Sunday featured more great drag-racing action. Each racer started fresh in their bracket class, followed by the third qualifying round for the KRE Quick-16 and Butler Performance Frantic Four. Car-show judging continued, allowing Pontiacs that showed up Sunday to have a chance to compete, and trophies were awarded in the late afternoon. On the race side, by the end of the day a new Chief of the Pontiacs was announced-John Martin of Gallaway, Ohio, with his '73 GTO. John will enjoy the title until next year's event.
 The '64 Mystery Tornado Tempest...  The '64 Mystery Tornado Tempest is another fan tribute to Arnie "The Farmer" Beswick. It's owned and built by Bennie Bax and his sons. |  The '63 Tameless Tiger III...  The '63 Tameless Tiger III Tempest is a high-quality fan tribute to Arnie. Although Arnie never campaigned this vehicle, he says he's honored the owner wanted to use his name for it. |  The show field saw no shortage...  The show field saw no shortage of gorgeous Second- and Third-Gen T/As and Firebirds. |
A total of 446 racers competed during the course of the event, but Jeff and Mark Kauffman, noted Pontiac engine builders, made news with their Kauffman Racing Equipment (KRE) Cameron dragster. As detailed in Tribal News (Jan. '09), Jeff ran the fastest Pontiac-powered quarter-mile we've heard of to date at 209.20 mph. The e.t. was 6.623 seconds.
 Arnie "The Farmer" Beswick...  Arnie "The Farmer" Beswick loves to sign autographs and did so on thousands of items for appreciative fans, including this man's T-shirt. He says he's had requests to put autographs in some pretty unusual places, none of which can be detailed in our family-oriented magazine. |  Maurizio Campolucci, with...  Maurizio Campolucci, with his son Michael Angelo as driver, debuted his Rick Jones Pro Stock GTO with a KRE-prepped, all-aluminum, 535ci Pontiac MR-1A engine and KRE high-port heads. It went 7.59 at 179.31 mph. |  Event sponsor Axelrod Pontiac-GMC...  Event sponsor Axelrod Pontiac-GMC displayed an '09 Solstice GXP Street Edition with Ram Air hood. |
Pete says this year's event was as good as ever, and he was pleased with the Pontiac and non-Pontiac crowds that attended. "We get a lot of spectators who come to the event because it happens at Norwalk. They're not Pontiac people, but they're amazed at the size and scope of the event. To them, it's incredible that the Pontiac community is this large and this loyal. It never ceases to amaze me the people and cars that come out: They're truly unique. Over the years, I've seen the most incredible Ponchos ever made, and every year something we hadn't seen before comes out and reminds me how exciting the Pontiac hobby is."
 The Cleveland Fiero Club and...  The Cleveland Fiero Club and its members displayed their midengine Pontiacs for the crowds to enjoy. |  Ralph and Lynn Ronzello are...  Ralph and Lynn Ronzello are proud owners of this '61 Catalina Batwing sedan, restored by Scott Tiemann of Supercar Specialties. Look for it to be featured in an upcoming issue. |  Herb Patton owns this altered-wheelbase...  Herb Patton owns this altered-wheelbase '66 Tempest, campaigned by Vanice Pontiac in Lincoln, Nebraska. |
The 18th Annual Ames Performance Tri-Power Pontiac Nationals will be held on August 7-9, 2009, at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk. "We're planning on having a special race-car display with their original drivers, although we don't have full details yet," Pete says. He also promises, "We'll give out generous cash prizes to Pontiac racers, and give them the best weekend of the whole year."
For more information, visit www.pontiacnationals.com.
Event Sponsors
Main
- Ames Performance Engineering
- Axelrod Pontiac GMC
Associate
- Auto Custom Carpets
- Goodmark Industries
- PUI Interiors
- R.E.M. Automotive Parts
- Soff Seal
- Trim Parts
Race
- AllPontiac.com
- Butler Performance
- K&M Performance Parts
- Kauffman Racing Equipment
- On The Ground Performance
- Pypes Performance Exhaust
- Ram Air Restoration Enterprises
- Spotts Performance
- Tin Indian Performance