Vintage gasser racing is growing in popularity all across the country. One of the more popular series is the Southeast Gassers Association that runs events at the many dragstrip around the Southeast portion of the U.S. The opening event for 2018 began when the gassers were loaded up and headed to Shady Side, Dragway, located about two miles south of Boiling Springs, North Carolina. Shady Side is an old, historic throwback track in the Carolina’s that was build in the mid-1950’s.

Straight axle suspensions stretched to the limit are a must see for everyone.

By the time racers had signed in to race on Saturday morning, there were about sixty cars covering the pit area waiting to start blasting down the quarter-mile. Of these sixty cars, about 2/3 of them were of the Bow Tie variety. There was several Impalas, multiple ‘55, ‘56, and ‘57s, a ‘65 Chevelle wagon, several Novas, and a couple of Corvettes. It was quite a turnout. The first round of qualifying got started around 2:00 p.m., and the final green light signified the final round at around 3:00 p.m. After roughly three hours of nonstop eliminations, the final round if the A, B, and C/Gas finals saw Chevys take the A and B/Class wins, while Kenny Phillips of Campbello, South Carolina, took the A/Gas win in his silver ‘53 Corvette.

It was a great afternoon of racing, with more than 3,000 race fans filling the stands. Quain Stott, founder of the Southeast Gasser Association, was pleased with the days turnout, and said they were going to have a hard time topping this show.

The next gasser event will be held, May 5, at Mountain Park Dragway in Clay City, Kentucky. For more information on membership, future events, and car setup rules, go to www.southeastgassers.com. Hope to see you at a future event.

If you were not able to attend, check out the gallery below to see many of the great cars that competed.