Something Old, Something Blue

Jose Vega showed us an old photo of a very small boy standing next to a 1952 Chevy. We recognized the Chevy, because Jose brought it to the show. He said the car was his dad's, and he was the small boy in the photo. Papa Vega bought the car (brand new) in Puerto Rico, and brought it to the mainland when he came here to live. Jose came along a bit later, but grew to love the car, and has a great deal of pride for having kept it in the family.

Everything except the paint, air in the tires, gas in the tank, and the battery is original. The odometer shows about 71,000 miles, which, according to Jose, is all it has! It does get driven, just not a lot, but it has that cool old "six cylinder" sound. Of course, we couldn't pass up the chance to award Jose Vega's "family" car an Editor's Choice Car Show Top 10 Award.

It's great to see a nice '58...        read full caption It's great to see a nice '58 Impala now and then. Even though it was a one-year body style, enthusiasts love 'em.

Bubbletops from 1961 sure...        read full caption Bubbletops from 1961 sure are a hot item these days, and this one really stands out.

Tommy Howes and Gary Irving...        read full caption Tommy Howes and Gary Irving had the fastest Nitro Coupe run of the season. For details on how it went, check out our full magazine feature.

Another thing that drew our attention to Vega's '52 was the '61 Impala parked right behind it. This car was all original, although not in the hands of its original owner. We found it ironic that two cars of this ilk were parked next to each other. For more on the "all original" Impala, see our full coverage in the pages of Super Chevy magazine.

Here in Gainesville, the drag racers were "hot." We watched sizzling and "scary" performances that kept the crowd on the edge of its seats. We're also running additional coverage of the drag racing action in an upcoming issue of the magazine. In case you've never been here, North Central Florida is a great place to visit. Aside from Gainesville Raceway, you'll find plenty of cool antique shops, the University of Florida campus, and interesting historical sites nearby.

John Force said he saw Elvis...        read full caption John Force said he saw Elvis at 1,000 feet. We caught a glimpse of this Elvis right behind the bleachers. The King always did like Florida.

Besides cool Impalas, we saw...        read full caption Besides cool Impalas, we saw this one in the car corral. It was a one-owner 425 h.p. 409 engine, four-speed, with the original air in the tires.

Ready to trip the Gainesville...        read full caption Ready to trip the Gainesville Raceway beams, Ken Hall in the "Top Secret" Jet Funny Car headed for the starting line.

David Bigelow	Gary Cooke	Robert DeBlasio
Larry Flynn	Vernon Glisson	Eddie Hampshire
Ralph Icker	Peter Luongo	Ernie Renfro
Jack Sapp

Bill Buonomo	Rosemarie Campbell	Billy Dean
Ron & Vera Klenovic	Gene Merckle	John Nobles
Bob & Bill Pierce	Jose Vega	Mark Woodhouse

Bill & Debora Bachschmidt...        read full caption Bill & Debora Bachschmidt	Bruce Perreault	Gerald Copeland
John & Cathy Fig	Ryan Belt	Bob Phelps
Gene Hubbard	David Wade	Larry Stake
Bob Trathen