"Cold" August Nights......

Hot August Nights is here again and every year I get more disappointed. Maybe it's the economy and people aren't traveling from as far away anymore,or Maybe it's the city of Reno being assholes-Like the Highway Patrol writing tickets on I-80 between VerdI and Reno as you come into town. Yeah,a $200 ticket before I even get into town will make me want to come back!! And the greedy motel and casino owners raising the room prices from the-rest-of-the-year $39-$89 a night to $100-$200 a night during HAN. Yeah, that puts a good taste into people's mouth. And because some Bay Area gang-bangers started a riot 15 years ago, the Police just HAVE to restrict alchohol sales downtown and not allow cruising. And while Vegas has people like Celine Dion and Elton John and Shania Twain and Britney Spears and Toby Keith Headlining at their casinos we get Frankie Avalon and Fabian and the Beach Boys. The "I can't believe I'm not dead tour". Not Faith Hill or Beyonce' or Keith Urban, or even Jerry Lee Lewis or Eric Burdon or John Fogerty or John Kay of Steppenwolf-you know people that actually have hits on MTV and the radio now, or at least had them in the musclecar era and the last 40 years that people actually want to see!! And besides that-I don't care what the organizers say attendance is WAY down from the past few years. I can tell because you don't see any cars anymore. A few years ago-the town looked like it was transported back to 1970. There was '50's and '60s cars all over the streets. Now once in a while you'll see a classic driving around. And the "Show-n-Shines" suck too. Used to you'd see all kinds of cool stuff-Cobras,Plymouth Superbirds,Thunderbolt Fairlanes,W31`Cutlasses,428 Mustangs, 455 Trans-Ams, 396 Novas etc. Now it's cookie cutter the Chevy section is all '55-57s, and 68-72 Chevelles and 67-69 Camaros. You never see a '57 Vette, or a '63 Split Window Stingray or '69 427 Stingray-you hardly see any 'Vettes at all. And no 409 Impalas or 427 Impalas,no Nova SS's no '70's Camaros, no V8 Vegas, No Chevelles or Impalas done in "Gasser" style-radiused wheel wells, straight front axles etc. Ditto for the other makes. The Ford section is all Mustang. Very few if any Torinos,Cougars,Cyclones,Rancheros,T-Birds. Hell I'd rejoice if I saw a hot-rod Falcon!!  Same for Mopar. It's all 68-70 Chargers and Road Runners and a few '70-74 E-bodies-'Cudas and Challengers. No early '60's Max Wedge cars,no Hemi Darts,no Superbirds,no Sport Furys, no Super Bees, again-I'd cheer if I even saw a nice 340 Duster or Dodge Demon!!  It's just sad, because I remember when it was fun. And 1/8 mile drag races in parking lots?  Puhleeze. Come on you cheap bastard Casino owners pay the extra insurance premium and have real 1/4 mile races at Reno-Fernley Raceway or at the Stead Airport like they used to. An 1/8 mile elinimates all the big-block cars from winning. You know that-how many times have you had some punk in a 302 Mustang or 350 Camaro or 340 Duster jump you off the line and then about 60 mph-your 440 Road Runner, 396 Chevelle or 400 Firebird in a beautiful display of mid-range torque-catches and passes him while you giggle like a fiend. An 1/8 mile-if they'd let me enter it-I could dominate in my Subaru!!  Sorry just had to vent that. Maybe the orgainizers will wake up and stop killing the Golden Goose. Mastermind