Drag racing and supercruise

[sYc]

Imagine for a monent, it is 1970. You are sitting in the stands at a state of the art drag race facility. You look up and here comes a line of musclecars parading past you. Zl-1 Camaros, Yenkos in all models, supercars from Nickey, Motion, of course Gibb and Harrell prepared cars. COPO cars, even full blown racecars. Moving slowly down the strip. The quite before the storm.

Then, it is time for the real action. A pair of ZL-1 raced prepared Camaros pair off. Next of couple of 427 Yenko Novas go at it. Followed by a match up of Yenko Chevelles. Then, another pair of Zl-1s,, A yenko Duece puts in on the line against a Yenko Camaro. Harrell versus Motion, Gibb versus COPO. Maybe a funny car or two. On and on. Supercar after supercar making its way down the 1/4 mile.

Is this only make believe? It is up to you, owners and admirers of the supercars. The sYc has been given the chance to rent Gateway International Dragway, a state of the art NHRA track. This is the track we went to in 2001. But, this time, we could have the track to ourselves, no waiting. Where, instead of cruising on a busy street, and showing off on a side street and/or parking lot, it could be done on a safe, secure drag strip. This way, all cars could participate in one way or another, with much less chance of something happening to their supercar.

But, this opportunity does not come without a price. Track rental is not cheap. The sYc can not afford to do it alone. We need your help for this to happen, corporate, individual, or ? Let us know. Thanks for your time, Tom

[sixtiesmuscle]

How much?

[sYc]

I was dealing with an assistant, am to meet the head person one day next week to work on the details, including a lesser price(hopefully). The ball park figure was $4500.00. That is why the sYc needs help. With rent, plaques, advertising, compensation for special guests, etc.,the Supercar Reunion already operates in the red. No big deal, but prevents the sYc from taking on any more fixed costs associated with the reunion, at least without some sort of guarantee of recovering all, or at least most, of these extra costs. Either through higher entry fees, corporate sponser(s) or maybe just people who want to help. I am open to all suggestions. The Clary family is willing to do our part, and hope others will be willing to do the same. I really believe that this could a lot of fun and really add to the event.

[PATRICKJOINER]

Tom;
Sounds like a great idea, pls. keep me informed as to what the costs my be. A higher entry fee would be acceptable to me, this will be our 1st year to come to the reunion & I for one would love to see these cars race!!

[Charley Lillard]

A higher Fee is fine. I also suggest you set up something on this site for Donations through Paypal etc. You can look at Pro-Touring.com web site and see how he has Donations set up. Very easy to pay through Paypal etc.

[Mr70]

Tom
You had me at "Imagine for a moment it is 1970"....

[Chevy454]

Not to interrupt, but maybe we could get a rough "head count"? I know it's still almost a year from now, but when he meets with them, they are gonna ask. Also, how long is long enough? I could stay all day, but that's just me! /ubbthreads/images/icons/grin.gif I've always felt the racing is kind of what makes our show unique.

[Stefano]

Ok, I'm in.

[NWYENKO]

Count me in. Is it possible to have a charge for spectators and advertise the event?? Also a charge to race?? I was thinking $5-$10 a head for spectators and maybe $25-$30 to race. That is about what it costs at the local tracks here. Jim

[sYc]

Thanks for the suggestions, keep them coming. As with the indoor show, we will advertise, and charge spectators admission, but I do not ever see this being a major source of income. I hope I am wrong, but I think there are only two ways to fund the Reunion weekend activites. Either find a corporate sponser who would like to get involved (which I have tried and am still working on ) or do it ourselves. Raising the entry fee is certaintly the easiest, but I want to make sure that everyone is OK with that. I did not want to scare people away because of the price. I thought maybe one fee per car, which would include a spot indoors for the show and pass to race/cruise, family pass to all reunion activites, a event t-shirt and reunion plaque. Seperate, this would total anywhere from $80-$100+. And of course, any donations would help. By the way, if donations and/or other finacial help that we recieve should exceed what is needed, it will go back into the reunion fund and be used to make the reunion even more special.

[sixtiesmuscle]

Tom, I think 100 bucks is fair if you're going to race a car. I'd be up for that if it's at Gateway.What if you bring two cars to the show, but, only race one?
How about a challenge to local car clubs/racers? Offer the opportunity to race against the vintage Supercars. Of course we might get beat by a few ricers, but....

[sYc]

Mike; I had thought of the two car thing, but would like to hear from folks like you, who are interested in bringing two cars. In addition, I had given some thought to opening it up, but will need to see if the track has a limit on the number of cars for that price. Some tracks have a limit, and then start charging more. Also, I do not want to get too many "other" cars, as that is what we are trying to avoid. I think between the old and new "supercars", we could put on quite a show, just by ourselves.

[Salvatore]

Tom, For people that can't make the reunion, maybe you can offer a video or something from the reunion via a donation. Maybe if a person wants to donate say $50.00 or so they will get a video of the show and the drag race. How about t-shirt sales? Maybe Year-One, and Ricks First Generation will donate. How about a Chevrolet dealer setting up a small car and truck display. Maybe they would be generous with a donation to the cause. The people that run the Carlisle and Hershey shows may be able to give you some ideas. I am not sure that I will be able to make the event, but I wouldn't be against sending a donation for this cause. Thanks for this forum. Sam

[Chevy454]

Sam:

We have t-shirts available at the Reunion every year, but are you wanting something "drag strip" specific? I'm a little slow, so you have to draw it all out for me!

Now, the video situation. We've got some "amateur" footage, and a little "professional" footage from the 5 previous Reunions, as well as pictures from each year. We had planned to get a video out about 3(?) years ago, but it never developed. But, that's not to say it can't/won't happen. We bought some video editing software/hardware some time back, and I have everything done except the intro, and the background music. I have put it off long enough, and need to get it out there! My plan is to put 2 Reunions on each tape, so SCR1 & SCR2 will be together, SCR3 & SCR4 together, SCR5 & SCR6 together, etc. Now, it won't be a professional job by any means, but it will be better than what we've put out so far, which is nothing! We're not looking for this to be a money-maker, just something for the owners/attendees to show their buddies what they are missing!

[Salvatore]

Hi Rob, I am new so I didn't realize you had T-Shirts available. I really do not know all that you have already tried, but I know when we did our AAU baseball tournaments, we would go to the local area people (vendors) and ask if they would donate to an add booklet. They would advertise in the add book and we would hand them out. They would pay a fee for the ad. A 1/4 page add would be less than a 1/2 page add. etc. It really worked. Anybody in the car business or food business would benefit from these ads, because all the fans have to eat and at a chevy show, the dealers could show the new line of vehicles and products. Maybe a 2 dollar parking fee? I know that it is hard to depend on donations. How about a local news station or local TV station to help in a promotion. I don't know all that you have already done, this is just some food for thought. Sam

[Chevy454]

AAU baseball? Holy cow, small world! Dad ran a couple national tornaments in years past...ever attend the nats?

[Salvatore]

Rob, The only tournaments we were involved in were the eastern tournaments. From Connecticut to Maryland. We Won the Beast Of The East Tournament in 1999 in West Virginia. Chris Lubanski played for us, (actually his dad was the founder and General Manager of the Lederach Lugnuts our team.) This kid is now a senior in high school, and is the #4 pick of next years draft. He may have played in your dad's tournament a couple of years ago. He was a member of The Boys of Baseball. They played in the St. Louis area a couple of times. We actually brought AAU baseball to this area.(east Pa.) We played 5 years as a team. We are very excited for Chris. He already has a web sight on the internet. He is the fastest white boy on the planet. What a signing bonus he will get!! Now, If I can talk him into a Yenko or Copo or something. Chevy's and Baseball, and apple pie! What else is there!!?? Sam

[mhassett]

Tom, Count HASSETT ROOFING in for a NICE Donation and ANY help I (my Company) can OFFER!!! I like others look forward to this Special Event All Year. Hey, it looks like I won't be bringing my YENKO Chevelle next year (2003) Ha-Ha. Mark /ubbthreads/images/icons/laugh.gif

[Salvatore]

Hey Tom, It looks like you got the heart of the order coming up to bat. A great group of people! Sam (Souderton, Pa.)

[Stefano]

Mark,
Look at the bright side, it doesn't sound nice enough to take up space in your collection, based on what we have been told. /ubbthreads/images/icons/grin.gif

[sYc]

Mark; Thanks for the support and do not give up. I bet there is another nice Yenko Chevelle out there for sale, And, I am sure everyone here will let you have first shot at it.

Sam; I am not surprised. Even though we have some rather heated discussions on here, when push comes to shove, every one will rally around. That is evident by the number of supercars that gather each fall in Collinsville.

[mc25t190]

i'm in , lets race on saturday, a fun filled , packed day ,and i can still drive home sunday. /ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif i'll bring the Zl1

[CamarosRus]

Tom, I am still suggesting you have a outsdoor Chevrolet Musclecar show that generates both participant and spectator revenue to offset some of these other costs...A showplace either at the track or outside the SUPERCAR show where NON-Supercars could be shown.......Chuck S

[COPO]

Tom,

Count us in! My son and I plan to be at the Reunion once again and should have our 69 BM Camaro finished and ready to show/race. A $100++ entry fee seems entirely reasonable to me and a small price for the fun and convenience of renting the track. Also count me in for a large donation if you are able to get a certain "special guest".

[Chevy454]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>
i'm in , lets race on saturday

<hr></blockquote>

Can't do Saturday.

[DarrenX33]

I won't be racing but am willing to pay to watch. Donations sound like a good idea. Thru Paypal even better!

[Seattle Sam]

I would DEFINITELY pay $100 to race a SuperCar, can someone loan me a car to drive?
/ubbthreads/images/icons/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/icons/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/icons/grin.gif
-Sam

[moparts]

There's a money maker! /ubbthreads/images/icons/grin.gif How many would donate their supercar to let us non owners drive? /ubbthreads/images/icons/wink.gif We promise not to drive them any harder than Tom would drive his. /ubbthreads/images/icons/smirk.gif Whats the saying? (drive it like you stole it) and be looking for a exit at the end of the strip.

[69sixpackbee]

The outdoor Chevrolet show sounds like a good idea, The Viper club rents the track and they have a car show and run both the drag strip and road course. It pulls in quite a crowd. I know that you don't want to water down the SuperCar side of things but , maybe talking with the Mo/Il Chevy dealers and some possible
newspaper adds might get you the kind of turn out to make it worth while. I am speaking mainly from a
spectator point of view.. No matter what you guys do this Mopar guy will be there to support you .

CAUSE I LOVE MUSCLECARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Larry M. Pelts

[MotownMadman]

Contact Speed Vision,or Speed Week, whatever they call it, a collection of these type of cars in one place will surely get coverage, which means they may help promote it, as in the end whatever they spend is money spent by the advertisers anyway. Just a thought, might work. Motown. /ubbthreads/images/icons/cool.gif

[hvychev]

Larry that sounds like a Great idea! Maby it could be Mopars vs. supercars! /ubbthreads/images/icons/cool.gif

[MotownMadman]

Larry,
I used to own a 68 Factory Lightweight Hemi Dart, I would have a hard time not calling that a supercar. Actually it wasnt factory, they were built by Hurst Performance in Brighton Michigan and sold through Dodge dealers bill of sale only, so they really did not fall into the street supercar class anyway, but that car ran consistant 10's right from the dealer, 55 produced. Thanks, Motown /ubbthreads/images/icons/cool.gif

[Chevy454]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>
Contact Speed Vision,or Speed Week, whatever they call it, a collection of these type of cars in one place will surely get coverage, which means they may help promote it, as in the end whatever they spend is money spent by the advertisers anyway. Just a thought, might work.

<hr></blockquote>

Not to pat ourselves on the back, as the car owners who attended deserve ALL the credit, but the Reunion has been featured on "My Classic Car", "Horsepower TV", and "Speedvision", and in the pages of Super Chevy and Muscle Car Review. They know what we are doing, and the mags will always take articles, but the tv shows told us they don't feature the same show twice. So, unless some new shows pop up, then it's gonna be pretty hard to get them to televise us again. But, we are open to suggestions!

[MotownMadman]

Rob,
The last time they televised it were the cars raced? If not that might be an approachable angle.
Motown /ubbthreads/images/icons/cool.gif

[Chevy454]

We've gone to the race track 4 of the 5 years...the racing at SCR2 got rained out, but they televised it each time.

[69sixpackbee]

I would love to race at one of the reunions but to be fair I think other brands of cars would detract from the main point of the reunion and that is the COPO cars and the Dealer special edition ( read that Yenko etc. ). I'm happy just to come look around and watch them run, but if a Mopars vs Supercars deal could be worked out I would jump at the chance.
Larry

[67w522]

What month are you looking at for the track rental? The town this will be held at?
100 per car sounds more than fair. That's the average price in this area. We rent Atco race way in NJ and it usually runs 150 p/car for a smaller group racing.

[55chevy]

So what would you call an event like that??? "This is why they are called SUPERCARS"? or "Horribly Embaressed Mopars"? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif just kidding... I love ALL muscle cars, reguardless of brand.. A '68 Hemi Charger would fit in my garage nicely. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif

[sYc]

I would love to do something like this at a SCR. Because of the excitement the racing at SCR6 generated, I have had several requests to go after more era race cars, and other musclecars. Basically two events. One, Supercar/Musclecar Showdown on Friday day, Supercar Reunion on Friday evening and Saturday. All I would ask is that the other musclecars be original musclecars/racecars, not ones built just for the event. The Pure Stock Drags have had to fight this. Kind of takes the fun out of it. Other then that, I am open to discuss putting something together.

[ORIGLS6]

[ QUOTE ]
All I would ask is that the other musclecars be original musclecars/racecars, not ones built just for the event. The Pure Stock Drags have had to fight this. Kind of takes the fun out of it. Other then that, I am open to discuss putting something together.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sounds like fun. Can I play? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/burnout.gif

[sYc]

Dennis, you are always welcome. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beers.gif