Here’s a look at the Pontiac...
Here’s a look at the Pontiac show field from the top of Jack Gaydosh’s trailer.
Many times after a great initial effort, the follow-up suffers from a sophomore slump when the public’s reaction just isn’t as strong. We see it with music groups, movie sequels, new and improved products, and even car shows.
Many factors can contribute, but the PY Open House (followed by Pontiacs At The Grove) the weekend of June 15-17, 2012, did not experience anything like that. In fact, in just its second year, the event grew. According to Mike Spizziri, the technical sales manager at Performance Years and show coordinator, “Officially there were 238 registered Pontiacs, but we closed the registration tent at noon and I know there were a bunch of Pontiacs entered after that.” That’s compared to a little over 200 last year.
Bill Bolin pulls the wheels and twists the chassis of his ’70 LeMans during time shots.
There are myriad reasons why this event is successful. First and foremost, it’s enjoyable. Participants raved about location, their treatment by show staff, the organization, and the overall atmosphere. The fact that the date was changed to mid-June from mid-May meant that there was less of a chance of the kids still being in school for Pontiac-owner parents who wanted to travel to the show. HPP Day at Englishtown went away this year, meaning there was one less fairly close Pontiac show/race for hobbyists to spend time and money on before the PY Open House, and it was one week before the All GM Nationals at Carlisle.
A few more stunning show cars...
A few more stunning show cars at the center of the showfield.
Another draw was the fact that the GTOAA Eastern Regionals was also hosted at PY, drawing tons of GTOs. Then there was strong club support from the Garden State GTOs of North Jersey and the Susquehanna Valley GTO Club of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Friday began with a cruise-in to the PY headquarters in Hatfield, Pennsylvania. There was a shop tour, and the staff set up a muffler-box domino effect using hundreds of muffler boxes. The video can be seen on YouTube.
On Saturday, the PY All Pontiac Car show and GTOAA Eastern Regionals was held on a show field across the street from the PY facility, while the Pypes Muscle Car and Truck Show and the American Muscle Mustang show were in the smaller parking lots out front. There was also a small swap meet at the back of the show field.
Late-model Goats made their...
Late-model Goats made their presence known in numbers, and of course, there was no shortage of vintage GTOs.
Pontiacs competed in popular vote classes, and awards were presented late in the afternoon. Best of Show was bestowed up Pontiac Lou Calasibetta’s impeccable ’57 Trans-Continental station wagon. Ken Colacino’s ’62 SD Catalina took the President’s Award, and Mike Madden’s ’77 T/A earned the Long Distance Award, having traveled from Jacksonville Beach, Florida.
Two groups, Life Without… and The Stepping Stone Band provided live music, and Souderton High School students cooked and served Hatfield Meats’ burgers, hot dogs, and BBQ sandwiches throughout the day to throngs of hungry participants. All registration profits from the event were donated to ALS of Philadelphia and the ‘friends of Mark Kelly fund.’
Sunday dawned with partly cloudy skies, as Pontiac racers and street machines headed out to Maple Grove Raceway in Mohnton, Pennsylvania, about an hour from Hatfield. Jim Zeek and his family hosted the Pontiacs at the Grove race and cruise-in.
Lou Calasibetta of Old Stillwater...
Lou Calasibetta of Old Stillwater Garage earned Best of Show for his ’57 Trans-Continental station wagon—a perennial winner wherever it goes. To its right is Bob Axtman’s cool ’66 Catalina cruiser.
Here’s Jack Gaydosh’s 6.98-second,...
Here’s Jack Gaydosh’s 6.98-second, 197-mph Pro Stock GXP.
Matt Houck’s Silver G8 GT...
Matt Houck’s Silver G8 GT is displayed next to Bob Krewson’s blue G8 GT, both representing the last of the great Pontiacs.
Big Thunder is a ’62 SD 421...
Big Thunder is a ’62 SD 421 Cat that owner Kenny Colacino found in as-raced condition back in 2002. He has preserved it and takes it to shows so we can all relive the heyday of Pontiac drag racing. Note the group of curious Pontiac fans around the car front and rear. Not surprisingly, it also won the President’s Award at this event.
PY employee cars were parked...
PY employee cars were parked on the front grass of the facility. The Bandit T/A and red ’01 WS6 T/A belong to PY owner Chris Casperson.
Jim Yanoski’s ’65 GTO racecar...
Jim Yanoski’s ’65 GTO racecar is running twin turbos.