What a weekend!  My first assignment for Bugorama Promotions took me to Sacramento Raceway Park, to report on Bugorama 61 which was sponsored by Niello Volkswagen.  It was 30 years ago this date that the Hole family took ownership of the Bugorama events! 

               Each year the 2 day all VW event starts on Saturday, with the gates opening at 2PM.  Volkswagen campers, busses, bugs, and drag racers all started filing in to set up their overnight campsites and enjoy a night of family fun in the fresh country air.  Although the skies let loose in the morning, the afternoon remained dry and allowed the drag racers to get in a few test-n-tune runs in before the first and second rounds of qualifying.  The welcomed mild temperatures were prime for making horsepower!

               Sunday morning you would have thought that the Holes were giving away free VW parts as the crowds started to enter the gates!  VW's of every type, shape, size, and style were streaming into the show and swap areas. As a "Sacramento Bugorama rookie" I was very impressed!  It was great to see all the VW fanatics snub their noses at the oil companies and drive their VW's into the show!  $4 per gallon gas prices couldn't hold these die hards away!

              One of the best parts of the legendary and longest running VW events in the world, is the Sacramento swap meet at the Bugorama.  I've heard many people tell me about how they found great deals on needed parts for their latest VW projects.  What impressed me the most was the size and selection of the swap.  If you need a VW part, chances are you'll find it in the Sacramento Bugorama swap meet!

              As I strolled through the swap, the show car fields filled in nicely and their owners took one last effort to shine up their rides before judging started.  It's amazing how little time you have when you start looking at cars!  There were so many nice Volkswagens in the show that it was hard to make time to thoroughly appreciate the efforts that went into building each and every car.  Stock, custom, Cal-Look, Vintage, Baja, Beetle, Ghia or Transporter, whatever your fancy, it was there!

              It seems to me, that a Volkswagen event wouldn't be complete without some good old fashioned drag racing.  The Volkswagen Professional Racing Association (VW PRA) handles the management of the race portions of the Bugorama events.  With this being a PRA sanctioned event, the racers were competing fiercely to try to gain an advantage in the overall points scheme.  The top dogs of the day from the elite classes were Eric Calabrese in the "Red Baron" and Roger Crawford in his Karman Ghia known as "Motion Sickness."  It should also be known that the race portion of the show is not limited to mega dollar, full tilt, race cars, many hobbyists had a blast trying their hand at racing their daily drivers on the 1/4 mile drag strip!  Pass a brief tech inspection, pay your entry fee, grab some gears and you could be the next race winner!

              As they say, "All great things must come to an end."  The show officially ends with the awards ceremony, where plaques are presented to the car show winners, and payouts to the race winners.  If you've never made the trip to Sacramento, you're missing out!  Make sure you mark August 30 & 31 in your calendars and plan on attending Bugorama 62!  It's great fun for the whole family!  Put the kids in the Herbie "jumpy house", have a hot dog, and enjoy camping out with your friends.  See you in Sac!

SACRAMENTO BUGORAMA 61  OFFICIAL RESULTS
PRO MOD					SHOW RESULTS Bug (Split & Oval) 1. Russell Bennett 2. Bob Calkins 3. Andrew Kansin   Bug (58-67) 1. Tom Mohr 2. Grady & Carol Young 3. Brian Hunter   Bug (68-79) 1. Jim Coustier 2. Steve Bigen 3. Janine Smith   Convertible Bug 1. Shawn White 2. Mark Nelson 3. -----------   Karmann Ghia 1. Craig Smith 2. Andrew Soria 3. Russell & Mela Cruz   Early Bus 1. Andy Overmoe 2. Jahnai Pearson 3. Kerry Silfles   Late Bus 1. Jim Wright 2. Emily Edsell 3. Jennifer Blanchard   Type III 1. Keith Eagle 2. Blaine Campion 3. David Herold   Thing 1. Josef Stranad 2. Jack & Fran Gruen 3. -----------   Special Interest 1. Shawn Farmer 2. Marco Greyure 3. Chris Luke & Shane Boyd   CAL LOOK CHALLENGE 1. STEVE BYERS score of 96 average E.T. 11.85 2. JASON NEWFELD score of 87 average E.T. 14.41 3. BLAKE BRYAN score of 82 average E.T. 13.03
	Winner	Eric Calabrese	8.877 ET	162.32 MPH
	Runner Up	Jerry Matsko	9.457 ET	143.03 MPH
SUPER STREET
	Winner	Rodger Crawford	9.991 ET	133.02 MPH
	Runner Up	Ron Flemming	10.184 ET	131.02 MPH
SUPER COMP
	Winner	Joel Carter	10.808 ET	110.78 MPH
	Runner Up	Brian Marvin	10.775 ET	109.26 MPH
SUPER GAS
	Winner	Marcus Palmquest	11.730 ET	98.60  MPH
	Runner Up	John Schuerger	11.635 ET	101.23 MPH
SUPER MOD
	Winner	Matt Becker	12.947 ET	89.33  MPH
	Runner Up	John Martin	12.810 ET	91.76 MPH
PRO ELIMINATOR
	Winner	Tony Klink (Dial In 11.91)	11.939 ET	103.77  MPH
	Runner Up	Ole Jorgensen (Dial In 11.39)	11.901 ET	109.35 MPH
SPORTSMAN
	Winner	Aaron Gockvoff (Dial In 14.98)	15.041 ET	90.30  MPH
	Runner Up	Stephanie Bracy (Dial In 14.37)	14.500 ET	92.20 MPH
TROPHY
	Winner	Mike Allen (Dial In 15.35)	16.1076 ET	86.32  MPH
	Runner Up	Ken Jansen (Broke)	--.-- ET	--.-- MPH
WaterCooled Trophy
	Winner	Karl Lednik (Dial In 15.20)	15.747 ET	91.70   MPH
	Runner Up	Shawn Nibbelink (Foul)	--.-- ET	--.-- MPH