Each award winner at the GTO convention received one of these 12-inch stainless steel plaques commemorating the Wichita event.
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Gary Gibbs / Courtesy photo
Joan Kennedy of Garden Plain bought her gorgeous 1965 Pontiac GTO brand new in April 1965 from Byron Stout Pontiac in Wichita and has never turned loose of it. Still all original, the Goat boasts a 360-horsepower, Tri-Power 389 V-8.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The Wichita Convention Center was awash in classic GTOs over the Fourth of July weekend as members of the GTO Association of America congregated in Wichita for their national convention. Century II contained the overflow of the big Pontiac get-together.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Arnie Beswick's "Mystery Tornado" was one of the first Factory Experimental drag cars to run a supercharger in drag racing competition in the mid-1960s. The car is as intimidating today as it was back then.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Arnie "the Farmer" Beswick at age 80 is still raising cattle and corn and drag racing a vintage Pontiac nearly every weekend.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
You be the judge: Do you think the GTO Judge was a popular muscle car? This row of Judges, seemingly waiting to be fed some of their competitors, underscored what an impact the car had on devoted Pontiac fans.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The convention was hosted by the GR-888R Wichita GTO Club, which had its own display at the gathering. It marked the second time the Wichita chapter of the GTOAA put on the convention, the first time being in 1998.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Resplendent in gold and white livery, the GeeTO Tiger, a re-creation of a pair of 1967 promotional racers, was scheduled to take on area drag racers Saturday evening. Unfortunately, rainy weather washed out that part of the event.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Legendary Pontiac performance guru Jim Wangers autographs a book on the history of the brand for a pair of fans.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Even the full-tilt show cars like the Monkeemobile needed occasional spot touch-ups during the four-day GTO convention.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Billed as "the Ultimate GTO," Steve and Mary Disch's Colorado-based car featured "classic GTO looks with modern GTO technology." The convertible was equipped with a 400-horsepower LS-2 engine, an automatic overdrive transmission and fully independent rear suspension.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Not every car at the convention was a GTO, as shown by Dan and Rita Jones' bright orange Firebird coupe with black hood scoops.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Will and Donna Bowers' beautiful first-generation GTO convertible carried a classic black-and-yellow California license plate, but actually hails from St. Louis. The car has all the right touches: white interior, 4-speed floor shift and red-line tires.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Cap and Robin Proffitt of Ellinwood brought their "Mysterious Black" 2008 Pontiac Solstice GXP Coupe to the GTO gathering. The turbocharged two-seater is nicknamed "The Last Mohican."
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Terry Weiner of Grove, Ill., took the Best of Show honors at the GTOAA convention with this spectacular Signet Gold 1967 GTO hardtop.
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Gary Gibbs / Courtesy
Participants who received a popular vote award took home one of these busts of a Wichita Indian chief sculpted by local artist Patricia Hines.
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Gary Gibbs / Courtesy photo
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