QUAIN STOTT ’ S SOUTHEAST GASSERS ASSOCIATION THRILLS RACERS AND FANS WHILE PROTECTING THE SPORT ’ S HISTORY
By VAN ABERNETHY
Photographs by VAN ABERNETHY
T ’ S BEEN A DOZEN years since Quain Stott first formed the explosive and wildly popular Southeast Gassers Association , and while there have been many surprises along the way , none have shocked Stott quite as much as driver diversity has . Stott was completely convinced that an ever-aging demographic would be what comprised the membership roster of his gasser club , only the target audience turned out to be much broader than pretty much anyone anticipated .
Oh sure , the Southeast Gassers has its fair share of what you ’ d consider the “ usual suspects ,” along with serious racers that are much younger . Former Pro Modified pioneers have even found their way to the Southeast Gassers , including Terry Housley and Ted Smith , along with Quain and his brother , Mitch , both of whom had decorated Pro Modified careers , with each winning IHRA world championships . Even Pro Mod pioneer and legendary chassis builder Tommy Mauney has been spotted behind the wheel at these events . Square that with the inclusion of several father / daughter teams , each wheeling their own gear-banging race cars in a heads-up slugfest to the finish line .
The enthusiastic audience in the grandstands is just as diverse , which only further demolished what Stott envisioned this club would attract in the way of spectators . “ I just figured the whole SEGA thing would be something to play around with and didn ’ t really have a clue that it would explode into the following that it has become ,”
SOUTHEAST GASSERS FOUNDER , QUAIN STOTT
Stott says . “ And then there are the backup girls ; they could be a class all by themselves since they get as many social media ‘ likes ’ and comments as the cars !”
An unbelievable amount of work and dedication took this series from basically nothing to eventually the day in 2019 when the Mattel Toy company rang Stott ’ s telephone , desiring to launch a Southeast Gasser line of Hot Wheels cars ! “ Mattel even produced a SEGA-themed A / FX truck and trailer !” says Stott , which completely blew his mind .
From the humble beginnings of a series that was supposed to be a complete flop ( or so Stott was told by so many ), each victory is especially sweet , and the journey has been something of a grand adventure that continues to unfold . “ If you want to go all the way back to the very beginning – even before our first race in Greer , South Carolina – this whole thing got started
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