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Announcing The Grand Marshall for Port Richey's Fall Rod Run will be Rusty Gillis,

Famous Record holding Drag Racer and owner of the Rusty Gillis Performance Restoration Shop,

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Holder of multiple NHRA Drag Racing Records, Rusty Gillis Will Be Grand Marshall for Port Richey Fall Rod Run at Coast Buick GMC on October 14 2023.

Rusty Gillis will be on hand Conversing, Signing Autographs, and Available for Photos between the hours of 10AM and 2PM at Coast Buick GMC.

Stop by and say hello on October 14. 10133 US19 Port Richey Florida 34668.


His Multiple Record Holding car will be on display next to Registration. Bring your camera and something to be signed. Reproduce this at the library, at home or Fedex-Kinkos and bring it if you want it signed.

You could easily say gasoline-in particular, racing fuel......is in Rusty Gillis' blood. His father was an avid racer in upstate New York before moving the family to Florida. Growing up, Rusty became passionate about racing, accompanying his father to Sunshine Raceway in St. Petersburg, Florida. He did pit-crew duty to help his father, learning the ropes, getting to know racing. It wasn't until Rusty attended the 1966 U.S. Nationals that he became addicted to drag racing. He went to Daytona Beach Junior College, majoring in Automotive Technology, ironically on a scholarship from Ford.

In 1968, Rusty tried to buy one of the 50 '6811/42 Cobra Jet Mustang fastbacks Ford built for Super Stock competition, but they were all gone. He opted instead for a '69 428 Cobra Jet Fairlane Cobra, racing in the F/S class to get his feet wet. His first outing was at the NHRA Spring Nationals in Dallas that year. En route to Dallas, Rusty met and befriended NHRA Super Stock racer Randy Payne. Randy showed him kindness, offering to help where he could. Their friendship became especially significant when Rusty broke his Cobra's Detroit Locker at Dallas. He cracked a 12.87 at 102 mph and lost to a Corvette with a 12.66 at 112 mph timeslip. Jokingly, Rusty says, "That Detroit Locker was the only free part I ever got from Ford." Later that year, he would suffer the misfortune of engine failure at Gainesville, Florida.

Rusty's father was truck manager at Grant Ford in St. Petersburg, and he had the good fortune of knowing a lot of people in the car business. He asked Rusty if he would go to Boyertown, Pennsylvania, to pick up a van for Grant Ford and dead-head it back to Florida. Rusty took advantage of that request and drove to Concord, New Hampshire, to see Randy about an engine for his Fairlane Cobra, but Randy couldn't help him.

Later, he went to the U.S. Nationals at Indy with a buddy who was racing a 289 Comet. He met veteran Ford Super Stock racer Hubert Platt. He crewed for Hubert for two months, visiting racing venues in Chicago, Detroit, Davenport, Tulsa, Dallas, Toledo, the Northeast, and Atlanta, then back home to Florida. Hubert had Rusty pick up a new V-8 Maverick from Paul Harvey Ford in Indianapolis and drive it to Atlanta. Rusty also piloted Hubert's F-350 car hauler out of Dallas for a long trek to New Hampshire to witness history firsthand. Tasca Ford was bringing a '69 Boss 494 to Epping to lay down a challenge-any street car that could beat the Boss would win $1,000.

During one of their many road trips together, Hubert told Rusty about a '68 Super Stock Mustang for sale for $3,500. Rusty rushed home and borrowed the money from his uncle. His record was 11.70 in SS/FA competition. During Rusty's time on the road with Hubert, he learned a lot about professional drag racing.

In 1970, Rusty drove to Pomona, California, for his first NHRA Winternationals. He didn't do well; he was the slowest in class with his '68 fastback. The best news was beating a Camaro, which lost only because the guy redlighted. Rusty staged against Stacey Shields, who was driving a '68 fastback built by Holman/Moody/Stroppe in Long Beach and sponsored by Paul Harvey Ford out of Indy. Rusty received good advice from the head of Ford's drag-racing program at the time. He suggested Rusty shut down at the 1,000-foot mark to keep from going under record. Rusty clocked a 12.00 at 104 mph, getting a win over Stacey. News for Rusty only got better as he refined his technique and raced all over the southeast in NHRA Super Stock. He set the SS/FA record at Suffolk, Virginia, that year.

The following year, Rusty returned to Pomona, winning class and passing tech inspection. He went on to Phenix City, Alabama, and set the NHRA mph record at 120.64 mph. At West Palm Beach, Florida, he cracked the AHRA record at 11.46 mph at 119.84 mph.

Toward the end of the '70 season, Hubert told Rusty about a '69 Mustang SportsRoof body he found and wanted to know if Rusty wanted it. It was a 428 Super Cobra Jet fastback that had been one of Ford's Boss 302 test cars. It was a factory test mule that found its way into private ownership. The truth is, only factory teams had cars like this, and Paul Harvey Ford was one of those teams. Rusty bought the car and transferred everything from his '68 fastback over to the '69 SportsRoof. The '69 was a pinch heavier and ran in the SS/GA class. Once Rusty got the car in proper tune, he repainted it Pearl White, with a splash of Candyapple red and blue.

Rusty admits the car was disappointing until he installed 302 front springs and a better C6 transmission. Times improved dramatically-a 121.39 mph at Amarillo for a strong shot of self-esteem. Performance only got better with time and experience, with wins all over the country in NHRA Super Stock. Rusty won the '71 Miami National with an 11.24, beating an 11.45-second record. Another quarter-mile pass, this time for Firestone tire testing, netted Rusty an 11.50-second e.t. at Gainesville. He again won in class at Pomona that year.

During Rusty's racing career with this Boss 302 testbed, he accomplished a lot from coast to coast in racing venues both large and small. He ran consistent 11-second quarter-mile times, set records, and never forgot the people who helped him along the way. In 1974, Rusty decided it was time to hang up his helmet and park the Mustang. Much of that motivation came from what was going on at the time. Performance on the street was fading due to high insurance rates, governmental pressure, and gasoline prices. Rusty wouldn't drive this car again until 1990 when it was raced in C/SA competition. His best time was 11.13 seconds-which means he's not getting older, he's getting better !

In 2004, Rusty opened Classic Mustangs, which became Gillis Performance Restorations, a restoration and race shop where he practices his craft in the Tampa area. (www.gillisrestorations.com) His first order of business was to completely restore this Mustang Super Stocker to the as-raced condition of his glory days. Southern Polyurethanes (www.southernpolyurethanes.com), and his good friend Barry, made all of this glistening Candyapple possible.

When Rusty reflects on 37 years as a winner, he's inspired most by the people who helped him get there. He says it never would have been possible without the friends he has known for the better part of a lifetime.

Rusty, You are truly Best In Class!
We are proud to have you as Grand Marshall of The Port Richey Rod Run at Coast Buick GMC


Motortrend Magazine contributed to this Biography of Rusty Gillis

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