Series still drag races like it's 1965, refuses corporate sponsors

The person who declared the past is nice to visit but not live obviously never met Quain Stott.

Stott, a former drag racing world champion, has built a race series where it's perfectly fine to put on your polyester slacks and have your back-up girl adorned in go-go boots and hot pants.

The Southeast Gassers series makes nine stops in the southeastern United States where race fans, mostly of the older generation with their grandchildren, come to show off how they used to do it back in the day.

"These cars made such an impact on me when I was a kid," explained Stott, a 55-year old from Columbus, NC. "When I lost my major sponsorship and had to park my car, I decided to do my part to preserve drag racing history."

Stott didn't initially intend to fill the role of drag racer historian; he just grew weary of the challenges to drag race issued by a friendly rival.

Greg Porter had found a 1955 Chevy, originally a race car in 1965, abandoned in the wood close to his Greenville, SC, paint and body shop. He brokered a deal with the owner and semi-restored the car to the last era it raced.

Porter's 1955 Chevy was classified as a Gasser; a gasoline-burning Coupe classified on a pounds-per-cubic inch basis. The car had a 350-inch Chevrolet engine and ran as a C/Gasser. The 1965 rulebook mandated his car would run at eight pounds per cubic inch and therefore had to weigh a minimum of 2800 pounds.

Porter kept challenging Stott to races but for Stott, he only had a street-driven 1955 Chevy; no match for the resurrected race car. Stott had a 230-mile per hour 1963 Corvette race car which was also no match for Porter's Night Stalker '55 Chevy.

Stott decided to build a car to match Porter's and in doing so, built his 1941 Willys the diametric opposite of any modern era car.

"I think it was the first time I ever built a car wrong on purpose," Stott explained. "I did research on what parts these cars ran back then and did everything I could to replicate one. The end-result was better than he could have imagined."

There was no advertising for the match race with Porter, just word of mouth and a few jabs back and forth on the internet. Stott rolled to the line for their drag race and looked around to see the drag strip in Greer, SC., packed to the hilt with race fans clamoring to see how these old school cars would perform.

Stott let the clutch out and immediately it was tough to determine which went wilder, his car or the approval of the crowd.

The one match race had so much influence on those who witnessed the throwback event that classic race cars, as Stott described, "were being built wrong on purpose."

Stott launched his series at his home track Greer Dragway in South Carolina, and twice per year performs in front of a standing room only crowd.

"When we go into a track, 99 percent of the time it’s just our show,” Stott explained. “Every person who comes through the gate comes to see us. This past fall race at Greer, we set the fan attendance record from dating back to 1981. We didn’t lack but 60-something spectators setting it back to the opening day of the track back in 1958.”

Why is Stott's show such a hit? Simply put, it's an authentic throwback to the days when drag racing was more about hobby than corporate sponsorships. Stott said his attention to nostalgic detail has even cost him friendships and even more headaches in the name of period-correctness. He's turned away sponsorship dollars from companies who refuse to change their decals to suit a period-correct logo.

"You wouldn't advertise a 1940s football game and then have the players in plastic helmets would you?" Stott contends.

Plus, as Stott adds, today's race cars are too predictable. The only thing predictable about Stott and his Gassers is the unpredictability.

“When they leave the starting line, it’s anybody’s guess as to what’s going to happen, so every race is exciting,” Stott explained. “The reason it’s that way is that of our strict rules being enforced. It’s also put talent back into the sport. It takes someone who knows how to drive. This isn’t a race where the crew chief wins. This actually takes talent, so the driver has to know how to drive.”

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Bobby Bennett is the Publisher/Editor of CompetitionPlus.com, a leading independent online drag racing magazine, since 1999. For the latest in dragster news worldwide, visit www.competitionplus.com or follow on Twitter @competitionplus