Dave and Emma Campbell

Back in the early 90’s when the Nostalgia Super Stocks came about we had no idea that the club would still be going as strong as ever some 23 years later.

It was a pleasant surprise to be selected as the first inductee into the Nostalgia Super Stock Association’s Hall of Fame.  To be recognized by your peers is truly an honor.

Through the years we were blessed with many wonderful memories and good friends.  We truly miss not being around our Super Stock Racing Fraternity on a regular basis.  All of you are like family to us.  Emma and I cannot thank you enough.

We would also like to congratulate our dear friends Tom and Leslie Ponder for being selected to the Hall of Fame with us.  It was always a fun time when Les (Penny Pincher) and Tom (Bargain Hunter) Ponder were around.

Thanks for all the memories it was a great ride.

 Tom and Les Ponder

Mike Swanson

History shows Mike started racing with our club during the 1994 season. Mike was one who built the total car himself in his garage, a single car garage at that! He did not paint it himself but if it had gotten to the point it became necessary, he would have done that too. His 1964 Plymouth Savoy was patterned after a factory Max Wedge super stock car he was familiar with as a teenager in Kansas.

He started out with a black car, no lettering. For the 1995 season Mike named the car Danger Zone and added decals on the quarters. In 1997 Danger Zone was gone and Black Max was born. Black Max was there for the remainder of his career.

In 2002 Mike sold Black Max to a racer in the Denver area. He had met his goal of running a 10.50 at every track where the Club raced. With that behind him, he moved on to be with his two young sons and anticipated the time he could retire.

Unfortunately, after a lengthy illness, Mike passed away on February 20, 2011. For those of us who knew him, and his quick wit, we could always count on a new “Mike joke” at the races plus his desire to help any racer in need. Mike has been missed by all of us who knew him.

Tribute by Dave Campbell and Doug Henderson

Joe and Cheryl Zajac

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After reviewing a career of dedication and accomplishments almost impossible to overstate, the Board of Directors and then the general membership voted unanimously to induct Joe and Cheryl Zajac into the Nostalgia Super stock Inc. Hall Of Fame as of April 2017.

The Zajacs, a husband-and-wife team who worked together in the finest sense of combined service to the sport, did most everything that needed to be done, from building and running an NSS car to organizing and managing the logistics of the supporting corporation.

Joe Zajac served as president of the corporation for almost 20 years, guiding the transition of the original Midwest Nostalgia Super Stock Association out of the chaos of a rebellion and building Nostalgia Super Stock Inc. into a reliable and consistent producer of specialty automotive exhibitions known for high quality ands exciting shows year after year.

Cheryl Zajac served as Nostalgia Super stock Inc. treasurer, a position away from the attention of the on-track show, but no less vital to the health and steady functioning of the surviving corporation.

Together, the Zajacs will always be remembered for the “Rompin’ Redskin” 1963 Pontiac, but for more than that: the togetherness of their personal partnership which they extended into a larger concept – that unity and the benefits of that vitue can improve the lives and experiences of so many more people than we all thought possible.

Kenny Gresham

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Going back into the founding days of the Nostalgia Super stock concept, the board reviewed and recommended recognizing nad honoring the accomplishments of Kenny Gresham, who was one of the participants in the earliest years of the sport and continued his involvement into the second decade of the 21st century.

At the 2017 annual meeting, the general membership unanimously agreed, voting Mr. Gresham into the Hall Of Fame for his long-time automotive activities since he was a teenager but especially for his Nostalgia Super Stock contributions from 1987 through 1994, when the category was still in its foundation and early development.

With an independent and often one-man organization using a 1962 Chevrolet “bubbletop” with 409 power, Gresham was invited by other 409 pioneers such as Dave Campbell, Russ Campbell, magazine editor Doug Marion and promoter Len Greco into many of the initial NSS events and was a member in the original Midwest Nostalgia Super Stock Association.

Gresham, along with other racers and supporters, helped provide the drivers and vehicles which made possible the basis of the now defunct National street Car Association and the current National Muscle Car Association.

Gresham recorded several victories in those early events, but more importantly is especially appreciated for his unfailing friendship, eager enthusiasm, willingness to work in the best interests of the sport, and overall optimism.

While well aware of the disagreements that sometimes can inform human relationships, Gresham never let those things affect his love of the sport and especially the people who participate. It it truly said that there was never a person and an NSS racer that Kenny Gresham didn’t like and a person and an NSS racer who doesn’t like Kenny Gresham.

Sherman and Betty Devening

Sherman and Betty Devening who reside in Jerseyville Illinois have now taken their place in the Nostalgia Super Stock Inc. Hall of Fame. Their contribution to the organization for the time they were members is worth its weight in gold. Both have left positive impressions on fellow members of the organization and as far as that goes many fans in the stands wherever they raced. Sherman on the track and Betty back at the trailer tending the grill making sure the group got fed. Her homemade dishes and jams were just outstanding. This is a couple that will live in many hearts forever.

Sherman and son Gene came onboard in 2005 with NSS Inc. and both became members to be a father/son team with sharing driving time in their 1962 Dodge Dart 330 Max Wedge 413. Sherman drove until 2010 and then passed the driving duties to Gene who still is at the wheel.

Some history on the “Better Than Nothin” 1962 Dodge that was special ordered by Jack Maholland who also drove it off the assembly line from the factory. The 13.5 to 1 Max Wedge 413 putting out 420 HP was raced by Maholland right up to the end of the ’62 season. Mike Ritter acquired the car and raced it for the 1963-64 seasons. It was called “Jersey Jumper” named after the town Jerseyville, IL.

Moving on to autumn of 1964, friends Sherman Devening and Sherman Orris purchased the car and renamed it to “Better Than Nothin”. Devening said, “We named it that because the new race Hemi was available” and “we were glad to have what we had because not everyone could afford to run the Hemi”. Both Shermans shared the driving of this 12.20’s quarter mile beast through the 1967 season. Orris went into the military returning in 1969 and the car was sold to Ron Dyer from the Springfield Missouri area.

Dyer raced the car into the 1970’s and by the 1980’s the race machine was no longer functional. Devening stayed in touch all those years with Dyer and was able to buy it back in 1986. The car’s entire drivetrain was long gone. This came with strong support from his wife Betty to getting the car back. Their son Gene was fresh out of High school and had the desire to go racing. Father and son collected parts to build this original piece of history back to the way it was when the “jersey boys” Devening and Orris campaigned it on several western Illinois tracks. This took Sherm and Gene 15 years to complete this project building it exactly the way it was in 1964.
Sherman and Betty, “Thanks for the Memories”!!!

Gerry  Gostenik

When the time comes it looks like the promised land will be familiar to Gerry as he has already had a preview.  He once said “I thought I was in heaven” while attending his first super stock race between Dyno Don Nicholson and George DeLorean at the Detroit Dragway in May of 1961. At age 15 he observed this race while with his older brother Richard.  Both were longtime residents of Dearborn, MI. Nicholson broke a ring and pinion but had a spare set with him. The problem was Nicholson wanted to do it on a lift for the repair. Gerry got to help push the car a mile down the road to a gas station. Gerry was quoted “I thought I was in heaven”. That experience was the inspiration behind him to pursue one day finding his dream car, a 1961 Chevrolet “Bubbletop”. That was finally accomplished in 2004 when he located the car in Benton, KY.

Before reaching that point, he had to navigate the subsequent 43 years following that life changing incident that happened that day at Detroit Dragway with the Nicholson car.3He did it as only a true car guy could.

Within three years brother Richard had managed to acquire a 1964 “283” Chevelle. The brothers both dreamed to have something more like a Z-11 option “409” engine. Richard located one in Albany, Georgia and the younger Gerry went to fetch it.

During those years the Gostenik brothers were regulars at southeast Michigan tracks, including Detroit Dragway, Milan and Jackson. At one point they removed the 409 and stuffed it into Chevy II. Shortly after Richard went to work for another Chevrolet legend, Wally Booth. Gerry said, “I was always at that garage and was kind of the gopher holding a trouble light and chasing parts”. Doing whatever was needed was a good thing. “We had fun, learned allot and who knows what else I could have gotten into at that age”.

After graduating from Dearborn High School Gerry got a job at a General Motors plant. He quickly realized this wasn’t for him long term, so he started taking classes at a community college. He went on to earn a degree in automotive vocational education from Eastern Michigan University. That in turn started him on a 31-year career in which the last 16 were at his alma mater, Dearborn High.

After retiring from teaching in 2002 he started searching for his dream, the 1961 Chevrolet in which he found as stated above. He drove the 61 on the street for a year and a half then took it to the strip to see what it would do. That led to some time running Junior Stock in the low 13’s and eventually with a hotter cam and headers bringing it down into the 12’s. With some IHRA rule changes Gerry was competitive in the mid 11’s including a victory in the United Stick Shift group’s race at Milan.

Moving on, Gerry spoke with fellow racer Gary McKenzie also from southeast Michigan who told him about a group called Nostalgia Super Stock Inc. and he contacted the president at that time Joe Zajac in 2009 and after doing a couple of events with the group he really enjoyed the heads up way of racing. He then joined the organization. He was quoted as saying “I immediately liked the way the group did things, and it was a lot more fun”. Gerry was able to get his 409 stick-shift to a best time of 10.60 quarter mile at 125 mph. Gostenik did all the work and maintenance on the car with only vending out any machining to a local shop.

His accomplishments; 2014  348/409 Forum show and race event, Great Bend, KS where he was the Hot Rod One and Overall race Champion. For this he was presented the trophy by Super Stock legend Hayden Proffit, this took place in 2009. United Stick Shift Racers Association champion, Milan, MI  2008. IHRA Stock Eliminator class champion Milan, MI 2007 and NSS Eliminator champion Stanton, MI.

If you ever had the honor of meeting Gerry, he would have left an excellent impression on you. He smiled all the time as he was always happy to be with his friends at the track. Gostenik always traveled with his feline little buddy, Smoke. That is if the weather wasn’t too hot. Smoke had a large cage Gerry built for his all-black kitty. Unfortunately, Gerry had a form of cancer that took him way to early at the age of 73 on December 26^th, 2019.  Gerry is reunited with his brother Richard who passed away prior and for certain they are in the “promised land” and are racing together once again …….. RIP

Larry and Barbara Kaufman

Larry Kaufman was thinking about accomplishing two things when he decided to get back into drag racing after 20 years. What he had in mind was not only to build a beautiful show car but also a very competitive race car. His Nostalgia Super Stock 1961 Pontiac Ventura named “War Chief” proved his success with both appearance and performance. Two people have made his journey possible in his venture with the War Chief. First his wife Barbara and secondly his long time Pontiac buddy Joe Zajac. Larry once said of Joe “without his encouragement and his pushing and pounding, there would not have been any racing”. “Joe was tireless with his effort and support,” said Kaufman.

Larry started racing in 1960 with a 1960 Pontiac Bonneville two door automatic transmission car with a 389 cubic inch and Tri-Power carburation. Kaufman did allot of street racing with this car back in the day in the Chicago area. Within three years, he had acquired a 421 cu. In., 370 horsepower, 3.90 geared 4-speed and a 3-2 intake set-up. Larry raced that combo until 1966. At that point marriage came along and there went the car.

After some years away from having a racecar Larry acquired in 1984 a 1961 Pontiac Ventura that had a racing heritage. The car was built on May 15, 1961 as a 389 Super Duty model. Used for racing only, it featured a McKeller No. 7 mechanical lifter camshaft, 3-2 aluminum intake, 4-speed transmission and 3.90 rear gears. Raced throughout the Midwest from 1961 thru 1966 including the first U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park in 1961. The Pontiac was parked after the 1966 season. It came out of storage for competition in the 1969 Winternationals and put back into storage until the time Kaufman purchased it. At this time Larry proceeded with the restoration project.

This black beauty ended up with the following equipment. Pontiac Indian Adventures block, Crower billet crankshaft, Childs and Albert connecting rods with Venolia pistons, 504 cubic inches, Kauffman aluminum cylinder heads with a Pontiac aluminum 2X4 intake, Carter AFB’s, Cam Motion roller ca Jesel rockers and pushrods, G-force 4-speed trans, spool and axles by Strange Engineering, 4.76 rear gear ratio, fiberglass hood and deck lid, Pro Glass lexan windows and aluminum bumpers.

Performance was in the upper 9’s quarter mile right on to his retirement which was the 2021 Pontiac Nationals.  Larry and Joe are currently outfitting the 61 Ventura to “street mode” so Kaufman can continue to enjoy his pride and joy.

Larry was a charter member of Midwest Nostalgia Super Stock Association in 1989 and served as Vice President of Nostalgia Super Stock Inc. from 1997 to 2005.