“The Race of Gentlemen” By Joshua Elzey
This year would literally be where the ‘X’ marked the spot making the big ten! This led to several trips down memory lane to where the first race was held at Allenhurst Beach with big waves and surfers adding to the start of a hotrod craze that would quickly relocate 2 hours south to Wildwood NJ to accommodate the crowds coming worldwide! ‘The Race of Gentlemen’ event known as TROG was getting ramped up for the party of the decade during the first weekend of October!
In the months leading up to the grand race, Mel and the Oilers started to line up the activities and locations. Once again, they kept to the stricter rules covering pre 1953 speed equipment on the 1934 or older autos while pre 1948 for the motorcycles! Entries are always quite the range with rear-engine, chopped, survivors, fresh out of the coup coupes, drag rails, etc. After being pre-selected, the racers would go thru tech inspection this year in the Jersey Girl pits Thursday and Friday as well as a large swap meet. In the same area customs were parked along the streets within the historical hotels and other buildings creating the fifties vibe! The event writes and dictates is own story creating an ode to the car and moto culture.
The weather was amazing for the event and thousands of spectators. Racers made the trek from as far as CA hoping to see sand rooster tails! But fear not Oilers host always is one step ahead providing nightly entertainment with live music, Saturday night bonfire on the beach, and supporting the infamous Night of the Troglodytes’ 60’s styled choppers exhibit was held at a new location this year. As with all the events they also keep in mind for making this family fun and getting the younger generation hooked on ‘fast’ by not only allowing anybody under 16 in free but also having areas catered to entertain. ‘Stick the kids in front of this action, creative chaos, waves, good weather, bad weather, fine folks, cars or bikes, and rock and roll!’ - Mel
Check out https://www.theraceofgentlemen.com/ for the next event.
