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Not Just Another Car Show
By Nancy
Rodrigue
Nancy is co-author of 'Hidden
Mickey', the action adventure Disney Novel
Lompoc, California. Coastal mountains. Flower
fields. Wine tasting. Nitro methane fumes. Wall murals. Ocean breezes.
Wait a minute. Something doesn’t fit… Mountains –
check. Flowers – check. Ahh. Nitro methane fumes and the screaming whine
of a top fuel dragster revving out. Not something normally heard in Lompoc,
a quiet community of about 42,000.
But, October 21, 2006 wasn’t a normal day for Lompoc.
It was the day over 2000 local residents and visitors came for the Josh
Heilbron Benefit Car and Cycle Show. Ryon Park was filled with 125 classic
cars, hot rods and motorcycles, a top fuel dragster, an alcohol dragster,
and nostalgia funny cars - all in support of local resident, mechanic, car
and bike enthusiast Josh Heilbron. Josh, age 28, has been battling an
aggressive cancer that spread throughout his body. His friends, and most of
the business community, came out to give support and raise money to help him
in his battle. The show sold over 1800 raffle tickets, 480 chicken dinners,
and raised over $11,700 on Josh’s behalf.
Ryon Park visitors got to examine up close and personal
Choppers, Model A’s, T- Buckets, GTOs, T-Birds, Chevys, Woodies, Vickies,
and Drag Boats. Some entrants drove 175 miles from Los Alamitos in Southern
California. Others drove even further from Bakersfield in the Central
Valley to be here.
  
Ron Anzalone brought his 1923 T-Bucket Dragster, the
“Tea Pot”, a straight 6 cylinder that does the quarter mile in 9.28
seconds. Besides handing out pictures and autographs, Ron played a video of
his latest runs at the 15th Annual Hot Rod Reunion at Famoso
Raceway in Bakersfield, California. The Tea Pot was gleaming and ready for
another show the very next day in Las Vegas. As soon as the Lompoc event
ended, Ron had to start out on this 400 mile trip. Everyone was thrilled
Ron could still come out and support Josh.
Sean Bellemeur came with the Las Vegas Plaza Hotel &
High Speed Motorsports
AA/FD Top Fuel Dragster, meeting and greeting the public with his crew. The
highlight of the day came when the winner of the Hot Seat Raffle got to sit
behind the wheel and then fire up the dragster – something just about
unheard of in a small, local car show. But it wasn’t ‘unheard’ for long.
After the smiling winner suited up in protective gear, the engine lit up.
As the decibel level rose, ears were plugged and eyes started streaming as
the nitro fumes drifted over the crowd. But not one person backed away.
The envious spectators cheered and clapped when he climbed out.
  
Ron and Sean were asked why they would come to a little
town like Lompoc with their nationally known cars. Both men – and members
of their teams – have had family or friends touched by cancer. They didn’t
even hesitate when they were invited. They both said, “We’ll be there.
What do you need?”
There were 24 trophies awarded at the end of the show.
One of the trophy winners was Dale Adams of Santa Maria with his
military-green 1923 Indian Scout motorcycle whose top speed is a screaming
43 mph. Dale is seen at many of the local car shows dressed out in an old
flight jacket and green half helmet. When not riding around the show area,
the one-cylinder Scout is propped up on its stand, drawing a lot of
attention and praise.
Another trophy winner, in the Custom/Handcrafted Cars
category, was a viper blue 1967 427 S.C. Cobra owned by Harold Gumm of
Lompoc. That was probably the first of many awards the beautiful car will
be winning in the years to come.
In the days leading up to the show, there was worry
that Josh might not be well enough to attend. He had been admitted to the
hospital to undergo more chemotherapy and radiation, and was just released
the day before the show. It was hoped that he would pick the winning raffle
tickets, hand out the trophies, and be the first to sit behind the wheel of
the dragster. However, that didn’t happen. He was a little too tired to do
all of that, so Josh chose his step-mother to take his place in the Plaza
Car. While she was sorry Josh wasn’t up to it, she was delighted for the
opportunity. His 6-year old daughter Brianna helped with the raffle
tickets.
As he was being pushed around the park in his
wheelchair, Josh was overwhelmed by the number of people who had come out in
his support. There weren’t many dry eyes when he tried to thank everyone
around him for all they had done.
The next day when Josh was speaking to one of the
organizers of the event, he said, “Next year when we do the show for
somebody else with cancer, I want to work with you guys.”
Yes, the money raised was wonderful, but the love,
support and hope it gave Josh are the things that are important. No one
can make the hurt go away, but each of us can give support and
encouragement. Everyone was glad to be there. That’s what it was all
about.
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