Bright sun, clear skies, beautiful cars, and we were still weeks away from worrying about "chad." The race cars were fast and the show cars shined in the fall Florida sun. Ordinarily the Gainesville Super Chevy Show would be the last event in the year-long series, but this season the Inaugural (there's one of those vote words again) Las Vegas Super Chevy Show was added and scheduled for November 17 through 19, making it the final go-round of the year. Gainesville was, however, the season finale for the racers. Las Vegas will actually count as the first event for the 2001 season as far as points go. Because of that, the awards ceremony was held Saturday night (see sidebar), and all the racers came to Gainesville. All the show car people, swap meet folks, and manufacturer's midway participants did, too. As a matter of fact, it was one heck of a great show.
Bow-Tie machines from all over the southeast as well as the midwest made their way into Gainesville Raceway. Of course it doesn't hurt that this is one of those tracks with more than its share of history in the lore of big-time drag racing. Nitro Coupes were hotly contested with winning times hovering under the mid 6-second range. These cars are consistently running faster than 200 mph, which always makes for an awesome show.
Black cars must be flawless...
Black cars must be flawless to stand out at a car show. Here are two outstanding examples. The '55 Nomad is exceptionally straight and clean while the SS Camaro is equally perfect and sports a heavily chromed big-block.
While we're mentioning show, the vehicles on display were spectacular. The bright colors, especially what appears to be the new most popular hue, purple, vied for our attention. We could have filled up a whole coffee table book with the great cars at Gainesville this year.
As the season winds down for the 2000 Super Chevy Shows, we wonder what new trends 2001 will present: faster drag cars certainly, and probably a whole new batch of customs, restorations, and colors. We can hardly wait.
Autostar Awards Banquet Honors 2000 Super Chevy Tour Winners And Sponsors
At the season-ending Gainesville meet, champions, sponsors, and many of the hard-working people who make the Super Chevy Shows a success, gathered and were honored with awards of achievement for what they did on the historical 20th Super Chevy Tour. For those of us who were at Richmond when Bill Kuhlmann crashed hard, it was gratifying to see him stand up and accept his award as the 2000 Nitro Coupe Champ. Kuhlmann's successes during the season assured him the championship even before the wreck.
Not all the cool '57s are...
Not all the cool '57s are cars-check out this truck if you don't believe it. Those Hydramatics and low rearend gears were hard to beat on the street for the first hundred feet off the line.
In addition to the racers and staff who were honored for their successful year, Autostar's Roger and Jeri Gustin made their appreciation known to all of the fine manufacturers and vendors that support and sponsor the Super Chevy Shows. Organizations such as Chevrolet, Meguair's, Sunoco Race Fuels, ESPN2, RaceSearch.com, Danchuk, SUPER CHEVY magazine, GR8RIDE.com, and Drag Racing USA magazine were honored with Awards of Appreciation for being a vital part of the 2000 season. Contingency award sponsors B&M, Mickey Thompson, Sunoco, and Comp Cams were also honored for their contributions to the racers. Masters Entertainment and Photosports, who produce shows and publicity for the Super Chevy events, received honors for their efforts in making the Super Chevy Shows known around the country.
For the 130 racers, fans, sponsors, and staff in attendance the banquet was a fitting culmination of a great year. As Super Chevy Shows enter their 21st season, there is a feeling that 2001 will be even bigger and better than the wonderful year 2000. Make sure you're there!