Waterlogged Trog

Waterlogged Trog

- Drew Hardin

WET.Mother Nature tried to ruin the first West Coast TROG, but hot rodders intent on racing wouldn’t let a little water spoil their fun.

Well, OK, it was more than just a little water. But racing went on, regardless.

The Race of Gentlemen, or TROG, is a phenomenon that started in 2012 when the Oilers CC/MC—a resurrected version of the dry-lakes-era club blessed by original founding member Jim Nelson—held its first drag race on the Jersey shore. The Oilers were looking for a dynamic antidote to the usual parking lot car shows, while bringing back the spirit of beach racing in the years leading up to WWII.

What they have created is so much more than just an eighth mile drag race in the sand. TROG is a total time machine, with a lot of effort spent on period correctness. Entry vehicles can be no newer than late-’40s-style cars and bikes, hopped up with period speed equipment (later flatheads are OK, overhead-valve engines aren’t). The racers themselves wear gear appropriate for the era, and photographers at the start line are issued vintage-style coveralls to better blend in with the vibe. Race signage is rendered on canvas or wood in the style of the period; even the bar in the spectator area sells “libations,” not beer and wine.

We first heard that TROG was coming west from Bobby Green, whose Old Crow Speed Shop is a temple to this same retro immersion. Bobby partnered with Oilers member Mel Stultz, who spearheaded TROG in New Jersey, and they planned to hold the first TROG West on Central California’s Pismo Beach in October, “when the weather is just right,” said the TROG website.