Syracuse Nationals July 21, 2013
Syracuse, New YorkSunday, July 21, 2013
I went to the Syracuse Nationals on Friday and Saturday with my Buddy Charlie Slesinski. We headed out at 4:00 A.M. and after a couple of stops were at the gates to the Fairgrounds at 8:30 A.M. It was already HOT and only got HOTTER as the day went on. Can't believe how much water we drank during the day. There were lots of cars, lots of vendors (but less Big Name vendors than in the past) and lots of people. Saw Candy Clark (Debbie in the Movie American Grafitti) and Daniele & Mike from the TV Show American Pickers. Cody Roth was there selling "Big Daddy" Roth items and it was great to talk with him again. I didn't see Gene Winfield this year as he was out and about when I was checking out his picks for his awards this year. One of my too many interests is model cars, and I was fortunate to meet the Gibson Brothers, Joey & Tommy. Most of my pictures of model cars were built by these guys. Their work is UNREAL, and they don't make it easy for themselves - no body putty as it's liable to crack so they melt plastic for their bodywork, and UNREAL paint jobs from spray cans. Chopped, channeled, sectioned and painted to perfection. How good are these guys? Well, Gene Winfield commissioned them to replicate several of his cars, so what's that tell you?!
We met up with fellow Hotrod Hotline photographer Tom Poremba for lunch and we also hit the Olive Garden for supper on Friday night. We'll be meeting up with Tom again at the Adirondack Nationals in September. "Big Al" was with the crew of their "Franic Ford" Nostalgia Funny Car and they fired it up a few times for the crowds. Met Rob from Motorhead Media, which now owns HotrodHotline.com, Racingjunk.com, and Collectorcarnation.com as well as other auto related websites, so check them out. Even though it's like finding needles in a haystack, I ran into two of my buddies from back in Massachusetts, Bob and Don. Don was checking out a chassis at the Hitman display. His latest project is to redo his '29 roadster that he built back in the 50s/60s. In the past 10 years, he's built a Chevy coupe and sedan that are both on the road - by the way, he's in his mid 70s and going stronger than most, and he does everything himself. Also saw Dave Ciappa there with his beautiful '32 highboy - "The Keeper". And I couldn't forget to mention seeing Bill & Linda Yorker with their GoodGuys Hot Rod of the Year contender '33 Willys. This car is exceptional and has so many things done to it and highlighted by the Hemi powerplant. They know we wish them the best on that endeavor!
Lots of really nice cars, but I would say less than last year. Also, fewer things going on than in past years, such as the variety of events in the evenings at the Grandstand. Next year will be the 15th Anniverary of the Syracuse Nationals, so lets hope the Right Coast Association has lots of special things planned. Hope you enjoy my pictures!
- Walt Smolenski
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