Gasser Reunion, Thompson Drag Raceway

Hi,

Did anyone go to this event over the weekend? I heard about it, but couldn't get away long enough to attend.

Any pics? Was it Bitchin'? Anyone famous?

 

Yep, I went and had a great time although the rain killed sunday. I raced so did not get any pics. Hopefully somebody else did....It is a great show and saw a couple hambers but unfortunatly not many....Don

 

I was there for the weekend. Saturday was geat but Sunday was the same as it has been for the last three years, wet! The racing Saturday was good, the 8.60 class was really close and the Gambler race was interesting. My daughter shot pics from the starting line but they were pretty high resolution. Will try to put them online in an album soon

 

here are the only pics I took. It is of my buddies opel that we just put together after Detroit Auto-Rama.....Just playing with a junk yard amc 360 he ran a 11.70 with the front tires 4 inches off the ground. Hit the brake at 2300 and shifed at 4500....the car is gonna be fun when he gets used to it! I ran pretty consistant in the rebel reaper as long as the old shifer didnt mess with me.. It was a great time, too bad the Hamb doesnt seem to care......Don

 

Might be because this place seems to lean towards 4 doors, wagons or pick-ups for the gasser look. The real thing might not be as interesting as the 64 impala wagon jacked five feet in the air complete with straight axle and straight six. How many cars were flat black with red wheels...? Might be another reason.

 

The event had a lot of really sharp old and old appearing gasser type cars but unless you have a ticket stub in your pocket your really just blowing hot air.

 

11's in a junk yard 360 AMC? Whats an AMC?

Just joking. I got a 360 under a tarp. I need to find a small car to put it in. Thanks for the pics.

 

is the opel the one that was floating around forever....? if so , glad to see someone finally finished it up....well at least raceable....brandon

 

You can bring a horse to water, but you can't make him drink!!!

Don, you would have gotten more HAMB love if you posted about killing spiders.

On another note - you called me too cheap to bring anything to Thompson to run....well let's review: last year it cost me $115 to make two passes on Saturday- it rains then they call it on Sunday. I don't get a partial refund, but others did. Now I guess I am too cheap to try that again. Cool event for sure, but just call me a spectator - and that cost 20 bucks a head at that, ok so maybe I am cheap!!!! What were we talking about again????

 

I sure wish i waqs close enough to go there I envy you guys, thanks for post more pics would be great. and as for the hamb most guys dont race, just talk............

 

I care! I care! Show me pics! Was busy on the roadster Saturday, couldn't make it up. I've heard from quite a few it was a great time.

 

Oh man, loving that little Opel. Had a stocker 67 Cadet in HS,
smallest car I've ever owned.(most underpowered too). Seems
I recall seeing pics of hemis in these things back then,but AMC
power works for me. Any idea of the weight on this bad boy?

 

Bullshit on the not caring. I'm in south Texas and have been asking for any pics since Saturday. Any other year and there's been several albums floating around the net but not this year. Did the magazine that sponsors the event ban photographers?

Only a few photos posted on the yahoo group and hardly any here. What gives?

Dan

 

I shot the whole day on video, all the runs except some of the Gamblers Race, a bit of the pits, Bob Motz Jet Kenworth fire show and run, some Fuel Dragsters, a nostalgia Funny, got that Opel...I was up high about 300' out, got great burnouts and shots of the runs.
Doing INDY GoogGuys this weekend. Listings will be at Racingjunk.com or Nitrogeezers.com.
2 dvds about 1 hr. 45 mins long. $15 Free Shipping, Checks okay.
Frank Kunkel
48 Glenashton Dr.
Stoney Creek, ON, Canada
L8G 4E9

 

Hey Don I was there on Saturday. I was in the t bucket so I left around six when it started raining. I saw you make a couple of runs but couldn't really see the scoreboard. What did the Reaper run? I was going to bring my race car but I thought $140 to race was a little to steep...
Later, Jim.

Don't forget about the Rock & Race July 20,21&22
www.dragway42rockrace.com
http://www.myspace.com/dragway42rockrace

 

Wow, didn't mean to start a pissing contest......Brandon, yep that is the Opel. You dont have any idea of the history of it do you. Some of the work was done a while ago, gas welds. I ran mid 11's with a couple 12's throne in. To aid the promoters, if you pre-register, it costs $95. I got a $40 refund from last years even because it was rained out. This year on friday you could have run at will and saturday they opened 4 lanes for gassers and you didnt have to wait too long either. After a couple rain drops at 4:30 they dryed the track off and ran again till about 10 (dark) This year they had Bob Motz's kenworth and it made a 200mph pass.....I took my time and made 12 passes over the 2 days. Unfortunatly on Sunday it was called for rain again. Oh, everyone will again get a $40 refund for next years event.....When is the last time a Goodguys or NSRA gave a discount????

 

I made a mistake....Thompson Gasser Reunion is $15 for 2 dvds...Frank Kunkel

 

Ahh I don't think so there skippy. "everyone AGAIN" - Maybe EVERYONE got a partial refund this year, but you KNOW full well that WASN'T the case last year. You got a partial refund last rainout - I DID not.
A rose is a rose - let's call it like it really was. Last year a mere handful of people got partial refunds. Last year the skys were grey as could be - I still decided to cough up the $115 (or what ever it was) to help support a really cool event and when THEY called it EARLY on Sunday that was BS. Not partially refunding EVERYONE some was dough was also bullshit. It was crap and you know it - don't act like it wasn't just because YOU were one of the lucky ones. And BTW YOU calling me a cheapskate is definitely a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

 

Sorry for the sort of O/T reply. I'm still trying to find out what happened to the Moody/Thompson Gasser Willy's that was running in the late 60's-70's in Northern Ohio.

 

from what i remember , the car was from colorado area...never finished .....seems like it was on ebay probably 01 or so.....a couple years later i saw it at indy goodguys without the rear magnesium wheels ....like it probably was when your buddy got it.....i saw it a couple years later on race junk in the southern indiana area....thought about trying to get it then ....but i was knee deep into building a house....and you guessed it ....no money.... remember seeing it on ebay earlier this year or end of last year when it was out on the east coast.....neat neat car....all it was missing is a norm paddock style scoop ......keep me posted on updates.....brandon

 

My buddy went this and last year and got refunds at both, he threw a rod right before the race this year so he didn't get to race........but he still got a refund. He going to the other one they have later in the summer too
here's his car

 

I cared but didn't make it out...sniffle...sniffle, had to work friday night 3rd shift, rain canceled sunday, and sat i had some family stuff to take car of pretty bummed did get to see some ok footage on monday at are meeting so that almost made up for it, as for the opel its bad ass! as for don and jacins "cheap" war you guys are just thrifty you all have multiple vehicles and still have you still managed to keep your wifes, im just trying to get some sorta beater

 

i think it's around 2000 lb. but me and don can still pick up front end with ease

 

Living 5 miles away in my new digs on rte 528 made showin up EZ. Took my wife and her 11 year old granddaughter. Kid never seen the jet KW and almost had severe underwear trauma when it rocketed past at a 201 mph run. It was a great saturday....

 

This was the 5th year i have gone to the gasser reunion. Every year there are more cars than the year before. As usual it rained like always. Had a good time anyway. Hauled a friends 33 Willys to track to make a few test runs. It was the burgandy and gold one. He had some problems with the shifter and ended up wounding the motor. Drove my falcon on sat. to the car show. Lots of nice cars in the car show. Lots of great race cars showed up and some realy great racing.

 

Thought I'd try to post a pic. Never have done this.

 

I hope someone got some pics of that car, I really liked it, sounds like when the bugs are worked out, it will be fast.

Don

 

Who was there? Ed Iskendarian (86 and still as sharp as a flathead camshaft), Bones Balogh, Ohio George Montgomery, the entire surviving S&S Racing Team and many more. It was a blast. Saturday was great from sunrise until way after the sun set. Sunday morning the skies let forth with buckets of 'Ohio Sunshine'. It didn't look like the rain was going to stop so the race was called. Then an hour or so after most racers left...the sun came out. It's Ohio and with this being our sixth GASSER Reunion...this Arizona boy is getting used to rain.

There were lots of new Willys, Anglias, Henry J's, '55s and early Chevy Gassers. More than ever before and from as far away as Houston and maybe further. The fun thing about the Reunion is that when it rains people smile and use the time to make new friends, renew old friendships and meet the legends like Isky himself. In the west we don't go to races when it looks like it might rain. In the midwest and east they pack an umbrella and head to the track. What a great attitude.

As to 'refunds': Here's the deal. When the race is called every participant gets a $50 credit towards the next GASSER Reunion or GASSER Nationals (Sept. 8-9, 2007). You don't need paperwork. The track has your name and can verify it when you sign up for the next event. If they screw up and forget, tell'em and they'll fix it. The Thompson staff is the finest, fairest and nicest I've met in my 52 years of going to drag races.

See you at either the GASSER Nationals or next year's GASSER Reunion--rain or shine.

Ernest McIntyre, editor
GASSER Magazine
www.GASSERmagazine.com