Gasser circus welcome

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In the late 1950’s the ‘Gas’ classes in drag racing were populated with Henry’s Model A and 32 – 34 Fords but by the early 1960’s these had been superseded by the likes of Austin, Anglia, Chevy and of course Willys. By the mid 60’s the battles on the drag strip were escalating with ever more Gasser’s appearing and rivalry reaching new heights. Although those involved at the time couldn’t see it, this period in time would eventually go down as legendary!
There were to be various reasons for this, not least of which was the involvement of parts manufacturers many of whom were fledgling businesses attempting to cater for and capture the market for speed. These involved the camshaft companies Howard, Isky & Engle and the transmission specialists B&M, Cal-Hydro & Hydro-Motive. With their products being rapidly developed in selected Gasser’s it wasn’t long before they used their success against another Gasser and by association rival company to promote their business. Adverts began appearing in the press alerting the public to their wins and they were also not afraid within the same advert to brag about the car and associated products that they had beaten. The term ‘Gasser Wars’ rose from these clashes and the track promoters realised the value of this as a promotional tool. The drivers also realised the benefit of establishing a rivalry on the track as the public loved to see the battle between the two protagonists.

The appeal of the racing was also enhanced by the fact that it was attainable as during this period hometown guys and girls pulled their rides from scrap yards, old parking lots and from behind and within barns. These cars were soon converted for racing with them often being built in the open.
Original front suspensions were originally adapted and as the tyre compounds were limited, the racers realised they would get better traction, if they lifted the nose up in the air, then the weight on launch was more effectively transferred to the driving wheels. This achieved several things, faster times due to better traction, and without knowing it they had created one of the most recognisable aspects of a Gasser which in turn also generated significant interest from spectators as these jacked up cars hit the fire up lanes across America.
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As the ‘Gas’ classes developed the nose high stance began to disappear but the class still remained relatively affordable and it was a time when your average Joe could get involved and come race weekend many people did. Some of these went onto establish themselves as household names with arguably the top five being KS Pittman, Ohio George Montgomery, Big John Mazmanian, Doug Cook and Junior Thompson. Others established teams and added their names to those above who would become synonymous with that period and the Gasser Wars.
Teams like:-
Stone, Woods and Cooke
S&S Racing Team
Kohler Bros
Herrera & Sons
Brasher & Cunmmings
Prock & Howell
Hamberis & Mitchell
Shores & Hess
Bones & Dubagh


Individuals like:-
Barb Hamilton
Chuck Finders
Joe Pirrone
Porky Zartman
Fred Bear
Jack Coonrod
Johnny Loper
Jack Merkel
Jim Oddy
Ronny Nunes

The war raged throughout the 60’s but by the 70’s the ‘Gas’ classes were dying out with the arrival of Funny cars and although it kept going for a few more years many of the racers had either moved onto the Funny’s or other areas of motorsport, the war was effectively over with many of the cars sold on to either continue their racing careers or locked away until the Nostalgia scene kicked in some 30 years later!

However, it still lived on in many people’s minds many of which were never around to witness them for themselves and were not even American. One such person was Terry Howarth, he, like so many others could not resist the appeal of the nose high, straight axle race cars that battled for supremacy during the 60’s. Terry wanted to re-create that now infamous period, but to do this in the UK could be quite a challenge.

In 2003 Terry gathered together 8 Gasser style street driven and race only cars and debuted the ‘Gasser Circus’ at the NSRA Nostalgia Drags at Shakespeare County Raceway. From that point forward the Gasser Circus has grown in popularity and although competitors and cars have come and gone in the intervening period, the group of racers dedicated to campaigning cars which resemble and pay tribute to that era of racing continues to grow. So much so that following 16 Gassers turning up to run at the NSRA Hot Rod Drags in 2010, the decision was taken to expand the Gasser Circus to a 4 round National Championship in 2011 and we are delighted and grateful that the National Street Rod Association are sponsoring these events. After all the 'Gasser Circus' debuted and continued to flourish at NSRA events.

As part of the support from the NSRA they are launching this section on their Forum for the ‘Gasser Circus’. This will be where you can post Gasser related items and checkout the latest Gasser Circus information.