Congrats to Richard Lasseter for the well deserved recognition he received at 2022 MCACN for his continued efforts in promoting The BUICK GS STAGE 1 and for his participation and "Victory" in Round ONE of the STAGE ONE / HEMI shoot out series. And to Richard for establishing the GSCA . It was an honor and privilege to be present. Thanks to all the longtime friends at the event like Joe Pratt, Don Elliott, Joe Mooney, and many others that made it so special. And thanks to Ajesh for putting the display together. Special thanks to Richard Lasseter for giving us the project to do the frame off restoration project and performance engine build on OL BLUE almost 30 years ago. And thanks to everyone for all the projects they have given us for the past 35 years and those that continue to do so.
My Son Casca was thrilled to meet Richard, and we really enjoyed his discussion about that day and 1 thing I didn’t know which made the victory’s that much sweeter was that he was running a 700 CFM carb that day, just think how much worse it would have been for the Mopar if he had been running a 800 !
I want to thank George Steele who came to with the idea and help through out the year. Also a big thank you to Rodgers for doing all the heavy work.
There are so many people that are involved in making the event a success. Glad some of the ones we forgot to mention are being included. I just wanted to give a shout out to GSCA member Mike Smith AKA: MICK. He made the effort to fly in from the UK London England so he could be there for the event and Richard's display. I don't have a picture of Mick yet. But at least I can post a picture of his car. He surely would like to bring it to MCACN one day. The cost to do that be a small fortune. It was really expensive to ship to our shop and send it back. We completed the concours frame off on it and shipped it back just before covid lock down !! It would have been a real nightmare shipping the car back on a ship during covid. It might even still be floating on the ocean ! Well thanks to Mick for making the effort to come all the way from the UK. Perhaps one day he can bring his 70 STAGE 1 Convertible.
Ajesh played a huge role in getting so many Buicks at MCACN not only this year, but every year. Without Ajesh's connections and hard work, the Buicks at MCACN would likely be far fewer in number and hidden in a back corner of the building. Ajesh and I both made many phone calls to Richard (and Bill too of course ) over several months to convince him (them) to have the car at MCACN but in the end I think he had a great time at the event. I know the Buick and GTX got a lot of attention at MCACN and sparked many conversations both at the show and on the internet (the Mopar guys on FB are still sour about this race and still crying foul about it this week, nearly 38 years later!). The biggest thanks of all goes to Jim Rodgers for doing the hard work of hauling the Buick over 1,000 miles each way from Valdosta to MCACN and also a big thanks to Steve Merryman for his willingness to bring his Hemi GTX. Steve was on board with the idea of reuniting the cars from the very first time I contacted him in January. Little know fact: Steve Merryman owns the Hemi GTX but he's not just a Mopar guy. He has other cars including a really nice '70 Buick GSX which he had at the 2022 GS Nationals. Unlike many Mopar owners, you will never hear Steve verbally bash a Buick or any brand of muscle car, he's a gentleman and likes them all. Richard doing what he does best!: I loaned Steve the authentic Car Review license plate for the GTX since he didn't have one. I offered it to Richard first but he assured me he still had his original plate but apparently he did not.
If it wasn't for Richard the GS STAGE 1 would not have the respect and recognition it has. His winning round one opened the door for the series to continue. And gave us the opportunity to race Duane's GSX STAGE 1 against "NICK'S GARAGE" 71 HEMI 'Cuda in round 3. Nick and his brothers conspired with Dan Lyons a diehard Mopar enthusiast that was sent up from Albany NY to cover round three for Muscle Car Review. Nick and gang quit after the first run. Because it was obvious, they were going to lose. They came up with the idea of calling the race a "NO CONTEST" saying it was supposed to be a "Best TWO out of THREE" match up. Because Nick and gang were such poor sports and quit, it was not covered by the magazine and round three is not documented and all but forgotten. Does not matter to us. We got the job done. Just happy that Richard's display with the GTX and the results and the history of that race were highlighted last weekend.
Oh gee now I feel all left out and not included. LOL! Think other than Jim Rogers Im the closest member to him.
I've known that GTX for a long time. It's a beautiful car, Roy Badie was in our local Musclecar club called Bay Area Muscle Machines. He sold it right after the embarrassment to another member and friend of mine Peter Fritz who sold it shortly after. Roy was never fond of my GS's but it was obvious. It's a small world, and that race sure put a smile on my face. Fernando
Wow, and that GTX today would probably be a $150k car. Always loved those shootouts and still love the Pure Stock Drags in MI.
Richard put our Buicks on the map in the Muscle Car world and gained much respect for the stump puller. And not to mention the fact that his efforts greatly enhanced the value of our Buicks over these last 30 years plus...
