ESPN rides with AJ Nocita and The Good Neighbor Pharmacy Chevelle

Last Thursday afternoon, The Good Neighbor Pharmacy Chevelle was carrying a little extra weight down the 1/8 mile at the Irwindale Dragstrip. ESPN had a camera and reporting crew out at the track to do a feature on illegal street racing and the alternatives that are available to kids today. Street racing claims the lives of countless innocent people each year. Many dragstrips around the country put on what are called "test and tune" nights so that the young people will have a safe and legal place to race. We've been involved with many of these programs. Anytime we have a chance to participate with a group speaking out against street racing, we're happy to help. We weren't given any airing info, but we'll let you know dates and times when they're given to us.

This coming Thursday, August 28th, Dalcorp Racing/AREA 51, along with WR Racing and The Finish Line will be hosting the weekly meeting of Car Night. We host this event once a year and it always turns out to be one of the largest and most enjoyable events that we do. There's an eclectic gathering of people and cars with lots of food, fun and rock n' roll. As an added attraction this year, we'll be firing up Bob Hansen's nostalgia top fuel dragster and shooting nitro flames 8 feet in the air! (Our neighbors love us!) Things start cranking up around 5:00, so stop by if you can and say hi.

ESPN putting the camera in the GNP Chevelle.

Who has more fun than AJ?

Ready for "Business".

...givin' ESPN the full ride.

Eileen Pandeles making sure Pat's doing it right!

John and Pat doing some "pit work".

John Pandeles making some final adjustments.

"Pato" celebrates 60th birthday at AREA 51 - No one injured or missing!

Pat "Pato" Selders, along with a large group of friends and family, celebrated his 60th birthday last Saturday night at AREA 51. Many old friends had a chance to reunite, not only with Pato, but with each other as they all enjoyed an evening of great food, music, and even a money dance. Victor Garcia and "Tacos La Paloma" put on a Mexican feast as Kristy Roblee and Erica Nocita took care of the beverage side of the evening. The biggest surprise of the night? Pato has a sister! For many of those in attendance, it was the first time they'd ever seen or heard of Laurie. We're not talking about people who have known Pato for a short time, but friends who have known him for many, many years! For a guy who has something to say about everything, he can be a man a few words...and not a lot of information! Happy Birthday, Pato! (Any other family members we should know about?)






Erica baked Pat's favorite cake...there wasn't much
left over!


Fireman John and Dave Pfost...older brother and
old friend.

Pato...lookin' good!!!

Victor did an awesome job with the food.

Mr. and Mrs. Doug Stokes...and some Pixy Stix
for the birthday boy!

"It's all good!"

"Dane Man Walkin'" for Pat's birthday!

Erica and Denise getting ready for the money dance!

The mysterious guest...Pat's sister.

Here's trouble...Fireman John, KB and Fred Trout.

....nice glasses, Pato!

"Cruise Night" party a huge success at AREA 51!

The Friends of Cruise Night gathered at AREA 51 on Saturday night to debut the trailer for "Cruise Night," a movie by Tim Gavern. Close to 100 guests from as far away as New Jersey came out to support Tim and view the trailer. Tim's partner and cousin, Phil Gavern, was also there to meet and greet and help promote the movie. Many of the cast and cars from the trailer were there, which added to the excitement of the evening. Filming is scheduled to begin in November of this year and everyone who's seen the trailer says the same thing..."This movie needs to be made." Labeled by many as the next "American Graffiti," Tim really hopes people will connect with his story of the car culture and street racing scene in the early 70's. You can view the trailer here. Check it out.



The star of the show...

Once again "Peppers" from Arcadia put together
a wonderful dinner for all to enjoy.

.....circa 196? Erica and Steve Magnate.

AJ with Katelyn and Megan Gelber ( they're
sisters...ya' think?) who will also be in Cruise Night.

Lots of raffle prizes were given out throughout
the evening.

"Pato" Selders a big winner.

George McClelland looking at himself on the wall,
circa 1970's.

Tim Gavern with an animated greeting!

Megan Gelber was the original winner of the Cragar
wheels but donated them back. And who had the
second winning ticket? "Lucky" Mike Morgan.

Lance, AJ, and Josh...some of the young guns
of Cruise Night.

One of the cars used in the trailer was Kenn Funk's
1969 Plymouth.

Phil Gavern, (2nd from the right) and Tim Gavern
discuss the movie with some friends.

Kristy and "TV Star" Steve Magnate. Yeah, he's
the guy you see on Barrett Jackson and all those
other car shows, but he's a regular guy!

LA Partyworks displays at AREA 51

Talk about technology! On Friday, August 8th, the gang from LA Partyworks set up some amazing interactive video displays for a group of Disney representatives. Using advanced "green screen" technologies and camera techniques, these make your own music video and cd displays were a huge hit with everyone in attendance. My favorite was "PopNoggins," a display that places your head on another body that does all the work for you. It's a little hard to describe, but you can check it out on www.popnoggins.com and see for yourself. LA Partyworks can take care of all your party rental needs and can create just about anything you can dream up. From a backyard bbq with a blow up bouncy room, to the WARP Tour - they can do it all. You can view some of their handy work on www.partyworksusa.com or call 1-888-527-2789.

7:00 am to 7:00 pm. A long day for the crew

at LA Partyworks.

"Burn a Hit" mobile cd recording booth. How

cool is this for all you closet recording stars?

The set for "PopNoggins". This was really cool!

Want to make your own music video? No

problem.

Larry Frye "Roasted" not "Fryed" at surprise 65th Birthday Celebration!

Linda Frye spent the last several months plotting, planning and agonizing over a surprise celebration for her husband Larry's 65th birthday. It all paid off last Saturday night when over 100 people came together to celebrate this wonderful man's life at AREA 51 for one of the best parties of the year. Besides being absolutely surprised by the event (he told everyone that when Linda had him pulling into some industrial building that he thought they would be car jacked!), daughter Andrea was able to find and arrange for Larry's long-lost best friend Carl to be at the party. Larry and Carl hadn't seen each other for over 25 years, so it was quite a reunion. There were many stories told throughout the evening about the two of them and their escapades in their early years (and jail time), but it seems like they've turned out ok. Barney's and The Only Place in Town provided an awesome bbq'd rib and chicken dinner to the delight of all who were there. AJ worked his magic at "The Hoister Bar" and made sure everyone had something cool to drink.

A shout out to Larry's friends, "The Wild Hogs" and to the many Road Kings members that came to make sure that the car guys and gals were represented.

Happy Birthday, Larry! You owe your wife big time!

AJ at "The Hoister Bar"

Andrea taking a break with The Simpsons

As usual, the girls were tough to beat on the

Christmas Tree.

Larry pulls in....and was he surprised!

Larry didn't know whether to laugh or cry so

he did both!!

Linda honoring her husband and welcoming

everyone.

Another surprise...Carl and Larry reunited after

25 years. Carl's first words to Larry.."You look old!"

Larry and Carl having a moment with a hundred

or so of their closest family and friends.

.......this sums up the evening......

Barney's and The Only Place in Town put on a

bbq dinner second to none.

Andrea getting in a little mike time.....

Larry's hot rod...lookin' good under the lights.