Shockingly Large Party Day 2002

Anticipation was high for the 2002 edition of SLP Day, held at Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey. This Toms River, N.J. company has parts in stock for just about every hot GM vehicle available today, and being a customer has its perks. Not only do you get solid OEM-quality engineering when you order up a part from these hot rodders, you get an invitation to thoroughly flog your modified ride when the gates at E-town open for a private test session, which happened this year on April 20. Needless to say, the place was packed: 502 vehicles showed up to do some racing, and over 1,900 spectators and car show participants were on hand. The latter number was 800 higher than last year's total, which is nothing short of amazing.

As is to be expected, Mother Nature was playing a few jokes on us, and instant cloudbursts happened off and on all day. (Strange, since we have been in a drought emergency for months!) One unfortunate soul actually met a sheet of the wet stuff as he was going full-tilt at the finish line--after an ugly bit of hydroplaning he smacked the wall hard enough to cause some serious damage, but soft enough to walk away. But besides that unfortunate incident, the weather posed as nothing more than a minor nuisance.

As expected, there was a lot of talk about our beloved Camaros and Firebirds. This was the last year that new F-bodies would be present at SLP day, and a hint of somber reflection lay just under the conversation and the laughter. But there were many reasons to make this a joyous farewell: the Camaro Legends Tour was present with new and old Camaros and the high-strung motors that powered them. Camaro and Firebird racecars were mobbed by the spectators and row upon row of Super Sports and Ram Air 'Birds patiently waited to hit the strip, vowing to never go gently into that good night.

Of course, SLP was on hand to aid in that promise. The booths were chock full of the best speed parts for fast GMs, and Ed Hamburger and his staff were there to answer customer questions--and to have a little fun themselves on the 1320 with the Ultra Z and various other project cars. The track crew was doing a great job of moving things along around rain showers, and a full program was run in Camaro/Firebird, Impala/Caprice, Regal/Grand Prix, Slick, King Of The Hill, and Corvette brackets. Spectators got to see a ton of bracket racing action, as well as many fast, rare and custom vehicles at the show area. Throw in some solid entertainment thanks to SLP's burnout contest and you've got a day to remember. And although our beloved Camaros and Firebirds will be no more after this year, we can count on SLP to supply us with the parts to keep the Blue Oval boys at bay--and the customer appreciation days to test them at!

Sources

SLP Performance Parts
1501 Industrial Way North
Toms river, NJ 08755
732/349-2109
www.slponline.com

From Anna Fiscus and the rest of the SLP crew. This place was swarmed for most of the day--and for good reason: those bags contained cool hats, nice shirts, and other gifts emblazoned with the SLP logo.	There were tons of Camaro and Firebird racers on this day, but this Trenton-based, nitrous-sniffing 'Bird may have been the meanest F-body on the block. Buster Brasnier's wheels-up launches in the Slick bracket made the crowd go 'Ahhhh.'	Matt Lipics' 2000 Camaro SS had been fortified with a ProCharger supercharger system with dual intercoolers. What are those lines leading into the airbox, Matt?
The Camaro Legends Tour was a welcome addition to the festivities on this day, and it featured pristine classics from every body style, NHRA Funny Car Camaros, engines, videos, a computer to receive $1,000 off a new Camaro, and Camaro video games. This amazing display is really taking our extraordinary ponycars out right.	Steven Ciregno of Brooklyn went to a lot of trouble to get this hardtop/cloth '89 Turbo Trans Am to SLP Day. He picked this car up at Reno, Nevada at the end of March but had a wheel bearing fail in Brooklyn ... Iowa! Luckily, an honest truck stop mechanic got him on his way quickly, and he completed the 2,900-mile trip without further ado. The 1-of-15 car has only upgraded injectors and is saddled with low 2.77 gears, but it still hissed to a 13.3 ET at 106!	SLP's Dave Hamburger pulled video duty while the rest of his crew got to beat on the Ultra Z and two GTXs. He's only smiling because we made him.
The boosted front-wheel drivers were omnipresent on SLP day; this regal GTP isn't shy about what it's packing.	As were the BEASSTs--that is, the Big East Super Sport Team, who were on hand with plenty of Impy SS and Caprice examples to prove that big really is beautiful--and fast.	The 382-powered Ultra Z was on hand to lay down a couple of low-11s. With a few tweaks to the transmission and rear tire, solid 10s shouldn't be far away.
The lovely Susan Seitzinger posing by her '02 Sunset Orange Metallic SS. This Ashland, Pa. citizen and Street Lethal F-body Association member was experiencing bracket racing for the first time. Unfortunately for her, she was paired up with editor Hunkins for the next run, and The Grape Of Wrath dispatched the SS.	A few rounds later, our man Hunkins found himself side-by-side with High Performance Pontiac contributor Melvin Benzaquen and his '99 Firehawk. Both men were hitting good lights, but Benzaquen redlighted in an attempt to lay one on The Grape. The blown 'Hawk went 12.16 on true radials anyway, while Hunkins advanced seven rounds to the semifinal only to redlight against eventual class winner Larry King.