I met my friend, Rob, while we were students at Penn State Harrisburg in Middletown, Pennsylvania in the 1980s when we discovered that we were both car nuts. The great thing about the Harrisburg campus is its proximity to both Carlisle, (for the many automotive events held at the fairgrounds each year), and Hershey, (home of the AACA Eastern Division National Fall Meet). We attended as many of these events as we could squeeze into our schedules.

After my graduation in 1989, we continued to meet for these events as time would allow. But life loves to disrupt whatever plans we make because that's what life does. My move from Pennsylvania to Missouri in 2003 put a cap on our reunions for a number of years. The last time I saw him was in April 2012 for the Spring Carlisle event in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. And as hard as it is for me to believe, that was SEVEN years ago as of this writing !

Rob sent me an email at the beginning of this year to say he was going to the Charlotte Auto Fair in April and wanted to get together if possible. I scheduled a day off work and made the 4-hour trip to the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The Charlotte Auto Fair is this region's equivalent of the AACA Fall Meet in Hershey, Pennsylvania with the added benefit of being able to enjoy it twice per year, (spring and fall). The event is held inside the Charlotte Motor Speedway and features a familiar format. Vendors arrive and set up on Wednesday. The event opens on Thursday and runs through Sunday. The AACA show is held on Saturday, just like I was familiar with in Hershey.

The dreary weather brought back another memory of Hershey. Mother Nature has a tendency to include some less than ideal weather into the mix. Rain was in the forecast for Thursday and Friday. But Saturday was eventually supposed to clear and be quite nice.

I was hoping for the best when I left my house on Friday morning, with the roof down of course. And even though Mother Nature threatened, I didn't encounter any rain during my drive on Friday. After checking in at my hotel, I headed to the speedway to check out Friday's activities.

Rob is an AACA Judge and had to attend a Judge's Meeting on Friday afternoon. Since I had some free time before I was to meet up with him, I decided to check out some of the event on my own.

The various areas of the event are divided into "fields." I parked in what is known as the "Red Field" which sits behind the speedway near turn 2. The closest gate sits next to the giant TV screen. And when I say "giant," I mean the 80-foot by 200-foot 1080p HD TV that weighs 165,000 pounds.

This was my first-ever visit inside the Charlotte Motor Speedway. I quickly discovered just how enormous the speedway is !

The event centers around cars and car parts. Vendors (who sell parts, tools, memorabilia, and sometimes cars), set up in the track infield, (out of view to the left in the photo above). The Car Corral (cars for sale), is set up on the track. I decided to walk around the track to check out the cars for sale first before heading into the infield to check out the various vendors.

Vehicles of all shapes and sizes are found within the Car Corral. Seeing a new Mazda Miata, Roush Mustang, classic Jeep CJ, and new Chevy Tahoe SUV parked next to each other in the photo above gives you an idea of what can be found here. The Roush Mustang is a 427R model that features a 435 hp supercharged 4.6L V8. Asking price was $34,500.

This beautiful 1964 Ford Fairlane 500 Sports Coupe caught my eye.

Has a 302 CID V8 and an automatic transmission. Asking price was $26,500.

1964 Ford Fairlane 500 Sports Coupe.

Next to the Fairlane was a modified 1998 Ford Mustang.

I thought the description of "1998 Horse" was funny, especially for a Mustang. I don't know if the 6.30s time refers to eighth or quarter mile. My guess is eighth, but I'm not sure.

1965 Oldsmobile 442 convertible, asking $18,500. If it's legit, it's a rare car being 1 of 3,468 made that year.

1972 Mercury Montego. I remember seeing these all the time when I was a kid. But I haven't seen one in this condition in a long time.

1966 Chevrolet (L) and 1966 Ford pickup (R).

The Chevy has a modified 427 CID V8 and a 4-speed manual transmission.

1966 Chevrolet 427.

This is the quintessential definition of a "sleeper": 427, ,4-speed, bench seat, and dog-dish hubcaps.

I thought I was going to get to hear the 1966 Ford pickup run when the owner climbed inside. But the battery was dead.

1961 Rambler wagon (L), 1960 Chevrolet (R).

L to R: 1952 Hudson Hornet, 1967 Cadillac Deville convertible, 1968 Chevrolet, 1963 Ford Falcon.

The asking price for the customized Cadillac was $29,000.

Power comes from Cadillac's 472 CID V8 that makes 375 hp.

I continued on my walk around the track heading toward turn 4.

I climbed up to the retaining wall to take a few pics. The photo above looks back toward Turn 2.

The photos above and below look out over the infield from just before turn 3.

The track surface is banked at 5 degrees along the straightaways to 24 degrees in the turns. I took the photos above and below at a point before the maximum banking of the turn.

Even so, it's a lot harder to walk up that grade than it appears.

Either that, or I'm just really out of shape.

I stitched the previous four pics together to create good panorama shot looking from turn 3.

2001 Chevrolet S10 Extreme pickup, asking $6,000.

2001 Chevrolet S10 Extreme pickup, asking $6,000.

An old Army Jeep passed by.

1970 Plymouth Superbird tribute, asking $52,500.

This car a Roadrunner with Superbird specialty parts added. The asking price of $52,500 is quite cheap compared to what a legit Superbird normally sells for.

The shape of the back window is the giveaway that this is a clone. The back window of a Superbird was modified to improve high-speed aerodynamics. So the Superbird back window is different from that of the Road Runner. In order to cover up the hastily conceived modifications, all Superbirds left the factory with a vinyl top.

1965 Pontiac Bonneville.

I didn't see an asking price. But considering I see a tri-power under the hood, I bet it wasn't cheap.

1969 Pontiac GTO, asking $39,500.

This car has the non-ram-air 400 CID V8 with a 4-bbl carburetor that makes 350 hp.

1969 Pontiac GTO, asking $39,500.

1979 Chevrolet Camaro Z28, asking $17,900.

Has the 350 CID V8 that makes 175 hp and automatic transmission.

1971 Pontiac T-37, asking $14,750.

Advertised as having 30k miles, and that they're "only original once !"

1957 Ford Fairlane 500 Sunliner convertible.

Ford offered two convertible models in 1957 both of which were part of the Fairlane 500 series. The car seen in the photos above is the Sunliner, a traditional folding soft-top convertible that attracted 77,726 buyers that year. For an additional $437, (which was a significant sum considering the Sunliner stickered for $2,505), buyers could opt for the Skyliner which featured a retractable hardtop. The Sunliner outsold its stablemate by almost 4 to 1, which makes sense considering the substantial increase in price.

Looking into turn 4 where the banking reaches its maximum of 24 degrees.