Women of MOPAR

and enjoyed helping him with it. After that, he had a Dodge Demon that was one of the fastest cars around. I learned how to tune a Holley carburetor and also learned an appreciation for making cars go fast. Over the years I have owned many Mopars, the latest being a 1973 ‘Cuda 340. I am very meticulous about the way it has been built and enjoy the hobby very much. I remember going to the movies and watching car movies such as Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry and Christine. I’ve always loved going to the drag races and still do. These days, I can often be found behind the wheel of a Dodge Challenger Scatpack and enjoy it so much that I’ve grown to love the modern Mopar muscle cars almost as much as the vintage ones!”

TINA REZK

Rezk is a guiding force for the PA Modern Mopar Club. She can often be found helping out at one of their many events throughout the area. She’s always the first to volunteer and is a joy to be around and talk cars with.

REZK: “My love and inspiration for Mopars has most definitely come from Bryan, who has been by my side for five years. Watching his excitement and enthusiasm for Mopars is very infectious. The members of the Pennsylvania Modern Mopar Club have embraced both Bryan and myself to the point that they have become our family. I’m so thankful to have them in our lives.

I chose “Jennie” as the name for my Charger in loving memory of my mother. It most definitely was the best choice for me to honor the woman that made me who I am today. When I drive my Mopar I know she is always with me. Love my Mopar!”

With this article, The Women Of Mopar series

Andrea Ripa enjoying a bit of sunshine while leaning on the hood of her 1973 Plymouth ‘Cuda during one of her many Mopar parties. This 2019 Dodge Charger GT in Destroyer Gray is owned by Tina Rezk. It has all-wheel drive and is the car she drives daily.

With this article, The Women of Mopar series is ending. The ladies are off to other adventures and Cruising will turn its attention to others worth featuring. I watched when Mary Tyler Moore left the WJM newsroom for the last time; when Carol Burnett tugged on her ear for the last time; when Sam Malone from Cheers served a drink for the last time. I was extremely sad saying goodbye to Mary, Carol, and Sam and I feel the same tears in the corners of my eyes as I’m saying goodbye to this series.

Thank you ladies: • Robin Cook

• Joy Curran • Brenda Walls • Diane Ferro • Amy Berry Bragg • Carolyn Duhaime • Pat Murphy Tucker • Erin McCall • Andrea Ripa • Tina Rezk

I would also like to recognize Jenni Romano for her devotion to the Mopar hobby. Her unwavering passion for her 1974 Dodge Charger, nicknamed Holly, is well known throughout the area after they appeared together on the automotive TV show Sticker Shock. Thank you all for your tireless work on behalf of so many classic car enthusiasts in the tri-state area. And a special thank you to so many more women who work on the front lines and behind the scenes to make life easier for all of us. Your hard work does not go unnoticed and your contributions are too many to tally. All of us at Cruising Magazine thank you for a job well done. You’re a breath of fresh air in a garage full of carburetors.

Cool Concept

In Maine, ice racing proves a great way to weather winter

By Frank Adkins

As I write this, the sun is beaming through a clear blue sky on the first day of spring. It has been a long winter and I know most of us are itching to get our cars out, take a cruise, and perhaps meet up with a few car buddies. Those who crave drag racing are rejoicing, for the area dragstrips have recently opened. This is the time of year we look forward to during those gray winter months when the roads are covered with salt.

Today, however, I am with a group of car enthusiasts who are sad to see the winter end. We are at a racetrack, but it’s one unlike any in our area. I am with the members of the West Cove Ice Racing Association at their track on Moosehead Lake in Greenville Junction, Maine. Today’s event was their season finale.

Greenville sits at the southern end of Moosehead Lake about 70 miles northwest of Bangor in a part of the state known as the North Woods. It’s a small town (fewer than 2,000 residents) where folks come to enjoy boating, fishing, snowmobiling, ATV riding, and other outdoor activities. Lily Bay Road runs north of town for 18 miles to Kokadjo (the sign there reads KOKADJO Population: Not Many), and it is this corridor where locals and visitors alike come in hopes of seeing the elusive moose. Beyond Kokadjo, the roads are dirt, for this is logging territory. Logging trucks are a common sight in the North Woods.

Elsewhere on the lake, folks are enjoying the day while ice fishing in purpose-built huts or crisscrossing the vast expanse outside of the west cove on snowmobiles. Overall, Moosehead is nearly 40 miles long and has an area of nearly 118 square miles peppered with small islands, including Mt. Kineo. The sense of community is strong here. My wife and I have been coming to Greenville for the last 12 years or more, and we stay at the Kineo View Lodge, a rustic twostory, 12-room, family-operated motel located a few miles outside of town. It was there last night that I learned the students at Greenville High School were having a snow sculpting competition this weekend. I stopped at the high school on my way to the racetrack. One of the chaperones told me to root for Nikki Hamilton. “She is the only girl racing. She’s my daughter.”

Ice racing is weather-dependent. The ice on Moosehead typically reaches a thickness of 30 inches. This year, it only achieved a thickness of about two feet, which is still more than enough to be safe. However, rain and snow melt can leave several inches of water atop the ice. When this happens, there can be no racing. Snow covers the ice throughout the winter, and volunteers with plows create the track and pit area by plowing the snow from the ice surface. In the previous weeks, the snow was much deeper than it is today.

Earlier in the day, one by one, the racers appeared in trucks pulling their race cars on trailers across the ice and into the pit area. The brands represented today include Volkswagen, Nissan, Honda, and Chevrolet. Each car is required to have a safety harnesses, a window net, a fire extinguisher, a bar on the driver’s door for side impact protection, and a support bar across the underside of the roof joining the tops of the B-pillars unless a roll cage has been added. Drivers are required to wear DOT-approved helmets. Although there is a class for those running spiked tires, most competitors rely on tire chains. The WCIRA members are focused on having fun, but they take safety seriously. As one official explained, “We don’t want anybody getting hurt. We have a tech inspection, we require safety measures, and we are also insured.”