It’s the end of April and according to the 402 calendar, it’s time for a good ol’ fashioned American Sunday. American Sunday hardly needs any introduction. Regarding the American way, things get real big, really loud, and very proud. Pack those in a car events and you have a great American Sunday. The fans of the American auto lifestyle responded massively to this car event sponsored by car dealer Carway.

Text: Benjamin Wefer / Roley Richardson

Pictures/Video : Benjamin Wefer / Willem van Lamoen

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With the temperature rising into the two digits; 14 degrees Celsius and the dry weather were the perfect combination to swing by the Zandvoort circuit where several car dealers in American brands exhibited a part of their collection. Among them were: Auto Bedrijf Andre Boer,  Bosv8supercars, and of course Carway. One of the eye-catchers was the Sebring Orange ZR-1 Chevrolet Corvette exhibited by Autobedrijf Andre Boer. Another eye-catcher was the C8 R special edition Corvette brought by car Carway. The C8.R edition was a celebration of Corvette Racing’s inaugural racing season with the C8.R race car and Chevy only made a thousand of this R edition. If you had your wallet with you, you could have bought yourself a nice ride to drive back home.

ZR-1 by Autobedrijf Andre Boer C8 R edition by Carway

Also, the Unity low-riders club exhibited some of their finest low-rider cars. Since the early days of hot rods, muscle cars have been modified & personalized. This personalization had a revolutionary twist with the ability to change the car’s height by flipping a switch: The Low rider culture was born. The unity low riders club was there representing!

Moving on to the strip, Arie Wester was the man to beat in the Drag races. The grandstand was the place to be for the adrenaline seeker. As it became a tradition, the straight part of the circuit will become a quarter-mile track. Around fifty participants competed against each other for the number one spot. Remarkable was that the semi-final and final races were between a Camaro and a Corvette. In the last race between Arie Wester (1969 Chevrolet Corvette) and Johannes Moster (1994 Chevrolet Camaro), Arie proved to be too quick for Johannes.

Arie Wester Arie Wester vs Johannes Mostert in the final race

Even the competitors from the Zodiac Street twin battle competition lined up at the start line for the first round of the championship. The Twin Battle is a local championship organized by retired FIA Twin Bike rider Gert Jan Laseur. The championship consists of four races. Competitors race with street Harley Davidsons against each other for the Twin Battle title. No forced induction or Nitrous is allowed. In this event Gert-Jan Laseur took first place and Kees van Bakel came in second.

Gert-Jan Laseur Kees van Bakel

The ones looking for an adrenaline rush without the need to be inside a car were to be found at the RC arena. The RC Arena was the place for the downs sized cars. TMJ Racing RC group and No Prep RC DRAG NL group joined forces and entertained the audience with quarter-mile and Big scale RC races. TMJ Racing RC group founded by racer, Tymon Wijngaarde, is a group of RC car owners who organize races with Big Scales remote-controlled cars.

In the world of RC, anything above 1/8 scale is considered a big scale. TMJ Racing RC group organizes several events and races in the Netherlands. Big Scale racers use 32 cc engines and compete on and offroad track. Competitors get an onboard tracker which records the elapsed time. The one who can set the quickest lap wins.

The Drag Race RC was in the hands of No Prep RC Drag NL. They are a small group of twenty members enthusiasts who developed a passion for the RC quarter-mile race. RC quarter-mile races are not well known here in the Netherlands but are very popular in the Dutch Caribbean and the United States. Categories during these races are; Pro Outlaw, Pro Street, Stock & Stock Brushed. These 2000 grams cars can reach a top speed above 100 km/hrs. Unfortunately, the conditions of the designated area for the RC races weren’t good enough for some side-by-side races. After several crashes, the teams present decided to hold solo demo runs. That didn’t take the fun away. Like RC DRAG NL leader Tanguy Gouverneur Highlight it; it is part of the lifestyle! We build it, race it, break it, fix it, and start all over again!

Tymon Wijngaarde Tanguy Gouvernour

And last but not least on the Proud Wheels stage there was a battle for the best of shine! The 2023 Best of Shine title in the category of classic cars went to for 1956 Pontiac Starchief. A 1972 Chevrolet Impala (Low rider) won the Best of Shine in the category of custom cars.

1956 Pontiac Starchief 1972 Chevrolet Impala

American Sunday had it all. The big block engines, Rock & roll music, and several free sessions on the track to quarter-mile races left us in a state of euphoria for the land of the free. Next American Sunday is in Assen in October.