Monday, August 3, 2015

60 Years of Cars and Stars 2015


Friday night at VA BBQ in Fredericksburg, VA attendance was down a little but the variety and quality of the cruisers was amazing.  A ’62 Chevy pickup came in late, very chopped and scalloped….nice old school ride.  A very nice silver Tahoe with cool graphics joined the cruise then Debbie’s little Metro made it too.  I think that Metro needs more HP….like a Sonny’s 1005 inch beast….yeah that would work!  We stayed till the end and had an uneventful cruise home.

Saturday we cruised to Fredericksburg, VA and the monthly cruise at the Pep Boys on Rt. 3.  This cruise is managed by the Fredericksburg Classic and Muscle Car Club and hosted by the folks at Pep Boys.  The attendance was a little off due in part to the excessive heat.  The humidity was a little lower but hot is still HOT.  Most of the cruisers were the usual suspects but Warren brought out his rowdy Nova to share.  The mud racer was cool and ran on E85….!  A nostalgia FED came through on a trailer but didn’t stop….he was on his way to the event on Sunday at Colonial Beach Dragway.  Bill brought his Model T speedster to share with the spectators.  This cruise is in an area that has a few restaurants nearby so there is always a lot of non-car people walking among the cars and asking questions.  For me this is the best kind of cruise, I love to talk about the cars with people.  We left a little early….I’m old, I need my rest….Sunday was going to be a BIG day.

SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY….Sunday, August 2, 2015 we left the Eustace Rd. WAWA in N. Stafford, VA at 6AM to cruise to Colonial Beach, VA and the 60 Years of Cars and Stars, Drag Racing Reunion.  This is a big deal around here and is a “must attend” event for the year.  It’s run on the historic Colonial Beach Dragway that has been in existence for many years.  It was converted to a drag strip after the airport, that was used for commuters to gamble in the Maryland waters of Colonial Beach, VA, was no longer needed.  It is now an 1/8 mile strip, years ago when the cars were much slower it was a ¼ mile strip. 

We had attended the event a couple years ago and knew we had to get onsite by 7:30 or we would be parking away from the action….so we left early to ensure a good spot for the day’s activities.  When we arrived we hastily set up camp with some of the Virginia Stockers car club.  We had four canopies lashed together and to the drag strip fence!  It looked like a refugee camp!  It gave us a primo spot to watch the races in the comfort of shade while we socialized and our cars would be only about 20 feet away!  This event is a “car” event…..what I mean by that is that most of the people wandering around among the show cars already know about cars so we don’t have to be close to the cars to answer questions about them.  As soon as I had the Princess set up to relax under the canopy I took off to begin recording the day on film….I guess that’s not film anymore, maybe digital something?  The Princess says the pictures are converted to pixilated spirits then sent to a cloud where angles take care of them till I get back to my computer….you have no idea. 

Since my roots are in drag racing I like to visit the hot pits first….it’s a little different now but the activity focus is always the same, get ready for the bell!  I don’t understand all the new classes and is probably why I like the “nostalgic” events better.  The “old” cars still look like Gassers and rails….the Altereds look like a funny car without a body.  But they all make the same music….the sound of my people!

After I made my rounds in the pits I had to rest in the campground for an hour before beginning the next phase of the day.  The show car field was filling up and most of the cars were soon to be in place….a good time to photograph them.  There were too many interesting rides to describe….you just have to check out the pictures.  When I came back to the campground I watched the racing with the other for a while but I was getting too hot.  I told the Princess I needed to get home to A/C.  Since the old farm truck’s A/C consists of a cowl vent, windows and a sun roof….it works ok when the truck is moving but not so much at rest.  I guess everyone else was getting hot because when we started to break camp everyone else started too!

It was a great day at the drags….If you are around here the first of next August you need to check this event out….you won’t be disappointed.

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