Who was Nitrous John Gossen?
05-11-2011, 07:16 PM
#13
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Honestly I dont think it would have made a damn bit of difference. The boat was floating nose high but had as I recall come apart a bit.
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05-11-2011, 07:49 PM
#14
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No, the boat came up in one piece except for some cracks . John was still stuck in the boat on the bottom when they found it ,I also know the guy who bought the boat with out the motor in it .
05-13-2011, 09:12 PM
#15
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I met John years ago when he had his shop on West St. He was racing the 68 Camaro at the time. It was blue with primer and no nitrous for him back then.
I remember one day walking into his shop and seeing this motorcycle all apart with the bent frame sitting in the middle of the bay. I looked at it and said something about it being just like the bike John had. Turned out it was John's.. He had hit a car that had run a stop sign and flipped over the top. I said something about his was lucky he didn't get killed and John said that he had and I was looking at an angel. He started flapping his arms like they were wings. I think that's when I decided that John was indestructable.
I was at his shop late one Saturday night after a trip to Spencer Speedway. It was 2:00 AM or so and John asked if I wanted to go for a ride. His Camaro ran high 11's without "the spray" as he called it back then. With me in the passenger seat, he backed out onto the service road along West St and stood on it. We got to the end of the street and it had been a pretty impressive ride. My own car was just about as fast but I had never had been a passenger.
John turned the car around, flipped the switch for the NOS and the car turned into an animal! The rear danced all over the road as the phone poles flew by. I remember thinking I was either gonna die or go to jail... but then I realized I was with John and nothing could happen.
There's so many stories......
I hadn't seen John in a few years when I got the call that he was killed. I was down south at the time and couldn't get home in time for the funeral. I couldn't believe that he was gone... I still find it hard to believe.....John was always one of those guys that walked away... and he didn't this time.
Last edited by Big_John; 05-14-2011 at 07:10 AM.
07-25-2011, 07:10 PM
#16
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These are awesome memories to a man who was a legacy. We used to race the street car shootout series with him in the mid 90's.
I remember one year racing with him maple grove raceway and insisting on riding my prostreet oil cooled gsxr to the track just so he could see it...the look on his face was priceless as he was into bikes...then he says so does it run as good as it looks.
We raced many events w John and Michelle, he would supervise us rebuilding tranny's and tuning our NOS and making adjustments on the chassis all while crusing around the pits clowning around.
years later i got into this boat stuff and remember John talking of his boat motors he built over the years and his boating expirences, so naturally I was excited as the day i insisted on riding the gsxr to the track to show him, to let him know i was into boats now and receive his admiration. Well it was one of the sadest days of my time when i found out he had a tragic accident none the less in a boat.
John Gossen was a man who we looked up to and admired, an unselfish person who always extended himself to others. He was a true FRIEND who touched many.
Rest in Peace our friend...we never stop thinking of you!
Your friends in Pottstown, Pennsylvainia.
I remember one year racing with him maple grove raceway and insisting on riding my prostreet oil cooled gsxr to the track just so he could see it...the look on his face was priceless as he was into bikes...then he says so does it run as good as it looks.
We raced many events w John and Michelle, he would supervise us rebuilding tranny's and tuning our NOS and making adjustments on the chassis all while crusing around the pits clowning around.
years later i got into this boat stuff and remember John talking of his boat motors he built over the years and his boating expirences, so naturally I was excited as the day i insisted on riding the gsxr to the track to show him, to let him know i was into boats now and receive his admiration. Well it was one of the sadest days of my time when i found out he had a tragic accident none the less in a boat.
John Gossen was a man who we looked up to and admired, an unselfish person who always extended himself to others. He was a true FRIEND who touched many.
Rest in Peace our friend...we never stop thinking of you!
Your friends in Pottstown, Pennsylvainia.
07-26-2011, 10:01 AM
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The stories surrounding John and his death are many... and many of them get stretched as they are told over and over. Anyway, it's all irrelevant at this point.
I prefer to tell the stories of the great times we shared. He was a true friend... Not always the guy that told you what you wanted to hear, but always the truth... thats what real friends do. Every day I miss him. From time to time, I dig out a few of the photos, or some of the hours and hours of video that I have of racing, boating, or just doing stupid stuff with him. They still make me laugh, and remember him just like it was yesterday.
It's nice to hear stories from some of the other people whose lives he touched, as we approach the 7th anniversary of his death.
RIP Buddy...
