1st Annual  SUPERCAR REUNION September 5, 1998 Holiday Inn Hendersonville, TN

   The results are in.  The 1st Annual Yenko/Supercar Reunion was a huge success.  If you were there, you know what I'm talking about.  If you didn't make it, then you missed out on the event of the summer! 

   There were over 25 supercars at the show,  and following the show, the cars left the Holiday Inn show area and pulled out onto Gallatin Road to cruise to a local race track, Music City Raceway.  This sight was well worth the trip to Hendersonville, TN!  Once the cars arrived at the track, the cars were displayed for a while, as the cars were allowed to cool down from the drive.  After a few minutes, it was time to hit the track.  What a sight!  The first two cars to make a pass were a pair of Fathom Green Camaros, a '69 Yenko owned by Brian Henderson against a '70 Motion Camaro owned by Bill Ogle, followed by more '69 Camaros, Deuces, Corvairs, and the Harrell/Gibb Nova.  Traction was a problem for most cars, but respectable times were turned in, as most big block cars ran the 1/8 mile in the high to low 9 second range.  Low ET for the stock appearing cars was Rob Clary in a Daytona Yellow '69 Yenko Camaro with an 8.86, while Cliff Ernst had the overall low ET with a 7.77 in a slightly modified '69 Daytona Yellow Yenko Camaro (both were automatic cars).   Ray Morrison, in his Harrell/Gibb Nova almost cut a perfect light with a .515 on a .500 tree.  The deuces were in the low to mid 9 second range and the corvairs ran well, with the best time being in the 10 second range.  Most of the cars made at least 2 passes and their owners wished that they could have ran more.  Maybe next year.
    With the racing over, it was time for the cars to return to the Holiday Inn for a dinner and to hear from guest speakers.  The speakers were a treat, as John Connolly and Donna Mae Mims went back through time talking about Yenko Chevrolet, and Ed Lowther ended the evening with some of his Don Yenko racing stories.  He had the audience rolling in the aisles.  I would print a couple of those stories, but my computer won't type some of the words and gestures Ed used.  Sunday morning started with an auction of Yenko memorabilia with Hope Yenko, the first wife of Don Yenko, in attendance, telling interesting stories about many of the auction items.  The auction was following by a tour of Cliff Ernst's private car collection.  If you have never seen this collection, then you have missed one of the most impressive collections assembled under one roof.  The collection includes several Yenkos (including a '69 427 Yenko Nova), a ZL-1 Camaro, a Hemi Cuda, many supercharged Thunderbirds, light weight Pontiacs, and numerous other cars. (The Yenko Sportscar Club would like to personally thank Cliff for allowing us to view his collection-Thanks Cliff.)

The list of registered cars includes, by years:

DRAG RACING PICS FROM REUNION  

Mark Kickel, '69 Hugger Orange Yenko Camaro vs Rob Clary, '69 Daytona Yellow Yenko Camaro   

Mike Simpson, '69 Rally Green Yenko Camaro vs Glen Benzel, '70 Cranberry Red Yenko Deuce   

Larry Christenson, '69 Rally Green Yenko Camaro vs Joel Mashburn, '69 Le Mans Blue Yenko Camaro  

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