Coronado’s 12th annual Speed Festival this weekend might not be as “vintage” as in past years. But a new twist to the historic car show is going to add some thunder to the event staged at the North Island Naval Air Station. A historic stock car class has been added to make up for some of the vintage stock lost to a new/rival historic car show also going on this weekend at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma. Because the Coronado Speed Festival does not have a NASCAR sanction, those six magic letters are missing from the marquee. But most of the “vintage” stock cars are off the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series circuits. Some of the stock at Coronado once campaigned under the likes of the late Dale Earnhardt, Bill Elliott, Rusty Wallace, Sterling Marlin, Neil Bonnett, Ricky Rudd, Dale Jarrett, Dave Marcis and Jeff Burton. Some of the cars are only four years old, not exactly vintage. But the market for Sprint Cup cars as collectors items has taken off in recent years with NASCAR’s popularity spike. “Usually, the buyer of an old NASCAR car has some emotional tie to the make of car, the sponsor or the driver,” Richard Petty said several years ago while discussing the growth in vintage NASCAR sales. “It’s amazing that no matter what the car looks like, the collector will keep it in that form,” Petty said. “I remember when an old car was just scrapped for parts. Now they’re worth money.” In some cases, a lot of money. A Plymouth Superbird from the mid-1960s recently brought almost $200,000 at an auction. While Terry Labonte’s Chevy Monte Carlo from the 1995 NASCAR season might not be as aesthetically pleasing as a 1937 Bugatti to the vintage car aficionado, it is definitely bigger, louder and striking all major plusses with the younger set. Despite the competition from the Northern California event, the Speed Festival will have a record number of entries this season partially because of the new stock car class and the age restrictions of past Speed Festivals has been changed. This year’s field will also include Trans-Am and SCCA sedans from the 1980s. The Speed Festival is part of the annual Fleet Week program celebrating the military’s involvement in San Diego. In addition to the vintage car races, there will be a car show and exhibits, military displays and tours of Navy ships the Makin Island (amphibious assault) and Princeton (guided missile cruiser). Gates to the Speed Festival open at 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. A two-day pass is $35 in advance (children under 12 are admitted free with an adult) and $45 at the gate. Single-day admissions are $25 and $35. Half-price tickets are available to active and retired military and defense personnel with proper identification. Read the entire Union Tribune article here.
Speed Festival adding some vroom to its vintage
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Coronado Times Staff
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