photos by: the author
We Visit a Place of Big-Cubes and Boost – The 2015 Buick GS Nationals!
For over the last thirty years, members of a small but passionate and dedicated car community delve upon Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky every Autumn. Home to many events, such as LS Fest and the LTX Shootout, the Buick GS Nationals is an event like no other.
Starting in the early 1980s and hosted by the Buick GS Club of America, Buick enthusiasts have been bringing their Tri-Shields to Bowling Green to not only race and show their vehicles, but to mingle with fellow Buick fans, owners and enthusiasts. It has also allowed them to buy, sell and trade parts and even entire cars – keeping the hobby alive and thriving into the 21st Century.
It really is a who’s who in the Buick community, with some of the big-name racers like Kenny Duttweiler and Rod Hendrickson (who would ultimately broke the all-time Buick quarter-mile record with a 6.63 at 209 mph with his AES-built big-cube powerplant!) bringing their heavy artillery, to veteran tuners like Cal Hartline keeping the boosted Regal guys running as they should.
The car show was packed with some of the most exquisite examples of Buick history in the country; including Stage 1 and Stage 2 455 GS,’ several GNXs, an ’81 Regal Pace Car and even an ’82 Grand National or two. Of course, there were plenty of Gran Sports and Grand Nationals covering the track, show field and in the pits throughout the whole weekend.
The event wouldn’t be what it is without the sponsors, such as Full Throttle Speed, GBody Parts, Kirban Performance, Metco, TA Performance, RJC Racing, HR Parts N Stuff, Spoolfool and many others, as they keep the hobby moving forward by developing new speed and restorations parts for these vehicles, constantly!
The complete results to the 2015 event has been posted to the Buick GS Nats Club page, and you can find them HERE. If you’re interested in visiting for the 2016 event, be sure to make plans to attend from September 14-17, 2016. We’ll be attending again, so we hope to see you there!
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- Pace Car Replicas were equipped with these 14-inch turbine wheels.
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- Here’s a ’81 Pace Car Replica we spotted at a recent GS Nationals event.
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of GMEFI Magazine, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles. When he isn’t tuning, testing, or competing with the brand’s current crop of project vehicles, he’s busy tinkering and planning the next modifications for his own cars.
