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		Ray Evernham hosts the AmeriCarna Live car shows to support the IGNITE center for high-functioning young adults with autism and Asperger’s. The third annual show was once again held on the campus of Ingersoll-Rand’s North American headquarters in Davidson, NC. Any Downloadable Files Associated with this Article (Click on the file name to download it)
Ray Evernham's 3rd annual AmeriCarna Live car show November 28, 2015
Click on the Thumbnails Below to Enlarge By No Limits Staff - Reprint with permission only The 2015 AmeriCarna Live car show for IGNITE was held on November 28th on a beautiful late autumn North Carolina day. The third annual show was once again held on the campus of Ingersoll-Rand’s North American headquarters in Davidson, NC. Over 500 cars were pre-registered for the event and the good weather brought out a record number of cars and several thousand spectators. They were treated to an amazing mixture of vehicles from the 1920s through 2016 models, muscle cars, trucks, rat rods, NASCAR celebrity vehicles, a portion of Ray’s own collection, customs, hot rods, and much more. This year’s cars and trucks were thoroughly enjoyable to view—the workmanship was spectacular on many vehicles and all were integral to the success of the event. On the NASCAR front, Kyle Busch’s championship winning car was on site. Also on display was Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Nationwide-sponsored Chevy beside the Nationwide display. Dale’s personal 1965 Chevrolet Impala was in the celebrity car area, beside Kelley Earnhardt’s Intimidator Camaro. Her black car was the last one built and the only one constructed in 2002; it has no stripe kit and no T tops but shares the 381 HP 6-speed drivetrain with the other Camaros.   Other celebrity cars included Chad Knaus’ freshly built 1966 dark green Chevy Nova in a Pro Street style by his father. The workmanship was fantastic. We will have more detailed coverage of this car in the near future. Tom Cotter of Hemi in the Barn fame brought his Mustang GT350H and Cobra 289 and they nestled in a corner between Bobby Allison’s custom red ’50 Studebaker truck and Ray’s ’48 GMC car hauler with Gene Snow’s funny car on the back! There was no lack of amazing AmeriCarna to view! A historical perspective that connects North Carolina is the moonshine business. A private party the evening before the event had a Moonshine Ball theme and one of the sponsors and participants was the Call Family Distillers. On display were some of their moonshine running cars, like a 1940 Ford Coupe of former moonshiner Willie Clay Call. Later bootlegging cars included a 1961 Chrysler New Yorker that looked like a granny car until the hood was lifted to show off a 413 cubic inch Wedge motor! And a black 1966 Dodge Coronet 400 sporting dog dish hubcaps and a deep burbling exhaust from its 426 Hemi.  Displayed beside these cars was a custom 1939 truck creation from The Garage Shop in Catawba NC called The “Uncatchable”. The truck sheetmetal is original but 75% of the vehicle is used NASCAR parts such as a Roush Yates 358 ci engine, NASCAR chassis technology, fuel cell, truck arms etc. Sporting a painted slogan on its roof “Wilkes County, North Carolina, Moonshine Capital of the World”, this truck set six land speed records and reached 197 MPH to take the title of the world’s fastest rat rod! The next motor should sport another 125 HP and they hope to reach 215 MPH! This truck is quite a departure from owner Aaron Brown’s “typical” Lola T70 or Ford GT40 vintage race car work. Many of the vehicles at the show had incalculable hours of work and fabrication invested and it seemed the harder you looked, the more effort you saw. An interesting and unexpected example of this was a clean 1964 Chevy C-10 pickup belonging to Calvin Norton. The wood in the bed was from Mount Olive North Carolina, the home of Mt Olive Pickle Co. When the government required them to change to stainless steel tanks, he was able to get some of the barrels used by the company and these well-preserved and beautiful boards now reside in the bed of his truck. Nearby was a mid-1950s Keck Streamliner. This recently restored and finished car likely represents what could have happened at Indianapolis if it had been completed before driver Bill Vukovich was killed in a traditional roadster while leading the 1955 Indianapolis 500. It would have been a quantum shift long before Lotus-Ford arrived in 1963! The top winners at this year’s “AmeriCarna LIVE” were: Ingersoll Rand Choice Award – Ivan Hucks – 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 (original) MSC Industrial Supply Co. Choice Award – Charlie Burr – 1955 Chevy Bel Air Carlisle Companies – Ken Thompson – 1955 Indy Streamliner Autogeek Choice Award – Bill Deaton – 1970 Plymouth AAR ‘Cuda Hendrick Northlake Choice Award – Bill Deaton – 1970 Plymouth AAR ‘Cuda Ryan Newman Choice Award – Henry Dana – 1932 Ford Pickup Nationwide Choice Award – Gary Glaze – 1969 Chevy Camaro 427 Rally Sport O’Reilly’s Auto Parts Choice Award – Barry Ward – 1962 Plymouth Savoy Most Entries from a Car Club – Fifth Generation Camaros of the Carolinas with 18 cars Ray Evernham Choice Award – James Carswell -- 1949 Mercury Custom IGNITE Choice Award – Scott Russell – 1959 Chevy Apache AmeriCarna Choice Award/Spirit Award – Man Made Legends Company The winner of the 50/50 raffle took home $1000 (after Ray pulled another $9 out of his wallet). Major sponsors for the AmeriCarna Live 2015 event were Ingersoll-Rand and MSC Supply, as in years past. Each company had a big check for IGNITE, literally, at $15,000 each! Other companies contributed to the show coffers.  The North Carolina connection to AmeriCarna brings with it some unique opportunities and perspectives. As Mooresville is nearby, most of the NASCAR teams and suppliers are almost literally next door. As such, there were several NASCAR drivers and their charities involved; for example, Denny Hamlin Foundation, Joey Logano Foundation, The NASCAR Foundation, The Dale Jr. Foundation, Martin Truex Jr. Motorsports, Rescue Ranch (Ryan and Krissie Newman).  In addition, some sponsors were present in numbers, such as Nationwide and Hagerty, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Autogeek. And Ray Evernham’s boss (Mr. H) supports the cause through Hendrick Northlake Luxury Auto Mall and Hendrick Motorsports. The most important take home message from this event was to raise awareness of the IGNITE center for young adults with Autism or Asperger’s. With more than 1% of children now being born with this diagnosis. Ray Evernham is passionate about his support for the center and started the Evernham Family Racing for a Reason Foundation. Local interest is very important for this center, the only one of its kind in the country. Passion is critical to start and maintain this venture. Friends and celebrities help, as do generous individuals like Ron Pratt.  Ray would like to see others get involved to open similar clubhouses elsewhere. IGNITE is full and already has a waiting list in excess of its 100% capacity. It provides further training after high school through activities, job skills training, life skills training and so on to foster independence for its members.  Over 90% of the money donated is given to IGNITE. In 2014 it was more than $110,000 from AmeriCarna Live and that number was expected to be exceeded in 2015. Plan to be part of the growing crowd at the 2016 show. To see more of the cars and trucks at the show -- click here  Over 500 cars and trucks turned out for the 3rd Annual AmeriCarna Live show Kyle Busch's Championship NASCAR ride Dale Earnhardt's NASCAR Chevy Call Family Distillers "Worlds Fastest Rat Rod" and their 40 Ford moonshine truck. Calvin Norton's 1964 Chevy C-10 -- the Mt. Olive Pickle Company's wood bed The Keck 1955 Indy Streamliner -- years ahead of its time Ivan Hucks' original 1969 Boss 429 Mustang Bill Deaton's 1970 AAR Cuda Ingersol Rand presents a $15,000 check to Ray Evernham for the Ignite Foundation