I headed back inside the speedway and decided to explore an area that I missed last time I was here. More car clubs were parked in the concourse under the grandstands along the front straight. First up was the Xquisite Car,Truck, & Jeep Club.

2002 Pontiac Trans Am convertible.

At least, I'm guessing that it's a 2002 based on the fender emblem. This is one of 2,236 Trans Am convertibles produced in the model's final year of 2002.

1980 or 81 Pontiac Trans Am Turbo.

With the demise of the 400 CID and 403 CID V8s from the option sheet after 1979, the turbocharged version of Pontiac's 301 CID V8 and its became the top dog. Even though power output was similar, (210 hp for 1980 and 200 hp for 1981), contemporary road tests suggest that the turbo cars weren't as fast as what they replaced. Zero to 60 mph took around 8 seconds, and the quarter mile passed by in the mid-16s.

A Ford Mustang and SVT club.

A new C8 Corvette.

I continued my trek under the grandstands and passed by several foreign cars. The car in the photo above is a Holden Commodore VF from GM of Australia. Holden had a presence in the US with the 2003 - 06 Pontiac GTO, (a rebadged Holden Monaro), the Pontiac G8 (Holden Commodore VE), and the Chevrolet SS, (Holden Commodore VF). But seeing an actual Holden in the States doesn't happen that often. Holden was phased out of GM at the end of 2020.

A JDM Toyota Crown.

This is what is known as a Japanese Domestic Market vehicle (JDM), which explains why it's right-hand drive, and why everything is written in Japanese.

The Dodge Challenger seen in the photo above doesn't quite match with the row of foreign cars.

Access to the concourse under the grandstands is via the gated entrance seen in the photo above. This space was occupied by a Chevrolet club. The red Chevrolet SS on the far right side of the photo is the previous Holden Commodore VF's cousin.

First generation Toyota Celica GT.

Next in line was a group of classic Toyotas. The first generation of Toyota's Celica was produced from late 1970 through mid-year 1977. This car is a Liftback model in GT trim.

More classic Toyotas.

Second generation Toyota Starlet.

1979 Toyota Celica Supra.

According to the information displayed with the car, there aren't very many of these cars still around.

Of the more than 50k produced from 1979 - 81, only around 300 are though to remain, making this car very rare.

A Ford club was up next. I love the Mercury Marauder !

1962 Ford Falcon 2-door wagon.

According to the dealer emblem seen in the photo above, this car was sold new in Charlotte.

This is a relatively rare car. Of the almost 400k Falcons produced in 1962, only 20,025 of them were the 2-door wagon body style. The side molding leads me to believe this is the DeLuxe trim.

A 1963 Ford Falcon with a Falcon trailer

The car is a 1963 Ford Falcon Futura Sprint convertible.

The trailer has 1963 Falcon front and rear ends.

The Falcon Futura Sprint came standard with a 260 CID V8 that makes 164 hp. The convertible version is very rare, (4,602 produced in 1963).

The next club was for Shelbys and SVT Mustangs.

As the name implies, this group was full of Shelbys and SVT Ford products.

The rest of the grandstand display was occupied by cars from the NC Mountain Corrvair Club and the Queen City Corvair Club.

1960 Chevrolet Corvair 500 sedan.

The Chevrolet Corvair arrived for 1960 as a response to market conditions created by the Recession of 1958. Sales of smaller, more economical European imports throughout the 1950s, like the Volkswagen Beetle, were strong enough to get the attention of domestic automakers.

First out of the gate was successful 1958 Rambler American. That was followed in 1959 by the Studebaker Lark, (which was responsible for prolonging Studebaker's life by a number of years). While Ford was preparing its Falcon, and Chrysler was preparing its Plymouth Valiant for 1960, Chevrolet took a more exotic approach with its Corvair.

Chevrolet's Chief Engineer, Ed Cole, noticed how popular the VW Beetle had become and implemented the same air cooled rear engine layout for the new Corvair. The aluminum 140 CID flat-6 made 80 hp, with 95 hp optional.

The Corvair was available in three levels of trim. This car is an entry level 500 Series. A slightly more upscale 700 Series cost about $65 more.

1960 Chevrolet Corvair Monza coupe.

The upper trim level was the sport-oriented 900 Series Monza, (seen in the photo above), which was available only as a coupe with bucket seats.

Sales were strong with more than 250k leaving the factory in 1960. That number would increase to almost 330k for both 1961 and 1962.

A rare 1961 Chevrolet Corvair 95 Loadside pickup.

After all of the sales numbers were tallied, Chevrolet produced 250,007 Corvairs in its introductory year of 1960. For 1961, Chevy engineers adapted the car's air-cooled rear-engine layout for a pair of utility vehicles and christened the Corvair 95, (a reference to its 95-inch wheelbase). If this sounds familiar, it's because Volkswagen had been doing the same thing with its Type 2, a utility version of its Beetle platform, since the early 1950s.

The Corvair 95 platform was available as either a van or a pickup, with the difference being whether or not the cargo area was enclosed. The pickup version was available as either a "Loadside" pickup with a conventional tailgate, or a Rampside, which added a folding ramp on the right side of the bed. The pickup seen in the photo above is a Loadside pickup, and is one of 2,475 produced in 1961.

More cars from the Queen City Corvair Club.

Queen City and NC Mountain Corvair Clubs display.

1966 Corvair Monza.

This car was displayed with a copy of its original window sticker. Model code 10537 indicates a Monza hardtop coupe. By this time, the Monza had become the mid-level Corvair offering, in between the entry level 500 and the upper level Corsa.

This car's 4-speed manual transmission was an $89.55 option.

Corvair sales took a nosedive beginning in 1966. While some of the blame goes to Ralph Nader's book "Unsafe At Any Speed," the reality is that the Corvair just couldn't compete with Ford's Falcon and Mustang. This trend would continue until the Corvair was phased out in 1969.

Having reached the end of the grandstand displays, I made my way to the inside of the speedway.

Since I had a good view, I decided to take a few panorama pics.

Three-picture panorama.