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BOWLING GREEN,
Ky. (June 19 2021) – After a full year we would all like to
forget, the 2021 NHRA Holley National Hot Rod Reunion presented
by AAA Insurance roared to life with an action packed Thursday
featuring classic cars, nostalgic quarter-mile drag racing, and
legends of the sport at Beech Bend Raceway Park. The three-day
event paid tribute to the love affair America has with the car
culture and celebrates the passion of the owners and their machines.
Changing up my normal race lead-in,
Here are some first hand impressions by Bob Brown of the 2021
National Hot Rod Reunion at Beech Bend Raceway Park, Bowling
Green, KY. It was his first trip back.
"Coming from California,
as a first timer to the NHRR I was quite taken with the beauty
of the place. The track and amusement park are set in rolling
hills and pastures, with plenty of trees to provide shade. Didn't
see a sprinkler in sight, yet everything is green with rain throughout
the year. We media guys even had grass to kneel on for shooting
trackside photos which was a welcome thing, indeed. The higher
levels of humidity, coupled with high temperatures were the price
to be paid for the greenery. I suppose in due time I would adjust
to this climate but for the few days I was there, I'll be honest…it
was a factor. And I was told that it can be much worse than what
I experienced, so I'll curtail my whining and get onto racing.
Thursday and Friday gave all
classes two qualifying runs each day, so things were pretty well
shaken-out by Saturday morning for Eliminations. Keeping track
of the myriad of classes at the NHRR that rolled through was
beyond my skills- I just kept the shutter going and sorted out
the results later by what appeared in shoe polish on the windshields.
Midwest Nostalgia Modified, Modified Eliminator, Nostalgia Super
Stock, Nostalgia Pro Stock… you get the idea. And then there
was Hot Rod as the catchall class for any door cars that weren't
already covered.\
Probably the most enjoyable classes
that I witnessed outside of the fuel cars were the Geezer Gassers
and Scott Rods. They are similar in that they are mostly comprised
of pre and postwar Willys, Chevys, Anglias and other cars. The
Scott Rods (if I got this correctly) as a group seem to be a
step up in performance with the letters AA/GS appearing on the
windows. Those guys really churned out the tiresmoke and had
the power to keep the wheels up at will. Their BUG's were organized
as well, running through billows of tiresmoke to lead their cars
back to the line. They did often did this with one hand on the
hip while directing the car with the other. Classy!"
All class winners are covered
on page 7
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Special thanks to Bob Brown
and the Sopko trio for the great photos.
Without further ado, lets go
racin'.
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