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2009 Goodguys Car Show - Double Trouble
The 2009 Goodguys Car Show Season Kicks Off With A Double Header In Sunny Southern California.
August, 2009
By Steven Rupp, Nick Licata
Photography by Robert McGaffin, Steven Rupp, Nick Licata
When Carl Casanova heard that... When Carl Casanova heard that the Costa Mesa event had a free autocross, he just couldn’t resist coming down from Los Angeles for a few laps. His ’68 RS features a mildly-massaged ’02 LS1 engine topped with a Magnuson MP112 supercharger and a T56 transmission. This combo nets Carl around 500 ponies to the rear wheels while still knocking down 27 mpg. His best lap was a 32.205-second blast. Swimming pools, movie stars, and palm trees. While easily confused with the lyrics of the Beverly Hillbillies television show theme song, it more aptly describes perpetually sunny Southern California. With the rest of the good ‘ol US of A still screwing around with snow blowers, umbrellas, and ice scrapers, we’re blessed with sunshine and blue skies. If you’re not from here, it’s OK to hate us, we’ll get over it. Just keep in mind, the stellar weather is the reason the Goodguys Rod and Custom Association always kicks off their show season in Camaro Performers’ backyard, and we’re not about to argue with them. For 2009, Goodguys will be putting on 22 events across the country, and the best part is that eleven of those will feature the Air Ride Technologies’ Street Challenge Autocross. That’s up from nine events last year. It just goes to show how popular flogging cool cars through orange cones has gotten. In a true “WTF?” moment we... In a true “WTF?” moment we stared in stunned silence as this creation rolled by. The workmanship was great, but the style was, well, out there. All we know is that it started out as a third-gen Camaro. It’s further proof that if you can’t say anything nice … Anyone who is registered in the show is able to pilot their ride though the cone-strewn autocross course provided they pass a basic tech inspection. All the runs are timed, and at the end of the event, the winners take home killer prizes such as a set of BFGoodrich tires. Even drivers who don’t win still get to have a blast driving in ways that would only reward them with citations, compliments of their local law enforcement agency. At the Costa Mesa event, the Goodguys held their Second Annual Editors Cup Challenge, enabling various magazine guys to battle it out for bragging rights and a sweet billet trophy. Last year it was our very own Nick Licata that captured the crown, but this year there was a new winner. The good news is that we kept the first place standing in “the family” since the winner was Steven Rupp driving our ongoing ‘68 project car named Bad Penny. (A note to any magazine editors reading this, we plan on winning next year as well, so get use to it.) The Costa Mesa event was followed soon after by a show in Pleasanton, California, then another bounced down to Del Mar, California. Since both the Costa Mesa and Del Mar events included autocross action, we decided to “take one for the team” and attend both. With Project Orange Krate, Licata’s second-gen, still in the works, he managed to swipe a bunch of seat time in DSE’s stable of super bad-ass Camaros. It was two weekends of sunscreen, cameras, and skidmarks. Hey, it’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.  When Camaro Performers cover...  When Camaro Performers cover veteran Mary Pozzi isn’t giving driving tips, or making us all look bad on the autocross course, she can usually be found fiddling with her Camaro. Here she is knocking some air out of her back rollers in an effort to lower her lap times. |  The guys at Spectre Performance...  The guys at Spectre Performance like wrenching on and running cars. Maybe even mor than selling parts for ‘em. Back in 2003, they bought this ’70 RS/Z28 off eBay and since then it’s gotten a variety of different guts. Right now it’s sporting a 383 GMPP crate engine with a Richmond six-speed and their own cold air intake system. A Hotchkis suspension keeps the Camaro planted in the curves. The roll cage, along with all the custom aluminum work, was done by Fast Eddie’s Speed Shop in Orange, California. To find out more on this ride and Spectre’s extensive line of goodies, visit www.spectreperformance.com. |  Whether it’s carburetor or...  Whether it’s carburetor or EFI based, Edelbrock has the solution for stuffing gobs of air and fuel into your engine. Their mobile showroom is like a candy store for gearheads |  While Mary Pozzi was busy...  While Mary Pozzi was busy signing autographs, her husband David grabbed her car to knock down a few laps. When he got too close to Mary’s best time of 30.012, she took the keys away. At the end of the day Mary had the fastest time and walked away with a free set of BFGoodrich tires. The way she drives, she’s going to need them! |  Editor Nick Licata didn’t...  Editor Nick Licata didn’t have his own ride at the event, so he made a habit out of borrowing whatever Camaros he could find. In this case it was Chuck Felton’s ’73. Chuck’s F-body is just a cruiser, but Nick still managed a best time of 34.699 seconds. |  This numbers-matching ’70...  This numbers-matching ’70 Z28 was sweet enough to be picked as the Del Mar Muscle Car of the Year finalist. This Camaro is owned by George Sepulveda of Norco, California, and sports a four-speed trans and 350 mill. |
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