Steve Levin's '66 LeMans squares...
Steve Levin's '66 LeMans squares off against Mike Osborne's '64 GTO.
There are signs of life in the desert. They're always there if you know when to go and where to look, but it's a given that January is prime time, what with all of the auctions going on and the sort of T-shirt-and-shorts weather that attracts Northern snowbirds. You'd think by springtime in Phoenix, when ambient temperatures are already sniffing the triple digits, that life as we know it would pack up and hide inside a freon-chilled cubicle. 'Tis not the case in central Arizona. Our annual trip to the Speedworld Dragstrip in Witmann, Arizona (half an hour outside of Phoenix), to visit Steve Barcak's Pontiac Heaven 12 shows that when the springtime sun shines, the fun is only getting started.
We arrived at the strip Saturday morning for the bracket racing and car show. This year, however, the event began with a tour of Steve's Pontiac Heaven yard of classics on Thursday. His own personal collection of 450 Pontiacs, comprised mainly of parts cars but with 55 prime examples set aside for Steve's future museum, was viewed hourly from 8 a.m. to noon. Steve stopped counting after 75 people walked through his gates. That evening, there was a cruise to the local 5 & Diner (a Phoenix-region burger joint with a real '50s diner vibe) in Peoria.
Diversity was the word on...
Diversity was the word on the show side, as everything from this beautifully restored '69 Trans Am to a rare low-mileage 75 Grand Am (not shown) could be found.
Friday at the host hotel, the Hampton Inn in Surprise, four tech seminars were held for a large and appreciative crowd. Steve relates: "Each seminar had its own theme to help appeal to all kinds of people in the hobby. I went first and discussed cooling and starting systems, 'Making Your Pontiac More Reliable.' It covered my over 600,000 miles of daily driving Pontiacs for 35 years. Second was Thom Sherwood's 'Rally Reels' featuring Pontiacs in movies and television. Third was Craig Hendrickson, co-founder of H-O Racing. A surprise guest was his original partner, Kern Osterstock. Craig discussed many things about H-O and himself. Jim Ewen, who was hired on at Pontiac in 1957 and worked in style and design in the 'golden years,' finished the session off." There were also Friday-night money-brackets and trophy-brackets at the track.
The longer weekend has already had an effect on turning Pontiac Heaven into a show destination for more than just locals. Owners and rides from far-flung locales like Oklahoma, Montana, and Wisconsin (not to mention neighboring states like California and Nevada) made the trek out to see the Pontiacs and participate in action as hot as the Phoenix noonday sun. And what an event they saw! In the car show, there was everything from a half-million-mile rope-drive Tempest to a selection of items from Barcak's amazing collection, including his Pontiac-powered rail job; a Hemi-headed, Pontiac-powered boat; and more.
Even a seldom-seen '74 GTO...
Even a seldom-seen '74 GTO was on display.
Jim Wangers' GeeTo Tiger made runs all weekend, while the man himself was available for autographs and discussions about the good ol' days. More than 75 show cars turned out, most of which lined up for the mid-day return-road cruise, where the owners had the chance to boast about their Pontiacs to the crowd over the public-address system.
Strip action was smoky, loud, and quick as always with multiple bracket classes, the HPP Shootout, and exhibition runs. Mike Cooper got a standing ovation for a 6-second pass in his '63 Tempest-the only 6-second pass of the event, as well as Cooper's first! Not bad for his first time down this Western dragstrip. Robin Roberts also made fans take notice with his 8-second pump-gas and nitroused '76 T/A street car.
And while Saturday concluded the all-Pontiac events, Sunday brought Barcak's 8th Annual Nostalgic Show & Go, which was open to other makes of muscle-era machinery as well. If watching Pontiacs defend the side against every other marque under the burning desert sun is your thing, then the Sunday event would hold just as much interest for you as the rest of the weekend.
If four days of springtime Pontiac action has your name written all over it, check out the 13th Annual Pontiac Heaven, to be held the first weekend of April 2011. Just make sure your vehicle is Pure-Pontiac powered if you would like to participate in Saturday's festivities.
For further information, please log onto www.pontiacheaven.org.