writer: Thomas A. DeMauro
photographer: Thomas A. DeMauro
Employing registration numbers and car count as a barometer, we have to conclude that Goats really do love bluegrass. About 170 cars participated in Popular Vote and 78 in Concours for the Louisville Pontiac GTO club-hosted 2006 GTOAA International Meet, more affectionately known as the GTO Nats.
Just over 450 people registered for this Louisville shindig, the most ever for a GTOAA event. The lot at the host hotel, the Executive West in Louisville, Kentucky, was so full of GTOs, some weren't parked with their respective classes. But let's be realistic-an overabundance of show cars participating in any club's national event is a good thing.
When it came to weather concerns, the club had things well in hand, at least for most of the Concours cars, which were parked in the hotel's ballroom. The remaining Concours cars were under tents outside. It rained a bit almost every day of the July 11-15 show. When it wasn't raining, it was very warm and humid so a respite in air-conditioned comfort to see the Concours Goats made the event a bit easier to navigate.
Showing pristine stock and modified GTOs wasn't the only activity. There was drag racing at Ohio Valley Raceway, too! HPP sponsored the Jim Wangers' Invitational Race this year, and though rain early in the day kept a few would-be participants back at the hotel, by midmorning the sun was out, the track was dry, and the GTOs (and Grand Prixs, LeMans, and a Catalina) were flyin' down the eighth-mile strip. HPP also hosted a "Pontiac Pavement Pounders Shootout" at the track, to be published in a future issue.
If dodging raindrops or soaking in the heat wasn't your thing, there were plenty of indoor activities, including tours of Churchill Downs Museum, the Louisville Slugger Museum, and the PUI (Parts Unlimited) facilities; seminars by Milt Schornack, Pat Knight, Arnie Beswick, Jim Mattison, John Sawruk, Art Fitzpatrick, Paul Zazarine, Meguiar's (detailing workshop), and others; a roundtable discussion on the new GTO; and the '04-'06 GTO presentation by LS1GTO.com. There was also an Ames Performance reception and a surprise birthday party for Jim Wangers to celebrate turning 80.
For the outdoors types, there were cruises to Kingfish Restaurant, Hooters, Woodford Reserve Distillery, Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, which was just across the parking lot from the host hotel, a parking lot social, and valve-cover races.
Let's not forget that amongst all this was a massive GTO car show that drew some of the finest, rarest, and most peculiar Pontiacs from around the country. From Brandon Goodwin's Best of Show, restored '66 GTO (Dec. '06 HPP) to Bill Bolin's double-blown, Pro Street '70 GTO (Feb. '00 HPP), there was a lot to cover at the Nats-not to mention the swap-meet area outside and even more vendors inside the host hotel. The respective winners' lists will tell you who attended and won, and the pictures will offer some more insight to this very special event.
To get on board for next Year's GTOAA Nats in Columbus, Ohio, log on to www.gtoaco.com. The GTO Association of Central Ohio will host the event June 25-July 1, 2007.