"Is it better to burn out or to fade away?" That's a question the staff at the GS Nationals has fortunately never had to ask, as the event marched into its 27th year without faltering. A strong turnout of old friends and acquaintances, and even a few new faces, continues to prove the relevance of both the 20-year-old turbo V-6s and their big-block forefathers. Buick loyalists from all over the country gathered May 16-20 at what is now the longest-running national event in the community, and it was a week of drag racing, car shows, and relaxation among fellow Buford fanatics down at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
For your author, snapping pictures on the starting line turned out to be a ringside seat for some primetime turbo Buick heads-up racing. TSM continued to be one of the most competitive and exciting classes. Meanwhile, some impressive times were managed in Turbo Street Stock, Turbo Street Eliminator, and Turbo Street Limited. The fledgling Turbo Alcohol Injection class looks as if it has a long way to go if it's going to catch up to the wildly popular TSM, but that just makes it all the more exciting to see who is going to step it up May 13-17 in 2008 with a real competitive car. Turbo Street Outlaw did not disappoint either, as the results proved unpredictable as always. Meanwhile, a handful of back-half and tube chassis cars kept the crowd's attention with some single-digit times at over 160 mph, preceded-of course-by long, smoky burnouts and an eerie turbo whistle.
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The car show had many pristine examples of turbo Buicks, including this built stock-block, aluminum-headed TSM GN with a unique checkeredstripe paint scheme and big pimpin' rims. |
Jason Cramer and the crew at RJC Racing were hard at work in the vendor's section,... | 
...as were Jack and Brian Cotton of Cotton's Performance. |  |