Several years ago, Quain Stott retired from his Pro Modified racing career to go a different direction. Some might say that he went backward in terms of technology, but he likes to think that he simply stepped back in time. He founded the Southeast Gassers Association with a vision of pure drag racing nostalgia. He wanted to replicate the sights, the sounds, and the action that made the mid-1960s such an iconic portion of drag racing history. It started slow with just a few folks willing to build cars to his strict set of rules, but there are now more than 100 active cars that meet the 1967-style rules package. We had the opportunity to check out a Southeast Gassers Association race at Knoxville Dragstrip in Tennessee, where both car and spectator attendance records were broken.
More than 80 cars were split into several classes, designated by the car’s displacement and weight. C/Gas cars must weigh 10 pounds per cubic inch, B/Gas cars must weigh 8 pounds per cubic inch, and A/Gas cars must weigh 6 pounds per cubic inch. There are minimum weights for each class to go along with the cubic-inch weight regulations. The Southeast Gassers Association rules package allows for safety items to be installed (proper harnesses, engine diaper, etc.), but there is an emphasis on making each piece look like it belongs on a 50-year-old car. Modern wheels, seats, gauges, hoodscoops, and many other items are prohibited. The main rules that apply to all classes are that each car must run on gasoline (they are gassers, after all), each car must have a manual transmission, and each car must have a straight front axle. The tech inspection process is pretty intense.