Joliet Super Chevy Show - The Mother Road Leads To Super Chevy

Add Route 66 to the Chevy slogan of baseball, hot dogs and apple pie. That highway is as much a part of America as the Bowtie brand, and we see that each year at the Super Chevy Show in Joliet, Illinois. Some very serious racers from all around the heartland, along with the best and brightest show cars, trucks, and hot rods from at least a dozen states, show up to compete for bragging rights and just for the fun of being at a Super Chevy event.

Joliet is right in the neighborhood for our favorite Chevy racers, the Chicago Outlaws, and they came out prepared to show the hometown crowd how real Chevys can run. Of course they did this with several runs in the 7-second zone, eventually leading to the finals where Joe Stiles, who had set the low e.t. of the meet at 7.822 in his '71 Camaro, defeated Frank Podlogar in his Chevelle. Joe was still running strong in the final cranking a 7.872.

Nitro Coupe competition came down to two of the strongest runners in the recent Super Chevy races, the Barklage brothers. Zach, who set low elapsed time at Route 66 with a qualifying run of 6.138, in his '57 Chevy, went up against younger brother Cody who had "signed in" during qualifying at a not-too-shabby 6.308 in his late-model GTO. In a great race, Zach took the crown by running a 6.154 to Cody's 6.302. Something tells us we're going to see a lot more of both of these fine racers in the future.

The show car area was crammed with more Camaros and Chevelles than we see at any other event. It was difficult to pick winners in any category. Every once in a while, we had to go stand in the shade to avoid burning our eyes from looking at the gorgeous paint in the bright sun. We wouldn't want it any other way.

You can't be at Super Chevy...        read full caption You can't be at Super Chevy and not like hot rods. Doesn't matter what make or model, the best ones are Chevy powered. The red '32 Vicky was the Street Rodder Magazine award winner, belonging to Scott Jobb of La Grange, Illinois.		Brian Pitcher of Peoria, Illinois,...        read full caption Brian Pitcher of Peoria, Illinois, took the well-deserved Workmanship award for this slammed '55 two-door.
Brian Reineking of Rolling...        read full caption Brian Reineking of Rolling Meadows, Illinois, was one of those kids you had to be careful about what you told him. His neighbor had this '57 wagon, and Brain started talking to him about it when he was 8-years old. When Brian was 10, the neighbor told him what the price was to buy it. He also said that if Brian saved his pennies, the neighbor would save it and sell it to him. Brian did, so he's had the car since the age of 19. Brian is 33 now and he's never going to sell it. He raced it in Bracket 2 at Route 66, dialing 11.59 and he took an Editor's Choice Drag Race award.	Mike Thompson of Bettendorf,...        read full caption Mike Thompson of Bettendorf, Iowa, drives this '56 GMC pickup around town, and runs it at a 12.99 dial-in at the drags. Probably surprises a few folks at the stoplights. It's all steel and weighs 4,800 lbs. Thompson earned an Editor's Choice Top 10 Drag Race award.	Let's say you're out playing...        read full caption Let's say you're out playing golf with your buddy on Wednesday, and he says "Let's paint your car for Super Chevy." Being that Super Chevy starts Friday, is it logical to think that this is going to happen? No, but in this case it did. Ken Hart, the painter (and golfer) picked the color and did the job in two days. Our kind of painter. Owner Chris Reister of Oak Forest, Illinois, competes with this '69 Camaro and runs elapsed times in the 9.20s with a 468-cube engine. It took an Editor's Choice Drag Race award.
The Barklage brothers in the...        read full caption The Barklage brothers in the finals. Zack, nearest to camera, and Cody, far lane, leave almost together. Zack has a .047 reaction time, Cody registers .051, but at the top end Zack is running 228.53 mph with a 6.154 second elapsed time, to Cody's 6.302 at 214.45 mph. Zach is the season record holder for Nitro Coupes top speed, 228.65 mph, and elapsed time, 6.138. Both marks were set at Route 66.	There is not a Best Appearing...        read full caption There is not a Best Appearing Crew award this season, but we couldn't pass up this team. We gave an Editor's Choice Drag Race award to the Vengeance Motorsports Team from Bourbonnais, Illinois, which runs this 8-second alcohol dragster. Nice looking group.	What're the chances of finding...        read full caption What're the chances of finding two '57 wagons drag racing at one event? Pretty good from our standpoint. Ken Lopatka of Bolingbrook, Illinois, dials-in at 10.70 these days, but over the past 22 years it's been everything from a daily-driver to a bracket car. The chopped top was a bit of fun, but it came out right and Ken made the car into a sedan delivery while he was at it. Took home an Editor's Choice Top 10 Drag Race award for his effort.
Pro Street? Maybe. This '82...        read full caption Pro Street? Maybe. This '82 Camaro looks kind of like a racecar to us, but it's so well done it took an Editor's Choice Show Car award for owner Jack Nungester of Arnold, Missouri.		We don't have any stories...        read full caption We don't have any stories behind these cars, but they did also take home Editor's Choice Drag Race awards, so isn't that story enough? Congrats to Mark Hicks, Bloomington, Illinois, '57 Corvette, Bruce Weizyk, West Allis, Wisconsin, clone Yenko '69 Nova, Tom Gaffney, Homer Glen, Illinois, '67 Camaro, and John Murabito of Burbank, Illinois, in his black '69 Nova.