Already tanked up on nachos and Red Bull, Publisher Peter armed with a digi-cam, a visor, and a bottle of warm water set out to dissipate his excess energy by photographing every car displayed at NOPI. Here, we present the results of his quest. We sure hope he didn't skip you, but if he did there's always next year.
Ashleigh "Banker-by-Day" Henson and Jay "What Dairy Queen?" McCall
Ashleigh and Jay are residents of Charlotte, North Carolina, who opted to latch onto the South Leg of the Super Street Tour as it rolled through Daytona Beach. Along the way, they made the mistake of putting their faith in some unmentionable map software that resulted in a two-hour wild goose chase through Brunswick, Georgia, looking for a Dairy Queen. That's a bummer because the Blizzards are to die for. Together, Jay and Ashleigh made the leisurely jaunt from Daytona to Atlanta whilst taking in the scenery and generally doing their best to stay out of trouble. Ashleigh, who makes her coins working at a bank, is the owner of this very clean '93 Civic EX coupe. This one-time daily driver features a custom-painted Wings West body kit that compliments the shaved body trim. Ashleigh hopes to follow up the stereo upgrades with a "serious" engine swap. Can't wait to see it.
Ben and Shelly Lathrop-Two for the TourThis couple, who hail from Richmond,Virginia, enjoyed the Super Street Tour together, but separately. You see, Ben and his clean Neon drove the South Leg of the tour on behalf of Eibach springs, while his pregnant wife, Shelly, decided to take her Focus on the North Leg. Ben's extra-long trip included the lonely feeling that accompanied the realization that, "Gee, I've listened to all 25 of my CD's, and this local radio sucks." Along the way, Ben also discovered that bug guts don't exactly make the most flattering finish on his Neon. But such is life on the Florida highways. One of the hotels presented Ben with the all-too-common room key (read: flimsy plastic card) that wouldn't open the door. Does anyone else wonder what was wrong with the old-style metal keys that could at least be counted on to let one into his or her room? Arriving at NOPI, Ben was reunited with his wife after a week upon which the two swapped tales from the North and South Legs, and CD's-we hope.
Mark and Bill Jelinek-Keeping It In the FamilyMark and Bill traveled from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to follow on the Super Street Tour and attend the NOPI event. The things that impressed them were the friendliness of the Tour-goers, the incredible prizes that were lavished upon them along the way, and the amazing Hardee's fast-food vacuum. At that fast-food black hole, Bill (Mark's father) was the gentleman who waited longer for change than anyone else in the free-world. Bill and his son Mark are close friends and still get along great after spending a few days sharing the confines of Mark's Neon. The Super Street Tour was a great way for them to stay close and meet cool people who are as passionate about cars just like they are. Mark's Neon is nicely massaged, and the car thing is an infection in this family. It seems Bill has taken to tweaking his Pontiac Grand Am with a custom intake.
Bryan Gray and His Best Friend, JaredHailing out of Sylvester, Georgia, Bryan and Jared encountered a few pitfalls on their Tour 2000 odyssey. First, there was the matter of Jared lying to get the time off from work. As it turned out, Jared's boss happened to call Jared's home to realize his employee was not on a family vacation. Then, on the eve of their departure for the Tour, Bryan had to come up with $700 worth of tires to put on his new wheels to make the journey. Between lost center caps and time wasted on bad directions, these two made their way to Dynamic Turbo in Miami to follow the Tour's South Leg from its inception. They, like so many of us, worked the program with the Red Bull girls at Daytona Beach only to realize, like so many of us, that the cute one was engaged. Sorry, dudes.