It may have been slim pickins...
It may have been slim pickins in the show field with just five late-model and one vintage Mustang, but there were Mustangs everywhere else at the Year One Bristol Bash. We saw everything from mid-'80s hatches to '03 Cobras strutting their stuff down the 1,320 and around the SCCA-designed road course. With the addition of the new Year One '65-'73 Mustang catalog and the Bristol Bash annual growth expectations, Mustang presence should be even bigger in 2003.
Horse Sense:
If we didn't get a picture of your 'Stang at the '02 Bristol Bash, or you just want to see more coverage, check out www.yearone.com/bristolbash/bristol.htm. We enjoyed this year's event so much, we're looking forward to becoming even more involved in 2003. Keep an eye on our 5.0 News column for show dates.
Attending automotive events isn't always the fun it's cracked up to be. Usually when a car show or drag race pops up on the Houlahan family calendar, the wife and kids are jumping over each other to make excuses why they can't come with me. Now, I'm a fun guy to be around, but more often than not, these events put the car first and the attendees second. That may seem like the right thing to do, but if you want to get your family involved in the event, it's not. Take it from a veteran of those long, silent drives home.
For clubs, the "car is the star" perception typically holds true as well. After all, if you didn't have a great fondness for a certain car, you wouldn't be in the club, owning one or more vehicles and attending the shows that promote that make or model. For years, events basically boiled down to a bunch of married men, by themselves, spit-polishing their cars for a judge, or tinkering with their engine for the next race. Even if the wife did show up, she sat in the show car reading, or in the tow vehicle keeping herself busy. This is not the way to a happy, lengthy marriage. Thus many fans, after showing their cars for a season or two, ended up selling them-or driving them, which isn't a bad thing, of course.
When the folks at Year One came up with the idea for the Fall Automotive Nationals and the Bristol Bash, the first item on their agenda was family involvement. The first year's event had many family-oriented activities, including a children's play area and tours of the Bristol Motor Speedway. There was also hot racing action, autocross cone busting, and a show-car area full of everything from '60s musclecars to new performance cars such as Firebirds and-of course-Mustangs. The event was a hit, and everyone seemed to come away happy.
Our drive to the Bristol Bash...
Our drive to the Bristol Bash began with one of the Year One caravans (ours originated in Tampa, Florida). By far the longest trip, we drove to Year One's offices in Georgia on Thursday, and then left Friday morning for Bristol, Tennessee. Our group had 60-plus cars in it, and was a sight to see. Those of us driving modern cars such as the 3g GT didn't have to gas up as much as the vintage guys. Gotta love that overdrive!
Fast forward to the second-annual Bristol Bash held in October 2002. Plans for this event had been in the works practically since the day after the '01 event had ended. While the first Bristol Bash was a success, Year One president Kevin King and his staff wanted the '02 event to be even better-not just "more cars" better, and not even so much "more attendance" better, but "more family-oriented" better. For 2002, Kevin set out to enhance the show with many activities for the entire family.
The '02 version saw the introduction of go-cart racing for the kids; a full-size ice-skating rink; Hot Wheels giveaways, trading, and racing; and a slot-car racing track. Additional fun was added to the children's play area with more slides and moon-walk rides, a rock-climbing wall, and the return of face painting and clowns. For the adults, there were tours of the facility and a NASCAR racing simulator featuring Sierra's excellent NASCAR Racing game. For the ladies, there was a tower suite dedicated to giving manicures (shouldn't they be called womanicures?) and hand massages, along with a shuttle to the nearby Bristol Mall for shopping. Adults were also welcome to enjoy the slot-car racing and ice-skating. Of course, there was plenty of racing action, as well as the car show and the competition for the Year One Cup and its $5,000 gift certificate.
These additional activities were a much welcome change of pace to the usual events we visit throughout the year, and the smiling faces and large number of couples and families in attendance told us this is an event not to be missed. Best of all, the gate entry fee pays for everything (except food, of course). You get the fun of a fair, but with a theme-park pricing structure-no ride tickets to buy, no "sorry, you can't have your face painted because we spent all our money on other stuff," and so on.
So keep your calendar open for October 2003, and we'll see you there.
 We were lucky enough to be...  We were lucky enough to be accompanied by a police motorcade all the way from Georgia to Bristol. This was provided for our safety by Year One. Kudos to Ed Henry and his team of officers at DeKalb Motor Escort for an excellent job. That goes for the local authorities at our stops along the way as well! |  We drove the 3g GT on the...  We drove the 3g GT on the Year One caravan with nary a hiccup. The car ran great. We only wish it hadn't rained because we were going to take it down Bristol's excellent track. Here we're being lined up to take hot laps around Bristol Motor Speedway and to take some photos. |  Racing action was hot and...  Racing action was hot and heavy Friday afternoon and all day Saturday at Bristol, with everything from street cars to vintage Funny Cars in attendance. There were plenty of chances to see history go down the track with exhibition passes by famous racers from the '60s. Lots of Mustangs, as well as the mandatory jet car or two, were there as well. |