CARLISLE, Pa. – The Carlisle Pennsylvania Fairgrounds will turn into a Mopar lover’s paradise July 6-8, 2007 as a sea of spectators and fans of Chrysler products descend upon central Pennsylvania. Event Manager Ed Buczeskie is excited about this year’s event; “Our All-Chrysler Nationals have been great shows over the years. We’re looking forward to an even bigger turnout in 2007.”
Don Garlits, the Big Daddy of drag racing renown, will be visiting Carlisle at the All-Chrysler Nationals. Garlits has been dubbed the “King of Dragsters,” and could be considered the patriarch of Top Fuel Drag Racing. In his storied career, Garlits accumulated 144 national event wins. Some of his highlights include winning the prestigious NHRA U.S. Nationals a record 8 times; he has 17 World Champion Titles; was voted to the Auto Racing All-American team in 10 different years; was voted in the Top 10 Drivers of the Century in 1999 and voted the No. 1 drag racer for the last 50 years by the NHRA. Also known for his innovative race car designs, Garlits produced 34 hand-fabricated black racecars in his Swamp Rat series. Garlits will be available to sign autographs and chat with fans and spectators. He’ll make a special appearance at the South Mountain Drag Strip.
The spotlight in ’07 will be on the popular aero cars, as well as convertibles of all years and models. The aero cars were built in 1969-1970 to compete in NASCAR. They dominated racing until they were banned after the 1970 season. Asked about the aero car display, Buczeskie said, “We hope to have the largest display of these fabled vehicles ever. This promises to be a “don’t miss” gathering of fine automobiles.”
If anyone has an aero car or convertible that they’d like to display they may contact us through our web site www.CarlisleEvents.com or through our info line 717-243-7855.
As always, DaimlerChrysler will be bringing in loads of demonstration cars for fans to test drive. This is always a popular event at Carlisle. Stay in touch with our web site for updates on additional celebrities, concept vehicles and events at this year’s All-Chrysler Nationals. In addition to the demo cars DaimlerChrysler will be bring the Dodge Demon, Chrysler Nassau and Dodge Challenger concept cars.
The Standard of Mopar Excellence (SME) competition pits some of the finest Mopar vehicles in the country against a standard of excellence as opposed to other cars. The winners will be staged for awards at the parade on Sunday. The competition is based on a 100-point formula. The formula divides the judging into 5 separate areas: engine bay, body, interior, undercarriage and road test. It’s not surprising that quality, attention to detail and execution are the keys to success in SME. Dave Ferro of Totally Auto Inc., is the founder and head judge of the SME competition. He designed the concept some dozen years ago. Each year many fine Mopars enter the competition to earn the much-sought-after SME status.
The Carlisle All-Chrysler Nationals always bring a huge showfield, car corral and plenty of vendors to find that part for your latest project. There’s a charity car auction, drag racing at South Mountain Dragway and informative seminars to help you with your do-it-yourself projects. Fun contests like burnout, beauty and wing-eating will again be part of the regular weekend line-up. Also, be around on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. to be eligible for our Giveaway car or $5,000. Must be present to win.
The cars. The people. The excitement. Don’t miss it at the All-Chrysler Nationals, July 6-8, 2007.