For Immediate Release

MOPAR MADNESS MAKES ANNUAL VISIT TO CARLISLE

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

The Carlisle Pennsylvania Fairgrounds was a Mopar lover’s paradise this past weekend as a sea of spectators and fans of Chrysler products descended upon central Pennsylvania. Great weather and some fine displays and show cars brought record crowds to the fairgrounds. Don’t miss next year’s All-Chrysler Nationals – July 11-13, 2008.

Our shows are for the spectator, Carlisle Events asks attendees to give some feedback by filling out our after-event survey. The survey can be found on the Chrysler events page at http://carsatcarlisle.com/chrysler/details.asp

The winners list is also posted on our Chrysler page. Congratulations to all that took home an award.

Winners of our other contests are:
Wing Eating – Andrew Hesh got down 25 wings in less that 10 minutes.
Beauty Contest – Nicki Gerz of Lancaster took first prize, followed by Carlise’s own Heidi Haldeman in second. Third place winner was Ashley Pamplin of Baton Rouge, Louisianna.
Burnout Contest – Alan Williams of Nottingham, Pennsylvania left plenty of rubber in Carlisle to win this year’s burnout contest.
Giveaway vehicle – Lucky Rachel and Allen Kohr had the choice of a 1973 Plymouth Scamp or $5,000. They elected to take the car.

As always, Chrysler came to Carlisle in full-force. Not only did they have three concept cars, but they provided a great test drive area with lots of new models, plus many other fascinating displays.

The show had some great guests in “Big Daddy” Don Garlits and Shirley Muldowney. They were with us all weekend long signing autographs and making public appearances.

One of the more moving events during the weekend was the presentation of a fully-restored ’73 Cuda by the Cuda-Challenger.com club to Don Moore, one of their members. Moore is returning to Iraq later this summer for his 3rd tour. Sgt. Moore volunteered to go. His dad and about 25 club members bought the Butterscotch ’73 Cuda in Arkansas and totally restored the car in less than 6 weeks. The presentation of the car on Friday was accompanied by 20 members of the Pennsylvania National Guard and the new Stryker armored combat vehicle. This was a total surprise for Sgt. Moore, and to say the least he was ecstatic!

Another interesting sidelight to our show was the wedding that took place at the stage on Saturday. Sabastien Lamothe and Melinda Piluso have been attending the All-Chrysler Nats for several years. He proposed to her at last year’s show and she suggested that they get married at Carlisle the following year. And that’s just what they did.

The spotlight this year was on the popular aero cars, as well as convertibles of all years and models. The aero cars were built in 1969-1970 to compete in NASCAR. They dominated racing until they were banned after the 1970 season.
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ALL-CHRYSLER NATIONALS – ADD ONE
A realistic 1967 Chrysler/Plymouth/Dodge dealership was set up in Building G, just outside Gate 1. Obviously, the show room was filled with ’67 models, but every detail down to the TV playing Chrysler commercials, signage, coke machine and brochures was covered. Let us know what you thought of it.

The third annual Salvation Charity Auction was held at the Stage on Saturday afternoon. 33 vehicles and a number of other items were auctioned to raise over $54,000 for the local Salvation Army. We are already planning next year’s auction. If anyone would like to donate a car, please contact us.

The Standard of Mopar Excellence (SME) competition pits some of the finest Mopar vehicles in the country against a standard of excellence as opposed to other cars. The competition is based on a 100-point formula. The formula divides the judging into 5 separate areas: engine bay, body, interior, undercarriage and road test. It’s not surprising that quality, attention to detail and execution are the keys to success in SME. Dave Ferro of Totally Auto Inc., is the founder and head judge of the SME competition. He designed the concept some dozen years ago. Each year many fine Mopars enter the competition to earn the much-sought-after SME status.

The Carlisle All-Chrysler Nationals always bring a huge showfield, car corral and plenty of vendors to find that part for your latest project. There was drag racing at South Mountain Dragway, a women’s oasis, Kids at Carlisle and inforrmative seminars to help you with your do-it-yourself projects.

The cars. The people. The excitement. Don’t miss it.

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Journalist note: Information about Carlisle Events, its event listings, auction offerings and the Carlisle Expo Center is available to journalists by phone:


Michael Garland
Media Specialist
717-243-7855 ext. 133
michaelg@carlisleevents.com

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