The 1970 Chevrolet Camaro driven by Marco Gilbert certainly turns heads. Gilbert typically runs it in vintage events, but he entered the Camaro in the stock car class of the Bristol Dirt Nationals at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee.
Gilbert hauled the ride more than 1,000 miles, from 18 hours away in Jackman, Maine. Jackman resides close to the border with Quebec in Canada. Gilbert speaks fluent French and speaks English as well. He started racing at age 16 in Quebec.
“I’m here for the fun,” Gilbert, 52, said. “I like the track. Last year, I come as spectator. This year, I come with my car.”
Despite the age of the car as a street car, as a race car it dates back to the early 1990s.
“A friend of mine built this car to race [Autodrome] Granby in Quebec,” said Gilbert. “This car went to other tracks, too. I bought it and go on the dirt and have raced last four to five years on pavement tracks.”
Gilbert installed a Chevrolet Performance 604 engine into the ride for the Bristol Dirt Nationals. However, he typically runs a much more powerful power plant when racing back home.
“When I race in the vintage, in Quebec and Maine, we have a 383-cid Chevrolet small block, [with] 600 hp, [on] 10-inch tires,” Gilbert said.
Regardless of what’s under the hood, people love the look of the car.
“A lot of people come see me [in the pits],” said Gilbert. “They tell me I have a nice car. I hope I come home like this and it does not hurt my [car’s] body.”
For those who may be concerned about wrecking a car with a body more than 50 years old, don’t fret. Marco Gilbert said he can readily find body parts online, with companies making replica body panels for the 1970 Chevrolet Camaro.
The Outside Groove Executive Editor has covered motorsports since 2000. His many awards include the 2019 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Jim Hunter Writer of the Year and the 2013 Russ Catlin Award for Excellence in Motorsports Journalism.
