Ray Gassner & Gene Turner Southland Sweepstakes Memorial Gathering 2025

                                                                          Racers Reunion

They came from all over Florida to meet at Lake Maggiore in St. Petersburg on Saturday, February 1st to remember the 'ol days of hydroplane racing.  A large crowd of boat racers, pit crew, and fans of the sport showed up to attend the first annual Ray Gassner and Gene Turner Southland Sweepstakes Memorial.

The event, organized by racing legend Tom D'Eath attracted a few boats as well. In the pictures below are two of the most famous boats to ever race on Lake Maggiore; Sunshine Baby IV and Miss Peg. Both hold world records.  In addition to the beautiful boats, Duke and Fay Waldrop (Red Wine & Brew Racing) brought their 1953 Reyngoudt sprint race car. A perfect example of Sprint car racing's finest 70 years ago.

This informal reunion was a chance for the faithful of the sport to swap stories, remember race highlights and catch up on the latest news. Tom D'Eath did an excellent job putting this idea into motion and plans for a bigger event next year are already being discussed.

If you would like to know more about the sport, check out the APBA website at apba.org. And for those of you that would like to see a race, the APBA website has the racing schedule for the season. 

And here's a number of pictures from the event:

                                        Sunshine Baby IV on the shore of Lake Maggiore

                                        Jim Aid and Tom D'Eath beside the Sunshine Baby IV

                                                               Miss Peg Record Holder

                                    World Record set on this lake- Lake Maggiore, St. Pete, FL 

Tom D'Eath holding court with boat racers

                                          

                                               Duke Waldrop drives the 1952 sprint car.

                                                Duke and Fay Waldrop's 1952 Sprint Car

                                                               Perfection- GMC 302 Six

                                   World Record Holder- Sunshine Baby IV - Engine by Dan Garlits
                            

                                                Wally Osinga's Unlimited Class Replica

                   This news brought to you by Paul Ziegler, Publisher,  Carcamerastory.com

                    BREAKING NEWS: Sunshine Baby will be at the St. Pete Motor Classic

                                                                         

Sunshine Baby Milestone And Hemmings Motor News Letter

Before I get into the latest milestone about Sunshine Baby, the 'Baby' recently received mention in Hemmings Motor News. Earlier this year said magazine featured an article on Hemi powered cars and in it they asked readers to submit a story about their favorite 'Hemi'. I replied to the editor and our team was pleased to see that Hemmings printed the reply in the July issue. Take a look at what I wrote:

                                                                                      

                                                               

As for the latest development, we have been searching to find the right engine builder for the Sunshine Baby.  Project manager Jim Aid and his technical consultant Wally Osinga interviewed a few engine builders familiar with old Hemi engines in the St. Petersburg/ Pinellas Park area. After all factors were considered, the decision was made to go back to Don Garlit's shop in Ocala, FL to do the work if they were willing to take on the job. Jim was thrilled a few weeks ago when word came that they could work the project into their schedule without a several month wait to do the rebuild.

 Garlits built the original motor so we are all very comfortable with the decision. It also properly cements a full circle of evolution from it's original build to it's restoration! Jim Aid, our core team of technical guys Norm Cameron, and Wally Osinga along with me as resident photographer are excited the motor is there and work is about to begin. We also want to thank Hayden Harris, the boat's current owner for empowering Jim and the team to handle the restoration. Hayden has been great to work with and all are in agreement this is an excellent next step to getting the Sunshine Baby back on the water.

So to summarize in pictures, here's photos pulling the motor:

Pulling the motor was handled at Wally's shop. Thank you Wally for having a ceiling high enough to get the engine up and out of the boat. 

Jim Aid and Norm Cameron study the best way to lift the engine.

                                              Wally Osinga guides the motor onto the cradle

As soon as we got the green light from Garlit's shop, Jim and Wally loaded up the motor in Wally's Denali pick up for the two hour trip to Ocala to deliver it.  Unfortunately I was out of town and unable to take the photos as I would have loved to have seen the smile on Don's face as the motor was unloaded off Wally's truck.  Credit to Wally for taking a few pictures while there. Here's the delivery as Don came out to greet them.  

NOTE-  Check the brass plaque on the original engine stand/ parts rack that Don still has! How special is that after 65 years!  Inscription says  " Presented To Don Garlits From Ray Gassner 1959"

Historical note- Ray Gassner had the boat constructed by famous hydroplane builder Henry Lauterbach. Ray received the completed hull in late 1959 and proceeded to hire Don Garlits to outfit the boat with a 392 Chrysler Hemi and a Potvin blower cranking out 1200 HP! Check out Lauterbach Boats for a complete history in the link below:

Click Below to see the story of Lauterbach boats.

Lauterbach Boats

                                And now to the day of delivery of the motor- November 15th.

Don Garlits inspects various parts.

Don Garlits, looking pleased the motor will be supplied by his shop, again!

He says this was one of the best, strongest blocks Chrysler made back in the day.

                                          Don and the original parts rack from Ray Gassner.

Stay tuned for more updates in the future on the engine rebuild.

Brought to you by Paul Ziegler, Publisher  Carcamerastory.com

Author of Echoes From The Glen

Follow on Instagram @wownowpics    

More Cadillacs- What?

 I did it again.  I bought one more Cadillac DTS and this time it is another 2006. The hits just keep coming. And this one was not bought at an online auction, but off Facebook Market Place.

I'm leaving for NY in the morning, driving a beautiful 'Radiant Bronze' Lux II version with a white vinyl top. Quite a good looking car I must say. So here's some shots taken at a photo shoot today in a park in Seminole, FL.  This is the last time these three will be together for a while.

I'll fill you in on the details of the purchase when I'm back in town. For now I hope you like the pictures:

These pictures capture only a fraction of the beauty of these land yachts!

Brought to you by Paul Ziegler, Publisher   Carcamerastory.com

Follow on Instagram @Wownowpics

Sunshine Baby Update

                                                      What's Up With This-  No Motor?

                                            The Sunshine Baby after the motor was removed.

Yes, the Sunshine Babby is without a motor!  The 'crew' consisting of Captain Jim, Wally, Norm and Paul picked the hottest day of the summer to 'pick' the engine out of the Sunshine Baby.

The purpose is to get the motor over to an engine builder to see what we have. This motor is very special as it is a 392 Chrysler Hemi built by Don Garlits- yes Big Daddy. Here are some pictures of the process to get the motor out.  It was no small job, considering the motor and blower weighed over 1,000 pounds.   Above is a picture of the boat after the engine was removed.  Here are a series of pictures of the operation including some of the motor with the valve covers off to give a first look at what is there. Like a puzzle out of it's box we found several pieces that are missing.  We have a job for the engine shop.  Stay tuned for more on the progress of the Sunshine Baby!

As mentioned - there are a number of parts missing and a fair amount of work to do but we can use the original block and we even have a forged crankshaft.  We will be giving updates as we go along.  Thanks for checking this out.

Brought to you by Paul Ziegler, Publisher of Carcamerastory.com and author of "Echoes From The Glen"    Follow on Instagram @wownowpics

Watkins Glen Six Hour Weekend Photo Gallery 2024

 Here's a bunch of photos I took at Watkins Glen International race weekend June 21-23, 2024. You will see my bias toward the Hyundai Elantra N TCR cars.  I'm a staunch believer in the Elantra N, having owned 2 of them. So here's a sample of what I saw and I hope you enjoy it:

Hope you liked this sample of the weekend. There were so many cars, classes, races and series it was mid boggling. A real treat to see everything. 

Brought to you by Paul Ziegler, Publisher Carcamerastory.com.  Follow on Instagram@wownowpics.

Soon, I'll be back in NY to catch a race or two, like supermodifieds at Oswego.  That's always a good show.