Tampa Florida GM Scene - The Scene Tampa, FL
Tampa Racing has over 102,500+ members and the events calendar for March 2016 had over 1,000+ listings. Click here: https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/calendar.php
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From Justin Cesler Mar 5, 2010
Acting as the current world headquarters for GMHTP, one would assume Tampa, Florida, was full of awesome late-model GM stuff. And it is, although we're not sure we can take credit for all of it. You see, Tampa has always been home to an amazing amount of fast GMs and quality tracks, which combined with an almost non-stop racing season breeds some diehard enthusiasts. We have seen everything here from groups of 1,000+hp street cars to 8-second Grand Nationals and the list of impressive builds, shops, and people never seems to stop. If you ever get a chance, come on down to Tampa and give us a shout, or check out any of the cool things this town has to offer.
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What to expect:
Tampa is a city known for some pretty wild racing, whether it be on or off the track. With Bradenton Motorsports Park, Lakeland, Orlando, and Gainesville tracks all within a 2-hour drive, it is almost impossible to miss out on racing. Add to that the awesome roads in the Tampa Bay area and the year-round sunshine, and you have a recipe for some good times. There are several huge GM-based clubs in the area, including one of the most hardcore: F-Body Inc. Special thanks to Chris Hidalgo of HidalgoPhotography.com for snapping some shots of his club in action.
Where to go: The first Sunday of the month is strictly for cruising, good food, and good times. The night starts at RJ Wings and Things for dinner and then a cruise around Tampa's hotspots. After hitting up Channelside, Ybor City, Downtown, and Bayshore Drive, the F-Body Inc. crew usually rolls out to the beaches or any number of roads less traveled. If you are more into the show scene, hit up F-Body Inc. on the third Saturday of each month and head over to the Plant City car show, which features hundreds of cool cars. For more information and event listings, check them out online at Camaro and Firebird Club.
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Where to shop:
The Tampa area is home to some great GM-specific shops, which specialize in a variety of disciplines. For big-power builds make sure to check out AntiVenom or Pro-Fab, both of which are within minutes of our world headquarters. If you're looking for anything suspension-related, BMR Fabrication is also in town and can even give you a tour of its impressive facility. Monster Transmissions is just down the road and is cool enough to sponsor the guys of F-Body Inc., building quality transmissions for anything they need.
Cool things to do:
Bradenton Motorsports Park is open every Thursday and Saturday for heads-up quarter-mile action, which always seems packed with everything from Grand Nationals to 2010 Camaros and Corvettes. If you are into track rentals, Bradenton is also home to the Dead Hookers event, which is just as cool as the name suggests. Planning a trip at the end of March? Be sure to check out the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg for some awesome "city course" GP Racing. Or, to do some mini-gp racing of your own, check out the Tampa Bay Grand Prix, which features the best go-kart racing in the area.
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Think your city deserves some exposure? Send us some hi-res digital photos and a description of your city and club to: Justin.Cesler@sorc.com or mail to GM High-Tech Performance, 9036 Brittany Way, Tampa, FL 33619. All photos are presumed to be for publication, and GMHTP reserves the right to edit accompanying descriptions.

 

Formed years ago, Tampa Racing.com was founded on the principles of encouraging restoration, repair or modification of special interest vehicles. Over 102,000 members strong, Tampa Racing has no national affiliation, but you will likely find its members among any number of automotive organizations including the National Street Rod Association, Mustang Club of America, Goodguys, Florida Mopar Association, Corvette Club of America, to name a few. The type of vehicles found amongst the members varies from restored early 1900's vintage automobiles, to street rods from the 30’s and 40’s, to muscle cars from the 60’s and 70’s, to present day front-wheel-drive imports and motorcycles. With the wide range of vehicles come varying degrees of modifications from bone stock to big block Pro Street monsters. There truly is something to satisfy every automotive taste.

As with the vehicles there are varying activities that the members undertake ranging from weekly cruise nights and car meets, to cruises through the countryside, cookout get-togethers, Christmas parties, open track days, organized races, beach concerts and frequent car shows. The shows are perhaps the most popular venue for many of the members who engage in showing their cars at almost every opportunity. Tampa Racing also co-sponsors and/or supports select charity car shows, community events. This is a way of giving back to the local communities.

So come along and join Tampa Racing where you will always be a member of the family whether at a cruise night, car meet or on the highway. And remember life is good friends, a clean ride, and the open road in front of you.