Mopar Nats Today

Well, my first Nats was 1983 and have been to every one except the couple years in Indy. Kind of my silent protest against the move. I should have gone to the first one at the Chelsea proving grounds but didn't. It was real grass roots back then and now seems to be more revenue oriented.

National Trail is not a very good track. It has degraded since being taken over by NHRA. Any complaints should be directed to them, not the Mopar nation.

You should have noticed by now that the typical classic Mopar guy is aging which may explain the golf cart thing and yes, they are a problem. Also the growing presence of newer cars. When you hear a 400 hp small block you know it. Compare that to a 400 hp LX car that outperforms the old iron in every way including doubling of the gas mileage. A typical 20ish Mopar kid usually is not going to go out and buy a 60's Mopar. Too expensive and too hard to get financing. So he shows up in a new Dart or a Neon, maybe an SRT that runs low 14s. And the older guys turn their nose up at him? Did your parents like you hot rodding around in your Dart in the 60s and 70s?The percentage of new iron is just going to get higher every year so get used to it.

Ever take a look at the typical racer? Notice his age and the amount of equipment he brings to the track, Cummins, enclosed trailer, kitchen, generator, 4 wheeler. A lifetime of accumulating stuff and then, uh oh, he's getting older every year. A lot of old guys are selling their junk snd going with the new stuff too.

It still takes me about 6 hours to go through the swap meet and car corral. I may be looking for specific things but always manage to come back with unexpected junk too. Most years when going only on Saturday, i barely saw any of the show field or racing because i was in the swap area all day. Except the Nostalgia SS and Hemi racers cause those are my favorites.

There are plenty of all make swap meets in this area but I stopped going to those 20 years ago. I just don't like wading through brand X junk. I much prefer Mopar only swaps a few times a year.

So I put up with the bad and make the best of it.
I choose not to dwell on the negatives, but on the positives.

I want to thank Orangewagon Ross and Hemi Denny for spending time with me and my son under the big top. Denny even thanked us for cleaning up the leftovers. The good guys are what makes this fun, not the mismanaged things.
And if one of those golf cart guys run me over, I want to thank them in advance for financing my new Challenger.