Build it and they will come, ......ok, maybe, present it and they will come.

Road weary travelers from Nebraska to Maine to upper Quebec found themselves driving to a crossroads, a location in the Midwest heartland. In their minds they vision a 2 1/2 mile oval, a home of speed and fame, and a yard of bricks. A place that makes the old feel young and the young wanting to drive. A place that makes a common man a legend and legends calling it home. For some strange reasons they travel in Chevrolet Camaros, Z-28’s and Rally Sports, sport coupes, SS’s and IROC’s. They travel in packs and in pairs, some venture out alone, all with the same mission, same purpose, same event.....

The 1998 Circle City Camaro Festival at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The Central Indiana Camaro Club once again extended a big Hoosier welcome to Camaro enthusiast from across the country. With the 1996 Circle City Camaro Celebration being such a huge success, the CICC took a breather and came back in 1998 with a bigger and better show. The Paddock of Knightstown Indiana was once again ask to fill some big sponsorship shoes for the 1998 show. It was only natural that they fit into the event, the company only 40 minutes away was eager to jump right in to the headliner role.

If you had missed the 1996 show, the format was a very successful copy of the Circle City Camaro Celebration 96 with a few more added events. The event site was a sprawling 20 acre grass lot conveniently located across the street from the Brickyard Inn and Golf Resort and Inn view of the turn 2 grandstands. The show opened up on Friday August 14 with many of the long distance out of town participants rolling into town early. The large registration / seminar tent was set up over looking the show area from its hill top perch.

Chevrolet Motor Division was kind enough to send down two specialty Camaros from the corporate engineering warehouse. A 1983 yellow supercharged V-6 prototype coupe, this car had all the makings of a 4th generation car! Also a fourth generation two seat Camaro # 3 IMSA race car. These cars greeted all of the participants and spectators into the tent.

The schedule for Friday was a loose day with most participants staking out there claims on the show grounds. Doug Harden, President of the Central Indiana Camaro Club, presented a late after noon seminar on waxing and detailing your car, sponsored by ZAINO Brothers Car Polishes.

For those who came to eat, they weren’t disappointed. The CCCF “meat and greet” was once again held at our good friends at Bud Wolf Chevrolet. Andy Wolf graciously welcomed all of the event participants to his dealership and wished them well during their stay in Indianapolis. Jug's Catering of Indianapolis was called on to do provide the meal, barbecued chicken with their famous Hoosier fried biscuits. After enjoying some Camaro comraderie the participants were shuttled back to the event site in the CICC provided Trailways bus. Off to their respective hotels and homes, the Camaro loyalists drifted off to slumber land, dreaming of big blocks and blue bow ties.

Saturday morning rolled in with partly cloudy skies and hot temperatures, perfect for a car show! Joining the tent display cars were Gary and Robin Holub’s Orange 69 Yenko and Matt Murphy’s one of kind 97 hugger orange SS, fondly known as the 'Pumpkin car'. Twenty-five CICC cars also greeted the CCCF entrants at 8 AM when the gate lot opened. Tunes and information was provided during the day by American air personality of the year J.D. Cannon from WFMS radio. Jim Hairston (Professor Pace Car) of the Gateway Camaro Club once again gave another informative lecture on the history of the Indy Camaro Pace cars to a large group in the registration tent. Jim went on to pace the final heat race with his 69 Pace Car at the 16th Street Speedway later that evening, but that is a whole different story. Kenny Brown Performance Center seminar on suspension modifications was well received by many 3rd and 4th generation owners wanting to increase their performance. Even CICC’s own Kurt Stoops discussed muscle car insurance in the world of daily driven automobiles.

The Central Indiana Camaro Club’s focus was on fun and comraderie. The show’s 100 point judging scale was a fair and fun way of awarding cars on display, detail, presentation and enthusiasm. No 1000 point scale here! Points awarded for paint chips and road tar.

The awesome display of 1st generation cars made a Camaro lover drool. But if late model is your style, there was plenty of 3rd and 4th generation beauties to crave your appetite. A large number of 4th gen. SS’s were present, even a Dale Earnhardt signature SS and a couple of Gold 98 convertibles. Participants spent their day polishing and shining and viewing the 200 cars that were in attendance. Some even took in a museum tour at the Speedway, others visited the Paddock trailer, or purchased some Camaro memorabilia that was for sale. Many families took advantage of the shuttle bus that went to the downtown mall and zoo.

As the afternoon wound down the participates chose on a couple of options for later that evening. Many chose to take a short drive over to the Kenny Brown Performance Center to witness DYNOPALOOZA 98. Five cars from the show were selected to run for the TOP DOG award on KB’s dyno. CICC member Benny Coffman in his 94 supercharged -intercooled 94 Z28 received Top Dog honors with a dyno pull of 411 rwhp at the rear wheels! Our 3rd generation friends from Ohio video taped the event and were giving viewings at the Speedway hotel later that night. If horsepower wasn’t your style, 66 Camaros convoyed 15 miles through a pop up rain shower to the Sud’s Drive-in in Greenwood, Indiana. The line of cars stretched around two blocks and delighted the local Saturday night cruisers.

Sunday morning couldn’t get here early enough for some participants. This was the day they came for, the lap. But first the formalities had to be taken care of. Doug Harden, President of the CICC thanked all of the people who graciously attend the event and his event staff.

And staying with tradition, Mayor Stephen Goldsmith of Indianapolis proclaimed Sunday August 16th as Camaro Day in Indianapolis.

Over 60 class and specialty awards were presented with club participation award going to The Miami Valley Camaro Club and the PADDOCK Sponsor award presented to John Mount of West Harrison, Indiana, in his beautiful green and gold 68 RS.

Once the awards were presented the entrants made there way over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway north lot for staging. Many people were anxious about the lap and the photo that were getting taken on the track. Before entering the speedway CICC members thank every participant and gave them a ceremonial certificate stating that they had completed one lap around Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Now if you haven’t had the chance to drive on the greatest race track in the world, there is nothing like it!

As the Camaro faithful made their way off the track we bid them a fond farewell and safe trip home. Smiling faces could be seen for miles, because they come for the moment, for the chance to say, “I drove at Indy.”

The Central Indiana Camaro Club would like to thank all of the sponsors and contributors to the CCCF98. The Paddock for all its loyal help and commitment to making this show one of the premier Camaro events in the country .

Finally the members and families of the Central Indiana Camaro Club, without you, we couldn’t present such a successful event.