You know, sometimes when you get an itch you can either scratch it or try real hard to ignore it.

Three years ago some of us in the Central Indiana Camaro Club were wondering aloud about why all of the
Camaro shows that we had attended, or read about, seemed to only draw about 200 cars. Not that they were bad
shows, but, where are all of you Camaro owners? Was it the exclusiveness of the 1,000 point judging? Was it the
seminars on COPO's and such ( you know, cars very few of us own, or will ever be able to afford )? Was it the
location? Was it the cost? What ever it was, we decided that we could either sit around and complain or put our
money where our mouth was and put on a Camaro event the way we thought would be more to the liking of the
millions of Camaro owners out there. After all, we had helped the USCC to host the 1991 Nationals, here in Indy;
the 1993 Pace Car reunion, again here at the Motor Speedway and some of us lent a helping hand at the
Nationals in St. Louis and Detroit, so we had some experience to rely on.

The first thing to be considered was, where would be the most attractive site to hold such an event. The obvious
choice was the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Nice to have the world's most famous racetrack in you own
backyard. Besides, what car has been chosen the most times (4) to be the Pace Car for not only the Indianapolis
500, but now the Brickyard 400. Also, some of us have driven our own Camaros around the famous "Brickyard"
and know what an awesome experience that is, so a lap around the track was a must.

Second item of consideration was the fact that the Camaro is celebrating it's 30th anniversary. Not many cars
can boast such a long, successful run.

Next, we wanted this event to include ALL Camaro owners. Not only the wonderfully restored models, but also
the daily drivers, Pro Streeters, grocery getters and even the unfinished cars. That meant that not only would we
need to "lighten up" on the judging, but we would need to provide fun things to do for the whole family. Having
hosted open shows for 9 years at Hubler Chevrolet, our club's sponsor, we felt that more owners would like for
the "Show and Shine" to be based on a 100 point system with lots of classes. We thought this would make more
Camaro owners feel like they were part of this planned celebration.

We also wanted to provide an opportunity for the many friends we have made and new friends we hope to make
to be able to gather and socialize. So we decided to organize a "Meat and Greet" dinner for Friday night. We
knew that if we had any success at all, there would be people coming from long distances that would appreciate
having a chance to meet Camaro people and get a good dinner at the same time. We even wanted to provide a
free shuttle for the wife and kids to visit some of the great sites and venues in our fair city. And of course, you've
got to have a good DJ to keep them entertained.

Finally, we wanted the seminars to be more directed to the average Camaro enthusiast.

Having decided all of that, we had to find a way to make this kind of show affordable. This meant finding
sponsors. As luck would have it we didn't have to look very far from home. Located in nearby Knightstown,
Indiana is one of the premier supplier of restoration parts in the nation. Therefore, the Paddock Parts was our
first choice. The Paddock has been a source of quality parts in many of our club members' cars. The final results
of these restoration projects have graced the cover of their catalog numerous times.

I placed a phone call to my good friend Roy Stevens at the Paddock and he indicated that they would most
certainly be interested. At our initial meeting with Roy and Wes Watts we were delighted to hear that they would
do what ever it took to help us put on a first class show. Of course that big check didn't hurt.

Hubler Chevrolet also gladly contributed to the war chest. They have been a very generous sponsor of our
club's open show every June, so we were pleased to have them be part of this show.

In April of this year, fellow club officer, Doug Aldridge and myself were fortunate enough to be invited to the
press introduction of the Brickyard 400 Camaro Pace Car, which is also the 30th anniversary model. Held at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, we were able to meet many of the top brass from Chevrolet and
Andy Wolf, from Bud Wolf Chevrolet, a local dealership.

We could not believe it when Jon Moss, from Chevrolet, invited us to drive the actual pace car around the fabled track!

To make a long story short, we were able to convince Genuine Chevrolet to also be a major sponsor of our show.

Along with a big check, they also donated some really neat door prizes and posters of the fourth generation Camaro.

Andy Wolf, of Bud Wolf Chevrolet has been in Indianapolis for many years and Andy is now
managing the business. The neatest part about this is that Andy is also an avid collector of Camaros. His 1969
Camaro pace car was used in the photos taken that day along with all of the other Camaro pace cars assembled.
We told Andy about our planned show and he indicated that he would love to help out.

Our other sponsor was SLP Engineering. Those of you who keep up with the latest, greatest General Motors
cars know that SLP was responsible for the rebirth of the infamous Camaro SS. Of course this is not the only
model they produce, but to us Camaro guy and girls, the most important.

Matt Murphy, from SLP, has been a Camaro enthusiast and a good friend, for many years.

Fridays events included early registration and a seminar by Jim Hill, of Cherry Detailing, on how to really shine
up your car and keep it looking new.

Friday evening we all headed out to Bud Wolf Chevrolet for our "Meat and Greet". Some of us drove and some
took advantage of the free bus ride across town. (See, I told you we tried to make this a first class show!) Jug's
Catering provided about 175 of us with a delicious barbecued chicken dinner topped off by a piece of 30th
anniversary Camaro cake. Some people had never enjoyed the famous "Brown County" fried biscuits with apple
butter, but I noticed there weren't any left over!

After welcome speeches by our club officers and sponsors, Jim Wirth, the original founder of the United States
Camaro Club, provided us with our keynote address and many numerous Camaro anecdotes. Jim is very active
in many automotive pursuits, especially his involvement with ARMO, fighting to keep the government out of our
hobby.

Thanks again to Bud Wolf Chevrolet, for sponsoring the dinner and allowing us to eat among part
of his Camaro collection in his dealership showroom. One participant remarked " ... having dinner between a 1968
Z-28 and a 1968 Yenko could not have been any neater!" Thanks to Southeastern Trailways for safely
transporting some of us back and forth.

Saturday morning brought the much anticipated onslaught of Camaros. With over 140 of you pre-registered, and
many more signing up, the ladies in the registration tent were kept busy all weekend. They made sure everyone
got their Goody bags, free T-shirt and dash plaques and knew exactly where to go and what to do. Thanks again,
Roz Aldridge, Darlene Harden and Valerie Barnes. Your tireless efforts made it easy for the participants to
breeze through registration. Garry and Brooke Coffman and others manned the entry gate to get you safely in
and parked in the grass covered valley. Many of you took advantage of the water jugs being shuttled, on the
back of his four wheeler, throughout the show site by Dennis Barnes. Dennis, Bob Harshbarger and Brian
Smith also performed many other crucial tasks for the show. Harley Clevenger answered judging questions and
organized the cruise.

Reviewing the registration forms we were delighted to see that there were cars from 17 different states and
even a couple of cars from Ontario, Canada! People had come from as far as Corpus Christi, Texas,
Nebraska, Coral Gables, Florida, New Jersey, Wisconsin and nearly every state east of the Rockies. One
guy from Seattle, Washington, in town on business, even joined our club! Might be a tough commute to club
meetings. Also had a guy from Ohio join up along with 4 other locals.

Some of you took advantage of the free shuttle, provided by Indy Limousine, to take in some shopping at
Circle Centre Mall or use the discount tickets to visit the world class Indianapolis Zoo. The Children's Museum
was a favorite among the kid's and grown-ups alike.

The first seminar on Saturday, was put on by our good friend, Jim Hairston, from the Gateway Camaro Club of
St. Louis. "Professor Pace Car" brought along his award winning 1967 model and his vast knowledge and
collection of Pace Car memorabilia to put on one of the most informative and entertaining sessions concerning
Camaro's leading role in the sport of racing.
 

Matt Murphy, from SLP Engineering, drove the "Race Rock Speedway" Camaro SS Pace car to the show and
put on a seminar about SLP's involvement with Chevrolet and their many aftermarket products for late model
Camaros. Just a note, there was an SS of every available color in attendance at our show! There were a total of
8 of these "Super Sport" cars in attendance! Matt lined them up on Sunday morning for a "class picture".

During the seminars the members of the Central Indiana Camaro Club fanned out to begin the judging for
Sunday's awards. What a great collection of Camaros we had on hand!

Ed Preston, of A&M Softseal, took a walk around the show site and discovered many of us had incorrectly
installed our trunk weather-stripping. So at his seminar he explained the right way and the reason's for using the
excellent Softseal product line.

A brief sprinkle of rain didn't dampen anyone of the 200 Camaro owner's spirits. J.D. Cannon, from local station
WFMS, played requests and made special announcements all afternoon. He even drove up in his wife's new
Camaro. What a team player.

Many people visited the trailers from the Paddock, A&M Softseal, Cherry Detailing and Project Industries

The final seminar was presented by local manufacturer Kenny Brown, Project Industries, Inc.. Based just
down the street on Gasoline Alley, Kenny Brown first made his mark with Steve Saleen, modifying and racing
those other "pony" cars. The recent deluge of inquiries from Camaro owners about his exclusive sub-frame
connectors and other performance suspension pieces convinced him to increase his product line. Project
Industries even provided a set of the sub-frame connectors, valued at over $250.00, as a door prize!

After the"Show And Shine" judging wrapped up, nearly 60 Camaros lined up for a cruise to the local cruise spot
the famous "Dog and Suds" in Greenwood, Indiana, on the south side of Indy. Some participants enjoyed an
evening of bowling, just across the parking lot from the show. Some of us took in an Indianapolis Colts NFL pre-
season game and a few went to the RCA Tennis Championships downtown.

Sunday morning brought extremely heavy traffic through the entry gate as everyone wanted to be present for the
awards and door prizes. There were a half dozen registrants sign in on Sunday morning, just to make sure they
could at least take a lap around the historical Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Many smiles were around after the nearly 60 awards were handed out and great door prizes from K&N filters,
Borla Exhaust, Project Industries, a couple of memberships to the I.C.C., Genuine Chevrolet and many
others were given away.

Stephen Goldsmith, the Mayor of Indianapolis, even signed a declaration proclaiming August 17th, 1996 as
"Camaro Celebration Day"!

Then came time for the part of the show we had all been waiting for. A lap around the "Brickyard" and an
opportunity to have a picture taken of your car by the world famous Timing Tower. All 200 plus Camaros lined up
in the parking lot for a Camaro parade into the Speedway grounds. There were Camaros of every year, make
and model!

We'd like to thank the Police department from the town of Speedway, Indiana for providing lot security all
weekend and stopping 16th street traffic for our impromptu parade.

Once into the Speedway grounds we all lined up in the "Blue Lot" to take our turn getting a picture taken right
before we were allowed to take a lap and dream about crossing the finish line in front of the nearly half million
fans on race day. We drove right through "Gasoline Alley", got our pictures taken, lined up on pit lane and were
escorted by the helpful and friendly "Yellow shirts" around the world's most famous racetrack. Some of us live
here and it is still an awesome experience!

Some of the last onto the track finished in the rain, but went away with "ear to ear" smiles anyway. Only one poor
sole was left stranded at the end of pit lane. A beautiful 1969 pace car from Nebraska, over-heated and had to be
rescued by a couple of our guys. Hard luck to be sure.

Some people stopped at the Speedway Museum to see all of the history written here and also took in the
collection of all five Camaro pace cars assembled in the front lawn for us, courtesy of Ralph Kramer, museum
curator and ex-Chevrolet employee.

All that was left to do was to clean up the show headquarters tent, say good-bye to our old and new friends.

Thanks again to our major sponsor, the Paddock Parts, and our other sponsors Genuine Chevrolet, Hubler
Chevrolet, SLP Engineering and Bud Wolf Chevrolet.

A million thanks to all of the Central Indiana Camaro Club members who helped out.

A final thank you to all of the participants for coming and for their generous compliments on a job well done.

And thanks for all of the encouragement to do this again!.