Gassers were the racers who cxompeted in (IIRC) A/Gas class, and I'm sure someone like dp will correct me if I'm wrong. A = Altered, Gas = ran on petrol rather than alcohol or aviation fuel. Back then the hot mod was to raise the front end of the car up and shift the engine back in the chassis clightly this gave it the kind of weight transfer when it left the line that kept the primitive rear suspensions of the day planted and gave them traction for the huge supercharged hemis and the like these cars ran. To get the nose up, many switched to straight axles on cart springs. Cheap lightweight vehicles like the Willys Americar and Henry J were the popular rides in this class, but pre war Chevies and Fords and the like were done too.
As the sport became more professional and more money got pumped in, especially from the big motor manufacturers folowing the "win on sunday, sell on monday" mantra the gassers got left behind by factory expeirmental classes where racers could buy subsidised new cars from the manufacturers to cut up and race. Some even got free cars, free engines, etc. this is where the A/FX cars of the 60s come from. These guys shortened the wheelbase and rode the motors back in the frame for weight transfer although straight axles were still popular.
It was the continued development of the Funny Cars (first appearing about 1964) which were non-production based body and chassis combos designed to look a bit like a production car that really got stuff serious. These guys dispensed with any factory hardware and then aerodynamics and the like were coming into play and guys realised that rear suspension geometry was better for getting traction than throwing weight back there with a raised up nose. From this period the traditional rake was developed with the nose of the car low and the back maybe not quite so. This helps create some downforce at the back of the car. Coilovers replace leaf springs and the rest is history...
Myriad other classes came and went since then.
Gassers (and the A/FX cars) were a cool part of the history of racing and its still awesome to see them run.
As the sport became more professional and more money got pumped in, especially from the big motor manufacturers folowing the "win on sunday, sell on monday" mantra the gassers got left behind by factory expeirmental classes where racers could buy subsidised new cars from the manufacturers to cut up and race. Some even got free cars, free engines, etc. this is where the A/FX cars of the 60s come from. These guys shortened the wheelbase and rode the motors back in the frame for weight transfer although straight axles were still popular.
It was the continued development of the Funny Cars (first appearing about 1964) which were non-production based body and chassis combos designed to look a bit like a production car that really got stuff serious. These guys dispensed with any factory hardware and then aerodynamics and the like were coming into play and guys realised that rear suspension geometry was better for getting traction than throwing weight back there with a raised up nose. From this period the traditional rake was developed with the nose of the car low and the back maybe not quite so. This helps create some downforce at the back of the car. Coilovers replace leaf springs and the rest is history...
Myriad other classes came and went since then.
Gassers (and the A/FX cars) were a cool part of the history of racing and its still awesome to see them run.