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WHAT: The Goodguys 7th Blue Suede Cruise
WHEN: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Sept. 5-6 and 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Sept. 7
WHERE: Summit Motorsports Park, 1300 State Route 18, Norwalk
COST: $20/general admission and $6 kids (ages 7 to 12). A three-day adult-weekend pass is $55.
INFO: 419-668-5555
For six years the Blue Suede Cruise event at Summit Motorsports Park was a popular classic car show; however, organizers are amping up the fun and attractions for the 7th annual event, which takes place Sept. 5 through 7 at the Norwalk venue.
Overseeing the festivities is San Francisco-based car event promoter Goodguys Rod & Custom Association, which plans on bringing 2,500 hot rods, customs and classic cars through 1972 vintage to the west side of the park while hundreds of vintage drag racers will fill the east side pits.
In addition, the Blue Suede Cruise includes a giant car show, a full scale vintage drag race with twelve eliminator classes, an automotive swap meet, a vendor exhibit midway and a special appearance by famed Ohio drag racer “Ohio George” Montgomery of Dayton.
“We’re very excited to be associated with a top-notch organization like Goodguys,” said Summit Motorsports Park President Bill Bader, Jr. “The Blue Suede Cruise was a success for the first six years, and by affiliating it with the largest rod and custom organization in the country, it becomes even stronger. It was one of the larger cruise events in the Midwest, and we now expect the attendance for this event to increase significantly. It will be one of the most anticipated events for all 70,000 Goodguys members.”
Added Goodguys spokesman John Drummond, “The cars competing and showing at the event are 1972 and earlier. We’ll have 250 miles per hour front engine top fuel cars and 250 mile per hour nostalgia funny cars that are nitro burners. These are really cool cars, and they’re really popular right now.
“They are styled after antiques, but they’re brand-new. So we’re talking about the bodies but they’ve all been upgraded with modern day safety components and engines and stuff like that. And they burn nitro methane just like the NHRA cars burn. So this event will bring back a lot of memories for people when they see a 1972 Vega funny car. It’ll take them back to the ’70s and rekindle all kinds of good memories.”
The Blue Suede Cruise, which is the 16th of 24 annual hot rod and custom car events promoted and produced by Goodguys, features plenty of unique awards for car owners. There’s the “Low Lid” for the hot rod or custom car with the lowest roof and the “Homebuilt Heaven” pick, given to a car completely built and fabricated by the owner in his or her own garage. Other acknowledgements include the pickup truck-based “Trick Truck” and the “Mighty Muscle” award, which highlights muscle cars 1960 through 1972.
It’s these special awards that Drummond says allow the Blue Suede Cruise to speak directly to the heart of the racing fan.
“They’re going to get a look at the way drag racing used to be when it was a non-corporate entity and when people raced for the pure love of racing,” Drummond said. “It’s a real grassroots competitor-based event. There’s not corporate hospitality, there’s not corporate sponsors. It’s just refreshing.
“And the ingenuity of some of these cars you just don’t see anymore. These guys take this really seriously, and it’s lots of guys who build their own stuff in their own garage. Contemporary drag racing is kind of awesome, but it’s also kind of follow the leader. Everything is kind of the same, but at an event like this you’re going to see a 1932 Ford coupe going up against a 1969 Camaro. So it’s just the variety and body styles of the cars is so much different. Everything is not cookie cutter. It’s just exciting and gets your pulse racing.”