Friday we were going to Fredericksburg, VA and
the weekly cruise at VA BBQ but we took an extra day to come back from our Fla.
visit with friends and were really tired.
And we hadn’t cleaned the truck up from our cruise the Sunday before….in
the rain. So we stayed home to
recuperate. But Saturday after we
cleaned up the truck we were ready to do some cruisin.
The Princess & I drove 58 miles from
Stafford to Orange to visit the monthly cruise-in at the BK on Rt. 15. This cruise-in is declining a little but
still attracts over 80 cars every month.
This was a 200+ deal at one time.
Since we were a little early we chose a new place to park….away from the
cigar smoking we had to endure the last time we attended. As soon as we were parked David rolled in
with his ’92 Fox Mustang and we had a “group”!
Later Andrew would join our little gathering. A lot of very nice rides attended but I liked
the blue ‘48 much modified Buick….did I just say I liked a Buick, must be the
cold weather approaching….grin The car
was lowered and smoothed with many body mods….it just looked right. I also liked the silvery blue ’48 Chevy
PU….it was also a nice build. I took a
picture of a Peterbilt tractor that had a custom paint job that was a little
different. As I was strolling through
the cars taking pictures the truck started to leave. I stepped back and was watching him when I
heard the unmistakable scrubbing sounds that tires make when they are rolling
on a road surface! I looked to my left
where the sound was coming from and saw the truck’s oversized trailer heading for
me as he negotiated his turn! I jumped
back (don’t know how I did that?) and narrowly missed being smushed into the asphalt. I am ready to go but really don’t want to
meet such a ignominious end as being run over by a semi trailer in a parking
lot! I really need to keep my situational
awareness peaked better when I’m walking around.
While the Princess was sitting and talking with
the spectators around our truck a small group walked near the truck. It was a middle aged couple assisting a very
elderly white haired lady as they walked among the cars. The lady was 101 years old! As they approached the truck the older lady
reached out to touch the truck, the young lady said “Don’t touch it”. The Princess saw/heard the exchange and
exclaimed “It’s OK….she is welcome to touch our truck”! Then the little lady extended her hand and ran
her weathered fingers over the pinstriping on the front fender and smiled. You could tell she was also watching some old
memories playing out in her head….just too cool. That’s the part we like best about sharing
our hot rods with people….it almost always stimulates some kind of positive memory
for them.
The shadows were becoming longer by the minute signaling
that it was time we began making our way home.
We said our goodbyes and cruised home….making more memories along the
way.
A few weeks ago Fred had suggested we attend an
event that was 109 miles away in Dinwiddie, VA on Sunday. It was the Mega Mopar Action Series event at
Virginia Motorsports Park. It was a
Mopar event, I drive a Chevy! Fred
assured me that since Sunday was “Mopar against the world”????....I would be
OK. Since a lot of my misspent youth was
done at one of the drag strips in SoCal I thought it would be fun to watch the
racing but enter a Chevy in a ‘car show’ at a Mopar event sounded like a non
starter to me.
The Princess didn’t want to be the only girl in
our group so she called Debie and convinced her to come along with Fred? Remember these women people are the same ones
that have to visit the restroom in groups too….so I guess it’s a herding thing? We were to meet Bill, another cruiser and
Mopar guy at the onramp of Rt. 17….but a VA Trooper had other ideas and made
Bill “move along”. So we joined up with
Bill at the Rest Stop on I-95. Soon
after that we met Fred & Debie at the Thornburg Dairy Queen interchange where
Fred took over leading our group and continued our cruise to Dinwiddie. I-95 is an interesting road most if it is well
maintained and a pleasure to travel on, but some of it is horrible. That’s all I’m going to say about that. It’s a long way to Dinwiddie….trust me.
When we turned into the Motorsports Park I was
greeted with a large, “No Weapons” sign.
So….using the TSA guidelines I would have to leave behind my pocket
knife, fingernail clippers, bottled water and any other item of self defense I
might have brought with me or go home. Fred negotiated with the money taker at the
gate then told me it would be OK as long as I left anything in the truck! OK….
That sucks but I didn’t want to lose the day or disappoint our friends
that have made the trek with us just because of a wrongheaded rule. Being a ‘rule follower’ is difficult
sometimes.
I didn’t really want to compete in the show with
Mopars….it was ‘their’ deal after all.
But when we had parked in the spectator lot the show announcer guy came
bounding over to us and said we were welcome to be in the show! We moseyed over to the show grid and took up temporary
residence….I had a Mopar on both sides and in back of me! Hmmmmmm
After a short while we decided to
go watch some racing in the grandstands.
This facility is very nice with permanent
restrooms and snack bar. I have not
visited many drag strips since moving to the right coast in ’73 so my recollection
of drag racing is from Lions, Irwindale, Fontana and O.C.I.R., with O.C.I.R. (The
County) being the most modern of the lot.
I remember the first time I visited The County and being very impressed
with the concrete bleachers with the permanent restrooms, snack bar and tower
that was state of the art. The
Motorsports Park is every bit as accommodating as The County was. I’m not a real fan of handicapped racing….I
think that’s one thing that killed ‘class’ racing. Like the Gas and Altered classes that fell victim
of ‘bracket’ racing. Oh well….it is what
it is. The racing was fun but not too
many ‘hot’ cars....just one BB/FC and one Weezer. The Princess
& Debie were choosing cars they liked sometimes by the color of the car then
cheering them on! It’s what drag racing
is supposed to be for the spectators. Us
guys were always mumbling things like; reaction time, too much bite, lifting,
valve float….I think the girls have more fun!
After a while we heard the announcer call for
all the ‘show’ cars owners to begin congregating at the announcer canopy. The show car field consisted of 19 cars, so
when the ‘top 20’ awards were given out no one went home empty handed. They divided the show field into ‘Old School’
and ‘New School’ vehicles for the ‘specialty awards’. I think that was a good way to try to level
the age disparity of the cars. The
Princess won the ‘Best Interior’, old school, award but as she was leaving the
award table with it, she was called back.
The announcer guy had made a mistake?
The Princess reluctantly gave the award back….very reluctantly. I could see the wood peeling off the plaque
from her fingernail scratches as he removed it from her clutches. Then the announcer said that she had won the ‘Best
Paint’, old school, award instead. Whew,
there will be peace and happiness in the Shotwell hovel next week! Bill won ‘Best Interior’, old school, with his
Valiant. Bill muttered something to the
Princess about her trying to steal ‘his’ best interior award as he walked by
her, it was just too funny!
After the award ceremony we went back to the
grandstands to watch the racing. This
time we took umbrellas to protect us from the relentless thermonuclear rays the
sun was sending out. After an hour or so
we noticed Debie was getting a little red around the gills. I asked if she was OK….she responded “yes”. But her demeanor and appearance told me
otherwise. She was still drinking water
and sweating but she needed to get in a different environment, soon. We all retreated to our rides and began our
ride north and home. It was a fun day
and the facility was top notch….just too many Mopars…..grin
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