2002 Super Chevy Show Tucson - Living On Tucson Time

Towards the end of the Super Chevy Show season those of us living on the West Coast (otherwise known as "God's Country") get a break in travel. We go to Tucson, Arizona one week and wind up the season the next week in Las Vegas. That means we don't have to go to an airport, get our luggage tossed, or our shoes turned inside out, and we can eat real food on our way to the show. As a matter of fact, this year we flew the Goodmark Chevelle to Tucson, getting recognized all the way there and back. One thing we always forget, though, is that close as it is to California, Arizona is in a separate time zone, one hour different. It just seems like it's about the same distance as Las Vegas (actually a little further) and the scenery is about the same, so we forget about that hour until we were late for the show. Putting anything in the same time zone as Vegas can be a mistake, since that place is mostly Twilight Zone.

One of our truly long-distance travelers gave us a reminder as to why Nitro Coupes are so exciting. Gary Irving was expecting warmer weather than the typical cold his native Canada provides at this time of year, but it got a little warmer than he anticipated. Using up the entire width of the strip, Irving's beautiful '37 Chevy did some tricks that resulted in severe damage to the chassis and body, but left Gary intact after a thrill ride. There was fire and smoke, but it stayed in the engine compartment. We had intended to do a photo shoot of that car in Las Vegas, but we'll have to wait until next year, only early in the race season this time.

Dennis Kuyrkendall came all the way from Boerne, TX, to show his '68 Camaro. The car was awarded an Editor's Choice Top Ten Show Car award, Soffseal's Attention to Detail Award, and the class win for Camaro '67-69 Stock.	John Piccola's Nova is the one many people say "I had (or I wish I had) one like that in high school." The full-delete 327/300hp, four-speed, rubber floor-matted sedan is a sleeper around Las Vegas. The car earned an Editor's Choice Top Ten Show Car award, the Best Nova award from Wheel Vintiques, and the class win for Nova '62-67 Street.
It's the end of the season for Gary Irving's beautiful, and extremely competitive, '37 Nitro Coupe. Gary came out fine after riding the car to a stop, but the coupe needs some serious rehab. Irving's crew promised to have it ready and roaring for 2003 which is bad news for the other racers as this machine was about 99 percent "dialed-in" towards the latter part of this season. Southwest International Raceway's fire crew, by the way, was on top of this incident as well as any bunch we've seen. Nice work.	Dan Thompson came up the highway from Murrieta, CA, with his eye-catching '63 Nova convertible. The car took an Editor's Choice Top Ten Show Car award, the prestigious Workmat Car of the Show Award and the class win for Nova '62-67 Modified. Well done!
Competing in the Corvette row with a '76 model and taking the Best Corvette award from Trim Parts in association with Vette magazine means the car has to be special. Tom and Terry French from Sierra Vista, AZ, showed how special their car is by also taking the class win for Corvette '68-82 Modified.	Terri Gard, La Mirada, CA, brought this smooth, black '68 Camaro to several Super Chevy Shows each season, and this time she took the SUPER CHEVY Magazine 30th Anniversary Award. To no one's surprise, the car also took the class win for Camaro '67-69 Street.
The Tucson show brings people in from a surprising number of nearby states. California is well represented with entries such as this '67 Chevelle from Glendora, owned by Ed and Debbie Lux. It earned an Editor's Choice Top Ten Show Car award.	It's hard to ignore a finely done '69 Malibu LS6. Monty Waterhouse, a local Tucson resident, took an Editor's Choice Top Ten Show Car award for this great Chevelle.
Chevys make great street rods and this is one of the best. Wayne Young of Sierra Vista, AZ, owns this one and is the proud winner of the Street Rodder Magazine "Outstanding Street Rod" award.	Terry Grover's Tucson-based '57 pickup was a standout with its cool stance and '59 Cad taillights. It took the Classic Trucks Magazine's Outstanding Classic Truck Award as well as the class win for Truck '49-72 Modified.

EDITOR'S CHOICE TOP TEN DRAG CAR AWARD WINNERS

Ronnie Aul,Tucson, AZ, '68 Nova	Darryl Bonnville,Albuquerque, NM, '56 Bel Air
Donald, Michael, &Santana Brown, Peralta, NM, '56 Bel Air	Jake Burris,Tucson, AZ, Jr. Dragster
Roy Clark,Douglas, AZ, '69 Nova	J.R. Mijares,El Paso, TX, '57 Corvette
Eddie Orozco, Alamagordo, NM, '69 Camaro	Rodney Oxford,Plano, TX,'99 Camaro
Lee Smith,Denver, CO, '65 El Camino	James Trammell,Casa Grande, AZ,'64 Nova
	Winners show their smiles. Nitro Coupe winner Jim Norhougen brought his mom and dad along for good luck and needed it to prevail over Bruce Boland.
	John Scialpi runs this '57 in Nitro Coupe and never fails to thrill the crowd with great burnouts and fast times.