Gasser Circus Showdown – Hot Rod Drags The final round of the 2014 Gasser Circus Showdown, was not only an eagerly awaited event, but it was also going to be a really close run Championship. Going into the weekend Brian Gibson in his Identity Crisis Dodge had 54 points and held the lead by some 7 points, from his brother John who was making up for lost time in his 55 Chevy Crowd Pleaser with 47 points. He was closely followed by the racing friends Lee Pike & Jerry Denning who had amassed 42 points in their Honky Tonkin 2 Chevy Nova, just one point behind were Martyn Hallam in his Whiplash 33 Willys Coupe and Ted Booth in his The Mighty Mouse Pop. That meant the title could depending on how qualifying and eliminations went go to one of 5 drivers. That was immediately reduced to 4, when Brian Gibson failed to make the final round. If all the others failed to qualify, he would retain his lead. After the first run in qualifications that was no longer a reality with all the cars easily through. The race for the title was well and truly on. The tension in the pits was palpable, and all the drivers who could not win the Championship, knew they had a part to play, especially as all of them wanted to end the season with a win. It was good to welcome two new Gasser Circus members, coincidentally both called Steve. One being of the Lang variety and the other a Dixon. The former giving a track debut to his 1941 Willys Coupe, and the latter returning his new Ford falcon to the track in a slightly de-tuned form from how Nick Williams used to race it. Unfortunately, only two qualifying runs were achieved due to oil downs, a crash and a very strange incident in the fire up road which saw a crewman knocked over and injured. Thankfully not too seriously. With qualifying concluded, Nervous Nicks NOGBAD THE BAD and Steve Dixon’s High Roller Falcon had not run the numbers, with Steve tantalisingly close, but 4 thousandths too slow. Number 1 qualifier was Tim ‘Hank’ Holmes in his Powerwagon Dodge, which after all the trials and tribulations that have befallen Tim over the season, was a welcome reminder of just how well his pick-up can run. This placed Tim up against Horrid Henry of Slick Mick Allen, and on Sunday morning, Mick was once again showing his ability to cut a superb light with a row of zeros. This assisting with him taking the win and moving on to the next round. On the same side of the ladder Ray Turner and his Green Onions 55 Chevy were racing Mike Noble in his Honky Tonkin 57 Chevy. Mike running a new PB with a 9.7, but that was tinged with the fact that he had pulled a red light. The other side of the ladder still had all the title contenders. Martyn Hallam’s Willys took on Ken Brookes in his legendary Roarin Rat, with Ken uncharacteristically putting a cherry on the tree. Martyn was still in the title chase. The battle of Bristol was now underway with the tile contenders, The Mighty Mouse Ford Pop of Ted Booth taking on good friends and title contenders Lee & Jerry in their Honky Tonkin 2 Nova. Whoever said was racing was easy has never raced for a championship as the pressure built and when the tree activated, Honky Tonkin 2 left fractionally before the green, and placed a big minus on the gantry handing the win to Ted . Honky Tonkin 2 with Lee & Jerry sharing the driving duties, had come close, but the title was now gone. Defending Champion Sean Milsom in his Morris van Ain’t Misbehavin took on the returning Goldrush piloted by Brad Strevett, Sean took the win with Goldrush suffering a roller rocker breakage during the run. The Gas Junkie Willys Pick-up of Ray Irish was keen to race John Gibson in his 55 Chevy, after being unable to rerun their semi-final clash at Dragstalgia. However, it was not Ray’s day with John taking the win. More importantly for John he advanced and stayed in contention with Martyn, and Ted. In the next round Ted faced Martyn, and beat him with a 10.89 on a 10.89 dial in. This was to later earn him £150 from Mechanix Limited. This meant Martyn was now out of the running for the title. John then took on Sean in a very close race, but John took the win with an 11.13 on a 11.08 dial in. On the other side of the ladder, Ray Turner and Slick Mick Allen brought their respective cars to the line, Mick cut another fine light in Horrid Henry, and with Ray reacting 1.4 seconds later, the win at the top end went to the Horrid one. Slick Mick was now destined for his first ever final, as that side of the ladder provided a bye to it. All he had to do was stage and break the beam, but Gasser Circus racers don’t go in for that, so he powered his way down the track, giving the crowds something to watch. Semi-final time on the other half, saw The Mighty Mouse taking on John Gibson’s Crowd Pleaser, and everyone knew whoever won the semi, would be crowned Champion. With both drivers, crews and cars set on win mode, this was going to be a big battle. That is exactly what we got, with strong burnouts followed by the slow roll into pre stage. Both cars rolling into stage simultaneously, the drag race was a side by side affair, with Ted crossing the line first but the win light going on in Johns lane, Ted had broken out by 4 hundredths. John was now not only heading towards his third consecutive final, but he would be doing so as the new Gasser Circus Showdown Champion. He and his crew and in fact all of the Gasser Circus, joined in the celebrations, yes even Ted and his crew. However, before the trophies we still had another race, and it was now going to be a bit special as both of the finalists Horrid Henry and Crowd Pleaser run Muncie gearboxes, and to have two manually shifted racers get to the final is a major achievement. John was a little concerned, as Mick is a demon on the lights, but when it came time to roll into the fire up road for the final. John could not be found. The Gasser Circus drivers and crews dispersed in various directions to find him. Surely he was not going to lose the final by default? No, he was quickly located as he was cleaning the Gasser Circus barbeque in preparation for putting it in his truck! Now that is one way to prepare for a final. Slick Mick was seen into the burnout box by his crewman Little Paul, and John was guided in by his wife Sue. The cars burnt out and edged upto the lights, within the Gasser Circus ranks we all stood and waited to see who would take the win. The tree activated, and Slick Mick went for another one of his wicked lights, but instantly the tree went red and just as he broke the beam 3 thousandths too early and John had taken the win. Mick was disappointed, but soon consoled himself with the success he had had over the weekend and he had after all made the final, beating some great cars and drivers along the way. Runner up in the race series was Ted Booth in The Mighty Mouse Pop, but congratulations must go to John Gibson who not only deservedly is this years Champion but also has bragging rights over his brother Brian for at least the next 12 months. The Gasser Circus wish to thank their sponsors, the NSRA and Mechanix Limited for their continued support, the crew at Santa Pod and Shakespeare County Raceway and to all the supporters and fans who cheer us on and visit us in the pits. We look forward to more of the same in 2015, with at least 4 new gassers joining the ranks.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 19:11:34 +0000
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