i hope i have this in the right section. what was the last true year for gassers? to my understanding it was 73 but i have been known to be wrong before.
I ran gas class on a sanctioned track in '71 (bastages) but the last gas class cars maybe would depend on the sanctioning body. I think you are correct about '73 for the NHRA.
NHRA Gassers-NHRA ran the gas classes till the end of the 1981 season.At the same time Modified Eliminator went away.Some of the cars went to Super Stock and some to Competition Eliminator.The records were published in National Dragster in December of that year.
For actual racecars, the straight-axle look ended after 1967, when Ohio George Montgomery's sponsor, Ford, pressured him to replace his Willys body with a Mustang. That, plus tire & transmission technology and aerodynamics drove the class toward Mach-1's & Opal GTs.... Street cars that retained the jacked-up straight axle look were still popular; but in the 70's, we called them "street freaks". Damn... now I sound like an old guy...
Well unless its an AMX you use it to get the groceries. if its an AMX you replace the AMC motor with a built FE and go racin and the straight axle won't be competitive. Keep it slightly nose down so you can keep up on the big end and shoot for the moon. Seems like I saw AMXs in Superstock class some. I really don't remember gassers past the mid '70s. But my head was someplace else by then.
Competitive sky high "Gassers" were pretty much done by the mid 60's. The class died with Modified Eliminator in 1981. I think Larry Kopp was the last class winner in an Opel GT.
The Jalopy Journal
