admin, Author at NorCal Car Culture

The Corvette and Camaro Invasion

Scott Maxwell has been a Corvette enthusiast for over half of his life. He has owned a lot of Corvettes and Camaros in his 55 years.

In his words: “I have attended a lot of Car Shows and I have seen many things that I felt I could improve on. So, I decided to put my money where my mouth was and put on my own car show just before Covid hit and it was a success.”

Late last year, a friend approach Scott about doing a Car Show in Reno and after talking to him they decided that they should go ahead and move forward with it.

They began talking and meeting with multiple Hotels in Reno trying to get the amount of parking spaces needed and the number of rooms needed to put on such a large show. They ended up picking The Grand Sierra Resort to be the location and the planning started.

They wanted it to be during a time that Corvette and Camaro owners would want to take the cars out, so they picked August. One reason for August is that Hot August Nights is a popular time for Cars in Reno, but the newer cars are not allowed to enter the show.

They wanted to have a show that people could be part of if they had a newer Corvette or Camaro, but also be open to all years. They knew with Reno in August that it is very Hot, so they wanted to do an indoor show. Having a temperature-controlled environment would make it much more fun for the owners as well as the spectators.

They decided to allow attendees to come on Thursday and check in with their own VIP Check in Line for the Hotel and then go to the show registration area and get their Goodie Bag and the times for the Poker Run on Friday.

On Friday, the drivers will make their way thru the stops to get their 5 cards for their hand and the last stop will be back at Grand Sierra. The Top 3 Hands will be winning a total of $ 600.00

After the Poker Run the car owners will be able to bring their cars into the ballroom and get them parked and cleaned up for the show on Saturday and have the opportunity to grab something to eat and drink while being able to talk to their friends and fellow Car Show participants, and also have the opportunity to go gamble or eat dinner etc. or they can come back in the morning and get their cars ready.

The Corvettes and the Camaros will be judged separately and will have separate Awards and Prizes except for the Best of Show Trophy.

We have some big-name sponsors joining and advertising and donating some awesome prizes, so you don’t want to miss out!

The Corvette and Camaro Invasion of Reno Nevada brought to you by The Corvette Channel and Maita Motorsports and Chevrolet Performance promises to be one of the Best Shows on the West Coast.

Here is a link to their website: https://corvettechannel.com/event/the-corvette-camaro-invasion-of-reno-nevada/

Maita Motorsports – Chevy Performance Dealer

Most of you know that Art Wong from Maita Motorsports has been my biggest sponsor for many years now. Each year I get to travel to several events all over the West with him. Art has generously donated several packages of tickets to next week’s NHRA Sonoma Nationals for us to giveaway in this week’s drawing for our Paid Subscribers. I thought it would be a great time to share a little bit about Art and the Maita Motorsports story.

Chris Hall in the Maita Motorsports COPO Camaro racing at the Winternationals in Pomona

Maita Motorsports is the Performance/Racing Division of Maita Chevrolet. In 2013, at Art’s urging, they became a Chevrolet Performance Dealer, one of only 96 in the entire country. Under the leadership of General Manager, Kent Ketterling, Art has built Maita Motorsports into one of the top ten Chevy Performance dealers in the nation. They supply Chevrolet Factory developed Performance Parts and Power Train Units specifically designed for GM vehicles. Art and the entire Maita Motorsports company, both pride themselves on excellent customer service. They have the largest Dealer Parts Warehouse that I have ever seen, just off of Highway 99 in Elk Grove, CA. They stock thousands of parts from hoods and fenders to complete engines stacked in wooden crates.

In addition to the Parts and Service business, Maita Motorsports has become a big name in auto racing. They are involved with Chevy’s factory-built race cars, the COPO Camaros. They help campaign two different teams that run in the NHRA Factory Super Stock Class. They sponsor Brian Brossart from Williston, North Dakota who was the runner up in the 2020 NHRA Division 7 standings and Chris Hall from Brigham City, Utah. Chris won a National event last year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and is currently in the 12th position nationally in his class.

Maita Motorsports also sponsors Eloy Bazan who runs Late Models at Madera Speedway as well as the Naake – Klauer Motorsports team that runs Late Models all over the West including in the ARCA West Series. Another driver they sponsor is Dave Carroll, who is currently in 4th place in the GTT division of the Optima Ultimate Street Car Association.

Brian Brossart in his 2017 Maita Motorsports COPO Camaro

Art keeps up a demanding schedule representing Chevrolet and Maita Motorsports at all the major car events on the West Coast. For example, he attends several national NHRA events each year at Las Vegas, Pomona and Sonoma. He is also at the LS Fest and Muscle Cars on the Strip in Las Vegas, the Salt Lake Autorama and the Barrett Jackson Collector Car Auctions in Scottsdale, Arizona. He travels to Reno for Hot August Nights and the Corvette Invasion. Locally he has a booth at the Sacramento Autorama, the Lincoln Car Show and C/10 Intervention in Woodland. He still manages to find the time to attend the occasional Cars and Coffee event and even makes it to our little Cruise-Ins in Citrus Heights a couple of times a year.

Everyone thinks he has a dream job but I can tell you from personal experience, that no one works harder than my friend Art. From leaving at 1am in the morning for a long drive pulling a trailer to Las Vegas to spending weeks away from his family, Art puts in the effort that is required to build such a successful business. Not that he doesn’t enjoy going to all the races and different events plus getting to meet new people and potential customers, but it is still work. I am especially grateful for Art’s support and allowing me access to events that otherwise I wouldn’t be able to attend. I try to be helpful but I have a lot to learn when it comes to the modern LS engines and parts. Maita Motorsports and Art Wong have been a huge part of the growth of NorCal Car Culture and I try to be of service to them as well.

Jeff James, Tim Newey. Art Wong — Chevy Performance Rep Jeff James, Tim Newey and Art Wong

If you are looking for a Chevy Performance Crate engine, Transmisson, a Connect & Cruise system or even the latest ultra high performance Corvette please contact my friends at Maita Motorsports. They have a very cool and informative website HERE.

A Short History of the Sacramento Autorama – Part 1

I am very excited to attend this year’s Sacramento Autorama. I hope a lot you can come by and see me at my booth in Building A. I will be next to my friend Art Wong from Maita Motorsports.

As a lifelong Sacramento resident, I thought it would be fun, as this year’s show approaches, to learn a little about the history of the Sacramento Autorama. My Dad took me to my first Autorama when I was a teenager in the 70’s and I have attended most for the last 25 or 30 years. I remember being impressed with the mirrors on the floor so you could see the under side of some of these custom cars. They were and are works of art! If you have any stories or memories that you would like to share please contact me at tnewey@norcalcarculture.com.

Here is a poster of the first auto show courtesy of Ed Gardner:

The first Sacramento Autorama was called the Capitol Auto Club’s First Annual Auto Show. It was held on November 4th and 5th, 1950 at the Capitol Chevrolet dealership on the corner of 13th and K Street in Downtown Sacramento. It wasn’t called the Autorama until 1953. Harold “Baggy” Bagdasarian, President of the Capitol Auto Club, the “Thunderbolts”, had an idea to hold a little car show to win bragging rights for the quality of the custom cars in their Car Club. The first winner of the Best Custom Car trophy was Leroy Semas and his 1937 Chevy Coupe. The winner of the Best Rod trophy was Burton Davis and his 31 Ford Roadster.

Here is the winner of the Best Custom Car trophy, a 1937 Chevy Coupe that belonged to Leroy Semas and was restyled by Harry Westergard. There is a great article on this car at CustomChronicle.com. The second show was moved to the Newton A. Cope Buick dealership at 15th and K Streets. It wasn’t held until April 19th and 20th of 1952. The program featured a picture of Bud Crackbon’s Roadster which was judged “America’s Most Beautiful Roadster at the Oakland Auto Show earlier in 1952. Here is the program cover of the second “Autorama”. The Best Custom trophy that year went to Joe Bailon and his beautiful 1941 Chevy.

By 1953, the members of the Capitol Auto Club were hesitant to continue the promotion of the Auto Show so Baggy decided to find a new location and go for it. He eventually settled on the Memorial Auditorium and renamed the show the Sacramento Autorama. Attendance was growing every year and after 2 years at the Auditorium, Baggy rented the Old Fairgrounds on Stockton Blvd. That was in 1955 and it kept growing every year until in 1970 when the Autorama was moved to it’s present location at the Cal Expo Fairgrounds.

Here is an article from the January 1951 issue of Hot Rod Magazine on the first Autorama:

In the late 1980’s Baggy was joined by Don Tognotti as a promoter of the Sacramento Autorama. Dan Cyr purchased and promoted it in the early 2000’s. Then in 2005, John Buck and Rod Shows Inc. took over promotion of one of the longest running indoor Car Shows in the country, the Kustom Capital of the World. John has done an excellent job of growing and expanding the event while at the same time honoring and preserving the 72 years of history of the Sacramento Autorama.

There are several very prestigious awards given out each year including the Custom D’Elegance and the Big “B” Awards. The Custom D’Elegance award traces it’s roots to the Car of Elegance award first presented in 1953 to the legendary Joe Bailon.

The 2014 Custom D’Elegance Award winner was James Hetfield and his beautiful coachbuilt 1948 Jaguar named “Black Pearl.”! The first of the Big “B” Awards is the H.A. Bagdasarian Memorial Award, the World’s Most Beautiful Custom. It was started in 1991 to honor founder Baggy Bagdasarian and is still chosen by the family.

The 2020 winner of the World’s Most Beautiful Custom, H.A. Bagdasarian Memorial Award was Bob Dron and his stunning 1948 Chevy Fleetline.Next is the Sam Barris Memorial Award was started in 1968 after his passing and is also chosen by members of the Barris family. It is an award for body and paint work on an all metal bodied car.

The Candy Apple Joe Bailon Memorial Award was started by Joe Bailon himself in 1992 and goes to the best Candy paint job.

In 2020, the “Candy Apple” Joe Bailon Trophy went to Calvin Fisk and his wild 1953 Ford F-100!The Dick Bertolucci Automotive Excellance Award honors excellence in craftsmanship. in 2000, the Bertolucci award took over what was originally the Harry Bradley Design Achievement Award.

In 2017, the winner of the Dick Bertolucci Automotive Excellence Award was Michael McAuliffe and his 1940 Ford Sedan called ‘The Second Time Around’.

A list of all the past award winners can be found on the new Autorama Website Here. Check out Part 2 next week with lots of photos and memories of some legends of the Sacramento Autorama!