Ford Nationals weekend has come and gone, and this year’s event ranks right up there with the all-time greats that have come before it. Presented once more by Meguiar’s, the National Parts Depot Showfield welcomed a record breaking total of cars spanning 112 years of Ford and Ford family production. From cars to trucks, rare to daily drivers and everything in between, the event showcased once more why this is THE car event for Ford lovers from around the world.

Every year at Carlisle it seems the cars, people and vendors are showing up earlier for Ford weekend. This year was no different as people were showing up and setting up on Memorial Day Monday, days in advance of the weekend start. Indoor displays were also loading in early, with nearly all buildings filled by mid-day Thursday, while the Showfield, automotive flea market and midway were all coming to life on Thursday as well. As an added bonus to the decades of classics on grounds, Ford wowed crowds with a great array of new products. These cars and trucks weren’t only on the midway and in front of the stage, but were also at the neighboring Carlisle Expo Center. There, show goers could not only see the vehicles, they could get behind the wheel and drive many of them too.

Featured vehicle displays included those dedicated to the Fox Body and Fox Platform, Mach 1, Boss, Eliminator and Maverick. While many of those cars had that preserved and classic look that we all love, some showcased top of the line restoration work, wowing all who walked by. 

The aforementioned weren’t the only featured rides. Dating back to 2015, Ford weekend has hosted the Ford Nationals Select display. Annually, 12 cars anchor this display, each for a specific or unique reason. This year was no different. Cars 51-62 took their rightful place within the building and included the likes of an original 1982 Escort with less than 900 miles on it, 1959 English Ford, a 1961 Country Squire and more.

Ford Motor Company brought a lot of great new products to the table this year.  With each new ride came a walk around at the stage. Carl Widmann, the Chief Engineer of Ford Performance shared the details of the new Shelby GT500. Roush and Saleen offered product walk arounds too, with Roush showcasing not only one of its new trucks, but its Stage 3 ROUSH Supercharged Mustang.  In addition, Saleen gave attention to its 2019 SA35 edition Mustang.  Gateway Classic Mustang delivered an experience for Ford Motor Company on the autocross track throughout the weekend. New rides like the 2.3L High Performance Mustang and the GT350 furthered the fun on the track as guests could go for hot laps in the latest performance offerings from Ford Motor Company

What’s a show at Carlisle without special guests? Of course, there were many, including Mike Finnegan of “Road Kill” on MotorTrend TV. Finnegan was joined by Al Joniec, Steve Saxty, Don Farr, John Clor, Charlie Morris, Tony Alonso, Scott Hoag, Jake Jerrell and the artistic talents of David Snyder. 

While many guests simply admired the parked cars, others had installs handled via A&A Auto Stores, participated in the burnout contest, autocross rides or open runs and even hit the streets of downtown Carlisle for the parade and street party.

In all, hundreds of awards were doled out, with everyone walking away eager for next year’s fun. Speaking of next year, save the date. The 2020 Carlisle Ford Nationals take place June 5-7. Registration is now open at www.carlisleevents.com or by calling 717-243-7855.

A new car!  Sure, the announcer guy on a TV game show says it best, but it’s true…you really could win a NEW 2019 Corvette Stingray.  Once again, the Chip Miller Amyloidosis Foundation with the help of their friends at Lancaster County Corvette Club are raffling off a 2019 Corvette!  The always popular giveaway is up and running and would-be winners are invited to purchase tickets early so as not to miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Tickets available have 3 digits – 000 through 999, meaning 1,000 opportunities exist for this 2019 Stingray.  The winning number, well that will be determined by the evening Pick 3 drawing via the Pennsylvania Lottery.  Those 1,000 tickets are available now!  The price for a shot at a “free” car?  Just $100!

The Pick 3 drawing takes place twice daily, so hopeful winners will want to keep an eye on the evening drawing on Saturday, August 24.  This is the date and time frame when the winning numbers will be pulled at random.  At that point, the winner will be notified and subsequently recognized at the event.

The prize itself is indeed a Corvette.  Coming direct from Kerbeck Corvette in New Jersey is a 2019 Corvette Stingray.  The car retails for over $50,000 and is brand new.  Each ticket sold is another $100 towards the Chip Miller Amyloidosis foundation, though the value of the car does come out of money raised.  Once all the I’s are dotted and T’s crossed, the CMAF tallies about $50,000 which is earmarked for donation and research purposes.  Monies also benefit Clare House, a Lancaster, Pennsylvania based organization serving homeless women and children in a caring environment.  This is done through life skills training and support, leading to self-sufficiency.

“The Lancaster County Corvette Club has been an amazing group to work with,” said CMAF President Lance Miller.  “Their passion to help two wonderful charitable organizations by promoting ticket sales and the raffle and being so energetic about their efforts is great to see,” continued Miller.  “The CMAF can’t thank them enough for all of their efforts.  I also want to thank the many supporters that purchase raffle tickets to help the CMAF.  We really enjoy being one of the lucky charities behind the effort, plus who wouldn’t want to win a BRAND NEW CORVETTE?”

Tickets for this cool car and great cause are available now!  They can be obtained a few different ways.  Tickets can be ordered by downloading the raffle form at https://tinyurl.com/y2drr2mc, by calling the CMAF at 717-243-7855 x113 or in person at the Chevrolet Nationals in June or Corvettes at Carlisle in August.

Complete details about the CMAF and all of its events are available at www.ChipMiller.org.  There, not only can you download the form to buy a ticket to win the car, you can also register for other summer fun events, donate or simply learn about all that the CMAF offers.  Good luck and thanks for the support! 

There has been Hurst representation at Carlisle in some form or the other since the inception of the Carlisle Events brand. The Hurst spotlight in 2019 shines directly on the Carlisle Chevrolet Nationals.  Spanning two days, June 21 and 22, the Carlisle PA Fairgrounds comes to life with not only all things Chevrolet, it also plays host to a Hurst Showcase!  The showcase will feature a few dozen Hurst branded GM cars and welcomes some amazing guests.

New for 2019, guests at the Chevrolet Nationals can expect a visit from Linda Vaughn.  This is Vaughn’s first trip to Chevrolet weekend in over 10 years and by coming to Carlisle in June, offers event guests a chance to meet THE first lady of Motorsports.  In addition, Hurst enthusiasts have a chance to connect with Jim Kerr, also known as “The Hurst Shifty Doctor,” former Hurst engineer Don Glover, former Hurst sales manager Steve Weiner, former PR and sales guy Howard Maseles, former O.E.M. salesman Don Morton, former production engineer Marty Danko, former engineer & designer Don Lane and former manager of manufacturing & quality control, Joe Barone.

Jim Kerr was the ORIGINAL Hurst Shifty Doctor (the guy who installed and repaired Hurst shifters at the races)!  Jim was involved almost since the beginning and is one of the key people who developed the Carlisle Hurst Nationals.

Don Glover was an engineer with Hurst starting in 1967. In his time at Hurst he worked on the team that developed many of the products and specialty cars. Don is basically an encyclopedia for all things Hurst. Don will be available all weekend with many of his blueprints, products and more. 

Steve Weiner is probably one of the oldest Hurst employees, having started with the company in 1960 at the age of 18. Steve was at Hurst almost from the beginning and he was deeply involved in the business, so he knows it well.  

Joe Barone will join his former Hurst co-workers for the 2019 Hurst Showcase.  Joe worked for Hurst Performance in Warminster, Pennsylvania from 1971 to 1986.  During his time, Joe served as the Manager of Manufacturing & Quality Control for various hallmark products.

Marty Danko started with Hurst at the age of 19 and spent 18 years with the company. During his time with Hurst, Marty was involved in both production and engineering as the R&D Engineer. Marty’s primary duty was to make prototypes and then fit them into the vehicle applications.

Don Lane began his career with Hurst in 1955 which makes him one of the earliest employees of the company. Don designed the Hydrogate, Lenco shifter and the Quarter Stick as well as many other shifters that never made it into production. He was also involved in the early stages of the Jaws of Life.

Joe Barone worked for Hurst Performance from 1971 to 1986 as the Manager of Manufacturing & Quality Control. Some of the key products during Joe’s watch were Roll/Control, Jaws of Life as well as the Competition/Plus, Dual Gate, Super Shifter, Lightning Rod and Quarter Stick shifters.

Howard Maseles was part of a team of Detroit racers who were contracted by Hurst to help build the ‘69 Hemi Super Stock cars. Howard went full-time with Hurst in 1969 to help build many prototype vehicles, race cars and more. In 1970, he moved to Pennsylvania to become the Hurst Shifty Doctor until 1981.

Don Morton was in charge of OE sales and experimental vehicles at Hurst. Essentially, Don was the guy who worked with each OEM when they wanted to outsource a special project. This included cars like the Hurst/Olds that made more sense to send to Hurst for the transformation rather than build a limited run on Oldsmobile’s assembly line.

Each guest will be part of seminars, pose for photos and sign autographs too.  Complete details about the Hurst aspect of Chevrolet Nationals weekend as well as on the Chevrolet event itself can be found at www.CarlisleEvents.com or by calling 717-243-7855 .

A little sun and a lot of passionate car fans helped make the 2019 Carlisle Import & Performance Nationals an event which topped those from recent memory and will leave guests talking for weeks to come.  Since this version of the event commenced in 2016, the weekend has brought together some of the most elegant imports from around the world, while mixing with performance muscle, tuners and sport compacts.  The automotive world reunited once more May 17-19 at the Carlisle PA Fairgrounds!  

Though the gates opened at 7 a.m. Friday with cars rolling in, the core of the show started the day before.  That’s when the vendor base and invitational cars loaded in for a weekend of international automotive excitement.  Building R once again hosted a special French vehicle display including 80 years of motorized bikes, trikes and scooters, while Building Y hosted French Cars.  Adjacent to Building Y is Building T and that’s where the best of the best were positioned, including Supercars, the Subaru WRX STI and Jetta.  Additional featured invitationals, the Citroën and more anchored that area, while across the road within the pavilions, the popular racecar paddock and neighboring Dune Buggy display took center stage.  

With amazing displays indoors, there was plenty of room outdoors for the remainder of the show cars.  With cars and trucks parked by country of origin, guests could literally walk around the world, all within the 82-acre facility.  Once more the SAAB lovers showed strength in numbers and with the Citroën celebrating 100 years, their group offered a great showcase, including a parade of Citroën history around the grounds.  

Seminars were a popular attraction too.  With topics covering engine and timing belt repair as well as a handful centered on the Citroën, its history and more.

New in 2019 was the first chance for burnout participants to win money.  Via a special Summer of ’69 promotion, any participant who popped a tire within 69 seconds or less won $69 in cash.  Additional automotive competitions left guests standing rows deep with appreciation.  Contests included drift limbo and the rolling exhaust contest, plus low car limbo, the aforementioned burnout contest and of course drifting and autocross hosted by NICOClub/NICOFest.

It all wrapped Sunday with the winner’s list being posted, spotlighting dozens of winners, judged and honored by the team from eJudged.com.  There were even some special awards given on Friday as 10 car owners received Carlisle Elite honors. 

The fun returns in 2020 as we celebrate the 35th edition of this special weekend.  Registration is now open and show weekend runs May 15-17.  For complete details on the 2019 show, including winners lists and photos, plus registration links for 2020, visit www.CarlisleEvents.com.

2019 is a year for the ages at the Carlisle Ford Nationals presented by Meguiar’s (May 31-June 2 at the Carlisle PA Fairgrounds).  Not only will Ford spotlight some of its newest products at the event, it’ll surround itself by some of the best pieces of work from its storied history of production.  Some of the new include the GT500 and 2.3L High Performance Package Mustang, Roush Stage 3 Mustang and Roush F-150 and guests might even see the latest production model Ford GT.  One thing is for sure, the GT will turn heads, as well as the like branded supercars that flank it.  One such car is only one of two of its type AND it’s being shown for the first-time EVER in the United States next to the #60 Matech Ford GT1 Race Car.

Carlisle Events is proud to announce that guests can see first-hand, the 2009 Matech Ford GT Prototype GT1 race car.  As noted above, this car has NEVER been on display in the United States at ANY car show and during Ford weekend, that WILL happen for the first-time.  This particular car is one of only two prototype Matech Ford GT1 race cars in the world and it was built by Matech Competition which was a Swiss racing team. 

It doesn’t just look sleek, it went fast, having competed in select races in the FIA GT Championship Series in 2009 as a Prototype GT1.  The Matech team saw success with this car in its races and it helped them better learn how to improve other competition cars, specifically in the aerodynamics department.

In 2010 when Matech launched the new GT1 race car they nailed the aero tweaks thanks to Ford’s factory support which allowed the team to test the new cars in their wind tunnel to concentrate on the most efficient and effective aerodynamics of their new cars.  The support from Ford really helped Matech dial in their GT1 effort in order to get the best vehicle possible for their Le Mans efforts.

The prototype making its U.S. car show debut at the Carlisle Ford Nationals will be joined by one of the aforementioned 2010-2012 competition cars.  The #60 was a front-runner at Le Mans throughout most of the race before being rear ended and disabled from the race.  Repaired and stateside since 2014, the 50,000+ showgoers at Carlisle will see these two cars, plus a handful more as part of a special Ford GT display.  In addition, the GT’s (not all of them) will put in some hot laps on the Gateway Classic Mustang Autocross course starting at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 1.

Ford weekend is an annual history-making event and with this new addition, it’s a must-do for anyone with a pulse.  Complete event information, including links to buy tickets or register for the National Parts Depot Showfield are available at www.CarlisleEvents.com or by calling 717-243-7855.