Sunscreen was the theme of this year's Carlisle Custom Compact Power Jam. This was
highly uncharacteristic for an event which has customarily been a weekend of wading
through ankle deep puddles of water and mud. Needless to say, we had all prepared
for a wet weekend bringing umbrellas and rain coats and sunscreen was in high demand
as we all burned.
With the excellent weather with us, this promised to be the best IsuzuWeb gathering
yet, and as you read on, you will see that it was.
IsuzuWeb Members gathered from all across the eastern half of the US drawing from
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, New York, Maryland, West Virginia, Missouri, and even
as far away as Florida.
IsuzuWeb Members in attendance were Brian Novak in his 1991 Geo Storm, Jason White
in his 1991 Geo Storm GSi, John Addison and his friend Bruce in John's 1987 Impulse
RS, Alan Cattlett who was unable to bring his 1989 Impulse, Roby Kuniyoshi in his
1991 Stylus, Wilson Rivera in his 1990 Geo Storm, Dave Batson in his 1989 I-Mark RS,
Nick Kourasis and the entire Kourasis Family but were unable to bring Nick's 1989
I-Mark RS, and Bill Luton in his 1986 Isuzu Impulse.
We recruited a number of new members at the show who joined our group in the IsuzuWeb
club area. Among those were Michael Triplett and his 1989 Impulse, Topher and his
Geo Storm, Matthew Wheeler and his 1992 Geo Storm, and Todd Michael Blount's and his
1986 Isuzu Impulse.
I, unfortunately, arrived late on Friday afternoon, about 24 hours after
I had intended, due to a number of technical difficulties.
When I arrived, I found a large group of IsuzuWeb members gathered at the
IsuzuWeb tent and joined the group. We put up the tables and hung the IsuzuWeb
banners and determined that our space was well marked. Anyone who was looking
for us would have no trouble finding us.
The group later left for dinner at Hoss' Steak and Seafood House, a Carlisle tradition. Dinner was again thick with discussion of Isuzu history and technical discussion over the always delicious Hoss' food.
Dinner broke up and the group headed over to the Carlisle Sports Emporium for
the much anticipated gocart races.
We ran three heats on the indoor track and the group was mixed with other
drivers, some of whom were locals to Carlisle who had obviously had a great
deal of practice and put most of us to shame, but we learned quick and showed
them a few new tricks.
Play by play would be nearly impossible as the action is far to fast while
each driver fights to get through the pack to the front. Results for the
IsuzuWeb members for each heat were as follows, overall finishing position in parenthesis:
Everyone had an extremely good time and it was clear that the gocart races would be
a regular event for all future IsuzuWeb gatherings. As we left the track it was
suggested that we rent the trackfor an hour for the group next time and run more
organized heats against each other. This suggestion will certainly be followed and
we are already looking for a track in Atlanta for the NOPI show.
The IsuzuWeb Members assembled on the Carlisle show field beginning around 8 AM on
Saturday morning for the first serious day of the show. The day began with a lot of
cleaning and polishing of Isuzus and Storms for the days judging. Rumors before the
show were that there would be four classes for Isuzu cars, " Isuzu Impulse" and "Isuzu
All Others", with "Mild" and "Wild" divisions for each, and a seperate class for Storm under
"Domestic" with "Mild" and "Wild" divisions for it as well. Another rumor was that
the judging would be done by professional judges with a drive-through-judging format.
All of the rumors turned out to be false as the Isuzu and Storm cars were all grouped
into two classes, "Isuzu Impulse/Geo Storm Mild" and "Isuzu Non-Impulse/Geo Non-Storm
Mild" while judging was by popular ballot. Needless to say, show competition was tight.
Cleanup of the cars ended early and the IsuzuWeb Members gathered under the club
tent for the picnic and bar-b-que. Alan Cattlett had brought a small grille and
charcoal as well as pork steaks for all. The Kourasis Family brough hamburgers
and Brian Novak brought hot dogs. Everyone had chipped in bringing chips, soda,
beer, and everything else needed for a full pot-luck picnic and it would be an
understatement to say that we all ate well.
From left to right down the hill, Todd Michael Blount's Impulse, Wilson Rivera Jr.'s Geo Storm, Roby Kuniyoshi's Stylus, David Batson's I-Mark, Bill Luton's Impulse, John Addison's Impulse, and Brian Novak's Storm. The IsuzuWeb tent behind with one of the banners showing over Brian's Storm.
Rest and relaxation in the shade, a much needed respite from the busy part
of the day at the show.
Seated beneath the tent is David Batson at the far left while Mrs. Kourasis
cooks some hamburgers at the far right of the tent.
Parked up the hill, from left to right, Jason White's 1991 Geo Storm GSi,
Alan Cattlett's Chrysler, an unknown car parked in the wrong area, Topher's
Storm, and Nick Kourasis's Audi. Nick was unable to bring his 1989 Isuzu
I-Mark and brought his family in the Audi.
Isuzus and Storms scattered about in the sunshine, the tent became the center of
socializing and recruiting efforts throughout the day.
From left to right, Jason White, Alan Cattlett, and Brian Novak.
In the background, you can see Alan's Chrysler just behind JAson's red Storm.
Alan was unable to bring his Impulse to the show but was dedicated enough
that he attended even without it. Alan had the only American built car
allowed onto the show field which was a feat unto itself.
The Carlisle show was also the unveiling of the new IsuzuWeb t-shirts. Each
IsuzuWeb member who registered to attend the show with the IsuzuWeb received
one of the club t-shirts at the show.
The shirts are a very nice light aqua green in color and feature the IsuzuWeb
logo and a red Impulse JI on the left upper chest position on the front and
the IsuzuWeb logo, URL web address, and three cars on the back, a blue Impulse
JR, a yellow Impulse JI, and a red Geo Storm.
The shirts are quite distinctive and the pattern and color made it extremely
easy to find fellow IsuzuWeb Members in the crowds at Carlisle.
Shirts are available from the IsuzuWeb and details on ordering your shirt can
be found ont he IsuzuWeb
website.
With the first serious show day over, most IsuzuWeb Members were quite tired
from the days activities and retired for the evenning.
A number of IsuzuWeb Members gathered at the Motel 6 and socialized with the
members of the Total Traction car club from Ohio, who had heard that the
IsuzuWeb was staying at the Motel 6 and had followed our example reserving
their own accomodations at Motel 6 as well.
A few IsuzuWeb Members ventured later for a late evenning meal at a small
resturaunt called "The Sandwich Man", which turned out to be a real gem of Carlisle.
Exterior appearance and a reputation for being one of only a few beer vendors in
Carlisle would lead to the belief that this might be a real dive, but the food was
absolutely excellent and I would highly recommend the "grinder" sandwich, a gormet
delight. In addition, I believe that Brian would be more than happy to confirm that
The Sandwich Man has some of the most pleasing scenary in all of Carlisle.
Sunday was much more casual and laid back. The IsuzuWeb Members preferred to relax and look around at the exhibits and other cars at the show.
The awards table was the center of the action and we were all pleased to find
out that the IsuzuWeb had garnered a number of awards for the show.
Roby Kuniyoshi won a third place award for "Isuzu Non-Impulse/Geo Non-Storm
Mild" and Bill Luton won a third place award for "Isuzu Impulse/Geo Storm Mild".
In addition to this, the IsuzuWeb won a third place award for club participation.
Carlisle has a rather unique awards cerimony where the winner of each award in each
class drives the awarded vehicle up to receive their award before a large grand stand.
Club participation awards are recieved by walk up groups of club members. The IsuzuWeb
Members gathered at the grand stand and watched as Brian Novak accepted the IsuzuWeb's
club participation award and Robi and Bill drove up for their awards.
The IsuzuWeb Fun Awards were given out to those who remained and those awards were
as follows:
IsuzuWeb members' vehicles garnered several awards and we will cover those first.
Robi's Stylus was a real eye catcher and his third place award reaffirms this. Graphics, a sharp set of wheels, and a touring wing set this car apart from the rest.
Notice the cheater spare. The right rear tire blew on the way to the show, the standard joke was that the brand new tire had a 600 mile tread wear rating and blew as soon as Bill passed into Pennsylvania.
A very sharp GSi.
Lowered, detailed engine, and wheels that had more than a few others envious.
Wilson's Storm sports an extremely eye catching paint scheme. The dual exhaust tips on the back and accompanying body work around the second tip are quite impressive indeed.
Dave travelled over 1,000 miles to be with the group driving the only I-Mark specimine of the group.
An absolutely spotless, imaculately cared for, and extremely rare JR RS.
The phrase "mint condition" is not adequate for the description of this car as it is well beyond anything that could be called "mint". Sporting racing seats and harnesses, Todd's Impulse is well on its way to being built into a highly customized show stopper.
This was easily the most successful and most enjoyable show yet for the IsuzuWeb
and all previous shows pale in comparison to the level of excitement and enjoyment
of the group who attended the show with us. Wide smiles were seen on the faces of
every IsuzuWeb Member who attended the show with the group.
Look out NOPI Nationals, you're our next stop and we're going to have a blast there too.