The "Classical Gas" '33 Willys was built "sometime in the 1970s," said Derek Childress of Pickens, SC, who first owned it in 2006 before selling it three years later to Ron Bloomquist and buying it back in May this year. Childress beat Greer's own Danny Sandlin and his 429-powered "Wild Child" '59 Ford F100 in the opening round of eliminations at Greer Dragway.

Jeremy Pearson's '57 Ford Custom is a brand-new race car built in the style of the original gassers. After making a couple of shakedown runs the night before at Ware Shoals Dragway, Pearson's "Bone Shaker" made its racing debut this past Saturday in the inaugural Nostalgic Gassers event at Greer Dragway. Featuring a mix of old and new, the car is powered by a Boss 429 engine that's been bored and stroked to 541 cubes and topped with Kaase Boss 9 heads, but carries an original 3.5-gallon Moon fuel tank and rides on true magnesium wheels by Halibrand (rear) and American Racing.