2017 Carlisle Chevrolet Nationals in review

CARLISLE, PA – The Carlisle Chevrolet Nationals, in some form or the other, has been taking place at the Carlisle PA Fairgrounds since 2001. With guests traveling from all regions to attend, combined with a renewed excitement about the Chevrolet brand, the cars, people and excitement were on full display this year, with even more momentum building for next year’s show. Before we look too far ahead to 2018, let’s look back at the 2017 Carlisle Chevrolet Nationals.

As the sun set on Thursday, the third day of summer (Friday) saw gates open at 7 a.m. and offer a full array of displays, guests and action. For the first time in a long time Chevrolet came to Carlisle for this show along with their engineers and a new product showcase, including the amazing ZL1 1LE Camaro and their Auto X concept.

While Chevrolet hosted walk-arounds all weekend, Friday really got going with an early morning Nitrofest session with Bruce Larson, his USA-1 Corvette and the Time Bomb Vega. Everyone loves to go fast, so the day also featured autocross rides with UMI Performance, open autocross hosted by the Cumberland Valley Corvette Club and even the Real Street Shootout autocross race Friday evening. Before the day wrapped though, TV stars Lou Santiago (Car Fix on Velocity) and Kevin Tetz (Trucks on Spike) hosted seminars, signed autographs and more.

Saturday saw some of the nicest cars and weather at Carlisle in some time. History was on display with nearly 100 years of Chevrolet (and Chevrolet family) products on-site. The oldest known car was a 1922 Oakland, owned by the same man since 1944, with a wide array of modern-day machines showcased too. More history came to town with the first-ever Camaro produced and sitting innocently beside it was the 5,000,000 Camaro produced too. A special V-12 custom built 1967 Camaro sat across the aisle from the original ’67 and all around those cars were some of the best ever produced rides to come out of Detroit.

With displays dedicated to the 50th Anniversary of the Camaro and Firebird, combined with a pace car display, general invitational display, Solid Lifter Showroom and the National Parts Depot Showfield laced with nothing but the best from Cadillac, Pontiac, General Motors, Chevrolet, Buick, Cosworth Vega, Monza Mirage and more, the weekend really had it all. If the spotlight cars weren’t enough, there were multiple awards and competitions too, from Carlisle Elite picks on Friday, to the Historic Vehicle Association honors Saturday, burnouts, beauty and the overall showfield awards Sunday, tens of thousands of guests walked away with memories to last a life time.

Chevrolet is planning on returning for 2018 and guests and enthusiasts should consider doing the same. The 2018 Carlisle Chevrolet Nationals run June 22-24. Registration is open now at www.CarlisleEvents.com or by calling 717-243-7855.

Carlisle Events is a partner or producer of 12 annual collector car and truck events. Events are held at the Carlisle PA Fairgrounds (Carlisle, PA), Allentown Fairgrounds (Allentown, PA) and the SUN ‘n FUN Campus (Lakeland, FL). The season schedule includes five automotive swap meets of varying size, four auctions, as well as individual specialty shows featuring Hurst branded machines, Corvettes, Fords, GMs, Chryslers, trucks, imports, tuners and performance sport compacts. Founded in 1974 by friends Bill Miller and Chip Miller, events hosted at Carlisle attract more than a half a million enthusiasts annually from all corners of the globe. More information is available via www.CarlisleEvents.com or www.CarlisleAuctions.com.