For the love of cars

I love cars, and I love to attend car shows. The American Legion in Randolph had a big one this past Sunday that showcased about 120 vehicles. Nostalgia is one reason car enthusiasts love old cars. For many people, classic cars represent a different era in history and evoke memories of childhood or past vacations.

Why do I love cars so much? Maybe it’s because I often watched my dad work on a car, truck or tractor on our farm when I was a kid. Or maybe my interest comes from watching my uncle prepare a race car for State Line Speedway back in the day.

My other reason is the fact that my mother grew up with Bill Rexford of Conewango Valley, who won NASCAR’s 1950 Cup at age 23, and remains the youngest NASCAR Cup champion to this day. He got his start at the Pennyroyal Race Track in Leon, where he raced for several years before being recognized by one of NASCAR’s founders in 1949.

Although the vehicles we see at car shows are not all high-performance machines, I still marvel at the painstaking workmanship that goes into these vehicles to restore them beyond their original beauty.