Drag Illustrated Issue 143, April 2019 | Page 32

Dirt Southeast Gassers shine in national TV debut By Josh Hachat S itting at a table at Wings Etc. in Boiling Springs, South Carolina, on the evening of February 27, Quain Stott found himself more nervous than almost any final round he had been in. His brainchild and his baby – the Southeast Gassers Association – were about to make their national television debut on Discovery Channel’s hit reality series, Moonshiners: Full Throttle Throwdown. A huge watch party converged at the popular 32 | D r a g I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com sports bar and grill, but Stott’s only wish was that the Southeast Gassers were properly portrayed during the one-hour segment. With a chuckle sneaking through his Southern drawl, Stott joked he thought about keeping a paper bag close in case his nerves turned into queasiness, but it wasn’t needed. The show por- trayed SEGA well, drew rave reviews and finished with more than 1,150,000 viewers, all things that made Stott a happy man. “I was nervous, but it was pretty cool. By the time it was over, I had my head held high and felt really good,” Stott says. “I was very proud. I’ve been on TV many times before and done thousands of interviews, but this was not me on TV, this was the Southeast Gassers. What makes me proud is Discovery Channel wanted it. If I stop right now, I feel like I made it, but this is not the final step. There’s a lot more we still desire.” If the opportunity presents itself, that means possibly going from one successful episode on Discovery to a full season and beyond. But Stott isn’t interested if it’s only going to be a single season. Since he started the Southeast Gassers Association in 2012, Stott has been focused on the long-term success of the organization, a steady build that has resulted in one of the most suc- cessful nostalgia racing circuits around. For that to continue, that means looking far past a single season on television, and also maintaining the aspect of competition. Stott was Issue 143 Full Throttle Throwdown