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Run Through The Hills - Parking Lot Drifter Freaks - Expanded for Web!Camaros Mix With Open Asphalt For Three Days Of Driving Shenanigans. From the January, 2011 issue of Camaro Performers By Steven Rupp Photography by Steven Rupp
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Friday was all about the cruise,... Friday was all about the cruise, which included driving up the famous Tail of the Dragon. There are over 300 turns in this 11-mile stretch of asphalt, and people come from all over the world to drive this road. Yes, it's that much fun. There are even photo stations set up along the route to catch the corner carving action. Check out www.killboy.com or www.us129photos.com-if you want to find images of our group, search for September 17th. Here we caught Danny Thomas enjoying the drive in his black '67 with Steve Moore hot on his tail. OK, it's no secret that we love flinging Camaros between, and sometimes over, small orange cones. To some of you it might seem like a bizarre way to treat our cars, but then chances are you haven't tried it ... yet. It's how you would like to drive on the street if all the cops took a day off. It's acting out a mini version of the chase scene from Bullitt, and it's fun. Best of all, it's safer than driving on your typical freeway and not terribly hard on your car. Given all that, what's not to love? For the last six years the tourist Mecca known as Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, has hosted a grassroots event called Run Through The Hills. Started by a group of locals who were tired of traditional car shows, RTTH weaves together several events into three days of driving bliss. On Friday, there's a 100-mile cruise through the Smokey Mountains highlighted by 11 miles of corner carving on the famous Tail of the Dragon, also known as Highway 129. Saturday features autocross action and Sunday is set aside for eighth-mile drag racing and a speed stop challenge. Add in the chance to hang out with fellow gearheads and drool over some really cool rides, and it's easy to see why this event has grown every year since founder Bill Howell hosted the first one, which had just 11 attendees.  Payton King came over from...  Payton King came over from North Carolina to whip his LS-powered Camaro through the cones. Rumor has it he plans on doing some suspension tweaks over the summer in preparation for next year.  Patrick Branner had a blast...  Patrick Branner had a blast giving autocross rides to his wife Mary Anne. He brought his silver '68 all the way from Maitland, Florida, to run in the event. He turned in a best autocross time of 1:14.3.  Another ride that proved you...  Another ride that proved you don't need to spend big bucks to have big fun was Michael Tucker's '68. His best autocross time was 1:17.1.  We always dig seeing Tommy...  We always dig seeing Tommy Parker's '73 rippin' though the cones, and now that it's wearing a new set of Forgeline wheels, it's that much cooler. Tommy's best autocross time of the day was a 1:12.2 run.  Just about every generation...  Just about every generation of Camaro was represented at the event. Here, Ryan Jarrard flings his '01 Z28 hard through a turn. His fastest lap was a very respectable 1:08.3-second run.  We first spied this '78 a...  We first spied this '78 a few years ago at the YearOne Experience and thought all the NASCAR-inspired touches were super cool. The only part that saddened us was that it never hit the track. Well, that was then, and these days owner Mark Giles can't get enough of driving his second-gen hard. His best time was a 1:13.40.  Not all the Camaros at the...  Not all the Camaros at the event were full-on Pro Touring deals, either. This sweet '67 owned by Dennis Bennie was spotted flipping though the cones, and we bet Dennis was having just as much fun as the guys with the big-buck rides.  Brad Coomer is a hell of a...  Brad Coomer is a hell of a wheelman. His '68 has a blown small-block under the flat hood and rides on a Ridetech air system. His best time for the day was 1:11.4, and that's not too shabby.  Darrin Stalnecker bought his...  Darrin Stalnecker bought his '71 just over a year ago and has been slowly making improvements to the Camaro. At this year's autocross, he managed a best time of 1:20.95.  LT1 Camaros make great autocross...  LT1 Camaros make great autocross cars. You can scoop them up for dirt-cheap and, as our project Black Betty has shown, the suspensions can be tweaked to be very competitive. Dan Ballard's black fourth-gen makes good power with a hopped-up LT1 engine. He told us his next task is to give the suspension some love as well.  We featured Will Blanton's...  We featured Will Blanton's '69 drop-top back in the December 2009 issue, and he's been driving the hell out of it ever since.  After a few launches down...  After a few launches down the 411 Dragstrip, everyone was convinced that Teflon was sprayed down instead of VHT. Still, even without traction, everybody had a great time flinging their Camaros down the 660-foot track. Here, Brad Granger launches his Magnacharged '67 down the strip.  Even the late second-gens...  Even the late second-gens were represented at the track. Here, John Henry's silver '81 wiggles its way through the cones. We don't have a time listed for any of his runs, but it sure looked good dodging and weaving around the pylons.  Brian Finch kicked butt at...  Brian Finch kicked butt at the autocross with a best run of 1:07.3, and his braking score was near the top at 9.592 seconds. Even his drag race reaction time of 0.038 seconds was good enough to score a few points. This consistency won him the King of the Hill trophy. Brian also won the Speed by Spectre Top Speed challenge by hitting 74 mph in the speed stop challenge.  Kyle Tucker was a man on a...  Kyle Tucker was a man on a mission in his stupid-fast '70 Camaro. On the autocross track he was on fire, with a blistering 1:06.8 first-place run, but his winning drag race reaction time of 0.000 was even more impressive. Kyle just missed out on the King of the Hill trophy, but he did earn enough points to win the invitation to the 2010 Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational.  The speed stop challenge was...  The speed stop challenge was like a drag race with a catch. Participants launched off the tree, but at the end of the eighth-mile there was a 40-foot coned-off box the driver had to stop inside. Here, Jeff Tate does a reverse burnout as he tries to stop his '69 inside the box.  If there's an event that involves...  If there's an event that involves wearing down tires, then Matt Altamore will most likely be in attendance. What his car lacks in bling, it more than makes up for in soul. He ran a 1:12.3 in the autocross, an 8.655 e.t. in the eighth-mile, and had a best Speed Stop time of 10.156 seconds.  To make sure fifth-gens were...  To make sure fifth-gens were represented, we brought our '10 SS to the party. Here, the car's owner, Yancy Johns, takes a lap to the tune of 1:13.4. By the end of the day, our NT05 tires were shot, so we skipped the drag racing action.  The plates on this ex-California...  The plates on this ex-California Highway Patrol training car made us a bit homesick. Mike Strinich picked up this '02 and has been busy restoring it back to its black and white glory. The story here is that it has a cop motor, cop tires, cop suspension, but alas, no 440 ci plant. Sorry Elwood.  One of the nicer first-gens...  One of the nicer first-gens at the event was Mark Turner's '69 RS. This ride was at the Holley LS Fest, but now wears Anvil carbon-fiber panels fore and aft. His best autocross time was 1:10.1.  Terry Neuville drove up from...  Terry Neuville drove up from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with his two-tone '68 for the event. He ran strong in all four segments with a 1:10.5 autocross time, an 8.363 eighth-mile pass with a 0.090 reaction time, and a time of 9.946 seconds in the Baer Brakes-sponsored Speed Stop Challenge.  Another cool second-gen at...  Another cool second-gen at the event was the '73 brought by Brian King. The RS had a killer stance and just the right amount of rumble from the exhaust. What's not to love?
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