Yenko memorialized with plaque
Former Yenko Chevrolet dealership building in Canonsburg, Pa. memorialized.
Don Yenko and his former Yenko Chevrolet dealership building at 575 West Pike Street in the borough of Canonsburg, Pa., were memorialized on Sept. 16 by a new plaque erected there by the Jefferson College Historical Society.
The plaque records the importance of Don Yenko and his Yenko Chevrolet dealership and reads, “Yenko Chevrolet was founded in 1947 by Frank & Martha Yenko. Their son, Don, became a franchisee in 1956, and soon formed Yenko Sportscars Inc., selling high performance parts and Corvette racing equipment. Don teamed up with Gulf Oil Research Racing, driving Corvettes, making Yenko known worldwide. In 1965, Don used the COPO program to purchase 100 Corvairs naming them Yenko ‘Stingers” modified to race. COPO was used again to create ‘Yenko Supercars’ on Camaro & Chevelle platforms. Tragically, Don and three others died in an airplane crash in 1987.”
“Mike Roman, who is a car guy involved in the Sultans Car Club of Canonsburg and several others, he gathered up the funding to underwrite or cover the cost of the sign, and then we had the unveiling this past Saturday with an invitation to those groups,” said Bob SeCaur, president of the Jefferson College Historical Society.
The sign memorializing high-performance car dealer and tuner Don Yenko followed a wave of plaques erected in Canonsburg last year.
“In Canonsburg, a couple years ago, our Jefferson College Historical Society started a plaque campaign where we were putting up cast-aluminum plaques to memorialize important locations throughout the borough,” said Mike Roman, a member of the Saltans Car Club and an associate of the Jefferson College Historical Society. “The first year we did 16 plaques at historical sites and the next year, we were talking about doing it again, and I suggested we do Don Yenko and Yenko Chevrolet, because it had a lot of history and it promoted Canonsburg across the country and across the world.”
Roman received donations to fund the sign from the Rob Vietmeier Collection, the Sultans Car Club of Canonsburg and Pittsburgh C.A.R.S.
A lifelong resident of Canonsburg, Roman was impacted early in his life by Don Yenko and Yenko Chevrolet.
“When I was a young man — I am 74 — when I was a senior in high school, my best friend, Tom Nickovich, was the lot boy at Yenko Chevrolet, so I spent a lot of time hanging out up there. Tom and I went to different races with Yenkos and were in the pits with these guys and even flew with Don Yenko a couple of times."
“Don Yenko would buy all of these hi-po cars from different dealers for his lot. Say someone traded a GTO at another dealer. Don Yenko would buy it and other hi-po cars from these dealers, He would fly a bunch of us young guys to the cars and we would drive these cars back home. So he was always keeping his lot full of high-performance stuff. He bought anything that was hi-po. I remember once there was a Ford GT40 down there.”
For the sign unveiling on Sept. 16, the sign’s sponsors were invited to a ceremony at the former dealership building, which is now a full-time motorcycle business.
“The owners of the building right now, Rick and Greg Trunzo, are friends of mine,” Roman said. “Rick and I went to high school together, so I cleared it with him so my friends and I could take pictures with our cars (at the sign unveiling) and he let us check out the rooms in the back — the dyno room, the parts room.”
At the unveiling, several of the sponsors’ cars were displayed at the former Chevrolet dealership for an informal car show. Among them was a red 1980 Chevrolet Corvette owned by a member of Pittsburgh C.A.R.S.
“It is probably the last Yenko Car ever built,” Roman said. “It’s a Yenko turbocharged Corvette, so it’s a pretty special car.”
More scenes from the unveiling
If you like stories like these and other classic car features, check out Old Cars magazine. CLICK HERE to subscribe.
Want a taste of Old Cars magazine first? Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter and get a FREE complimentary digital issue download of our print magazine.
Angelo Van Bogart is the editor of Old Cars magazine and wrote the column "Hot Wheels Hunting" for Toy Cars & Models magazine for several years. He has authored several books including "Hot Wheels 40 Years," "Hot Wheels Classics: The Redline Era" and "Cadillac: 100 Years of Innovation." His 2023 book "Inside the Duesenberg SSJ" is his latest. He can be reached at avanbogart@aimmedia.com
