Kids, cars and candy
Local speed shop hosts Halloween trunk or treat car show.
Brycen Darden, 3, gets a little scared as he checks out an animated clown that was protecting a dish of Halloween candy where Lisa Hill and her husband were giving out candy by their 1968 Chevrolet C10 pickup truck during the Burnyzz After Dark Car Show and Trunk Or Treat at Burnyzz American Classic Horse Power Speed Shop in Ocala, Fla. on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. Hundreds of people attended the car show and dozens and dozens of classic muscle cars were on display during the Halloween themed event. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2024.
Superman, Spider-Man and an alien abducting an earthling were a few of the colorful characters on hand for the Burnyzz Classic American Horsepower “Trunk or Treat Car Show” held the evening of Oct. 23.
Micheal and Crystal Kirkland brought their children, Makenzie and Nathan, to the show to enjoy some family fun while Chris Rasnick and his son, Chris Jr., 8, also checked out the cars on display. Chris Jr. was in the grips of large, green, inflatable alien abductor wrapped around his back.
Paul Noel stood next to his custom “military” style trike, made from salvaged materials and adorned with a small Civil War era cannon, vintage hand grenade, gas mask and more, as he offered a handful of sweets to passing onlookers like Misty Romano and her children, Natalie, 8, and Nathan,10, both in character costumes.
The show, held on the grounds of the speed shop and collectible car center at 1 Aspen Way in southeast Marion County, was a chance for car lovers to see a wide range of antique, muscle and specialty cars, trucks and other vehicles in a Halloween themed event where kids in costumes cleaned up on collecting candy.
Burnyzz Classic American Horsepower was opened in 2010 by Josh and Brittanie Hart and over the years has expanded to a “city block of everything automotive,” including a speed shop with dyno tuning, vintage and modern builds, along with a 100,000 square foot classic auto sales center, according to burnyzz.com. Hart’s acquired Modern Muscle Cars in 2022, known for its design and sale of “one off” Restomod Corvettes, Bronco’s and Cobra’s. Josh Hart also is a NHRA Top Fuel dragster driver and the sixth in NHRA history to win a debut event, in 2021, and also garnered two other wins in his rookie year.
One car show attendant said at least 100 cars were registered by about 6 p.m. and that spectator cars were parked for at least four blocks surrounding the facility.
Delano Evelyn had his orange 1966 Mustang fastback with a 289 V-8 two-barrel carburetor engine on display. He’s had the meticulously restored all-original style car for about five years.
Oscar Petriee, a member of the Ocala British Car Club, displayed his 2007 Jaguar XK convertible and nearby was a classic American muscle car, a 1967 Pontiac GTO.
Selestine Poole escorted her great-grandson, Cameron, 4, around the cars on display. Cameron, dressed as Spider-Man, was fascinated by a mechanical ghoul in front of a car.
The band Hypersona provided a musical backdrop and some visitors danced in front of a central stage. Guitarist Steve Savage said the band plays literally all types of music.
Several food trucks served sandwiches and other goodies.
Lacey and Jonathan Grant made it a family night with their son, Mason,13, who was dressed as movie character “Beetlejuice.” The family displayed a full-sized black Chevrolet pickup with the truck bed filled with large inflatable ghosts.
Jon Keister of Ocala had his outstanding example of a 1969 Dodge Super Bee muscle car with a 440 V-8 “Six Pack” on display with a skeleton driver posed in the parked car. Keister even had the scary driver’s pets—two skeletonized dogs—along for the ride.