Photography by The Authors summer winds down and the kids prepare to go back to school, car show season intensifies in the Mid-South. The NSRA Street Rod Nationals kicks off August, and the following weekend is the Danchuk Tri-Five Nationals held at historic Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky. 2022 marked the seventh rendition of this incredible event, a car show and drag race, that brought more than 2,500 classic Chevrolets into town. The idea of focusing strictly on ’55, ’56, and ’57 Chevrolets allows like-minded enthusiasts to converge each year for the world’s premier Tri-Five event.
The Beech Bend Raceway Park facility offers plenty of parking for car show participants, drag racers, and spectators, and it’s easy to find shade on the beautiful property. This year’s weather was warm and sunny, encouraging a huge crowd throughout the three days of activities. The event kicked off on Thursday and featured a special drag racing program after the sun went down. Friday and Saturday had packed schedules, with drag racing exhibitions, regular drag racing classes, as well as access to dozens of vendors and a huge swap meet. Thursday’s car show area featured a special section that paid tribute to prior Lokar Top 25 winners. Then, Friday featured a special area where cars would be judged for this year’s Top 25. After those cars were selected, they parked in another special parking area, where the Top 25 would be narrowed down to the Top 5 and finally down to the Tri-Five of the Year. The excitement surrounding this event’s award program keeps folks coming back year after year.
Whether you like restored stockers, sky-high gassers, Pro Touring builds, or anything in between, the Danchuk Tri-Five Nationals has it all. Take a look at our highlights, including the coveted Tri-Five of the Year award winner, and lots of great Tri-Fives that grabbed our attention on the show field and the dragstrip.
Bad in black, this ’57 Chevy 150 looks like a simple base model car but boasts big horsepower, thanks to an aluminum-headed small-block with a cross ram intake and dual FiTech throttle bodies. The large-diameter steel wheels and stock dog dish caps add to the sinister appearance.
This ’55 Chevy 150 sports a psychedelic paintjob and tons of period-correct parts for a ’60s gasser. Jenny Moses owns the wild Tri-Five, which features a high-winding small-block, backed by a five-speed manual transmission.
A brilliant color is matched with a custom interior, slick details, and a low-slung chassis to create a showstopping ’57 Bel Air convertible. Perfectly proportioned Schott wheels finish off the contemporary look.
Jason Stills roasts the drag radials in preparation for a low 10-second pass in his street-driven ’56 Chevy 150. The two-tone paintjob is ultra slick, and the car’s immaculate details were enough to land this race-ready Tri-Five with a Lokar Top 25 award.
Sometimes, the right stance and tire and wheel combination overrides shiny paint and custom bodywork. This ’55 Chevy Bel Air is proof of that concept, with an excellent stance, staggered wheels, and an LS engine swapped in place of the old 265.
David Laird took matters into his own hands by creating a ’57 Chevy 150 convertible, a model that never existed in factory form. The vibrant green paint grabs your attention while the Roadster Shop chassis offers a great stance and an LS3 provides the power.
Tri-Five trucks are always welcome at the event, and this first series ’55 pickup is a beauty. Lana Shivley owns the truck, which features a Roadster Shop chassis, tasteful body modifications, and a slick coat of PPG Ruby Red Flare paint. Lana took home Top 5 honors in this trick truck.
Some might think the Danchuk Tri-Five Nationals is repetitive, due to the three-year-only criteria, but cars like this super-fun ’55 Chevy 210 prove otherwise. The aged paint is flaking, but this car has tons of personality thanks to the old-school visor and U-Haul storage container up top.
The Domingues brought their killer ’57 Delray up from Lafayette, LA, and made a few passes down the quarter-mile during the fun runs. A supercharged 5.3L LS engine converts gas money into noise and tire smoke.
Sporting wide whitewalls and vintage caps, this ’57 may look like your standard two-door station wagon, but it’s technically a windowed sedan delivery. Glenn and Peg Jensen came down from Sycamore, IL, to enjoy the show in their rare long roof.
Pro Street is still alive and well in the Tri-Five community, as there were several big tire builds on the property. This ’55 Bel Air features a slammed stance, beautiful paint, and a combination of Billet Specialties and Hoosier rollers.
Doug Times started his build with a 53,000-mile survivor and stayed with a conservative outward appearance with Jet Black paint, steelies, and dog dish caps. Underhood is an LS2 backed by a 4L65E transmission.
The future of the Tri-Five world is looking bright! This future hot rodder put some serious miles on her ’55 gasser throughout the weekend.
The Danchuk Tri-Five Nationals pays tribute to lots of historic drag cars, including a group of Junior Stock racers. This includes folks like Don Kirkland, an Alabama native who toured the NHRA circuit in 1970 and 1971 with this ’57 four-door hardtop. He’s still out there beating on it after all these years.
Part of the “wow” factor of the Danchuk Tri-Five Nationals is the exhibition racers who put on a show for the thousands of fans in the covered grandstands. Boyd Howe is in the near lane while Mike Bilina adds a little extra style to his wheelstand.
Russell Trzebiatowski owns this incredible ’56 Bel Air convertible, which features C5 Corvette suspension, an LSA supercharger, and 4L80E overdrive transmission. The paint- and brightwork are flawless on this top-down cruiser.
Tony Vestuto has racked up thousands of miles on this ’55 Chevy 210 this summer, hitting all the big shows. His car has the quintessential hot rod stance, and it earned Tony the Strange Motion “Best Hot Rod” pick during Saturday’s award ceremony.
Bruce Ricks brought his Steve Cook–built ’55 Chevy out of hibernation, and it looked right at home on the show field. With an Art Morrison chassis, Baer brakes, and Boyd Coddington wheels, this car stands the test of time and landed a Lokar Top 25 award.
There are classes for all manner of drag racers, from street cars to gassers and everything in-between. This ’57 Bel Air made quite a few passes down the historic quarter-mile dragstrip and looked great doing it.
The Lokar Top 25 had a wide variety of build styles, and that selection was narrowed down to the Top 5, pictured here. A mixture of restored stock, pro touring, and hot rod builds made for a tough decision.
Slick gray paint and black trim give this ’57 Chevy two-door post a stealthy look. We weren’t able to take a peek underhood, but the Illinois-based Bel Air looks fast sitting still.
The drive in and out of Beech Bend Raceway Park offers beautiful scenery, and this shot includes the high-riding “Cherry Bomb” ’57 Chevy gasser owned by Jeff and Tracy Spears.
Thursday’s festivities at the Danchuk Tri-Five Nationals included drag racing after dark. Here, Scott Abbott lights the tires on his “Two-Timer” ’55 Chevy drag car. This three-pedal hot rod runs deep into the 10s and looked right at home under the lights at Beech Bend.
Gray center Americans look just right on this ’56 Chevy 210 two-door station wagon. The stance and color combo make this highway cruiser stand out in the crowd of more than 2,500 Tri-Fives.
With 555 ci of big-block Chevy horsepower, this ’55 Bel Air hardtop features a mixture of drag racing, pro touring, and custom car components. Dan Barrichlow brought the slick ’55 down from Erie, PA.
The final act of the Danchuk Tri-Five Nationals is calling out the winner of the giveaway car. Woody’s Hot Rodz knocked this one out of the park, with a cool ’60s theme that features Impala bucket seats and console and an LS engine dressed as a 409. Tim Boisture of Sacramento, KY, is the new owner of this fine ’55!
Ultimately, it was George Lange taking home top honors with his freshly built ’56 Chevy 150, built by Alloway’s Hot Rod Shop. The car has the textbook Alloway stance, and power comes from a ZL1 big-block with Corvette Tri-Power induction. Look for a full feature on the Tri-Five of the Year in a future issue.