Virginia Motorsports Park Drag Racing and Car Show - PY Pontiacs In The Park

Chief Pontiac Productions and Virginia Motorsports Park celebrated their fourth year together with another fantastic three-day-long weekend of drag racing, car shows, and Pontiac camaraderie. Competitors came from all across the United States to show off their prized Ponchos and/or to engage in the excitement of competing on the dragstrip.

The event was hosted this year by GTO of Richmond, Old Dominion POCI chapter, and 757Goat.org. Performance Years returned as the title sponsor. Chief Pontiac Productions' Jim Zeek said, "The turnout was good and there were even more new people this year. Word of mouth and advertising has really helped us out."

There's more to this event than just the quarter-mile action and a car show, however. "The fun of PY Pontiacs in the Park is in its family atmosphere," Zeek explained. "There are a lot of people who enjoy coming every year because they like how the Zeek family treats them, and how the track treats them. We're all a big, happy family." Ron Henaghan, marketing director of Virginia Motorsports Park, agreed that Pontiac hobbyists are by far the friendliest group that attends the track's season of events

.PY Pontiacs in the Park opened on May 18, 2007, and ran through May 20, 2007. On Friday, May 18, a line formed a half-mile long outside Virginia Motorsports Park as Pontiac racers anticipated the 9 a.m. gate opening. By lunchtime, the pits were loaded 10 rows deep with Pontiacs from model year '60 to '06, all ready to take time shots in preparation for the two days of drag competition that tempted them with a total of $14,000 in cash prizes. Vendors began setting up on the manufacturers midway and some early-bird show participants staked out their spots.

Friday afternoon's festivities were cut short due to rain. Friday evening was beginning to look better, but saw two drag race competitions-VMP Street Wars and PY Pontiacs in the Park Chicago Style Shootout-cancelled.

Saturday's events were delayed by-you guessed it-morning rain. Thankfully, the weather finally relented and offered a more pleasing afternoon. At the staging lanes, lines of Pontiacs grew longer than VMP's NHRA-sanctioned quarter-mile strip, as racers were anxious to compete. According to Ron Henaghan, the racers and showgoers felt welcomed by the gracious track staff. He said, "General Motors and the Pontiac-GMC division has been our main sponsor since we opened the facility in 1993. So it's only appropriate that we have all these incredible Pontiacs out here using our state-of-the-art track and facility."

Three drag racing competitions were held on Saturday: Ponti-Action Racing Heavy, AllPontiac.com Super Pro, and Zeek Racing Street. A Saturday afternoon car show coincided with them and featured many well-detailed Pontiacs for a Top 20 format. The winners were chosen by popular vote. Classic GTOs were highest in attendance, followed by Fourth- and Second-Gen Firebirds. It was a great plan to have the car show in the pit area adjacent to the VMP racetrack spectator stands because it allowed fans to enjoy racing and car show activities within close proximity to each other.

Saturday night featured a BBQ dinner sponsored by Performance Years, which doubled as a meet-and-greet. The racers and their families and friends mingled in a friendly atmosphere as they enjoyed BBQ chicken dinners.

Sunday opened with time-trials for Zeek Racing Street, AllPontiac.com Super Pro, and Ponti-Action Racing Heavy. Then there was exhilarating exhibition racing from the Bag Boys' Grocery Getter Tempest wagon repli-racer. The crowd cheered as this recreated dragin' wagon did a half-track smoky burnout. Afternoon eliminations followed in the classes of Butler Fast 4, Ken's Quick 16, Zeek Racing Street, Ponti-Action Racing Heavy and AllPontiac.com Super Pro.