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ACES Chevell~abration '99 |
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Making Records In Music City
1999 Chevellabration Awards
By Chuck Hanson
If you attended Chevell-abration '99, you helped make history! In only the third year for the event, a record-setting 268 participants brought their Chevelles... A record of 6 legendary Z-16s were there on display... And a record 71 Chevelles took part in the World's Largest Chevelle Cruise!!! Why, even the temperatures for the weekend were setting records!
But the only things hotter than the weather in Nashville were the hundreds of Chevelles, El Caminos, and Malibus registered for the event. Each one of 'em was painted, polished, and primped to perfection.
If you wanted to see some of the most correctly restored Chevelles in the country, they could be found on the show field. If your tastes ran a tad more radical, well, there were plenty of Pro Streeters to capture your attention as well. And, if you had a hankerin' for the hard-to-find, how would an aluminum-headed , 2-door post '69 Super Sport hit ya? Or a Hugger orange '70 LS6? Well, how about a '66 SS396 convertible with a 375-horse 396 under the hood? No matter what your automotive inclinations were, chances are you'd have them sated while walking and gawking at Chevell-abration '99!
About midway through the event, after a day of looking at Chevelles, visiting with their owners, and learning more about them in the seminars, one of the participants was heard to say "Chevell-abration is unquestionably THE BEST Chevelle event in the country!" This, coming from a long-time Chevelle enthusiast who's attended more than his share of Chevelle shows. Now, we might be a bit biased, but we're inclined to agree with that assessment.
With all the positive feedback from last year's show, we returned to the verdant lawn and relaxing shade of Moss-Wright Park in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, on the northern edge of Nashville. Chevell-abration '99 got even bigger and better this year, with more prizes, the addition of several new participant events, a country-side cruise on Thursday, a night of drag racing on Friday, a larger swap meet, more Seminars, more Manufacturers, and get this... even an air conditioned Mens/Womens Port-a-Potty with classic rock music piped in! As you might expect with temperatures in the 90s, it was a very popular attraction.
Despite the warm weather, we were blessed with three days of bright sunshine and a breeze that helped everyone keep their cool, especially those seeking relief beneath the bountiful shade trees in the park. The shade gave everyone a reason to drag out the lawn chairs (or pull up a piece of grass) and coolers for some relaxed conversation and making new friends. "I can't believe how friendly everyone is!" was a common expression hear many times throughout the weekend, and seemed to be the theme for the event. And while "Southern hospitality" might be cited as the reason for the amicable attitudes and easy-going demeanor, we believe instead that everyone simply chose to have a good time with their Chevelles... and other ACES Members. Judging from the smiling faces we saw all weekend long, it looks like everyone did!
Hard-core ACES Members began showing up as early as Monday before the event, just to take in a little of what Music City has to offer. Others said they were staying after Chevell-abration to enjoy Fan Fair, a huge bash for country music fans that began on the following Monday. Either way, it was clear that quite a few folks enjoy coming to Nashville, not only for the best Chevelle show ever, but also because it has a lot to offer its visitors. Quite a few ACES Members showed up at the park on Wednesday to help the host club, Mid-South Chevelles, get things set up.
Later that evening, many of them returned for the Goodie Bag stuffing party at the host hotel. A huge thanks goes out to all who helped with that enormous task. The goodie bags this year were so full that some of the helpers were overheard wondering if the bags could hold everything!
A couple of events that were added this year drew tremendous support: The Thursday evening country-side cruise boasted over 40 Chevelles on a scenic, relaxing ride through the hills and hollers of Middle Tennessee. On Friday night, more than 50 Chevelles made the journey to Music City Raceway for an evening of drag racing. And to make the trip even more memorable, the Chevelles not entered in the brackets were afforded special parking in the pits and a chance to run 'em through the gears during the Chevelle-only parade just prior to eliminations!
Plenty of participation was found for all the competition events, too, with rosters filling quickly for the Tire Changing, Slow Drags, and Die Cast Model Racing. The spectator crowd really came alive during the "Team" competitions: the Five-Man Tug-O-War, and Tag Team Tire Changing. Teams from ACES Associate clubs included the Queen City Chevelle Club; the Peach State Chevelles; the Maryland Chevelle Club; and the Mid-South Chevelle Club. There was plenty of hootin' and hollerin', not to mention good-natured ribbing and sore muscles from all the teams that took part. Next year we're looking for even more entries in these popular events.
About noon on Saturday, we gathered all SIX! of the Z-16s together, put 'em in place, then invited any ACES Members who wanted to be in our Chevell-abration '99 cover shot, to gather 'round while we took our best shots (with a camera, of course!). According to several Chevelle aficionados, assembling that many Z-16s in the same place, at the same time, has never been done before! With the cover shot completed, we were quickly approaching the moment everyone had been waiting for.... the Southern-style Bar-B-Q! More than 500 people ate all the Bar-B-Q they wanted, then waited for the rest of the festivities to continue. Of course, quite a few were interested in the Top 3 awards we presented... and the drawing for the GM Performance Parts HO454.
But before the ceremony got under way, everyone was treated to a surprise appearance by Chuck Hanson's sister. Dressed in a leopard-skin MuMu, with a hot pink Boa and a three-foot Beehive hairdo, Topsy Hanson-Turvy let everyone in on some of Chuck's childhood escapades... and some of her own. Of course, it was all in good fun, and Chuck's rib-tickling, rotund "sister" was capably played by John Burnheimer, who made the trip from Lemoyne, Pennsylvania with ACES Member Mike Hillegas.
Wrapping up the fun-filled weekend was a Cruise to Backyard Burgers in Franklin, Tennessee. Normally filled with 300-400 cars on any Saturday night, the Worlds Largest Chevelle Cruise added another 71 to the car count at Backyard. You simply had to see the two-mile stretch of shiny sheetmetal on I-65 to believe it! Cruisin' in the center lane the 30 miles to Franklin, everyone got one thumbs-up after another, with quite a few yelling their appreciation for our Chevelles through rolled-down windows.
They say that history often repeats itself. And if you make it to next year's Chevell-abration, chances are you'll be a part of an historical event, again. Not only does it promise to be bigger and better than before, but it'll also be the first event of the new Millenium! If you're ready to make some new records in Music City, we'll see you there!!!
1999 Chevellabration Awards
1999 Photos from Mike Crosby
1999 Photos from Randy Mosier
1999 Photos from Dean Call