Originally Posted by
rspears
Grasskhana! That term had temporarily left my memory (CRS again....), but it was a memorable event! First, imagine the line of street rods turning off of the highway onto a dirt lane barely wide enough for the farm truck, rough enough that most everything but Robin's F100 truck had to creep through the swales for 1/4 mile, only to end at a hillside designated for parking, overlooking the paddock below where the course was laid out. Now this hillside was at about 40 degrees, climbing perhaps 100yards or more for those who wanted to brave the climb. The paddock was fresh spring grass at least a foot high, and the course was marked by old tires piled at key points to form a tortuous path. You can imagine a car driving around through that high, damp grass, but make it a huge figure eight, and a half dozen or more turns before getting to a finish line. Now imagine that course being driven against the clock by everything from a full fendered deuce to a pristine '57 chevy, with Robin's truck thrown in the mix! I'd venture that such an event organized for a US NSRA event would be met by, "Are you CRAZY? I'm not driving down that road, and I'm for sure not driving in that tall grass!"
Aside from the family oriented gathering of like minded people who've all been invited to join the group, one thing that stood out to me was the total absence of trailers. I believe that every car was driven to and from the event, and that included departing in the toad strangling rain on Monday! Many of the NZ rodders have cars built to show car quality, but then use them as cars, not as display models carried place to place on a trailer.