Maybe you heard that old song we have alluded to in our title: It's about a railroad line that used to exist. We have no idea who or what Atchison was or is, but we definitely know about Topeka and Super Chevys. From what we see, they go together nicely.
Appropriately named Heartland Park, the venue for the Topeka Super Chevy Show seemed as big as some states. Wrapped all around the drag strip is a road course that provided us with some great spots to shoot photos of feature cars, but you could easily get lost going back and forth to the show area. On one of our explorations we ran into a guy who suggested we take a picture of his house. We're used to people asking us to take pictures of their cars, but this was a new one. Turns out that Jerry Baker lives directly across the street from the track entrance, and his roof has an inlaid Bow-Tie pattern. Well we did take a picture, check it out. That Baker is a diehard Chevy fan.
If you think there's something different about the backdrop for the show winners photos, you're right. Ordinarily the Autostar 18-wheeler is parked so that we can use the right side for the pictures. But after the truck was parked on the grass the Wednesday before the show, about 12 feet of rain fell, and the rig sunk up to the lug nuts. A giant tow truck rescued the truck and trailer and parked it on the pavement. We couldn't convince any of the show winners to risk their shoes and trophies in the mud on the right side of the truck, so we improvised. The real fun was in cleaning the truck and trailer and putting tire dressing on all 18 wheels!
Wandering around the finish line of the drag strip, we heard what could have passed for a Nitro Coupe. A bright pink Nova screamed by, and we were waiting for it at the time slip hut. Turns out the car ran an 8.50 e.t. at over 150 mph, and the owner, Larry Larson of Oak Grove, Missouri, drove it to the show on the street from Kansas City using 91-octane pump gas. It is a '66 with a blown 555 ci motor and a Lenco, which we took lots of pictures of, and after the show, we saw Larson and his wife driving towards home. Very impressive.