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Thread: Gasser circus champion 2016

  1. #1

    Gasser circus champion 2016

    The Hot Rod Drags marks the conclusion of the Gasser Circus Showdown, and as we drove through varying intensity rain showers, the omens were not looking to good. Arriving mid-afternoon Friday the camping areas already looked full, but thankfully although the rain had swept through it wasn’t raining when we arrived. With 19 Gassers expected we knew it was going to be a busy weekend, and qualifying could take on a do or die situation as the outcome of the Championship could be decided on the strip on Saturday.

    Being roused from my sleep in the early hours of Saturday by 2 young children arguing, crying and screaming was not the most pleasant of experiences, and neither was the unmistakable sound of heavy rain on the roof of my tent. The large droplets of water soon felt compelled to join up with others, and then in a swift motion cascaded down the side of the tent as a few feet away tears mimicked these running down the cheeks of the crying child.

    Within a few hours of getting up and into the gloomy day, we were all becoming amateur meteorologists. The day appeared to be spent working out, at what point would the race day become impossible. Most bets were on a point between 1400 – 1500, this based on a rough guess of how long the track would take to dry once the drizzle/rain stopped. I wouldn’t say the weather was bad but when it came to Scrutineering, there were no cars in the scrutineer’s line, so some were undertaken in our pit which necessitated the swift removal of waterproof covers, before their just as swift recovering.

    The Cacklefest was at one point at risk of not being of any substance due to the rain, but thankfully it would go ahead following the intervention of the track drier. Unfortunately, the lane being used for burnouts was soon oiled down by a Supercharged Outlaw, so plan Z was put into place.
    Back in the Gasser Circus pit, 17 Gassers had shown up with 2 not making Shakey. This presented a problem we had not experienced before, as with the chance of racing finally being extinguished, we had 17 cars for a 16 car field with no qualifying. The issue was soon solved when Tim ‘Hank’ Holmes confirmed that he would prefer to use the race day as a test and tune for his fresh out AWB Dodge. The test and tune was to achieve significant results for him once the sun and racing returned on Sunday, with Tim running the car into the 10’s. Tim was a very happy racer by the end of play.

    By the time the Gasser Circus barbeque fired into life, the rain had stopped and thankfully did not return that night or on Sunday.

    The strip opened at 10, but it was only a short time before oil downs stopped the racing. Just when the track crew had concluded their obligatory clean up, the radio channel which enables the track officials to stay in contact with each other was being hijacked, by an amateur radio operator. This had safety issues for all of us as without being to speak to the crew at the top end of the strip, and vice versa, the racing could not begin again. This took sometime to rectify, but safety cannot be compromised, so the racers took it in their stride.

    After a 90 minute trip down the fire up road, all of the Gasser Circus eliminations were over after on average 12 seconds, and a few hours later Round 2 went the same way. Unfortunately, the clock was against us especially after another massive oil down, and before we knew it another highly successful and entertaining Gasser Circus season was over. All that was left to do was crown the 2016 Champion, and although the car that won Green Onions was doing so for the 3rd time, it was with a new driver behind the wheel, with Ray Turner handing over the driving duties to his son Harvey. He had shown exceptional skill behind the wheel to take the 55 Chevy in his rookie season all the way to the Championship Title. Congratulations to Harvey, Ray and all the Turner family, on a job well done.

    The Gasser Circus want to thank, the NSRA, Speedking, Mechanix Limited and all the track crew and officials who support us in throughout the racing year.





  2. #2
    NSRA member Hannah's Avatar
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    Great write up Nick and well done to the Green Onions Team 👍

  3. #3
    NSRA Committee
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    Great summary Nick. Let's hope the weather is kinder to us next year.

  4. #4
    Moderator jsf55's Avatar
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    Thanks Nick, very informative

  5. #5
    Moderator martin's Avatar
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    Thanks for that Nick, very informative.

    Who cares If It's glass or steel, It's still a hot rod.

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