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Peter Koning in USA
Peter is a long time hot rodder and supporter of Let's Go Cruisin. He's left his business, Hoppers Stoppers in the capable hands of his staff to travel the US for 12 months. Sure makes some interesting reading! |
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Great American Nationals, Pocono
I loaded the 36 on the trailer behind the RV and left Joliet Illonois last Wednesday and drove out of Illinois, across Indiana, then Ohio , and into Pennsylvania.This was a good 500 miles and full day drive but I arrived just on dark in a really beaut RV park in rural western Pennsylvania. This was the sort of area I had hoped to see, a great looking park in a hilly area amongst big leafy trees with a river near by. And being the middle of Autumn the leaves are all red, orange and yellow, really wonderful to see and hopefully take some nice photos. Had a rest here for a day then unloaded the Chevy and did a quick 200 mile drive to the Pocono Mountains where right in the middle of nowhere they have this huge Nascar track which was the venue for the Goodguys "Great American Nationals".
Booked into a Comfort Inn for a Friday and Saturday and had all the Yanks amazed that I would bring a car all this way to see their show. Got longest distance trophy of course.
About 1000 cars only at this event , it seems the last few years it rained all weekend but this time everything was good and dry and not too hot or cold. First night at the Hotel met up with a few rodders and their wives out in the car park sitting around talking hot rods and drinking a beer or two, just like back home. They love to hear all about Australia and our cars etc. And of course they had to make sure I wasn't on my own so I was invited to park with them at the show and we all went out to a local pub for lunch, you know how it goes, so not lonely this weekend.
Being a full size 3 mile Nascar track in the shape of a triangle they arrange for the rods to go in in groups of about 50 at a time around the track, led by a pace car doing about 80 MPH. But the guys warned me up front that what you do is drop back at the start of the straights then floor it and then back off before you fly past the pace car. Some of the guys were getting up to 120MPH down the straights, me and this other Chevy guy were playing along at 110, a couple of really tough big block and blown cars were passing us at maybe 140MPH then braking hard before they got to the Pace car.
So all went really well at the show and Chevy is still running perfectly. Almost wasn't though, had a couple of near misses with wildlife, which they told me was actually rare over here. On the trip to Pocono about 50 miles out would you believe I was happily cruising at 80mph , and just as I looked in the mirror to check the traffic behind me I see the biggest Black Bear run out of the trees, about 2 seconds after I had passed. No Bull, it would have been 8 feet long and 400KG. This pickup truck travelling close behind me looked certain to hit it right in the middle but the bear ran fast and the driver swerved and just missed him by inches. I don't know if a bear shits in the woods but the pickup driver sure did.
And then this morning I was doing the short 5 mile drive to the show, on the lead in road from the freeway which is a two way road with Forrest both sides and I see a deer sauntering along a bit away, no problem as I could easily slow down and let him cross, then just as I go past him his mate runs out of the trees across the front of my car missing me by inches. I was only doing maybe 30 MPH but he could have done some damage. And when I came back that way later there were two dead deer on the road in the area that wearn't there before, so someone else got them. They run so fast if one comes out in front, you would hit it before you could even react.
Anyway so I'm back at the RV park in Woodland (western PA) and will relax a couple of days and see the local area before driving a short few hundred miles to Hersey for the big Swap meet next weekend. From there another week to get all the way south to Tampa Florida for the NSRA Nats.
I have just had Son in Law (Paul) send me instructions on how to compress photos onto Gmail so might even find a way to send some photos.
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