Archive for Gone But Not Forgotten

4 results.
Bryon Stack R.I.P.

Danny Miller 1942-2012

Sep26
by Staff on September 26, 2012 at 5:10 pm
Posted In: Gone But Not Forgotten, News

It saddens me greatly to report the loss of a friend. Danny Miller passed away on September 25, 2012, at home with his family. Many of you know Danny as a fierce competitor, and a great friend; because Danny would not only love to beat you on the track but also help you in your pits. It just the kind of guy Danny was. He dedicated much of his life to the sport of drag racing but also to his family.

To see Danny with his kids and grandkids was a sight to behold; almost like watching him at the track helping others, only better. He loved and supported each of his kids in their own way, in the way that they needed him to be and they have all be wildly successful in their own right.

Danny is who everyman wants to be. He could work magic with a car: rebuild motors, transmissions, bodies, chassis and it didn’t matter what kind of car although rumor has it he prefers Fords. He loved to hunt and trap; not only did he love to hunt and trap, he was great at it. He threw as much energy at his hunting and trapping as he threw at his racing. Hard to believe that one man had that much energy to devote to two passions that he loved equally and completely but he managed to find the time.

The one side of Danny that many of you may or may not have known was his ability to run a successful business. If your reading this its because he built this business called Rear Gears from nothing to employing several people. Not many of us can say they started with an idea and the development of that idea led to the creation of several good, well paying jobs for people.

I personally got to know Danny late in his life and I’m proud to say that he was a friend for many years. He not only taught me about rear ends, third members, and business, but about love, life, family and what it means to be a man. Watching Danny face his cancer for the last couple of years emphasized to me what that means. He fought a courageous fight. When his group of doctors determined that their treatment was not effecting the cancer, he bravely made the decision to stop treatments and put his fate in God’s hands. He didn’t seek pity or sympathy he just simply trusted in the Lord to make his last days on Earth as good as they could. If you saw Danny at Cordova in August, you know they were as good as they could be.

We here at Rear Gears will mourn the loss of a great racer, teacher, friend, and partner. We will strive to continue running Rear Gears just as Danny did with honesty, integrity, and a sense of purpose and not forget what is important in life.

Godspeed Danny!

meltdown175

The Gasser community has lost another Great Gasser Legend today.

May02
by Albert on May 2, 2012 at 2:23 pm
Posted In: Gone But Not Forgotten, Public

Wednesday May 2, 2012
The Gasser community has lost another Great Gasser Legend today.
Al Zerberini passed away due to health complications this morning.
Al raced the 1940 Bee-Line Willys out of the Bee-Line Automotive shop in Stamford Ct.

Working in the pits

Al started racing the Willys in 1960.He won the US Nationals A/Gas class in 1960 at Detroit Dragway.He continued to race the Willys through 1968.
Al was also a very successful business man with Bee-line Auto Center and a great family man.
Al was a “Living Legend” on the East coast.
As most of you know, I own the original Bee-Line Willys that Al raced. It still retains most of it’s original paint from the 60′s.
He will be missed by all of the Gasser family.
Godspeed…..
Ron

Meltdown Drags

Bryon Stack of Gasser Madness R.I.P.

Apr10
by Albert on April 10, 2012 at 10:24 am
Posted In: Gone But Not Forgotten, Public

 I am very sorry to inform all of you who know Byron Stack, that he passed away April 8, 2012.  I know that he loved his gasser friends very much and that his website,  Bryon’s Gasser Madness and groups were his passion. As for his website, I know that he would want it to continue as it is. I am going to look into finding one of his online friends who is both capable and interested in maintaining his site, for now it will remain as is. Thank you.

Meltdown Drags

Phil “Firesuit Phil” Pofahl – 1940 – 2011

Feb20
by Albert on February 20, 2012 at 12:29 am
Posted In: Gone But Not Forgotten, Public

“We grow too soon old and too late smart”
A Tribute to our Friend “Firesuit Phil” Pofahl

The heading is an old German saying that was taught in many Wisconsin households around the time Phil was growing up in Kenosha and seems to be an appropriate lesson to share. This is not meant to infer that Phil wasn’t smart. On the contrary, you would be hard pressed to find any of his racing buddies that hadn’t gone to the old master for sound advice. The quote is more in reference to racers and fans who, at first glance, thought Firesuit Phil was just an eccentric old coot. OK, he was that but, to those who knew him well, he was so much more.

The first impression one got of the Pofahl team was the car trailer plastered with events and dates depicting all the visits Phil’s ’46 Ford made to the winners circle, and there were several. If you were brave enough to look inside you would be treated to a drag racing museum on wheels and if you took enough time you would see photos, plaques, articles and awards dating back to 1958 when the infamous coupe was purchased.

Firesiut Phil.jpg Another one-of-a-kind vision fans might witness while passing Firesuit’s compound was the unique way Phil positioned himself while working on his prized Oldsmobile engine. It’s not often one sees a pair of spindly legs coming out from inside a fender well. There was Phil with his amply fortified Midwestern midsection resting comfortably on a valve cover, one arm across the radiator and his nose stuck in an injection tube. It takes a special kind of mind to come up with a way to avoid the sun by using the hood as an umbrella.

dsc_004928.jpg No story of the flying 46 would be complete without talking about “the paint job”. For reasons known only to Phil, that cracked and chipped green paint was an endless source of pride. Most close-ups photos of the car show a sign proclaiming “The paint on this car is 40+ years old”. Everyone ribbed Phil about this at one time or another and there was even a pit skit done about carbon dating the aging pigments but he took it all in stride. Here was a guy who was very comfortable marching to the beat of his own drum.

CCE00000.jpg No place was that more evident than when he was staging and getting ready to race. Here comes Phil, being towed to the line by his son or daughter decked out in the team colors. Up goes the hood for a dramatic starting procedure and then the positioning in the water box. Was he an eccentric old coot or period showman? Hey, that was just Phil being Phil. And, if you ever thought he was all show and no go, just ask anyone who ran against him about his skill when cutting a light. At 70 years young this guy could still peddle the metal with the best of them. When Phil got behind the wheel it was the 60’s once again.

If you think NASCAR’s Dale Earnhardt was an intimidator, we would always pity the “new guy” Phil wanted to test with his phony scowl that made you think he could crack walnuts with his eye lids. It was always amazing how that same old weathered face could light up the entire pit area when the scowl gave way to his winning smile.

So, what have we learned from the passing of our dear old friend, other than the fact we miss him, his family crew and his showmanship? If we are paying attention we will realize that it is never too early to start observing and cherishing the uniqueness of our friends. Let none of us grow too soon old and too late smart.

Our thoughts and thanks will often go out to Phil, for the sharing, caring and the indelible memories he left with us. There is a vision of him, comfortable in his new surroundings that is of great comfort to the racing pals left behind. We can envision him at that quarter mile in the great beyond arranging priority pit space for his friends once their last flag drops. We hope to see him again…, just not too soon. We have a pretty full venue to complete and a lot more lessons to learn. We sure do miss that old coot.