The G8 Owners National Event...
The G8 Owners National Event (G.O.N.E.) is the first event of its kind to celebrate Pontiac’s final musclecar. Fans of the G8 and its performance joined together for four-day event, which included this well-attended car show.
Next show date: September 8-11, 2011
Location: Isle of Capri Resort/Casino, Bettendorf, Iowa
Website: www.nationalg8meet.com
The Pontiac G8 is considered the last of Pontiac's true musclecars and took little time in earning its reputation and pulling together a very loyal fan base. It's no wonder that the G8 Owners National Event (G.O.N.E.) had an extremely successful first-year show, or that a second G8 celebration calling cars from coast to coast is planned for 2011.
Unlike Pontiac car shows that are sponsored by a local or regional club and whose members know each other face to face, G.O.N.E. was born on Internet forums like g8board.com and grrrr8.net, when the G8's biggest fans started chats to plan a national meet that would celebrate how wonderful these cars really are and to meet other G8 owners from all over North America.
According to Joe Morgan, who (with girlfriend Heather Callison) planned and organized the event: "A group of strangers joined forces to make the idea a reality. Mario Polio from Long Island, New York, set up the website. Kevin Varady from Manhasset, New York, created a design and printed t-shirts for the event. Christopher Smith from Bettendorf, Iowa, organized and planned the cruise. Jack Thomas from Harrison Township, Michigan, used his professional background in public relations to do publicity. Many other helpful folks also pitched in, and without their help, the four-day event couldn't have happened."
In addition to a G8 cruise...
In addition to a G8 cruise for the event’s participants, the G8’ers converged upon Cordova Dragway Park for an afternoon of four-door drag racing, which filled the track entrance to near-capacity.
Not surprisingly, G.O.N.E's first show was a bona-fide success. "Attendance was extremely good for an event that went from idea to reality in only eight months," Morgan says. "There were over 100 participants in attendance, representing all corners of the USA, and one attendee from Western Canada! There were attendees from as far away as Washington, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Massachusetts, and New York on the concrete show field. A total of 70 registered vehicles, including 65 G8s (13 GXPs, 50 G8 GTs, and 2 base G8s), 2 '05 GTOs, and 3 other guest Pontiacs were in attendance."
Activities included an opening night meet-and-greet dinner, "where 20 strangers showed up for what felt like a family reunion," Morgan says. Drag racing was scheduled at Cordova Dragway Park for the next day, but it was rained out and rescheduled for the following day.
Day three highlights included a G8 car show at host hotel Isle of Capri Resort/Casino, which had 100-percent registrant attendance and an official car cruise that led racers and spectators directly to Cordova Dragway Park for rain-date strip action. "Fortunately, weather was ideal for the entire car show, and there were beautiful G8s from stock to wild lined up in nearly every color. Many hotel guests wandered out to check out what was likely the most G8s in one place since G8s were grouped in the holding pen in Benicia, California, after being imported from Australia and before being shipped to dealers nationwide," Morgan recalls.
The four-day event concluded with an awards ceremony, bestowing recognition on Best Stock, Best Modified, Fastest Stock, and Fastest Modified G8 for each of the three models—base, GT, and GXP.
Expect more quarter-mile racing, a car show, and a cruise at this year's event, plus some surprise activities that have not been announced yet.