Second Annual Carlisle Hurst Nationals Host the Men who Literally Made Hurst — Carlisle Events
2018 Hurst Nationals
CARLISLE, Pa. – May 24, 2018 – PRLog — The Hurst Nationals is one-of-a-kind and its fitting that Carlisle Events, a likewise one-of-a-kind company is backing it! The second annual Hurst Nationals runs concurrently with the Carlisle Chrysler Nationals and takes place at the Carlisle Expo Center July 13-14, 2018. Of course, there are unique cars slated to appear, but just announced; the men who made these machines – the guys behind Hurst!
It’s difficult to say “Hurst” without almost instinctively adding “Olds” when talking cars. Hurst/Olds production ran from 1968 through 1984 plus Hurst offered an “aero kit” in 1988 for owners to install on 1988 and older G-Body Oldsmobile’s. Conveniently, 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the legendary Hurst/Olds. We’ll be celebrating with a display featuring one of each year of production as well as the “proposal” cars. These are the cars that Hurst built to show Oldsmobile brass their vision for that year but ultimately, regular sales were strong enough in those years that a limited-edition Hurst model was deemed unnecessary.
This year also marks the 50th anniversary of two of the most famous factory drag cars ever produced, the 1968 Hemi Dart and Barracuda Super Stocks, also known as “LO” and “BO” respectively, based on the first two digits of the VIN. Chrysler partnered with Hurst to convert assembly line Darts and Barracudas to Hemi-powered Super Stock legal beasts by installing fiberglass fenders and hoods, thin Corning side glass, lightweight van seats, cut wheel wells on the Darts and more. These cars are still running today and the NHRA created a class just for them. See one of the largest gatherings of factory LO and BO cars.
Carlisle Events is excited to announce the return of Hurst engineers and employees to the show, including Don Glover and Jim Kerr. Not only are these guys guests of the event, they have each played major roles in the development of the event. Don Glover was a longtime Hurst engineer who was part of many of the Hurst vehicles built. He also worked on the Jaws of Life design and he developed the “Hurst Equipped” emblem. Jim Kerr was an important part of Hurst, performing many roles in the company. His most notable was probably his position in customer service where he was one of the earliest Hurst Shifty Doctors. As such, it was Jim’s job to go to the races and fix any problems the racers might have had with their Hurst Shifters.
2017 was received favorably by all of the Hurst employees who attended, and they are all planning to return in 2018. Further, Carlisle Events is working with at least three more legendary Hurst employees who couldn’t make it last year but are planning to attend this year. Once those guests are officially locked in, details will be shared via the Hurst Nationals web page of www.CarlisleEvents.com as well as via Facebook at www.Facebook.com/
Getting this many former Hurst employees together in one location is extremely rare. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear them speak about their time at Hurst and the projects they worked on as well as talking to them one-on-one and even having your specific questions answered. Don Glover can always be counted on to bring tons of photos, engineering drawings and more that he loves to show and talk about. These guys also have other rare items, prototypes and more. Rather than see these pieces in someone else’s collection, you’ll get to see them and learn about them directly from the guys who built them!
Guests will be talking shop Friday and Saturday of the 2nd annual Hurst Nationals and will also be joined by the legendary Linda Vaughn. The event itself features unique indoor display cars sporting Hurst branding as well as even more cars outdoors that fit the theme of the weekend. You’ve never seen this many Hurst vehicles together in one place, so don’t miss out! Tickets are available online too, plus links to register for not only this event, but the Chrysler Nationals, happening right across the street at the Carlisle PA Fairgrounds from July 13-15.
