Super Chevy - Something a Little Different
Text & Photos by Frank Colgoni

We usually don't cover drag racing but we're going to make an exception for a couple of reasons: The Super Chevy Show combines a car show with the racing and it's too much fun to overlook.

What's Super Chevy? Read on.

Taken from the Super Chevy Show web site:

"Whether you’re a show car fan, a drag racing fan, or enjoy an automotive swap meet, the AutoZone Super Chevy Shows offer a complete package for the enthusiast, from large car shows to top-notch drag racing to a comprehensive marketplace.
Featuring America’s most famous and popular marquee, the AutoZone Super Chevy Show is a 19-event tour across the US and Canada. The TREMEC Transmissions Car Show Series has developed into over 30 categories, from pre-war Chevrolets through the Shoebox Chevy years to Monte Carlos, Novas, Corvettes, and all manner of trucks sporting the Bow Tie.
And the racing is an important part of these three-day events, featuring the unique and popular Mickey Thompson Performance Tires and Wheels Nitro Coupe Challenge, the world’s fastest door-slammers on nitro, exclusive to the AutoZone Super Chevy Shows. Also taking to the quarter-mile are 300-mph jet cars, and the wild antics of wheelstanders."

This is the first year that Super Chevy crossed the border into Canada and we sincerely hope it won't be the last. While there are venues all across the U.S., you can't beat an event like this in your own backyard. In this case, our own backyard was Toronto Motorsports Park just outside of Cayuga, Ontario.

The weather was looking good as we left Toronto to head to the finals on Sunday - sunny and a bit cool so we had great hopes for a fine day of racing and viewing Chevies. Saturday had been a dismal day in Southern Ontario. In some areas, it had been cold and breezy and, in others, cold and downright ugly with rain. The closer we got to Toronto Motorsports Park (TMP) the worse the weather became. That is, a low dark sky and a bit cool for sitting in the stands. When we arrived, we found out that the downright ugly weather had descended on the Cayuga area on the Saturday and the Nitro Coupes had managed only a single run. Someone we knew said it had been "cold enough to freeze the nuts off his Torq Thrusts."

On arriving at TMP however, the general mood warmed you up right away. There was a tremendous turnout of cars in the car show area and the pit area was getting busy as race fans were starting to swarm around the Nitro Coupe teams to get a look at the preparatory work and a close up view of the cars themselves.

Canada had two teams in the field of eight finalists, our friends at the Gary Irving Racing / Lowdown Hot Rods Team and the Bruce Boland Team out of Hamilton Ontario. In addition to our teams, the field consisted of:
- Randy Adler (’57 Chevy)
- Tommy Howes (’92 Camaro)
- Kasey “KC” Janzen (’63 Corvette)
- Larry Sinke (’67 Chevy II)
- Mike Swinarski (’57 Chevy)
- Dave Tomasino, (’69 Camaro)

You really have to admire the dedication of these racers (and a lot of racers as a matter of fact). It is an understatement to say that a lot is sacrificed in order to compete. The members of these teams and most of their fraternity have "day jobs" yet, spring through fall, they travel to race, as often as they can, at tracks all over the United States and Canada and then plug away all winter getting ready for the next season. They love to race.

Despite the early hour, there is lot of activity in the Nitro Coupe pits. Besides a lot of visiting and chit chat, it's obvious that there is a lot to attend to in order to prepare the cars for round 1 which will get underway around midday.