Gasser Madness ~ Roadsters are Gassers too

All right...I KNOW they aren't Gassers...or are they? Well, sometimes they are. These days, many of the cars running in the Super Gas category are roadsters. What...whaddya mean "that doesn't count"? Okay, maybe you're right. So let's look back a few years. "In the beginning..." at Santa Ana, CA, roadsters and coupes/sedans were segregated to give the coupes a chance since they were typically heavier...at least that's the explanation I was given. I mean, let's face it...they had some pretty strange classes back then...like "Post-war Flathead Coupes" and things like that. Hey! It made a lot of sense back then!

Let's Fast-forward to the mid 60's. The Roadsters were still running in a different set of classes, all their own. So were Sports cars and so were Gassers ("Gas Coupes and Sedans" to be more precise). The major rules for the Gassers and the Roadsters were almost identical, 10% engine setback, etc. with the big difference being the roof or the lack thereof. By the end of the 60's and the beginning of the 70's I guess it didn't make sense to separate them anymore...at least the promoters didn't see it that way. Suddenly, the Roadsters and the Gassers were running together; and the Fans loved it.

Alas, it was all to end too soon. The powers-that-be decided that the only thing fans wanted to see were Funnycars. The Gassers and the Roadsters were consigned to history.

The Street Roadster Class
	Here's an oldie that went through a few sets of hands, The Lopez & Steinegger / Waters & Murray / Johnson "555" Roadster. I have a vague (probably wrong) of this being called the "Triple Nickel" Roadster.
	Street Roadster action at the '67 and '68 Nationals at Indy. (Photos (c) Monty Warner)
	While I'm not familiar with either of these cars, they give a pretty good idea of what the roadsters of the era were like. Scary launch, isn't it.
	Dave Rudy's red Roadster (try saying that fast a few times) had a reputation as a goer, not to mention it was a perfectly immaculate jewel. (Photos (c) Monty Warner)
	Before he became the first touring pro dragracer, "TV" Tommy Ivo regularly kicked ass with this less than shining example of the car builder's art. Tom kept it ratty looking just to annoy the guys he beat.
	Lueck & Coggins Ran out of Colorado with this exemplary Street Roadster. (Photo (c) "Pete" Garramone)
	The Pool & Densham AA/SR making noise.
"Gasser" Roadsters of the late 60's, early 70's
	Ben Buchanan was one the roadsters running as a Gasser at the end of the 60's. (Photos (c) Bob Plumer)
	Another "Gasser" Roadster was this beauty of Gary Burgin. (1st 2 Photos (c) Bob Plumer)
	G & S Transmissions (darned if I can remember who ran it), Brian Raines and the "Unique" car were 3 more of the "Gasser" Roadsters. (Photos (c) Bob Plumer)
The Corvettes & Modified Sports Cars
	Perfect examples of the "Modified Sports" classes, here's a couple of Corvettes and an MG. (1st 2 Photos (c) Bob Plumer)
	Basically ignoring the NHRA and AHRA rules of the time, John Lombardo and Mike Mitchell ran these quasi-legal "Gassers" in the popular Gasser meets at Lions, Irwindale, OCIR, and all over the West Coast. Mike's car has been beautifully restored and currently resides in the NHRA Museum.
Latter Day Roadsters
	Not exactly newcomers, both of these cars run Nostalgia meets on a regular basis.
	Here's a few shots of what are now known a "Super Gas" cars, running on a 9.90 index but usually capable of running deep in the 8's, this type of racing relies heavily on throttle stops, delay boxes, and all of the other modern paraphernalia. They do look pretty good though.
	I don't have any info on Shawn Steele's yellow roadster. The white car is Ed Greer's (C&W Willys) B/SR built in the early 70's. This was Greer's last race car...thanks for the info Chuck.
Pet Peeve	I keep hearing the phrase "Dragster with a roadster body" to describe these cars. These cars were in a class of their own. They were called "Comps", and they were very cool!
	Gary "Mr. C" Cochran shown at Irwindale in his Comp Roadster (Photo (c) Tom West)
	Tony Nancy's beautiful Comp Roadster (Photo (c) Lee Schelin)
	The Speed Sport Comp Roadster (Photo (c) Dennis Friend)