Here, Erik Weigand of White...
Here, Erik Weigand of White Plains, Maryland, catches some air in his '64 GTO.
If you were anxiously counting the days all winter until you could get your Pontiac back out onto the dragstrip or the show field, there was only one place to be May 30-31, 2009, and that was Petersburg, Virginia, for the sixth Annual PY Pontiacs in the Park Drag Race and Car Show, presented by Virginia Motorsports Park.
After a smaller turnout than expected last year (gas prices were over $4 per gallon), it was unknown whether the event would return for 2009. Thanks to Ron Henaghan, marketing director of VMP, the track assumed responsibility for the show from the previous promoter Jim Zeek of Big Chief Productions, who started the event and had led it through its first five years.
"Pontiacs in the Park is too important to let die," Henaghan tells High Performance Pontiac. "Virginia Motorsports Park was happy to take over the duties of coordinating the event, and that means Pontiac fans across the country can look forward to the annual pilgrimage for years to come."
Pontiacs in the Park opened with a bang on Friday morning when a long line of racers were let through the gates, most anxious to prepare for a blazingly fast weekend of competitive drag racing. Meanwhile, a select group of racers, all hand-picked by High Performance Pontiac, participated in a private event that you've already read about, the HPP Pavement Pounders Shootout (Dec. '09 and Jan. '10).
Tina Daniels shows off the...
Tina Daniels shows off the Haley Pontiac G8 GXP that Barry Moore, the dealer's general manager, brought to the event for exhibition passes and test drives.
Though Pontiacs in the Park didn't officially start until Saturday, VMP arranged a Pontiac versus the World Street Shootout from 6 to 10 p.m. on Friday night, where owners of all makes tried to beat the best bracket-racer Pontiacs at the track. Luckily, Shawn Chlebus of Berlin Center, Ohio, held onto the crown for Pontiac with his '79 Trans Am and an 11.14 e.t. on an 11.142 dial in.
Saturday's festivities started early, with spectator gates opening at 8 a.m., and beautiful Pontiacs from the '60s to present day filling up the parking lot for a Top 25 People's Choice Car Show. By 10 a.m., racers were making good use of VMP's eight staging lanes, for a morning of fierce-and-loud time shots. The excitement hit a fever pitch at high-noon when competition drag racing commenced. Six classes-GTO Shootout, Pontiac Front Wheel Drive, Allpontiac.com Superpro, Pontiac Heavy, Pontiac Street, and Butler Performance Quick 8-enticed racers with $5,700 in cash and prize payouts.
In between the drag classes, exhibition racing featured the Dirty Bird, the fastest Pontiac-powered funny car in the country that we know of as of press time, and Henaghan (an old drag racer, himself) in the Haley Pontiac '09 G8 GXP sport sedan.
Saturday's schedule also included a special seminar: retired Pontiac Historian Fred Simmonds on "Pontiac Racing Heritage," who filled a track-tower suite with interested showgoers for an excellent Q&A session. As the sun went down over the hot-and-sweaty Virginia track, the day concluded with a welcome party hosted by Performance Years, allowing racers to take a few hours from competition to enjoy camaraderie and a cool-down from the scorching Virginia day.
Sunday featured more exciting drag racing, as the weekend's program continued with eliminations, semi-finals, finals, and awards. (A drag racing results list is printed as part of this story.) A second car show, this one professionally judged, took center stage for those attendees not participating in drag racing, and Dave Merricks of Manassas, Virginia, won Best of Show with his restored '77 Trans Am S/E Bandit. Two more seminars-Haley Pontiac on "Speed Talk," and "Feature Ready" hosted by High Performance Pontiac-invited event attendees to get out of the heat and hear tips to increase their Pontiacs' performance and how to get their cars feature-ready for an HPP photo shoot.
 David Merricks, recipient...  David Merricks, recipient of HPP's Editor Choice Award at VMP in 2008, was back at VMP with his '77 Trans Am S/E Bandit. This year, it took Best of Show. |  Gary Crossfield of Suffolk,...  Gary Crossfield of Suffolk, Virginia, launched his '02 Trans Am to a 13.05 e.t. during Sunday's Pontiac Street eliminations. |  This heavily-modified '68...  This heavily-modified '68 Firebird, named "Fire Fly," is owned by James Damels, and features a 488ci Pontiac powerplant, a blower, and more chrome than any other car at the event. |
 A T2 Champion '08 Solstice...  A T2 Champion '08 Solstice GXP, owned by Patricia Dewey, leads off this row of Pontiacs at Sunday's car show. |  The autocross was open to...  The autocross was open to all-year Pontiacs, and this '64 GTO was certainly up to the challenge. |  The autocross was open to...  The autocross was open to all-year Pontiacs, and this '64 GTO was certainly up to the challenge. |