Supernats underway near Salem

SALEM — It’s the one everyone comes to see.

The 1967 Pontiac GTO muscle car was a top-10 finisher in last year’s Steel Valley Super Nationals – the weekend-long classic car show and drag race at Quaker Raceway in Goshen Township.

The candy-apple red beauty features mag wheels and a 400, 4-speed ram air engine.

On the back panel below the trunk is a mural – of said GTO, roaring out of a grave. It had been wrecked into a telephone pole, then brought back to life.

That car was even responsible for a friendship. In the search for parts after the wreck, its owner, Kevin Baltes, met Dave Helmick.

They bonded over their love of GTOs. Helmick, his wife, Michelle, and their daughter, Erin, 14, were joining Baltes and his son, Jeremy, 13, at the Super Nats for the weekend.

The event continues Saturday and Sunday.

For the complete story, read Saturday's Vindicator and Vindy.com