June 2022 • By Tony Thacker 
Presented by RatTrapRacing.com & USAutomotive.co.uk

I’ve been going to the Holley National Hot Rod Reunion for 16 years and despite ‘Boiling Green’s’ hot n’ humid weather at this time of year, it has always been a great event with fast and furious ‘track-tion’ and a massive car show and swap meet.

It’s sad, therefore, that politics gets in the way of racing but in the weird world we inhabit I guess it’s inevitable. I don’t know the facts but a bunch of Top Fuel racers decided not to go to Bowling Green, KY for the 19th Reunion and instead raced at St. Louis. Consequently, only two TF cars made the field along with four Fuel Altereds and five Funny Cars. That’s said, the nitro burners put on a great show for the spectators.

Of course, the cost of actually racing has increased dramatically this year due to rising fuel prices. TF owner/driver Brendan Murry drove out from San Jose, CA and his round-trip fuel bill was $2,330. Likewise, Fuel Altered owners Randy Bradford and Rich Guasco towed out from the West Coast. Meanwhile, nitro can cost as much as $55 a gallon and Rich Guasco’s event-winning Pure Hell AA/Fuel Altered driven by Brian Hope used about 7 gallons of nitro per run. Add that to the oil and plugs that have to be changed every run, the other consumables plus the cost of getting the team there, housing and feeding them for the week and suddenly you have a pretty hefty bill—and there is no prize money to speak of.

We tagged along with the Fuel Altered group and had a fantastic time watching Ron Hope race the original Rat Trap against his son Brian driving Guasco’s Pure Hell. The final saw Brian race Randy Bradford in the Fiat that he has been driving for 50 years; however, youth outran experience for once as Brian took the win with a 6.33/232.

Besides the much-depleted nitro teams, there were the usual fields of straight-axle cars, Geezer Gassers and Scott Rods and Nostalgia Super Stock and Nostalgic Pro Stock to please the crowds. 

I’m not sure which I like best, all put on a great show with their long smokey burnouts, dry hops and wheel stands. It’s how drag racing used to be and some promoters could learn a lot from these guys to make their events more appealing to a public with ever more distractions and options for their hard earned cash.