One of our favorite drag racing organizations in the the country, the Southeast Gassers Association (SEGA), will enter its 13th season under new leadership.
Former IHRA Pro Modified world champion and nostalgia racing pioneer Quain Stott announced Sunday via social media the sale of SEGA to the series’ 2022 A/Gas champion and championship runner-up in 2021 and 2023, Leslie Horne.
“[SEGA] was started to help preserve drag racing history, the right way, and to give myself and many others a place to race in a real drag race,” Stott began. “Eleven years later I was inducted into the North Carolina Hall of Fame because of what the SEGA has done to preserve drag racing history. I have enjoyed millions of fans and racers thanking me through email and personally over the 12 years for building the best nostalgia racing organization in the world. But as hard as I tried and as successful as I was I still lost the respect and appreciation of a big percentage of the racers. My business decisions were mistaken for greed in the last few years and that has been weighing heavy on my mind.
“Knowing this would happen as it always does in this type business I still tried hard to keep pushing forward even though I was not popular in the eyes of the masses and I felt that was holding back the growth of the SEGA. It’s crazy how someone can start something from the ground up and make it successful for many years then all of the sudden people start thinking you need to be replaced, but it does happen and it has happened here. So with this in mind I made the decision the first of this year to start looking for someone with good business sense to take my place so the SEGA could advance to the next level. Many offers came my way and many meetings took place over the course of the year. It finally came to an end Saturday evening, November 25th, at about 3:30 p.m. when Leslie Horne and I shook hands on a deal for him to be the proud new owner of the most successful nostalgia organization in the world.”
Leslie Horne aboard his “Chick Magnet” ’55 Chevy that captured the 2022 A/Gas championship.
“Be assured there are plenty of contracts in place that will keep the SEGA as pure as it has always been and to keep key employees in place so things will run as smooth as it has in the past. I feel that Leslie has the financial support, the business sense and the energy to take the SEGA to the next level.
I can’t take all of the credit for the success it has seen, because it has took an army to make this happen. I would like to take time to thank the racers that have supported me through the ups and downs through the last 12 years. It’s the racers that make the show. I want to thank the millions of fans that help us promote and pay at the gate to help pay the bills — without y’all it would have failed at the start. All of the SEGA employees that have helped me to make the show run smooth and put up with my funny ways of wanting things done. To the sponsors who have supported me, some go as far back as my Pro Mod career. Thanks to all the magazine companies and social media that did their part in supporting me, as most of y’all also go back to my Pro Mod career. For the sacrifices and support my friends and family has shown through the 12 building years.”
“I close in saying that I beg for your continued support to help Leslie and his staff to keep the SEGA successful so SEGA can go strong for another 12 years and so we can all have a place to race. I will be showing my support by racing with the SEGA, a new A/Gas car is underway for me right now.
“I type all of this with a heavy heart and tears running down my cheek but I assure all of you this is the best for me mentally and for the success and growth of the SEGA,” added Stott.
After retiring from Pro Modified competition, Stott, along with his brother Mitch and a band of dedicated friends and family members, created the Southeast Gassers Association and grew it into one of the sport’s most loved touring series. The organization has prided itself on maintaining the most strict ruleset in all of nostalgia racing, adhering as close to the rules the classic Gassers ran under in 1967 as feasibly possible. Quain and his group set to build a polished and professional organization, consistently negotiating with major sponsors and approaching television networks, hosting its own live streams and edited post-race shows, and encouraging showmanship and a clean and consistent image throughout its large and growing roster of racers.
SEGA held 10 events in 2023, in seven different states, including North and South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee.
Horne, a real estate professional from South Carolina, campaigns a 1955 Chevrolet known as the “Chick Magnet” in SEGA’s quickest and fastest category, A/Gas.