While I was in Bristol, I heard someone say, "Forget about taking me to the river, take me to Bristol!" But in order for one to grasp the full concept of this folklore you really need to see, feel, hear, and smell the sights of the "fastest half-mile in the world." I don't know about you, but I've watched Bristol races at home and seen helicopter views of Bristol during race weekend, and I think that's more than enough stuff to run my brain through the ringer imagining what it may be like. With that thought in mind, why should the Bristol Super Chevy Show be any different?
It was my first year at this particular stop on the tour, and just like I imagined the show was a madhouse, more like a madhouse you'd want to visit. There must be something in the air out at Bristol that stimulates the brain and starts the heart pumping when in the vicinity of automobile paraphernalia. Come to think of it, maybe it's years of gas fumes billowing from nasty V-8 motors that combine with burnt rubber particles scattered into the atmosphere after a nail-biting photo finish, which are now seeping into the mountainside and recycling into the air via photosynthesis. Hey, it could happen!
Whatever the case may be, there's somethin' 'bout the place because the energy and excitement at this year's Super Chevy Show was more than the Ghostbusters could suck up in their paranormal pest catchers. Thunder Valley was packed with fans tucked into every nook and cranny of the drapstrip and surrounding swap meet, show and shine, and whatever else happened to fill the land. Although the following pictures may not be live video, the glow and essence of the paper will be more than enough to a paint a picture of just how insanely wild and fun the Bristol Super Chevy Show is.
But before you get started, run outside and fire up the car, and lay down some much-needed stress relieving rubber to get the heart started. Then, and only then, can you really dive in deep and see what the Bristol Super Chevy Show is all about.
 |  There's just somethin' about...  There's just somethin' about old shop trucks that is just cool. Only these ain't old-well I mean their model years are old, but that rust like- matter isn't rust! Someone spent some serious time with sandpaper, grinders, paint, and so on to give these trucks the appearance that they've been put through the ringer. |  What is it about a blown rat...  What is it about a blown rat motor the size of Danny DeVito that sucks people right in? Walking by this slammed Nova was a bit like being in a traffic jam on the freeway with a wreck to the side of the road; you already know you're going to have to slow and stop while bypasser gawk. |
 What's missing from this picture?...  What's missing from this picture? How about two doors? Verlen Vaughn has hacked, chopped, stretched and done some major fabricating to his '95 Impala. By removing the rear doors and extending the quarters, then stretching the front doors and laying the A-pillars he turned his stock sedan into a coupe. |  |  The youth gone wild! Chevy's...  The youth gone wild! Chevy's youngest Camaro offsprings all lined up near the front of the show to form 4th-Gen Row. You know I think that might have been one too many Skid Row innuendos . . . |
 One of the most deceiving...  One of the most deceiving colors is Black Cherry, and Marcus and Wanda Tyler's '69 also has ghost stripes over the Black Cherry finish to mix the eye up even more. |  Besides everything that goes...  Besides everything that goes on at the show, possibly the coolest thing about Bristol is standing down at the bottom of Thunder Valley and looking up at Bristol Dragway. It's one of those awe-inspiring sights. |  Speaking of awe-inspiring,...  Speaking of awe-inspiring, try standing inside the fastest half-mile in the world, Bristol Motor Speedway. If you need a break from the Super Chevy action, the track offers tours you can take on the actual Speedway. |
 Speaking of oddballs, check...  Speaking of oddballs, check out the Yenko and Smokey Yunick-tuned Vegas. The Smokey Yunick Vega was complete with a turbocharger. Bristol had a lot of these off-the-wall cars coming out from the woodwork. |  |  |