Ames Performance Tri-Power Pontiac Nationals

The Ames Performance "Tri-Power" Pontiac Nationals has always impressed everyone with its size and participant-friendly atmosphere. The tradition continues…once again the Ames Performance Tri Power Pontiac Nationals has proven to be the largest, best attended Pontiac event of the year! Hundreds of cars and thousands of spectators flocked to Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio for the 17th edition of the event that began as Tri Power Sunday in 1992.

It’s Official!
The 20th Anniversary Celebration of the Ames Performance Tri Power Pontiac Nationals was a rousing success! The race, swap meet and spectator gate all ticked up for 2011: only the car show saw a decrease in attendance, not unexpected with a 60% chance of rain forecast for Saturday. There were 948 cars between the race and show, with 11,759 spectators for the weekend! The swap meet had 182 vendors set up on the 327 spaces, the largest yet!

The big hit of the show had to be the Parade of Progress Futurliner #10 owned by the NATMUS Museum of Auburn, IN. the Futurliner also ran the Norwalk quarter mile on Friday and Saturday afternoon, pictures and video almost immediately appeared on many web sites!

The hit of the race exhibition program was the debut of the "Boss Bird" nostalgia nitro funny car just completed by Bag Boy Racing. On its first full quarter mile pass, Eric Larsen piloted the '71' Trans Am funny car to 200 mph in just over 7 seconds...not bad for the first ever! The "Boss Bird" was paired against Robb Bruce's "Zombie" Dodge Charger nitro funny car.

The Little Indian chapter of POCI was out in full force to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Pontiacs Tempest. The counted for 30 cars in the show, 15 in the race and 2 being sold in the swap meet!

The dates for this years event are August 3, 4, & 5 2012...we hope to see you there!

This is the 8th consecutive year that the Ames Performance Tri Power Pontiac Nationals has achieved the distinction of being the largest brand event held at Summit Motorsports Park, beating out all other brand shows at this world-class facility! We want to thank all of our sponsors and participants for their continued support of the event. We are already hard at work planning for The 21th Anniversary event which will be held on August 3, 4, 5 2012. So be sure to mark your Calendars!

3 DAYS OF CONTINUOUS RACE ACTION
PROVIDED BY 417 PONTIAC RACE CARS

Ice Cream - Ice Cream - Ice Cream - Free this couple loved it. - Everyone loved it. We were able to give away 1500 pounds of the "good stuff" to appreciative participants.

Larger crowds mean more winners. Over 100 participants including racers, show car owners, and vendors won their weekend entry fee at the free buffet Saturday evening.

Saturday Evening Supper - Our tent was filled at each buffet setting. We fed over 900 people in 2006!

The show has grown so large, we felt our "Best-of-Class" winners deserve these beautiful 3 1/2 foot trophies - can 10 footers be far behind.

This scene is from 2005 Norwalk, Ron Gunn's 4th year in a row winning his entry fee back in cash! This streak finally came to an end in 2006.

There was an unlimited supply of food at the buffet. Nobody left with an empty stomach.

Our free shuttle service has been immensely popular for many years. In 2006, we doubled the available vehicles for everyone at the show.

Fun to be had by all at Norwalk. Here, POCI the clown, entertains future Pontiac enthusiasts.

Again in 2006 over 800 free air-conditioned suite passes over the starting line where made available to our participants and guests.

It's late Sunday - Practically everyone's gone - The nations largest Pontiac show is over and Doug and Matt are pondering ideas on how to fit the remaining parts into the trailer for the trip home.

At Norwalk 2007, two Ames Cool-Down Carts and Warm-Up Carts offer free coffee, juice, donuts, cookies, etc. throughout the weekend.

The show field seemed endless. Row after row was filled with show cars and admiring spectators.

"Big Daddy" Don Garlits was on-hand singing autographs and displaying the Swamp-Rat 1B Dragster.

What seems like endless trophies and participants is our "end of the weekend" awards presentation. Promoter, Pete Woodruff, is entertaining audience.

Even this aerial photo was unable to capture the full extent of the 900 car event. The participants on the right side of the track were parked all the way to the end of the shutdown area.

Milt Schornack was on-hand with a beautiful re-creation of the legendary Royal-Pontiac GTO. What a Car!

The proud winners of this years "Best in Class" were (L to R): Dale Krasienko, Pete Rust, Ken Swint, Ken Lucia, Kenise Armstrong (accepting trophy for husband - Dave).

Pontiac Motor Division has always been a wonderful addition to our show. This year they provided a full complement of new, prototype, and race Pontiacs.

The 2006 swap meet may have been the largest "all Pontiac" swap ever! Extra spaces had to be continually added throughout the event.

Jim Wangers 80th birthday was celebrated by all at Norwalk. Here, Jim (far right) is presented with a birthday cake by Andi, Bill and Pete.