rods AA Supercharged Gasser contingent. Straight-axle heroes took the Gasser formula to new heights in the Straight Axle Mafia, and countless Gasser-style street machines rolled onto the lush grounds and into the Axalta Show ‘n ‘Shine. The NHRA Hot Rod Reunion was Gasser central during three sweltering days. We’re still taking salt tablets to rehydrate!

Geezer Gassers NHRA Hot Rod Heritage

The Geezer Gassers grew out of the Nineties-era Goodguys VRA Gasser class and ran Bowling Green with a 16-car main field along with a B-group so everyone got a chance to make as many runs as possible in the three-day drag racing hootenanny. In the end it was Rebel Reaper owner and driver, Gasser Magazine writer, and known wheelstander, Don Moyer of Ohio who put all the Geezer Gassers back on the trailer. A wheelstanding 11.67 @ 115 MPH in his AMC 401-powered 1940 Willys was good for the win over Joe Bush who fouled out in the final with his 1940 Willys.

Don runs about 10-12 races with the Rebel Reaper annually. It packs AMC V-8 power and a cast iron pipe rear bumper with a 40-pound piece of bar stock steel inside for consistent wheelstanding glory. The proven and winning combination makes for worry free race weekends and plenty of time for good times on the track and in the pits. “This car has been together for so long and I’ve been driving it for so long I don’t tune anything. The guys in the pits hate me. I haven’t changed my spark plugs in six years!”, said Don.

Geezer Gassers toastmaster Chuck Lipka runs a spectacular ’41 Willys with a blown Oldsmobile and maintains group rules designed for ongoing Gasser authenticity. No electronics. No body modifications. Period correct paint schemes and wheels. Roots type blowers only. Engine crankshaft centerline no higher than two feet off the ground. Straight axle and leaf spring suspension. 12-inch rear tire width max. Closed roof cars only that must be self starting and able to rumble back to the pits under their own power just like they did back in the mid-Sixties.

Bowling Green Hot Rod Reunion Blown Gassers

The fearsome AA/GS Supercharged Gassers staged tire-smoking, wheelstanding shows all weekend long complete with side-by-side half-track smokey burnouts, backup ladies dressed in period correct go-go boots and Sixties style garb, dry hops through the rosin on the way up to the beams, and 5-second 100-plus MPH blasts in the 1/8th mile. Jeff Cryan of Buffalo, New York tripped the win light in the final with a 5.68 @ 113 MPH in his 1933 Willys pickup truck powered by a blown 392 Chrysler hemi.

It’s a Gas Gas Gas

Checking out the giant field of wheelstanding Gassers at Beech Bend Raceway is like seeing your favorite band at a funky old night club before they sold their soul to play sterile concrete stadiums. Covered and perfectly creaky grandstands are right up on the track to see, hear, and feel all the drag racing action for an authentic Gasser drag racing experience. Fuel Curve salutes the tireless efforts of these dedicated racers who keep an eye on tradition while carrying heritage and the front wheels of their Gassers into the future.

The Gassers are Coming!

There is a better than average chance the Gassers are coming your way. Check out the Geezer Gassers and Scott Rods for upcoming races.