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Gainesville Super Chevy Show - We Looked For Gators And Found Chevys
When In Florida, It's A Good Idea To Watch For Swamp Creatures
By Tony Kelly
Manufacturer's Midway drew... Manufacturer's Midway drew the Florida faithful, even when the weather was overcast. Of course, there was just about everything you might want for your Chevy, right in one place. Way out beyond the finish line of the drag strip there's a great-looking pond. Certainly there must be fish in it, but we didn't notice anyone fishing. That may be because of the stories about alligators hanging around looking for "bigger fish to fry," as the saying goes. We just took one trip around on our swamp-rated golf cart and left. We city guys aren't comfy thinking about long, low creatures with big teeth that aren't wearing Bow-Ties and aren't powered by small-blocks. Once back to the relative safety of the Gainesville Super Chevy Show, we found a dashound that was definitely a reflection of its owners' taste (see photo). Then, we talked to a man who has owned his '32 Chevy coupe 43 years. That's longer than he has owned any other thing and longer than his current marriage. His wife seemed resigned to the fact that she'd probably go before the car did. Actually, it looked like both of them received considerable amounts of TLC. While wandering through the pits of the drag area, we found one racer (name withheld at his request) who looked extremely tired. We know drag racing can take it out of you, but this was around noon, and the guy didn't look like some kid who burned the candle at both ends. He told us that he left a 6:30 a.m. wake-up call at his hotel, and when the phone rang, he jumped up, took a shower, and was headed out the door when he noticed the clock. It said 3:00 a.m. The front desk admitted to calling the wrong room, but by then our racer pal was wide-awake. He got breakfast, then went to the track to watch the sun come up. Now I remember why I carry my own alarm clock to every show.  Out of a collection of great...  Out of a collection of great Vettes, one was selected for the Trim Parts Best Corvette award, given in association with Vette magazine. Daniel Copeland from Tifton, GA, took the honors with this outstanding '62. |  Gene and Carolyn Keribel,...  Gene and Carolyn Keribel, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, race this spectacular '72 Corvette, and drive it regularly at home. It certainly deserved the Editor's Choice Top Ten Drag Car award we gave it. |  These are the Saturday Specialty...  These are the Saturday Specialty Award winners. Any doubt that there are a lot of winners at Super Chevy Shows? |  Danchuk's new jet racer. We'll...  Danchuk's new jet racer. We'll be showing more of it in the future, but this was the first time out for the '57 trimmed Beretta. |  The '70 Nova racer belonging...  The '70 Nova racer belonging to Dallas Burger and Johnny Thompson, from Albany, GA, caught our attention. We gave it an Editor's Choice Top Ten Drag Car award. |  Tony Gonzalez parked his candy...  Tony Gonzalez parked his candy red and flamed '55 right where the big, red Bow-Tie was looking over it. We just had to make sure everyone else got to see it, too. |  You're going to have to run...  You're going to have to run a little faster to keep up with these Nitro Coupes. We don't recommend doing aerobics near the burnouts of these wild behemoths. |  Does "deep" refer to the staging...  Does "deep" refer to the staging or how far the rust goes? |  Specialty Award winners are...  Specialty Award winners are also a good-looking bunch, and they're very "special!" |  Outstanding Street Rod award,...  Outstanding Street Rod award, sponsored by Street Rodder magazine, went to this '41 COE that was owner-built by Greg Saunders, with the support of his wife, Nadine, in their shop in Zephyrhills, FL. That's a big-block peeking out from the middle of the truck bed. |  Bracket Two belonged to Phil...  Bracket Two belonged to Phil Greene, Ocala, FL, in his '68 Camaro, by taking the win light over Ed Mucherino, Okeechobee, FL, in his '71 Nova. |  The toughest part about taking...  The toughest part about taking a picture of Manuel Mercado's '57 Bel Air was finding a time when its Kissimmee, FL, owner and friends weren't polishing or dusting it, or when there wasn't a crowd of people around it. We gave it an Editor's Choice Top Ten Show Car award. |  His name is "Chevy Bowtie",...  His name is "Chevy Bowtie", and he belongs to Reggie and Gale Chapman of Clearwater, FL. If we had a class for pets, this little guy would be on top. |  When you want to know what...  When you want to know what preparation is, look no further than Super Chevy Show competitors such as this. It's a dirty job but somebody's got to do it, and it often pays off at judging time. |  Super Chevy Show winners are...  Super Chevy Show winners are a great-looking bunch, don't you think? It's not hard to get them to smile. |  Outstanding Classic Truck...  Outstanding Classic Truck award, sponsored by Classic Trucks magazine, went to Mark Kautz, of Smiths, AL, for this well-done '65 stepside. |  Anybody know if that's a good...  Anybody know if that's a good price for such an item? Anybody know what to do with it? |  DOT Street honors went to...  DOT Street honors went to Derek Putnam, Gainesville, FL, who raced his '70 Nova to a final round win over Melissa Rollins, also of Gainesville, in a '95 Firebird. |  Bracket One winner Leland...  Bracket One winner Leland Poppell, from Odum, GA, prevailed in his '86 Camaro over the dragster of Jimmy Montgomery of Gainesville. |  Saturday bracket race winner...  Saturday bracket race winner Mike Minigh, Green Cove Springs, FL, collects a check and jacket for prevailing over runner-up Shane McFadden, Kissimmee, FL. |  Not all the cool '56 hardtops...  Not all the cool '56 hardtops are Bel Airs. Richard Graf, Jacksonsville, FL, did a great job on this 210 "no-post" car. We gave it an Editor's Choice Top Ten Show Car award. |  In our season-long quest for...  In our season-long quest for ten out of ten winners of Top Ten Show Car winners, Gainesville came up short. That just means more room in the picture for those who stick around for the photo session. |  Mark Woodhouse, Largo, FL,...  Mark Woodhouse, Largo, FL, got all the details right and made his '92 Z28 an eye-catcher. He also caught an Editor's Choice Top Ten Show Car award. |  We did get some more good-looking...  We did get some more good-looking people in the Gold Class to stand still long enough to show off their awards. The two cuties on the left wanted to jump up and down and celebrate, but they were good for the few seconds we needed for this photo. |  These teams have met before,...  These teams have met before, and this time it was the '94 Beretta Nitro Coupe of Dan Nickelson, from LaVerne, CA, running 221.62 mph in 6.397 seconds, to top Doug Winters, Kernersville, NC, who ran his '58 Corvette to a runner-up spot by going 219.45 mph in 6.520 seconds. Another good, close Nitro Coupe race that propelled Nickelson into second place in the season Nitro Coupe standings behind leader Jim Nordhougen. |  This is the '32 coupe that...  This is the '32 coupe that Bill Dorsey has owned for 43 years (see story). It's had numerous colors and looks in that time, but we liked this look so well we gave Bill and his wife, Shirley, of Palatake, FL, and Editor's Choice Top Ten Show Car award. The car also took the class win for Early Chevrolet '35 and Earlier-Modified. |  We see a limited number of...  We see a limited number of '58 Impalas and very few with Rochester fuel-injected small-blocks. Harold Doherty from Tavares, FL, brought his bright-silver, first-year Impala, and we gave it an Editor's Choice Top Ten Show Car award. Those unusual wheels were purchased several years ago at a Super Chevy Show from the Sears booth when that company carried a line of custom auto parts-probably hard to find now, but they look great on this car. |  Petra Gerger came by the SUPER...  Petra Gerger came by the SUPER CHEVY subscription booth at just the right time for us to award her a free subscription of the magazine. At every show, some lucky people win freebies if the right magazine staffer is there when they come to the booth. Then we get to see great smiles such as the one Petra is showing. |  David Rosell, Treasure Island,...  David Rosell, Treasure Island, FL, went a little crazy with his '71 Monte. It started life as a fairly rare 454 SS model and now has two Garret turbochargers, along with lots of other performance and appearance items. It is conservatively estimated to crank out 700-plus civilized ponies in this street-driven machine. The car took the Best Monte Carlo-Autostar Productions award and the class win for Monte Carlo-Modified. | |
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