PHOTO : VAN ABERNETHY |
North Carolina ’ s Kenny Floyd lives the dream
By Van Abernethy
Whenever Kenny Floyd catches a glimpse of something that hooks his attention , it ’ s usually not just a passing faze . For example , there was that time he went out on a blind date with a pretty gal named Linda back in 1975 . After a brief courtship , the two were married . Forty-two years later they ’ re still happily together and loving life . While the longevity of their relationship is indeed compelling , Kenny and his beloved 1958 Corvette have actually been together even longer . “ When it ’ s right you know it ,” he insists . It ’ s clear he speaks with parallel examples when describing objects of his affection . As for the latter , he still remembers the first time he ever laid eyes on the sexy curves of this American classic two-seater while still a teenager . The ‘ Vette was a local car that belonged to a paint and body shop owner who lived in Floyd ’ s hometown of Charlotte , North Carolina . Floyd knew he must own this car ,
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and even though he was a young man still in high school , he was a hard-working lad who had also made some mighty good car trades early in life , even before the Corvette came into the picture .
It all started with a 1955 Chevy Nomad he bought from his parents for $ 500 when he was 16 years old . A short time later he and a guy swapped even : The Nomad for a 1961 Impala , equipped with a 348 Tri-power engine . He then took the Impala and traded even yet again , this time for the beautiful 1958 Corvette that he still owns nearly 50 years later ! Perhaps the only trade that even comes close to that one was the time he swapped a . 45 caliber Colt pistol for a 1955 Chevrolet . Back in those days it wasn ’ t uncommon to barter a pistol for a car , especially in the “ Don ’ t Tread on Me ” culture of the South , where owning guns ranks as high in importance as eating !
Well , upon taking delivery of the Corvette , Floyd immediately started driving the car to high school . It was truly the stuff dreams are made of , and all these years later he looks back fondly on the experience . The blind date with his eventual wife , Linda , would happen shortly thereafter and Kenny ’ s lifelong drag racing adventures would soon become part of the young couple ’ s life together
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. “ I don ’ t know if Linda immediately fell in love with drag racing , but she ’ s been tolerating it for quite a while now ,” he laughs .
For Kenny , though , the car culture and racing life instantly struck a chord with him as early as age 12 . In fact , after school would let out , Kenny would walk up the block to Dick Behling ’ s service station and sit in his front engine dragster parked out front and pretend to race . “ Then when I was probably 14 years old I started going to Shuffletown Dragway with my older brother , Terry , just as spectators ,” recalls Floyd .
Spectator status would change , though , right after he acquired the Nomad from his parents , and pretty soon he had the car screaming down Shuffletown ’ s eighth-mile , just as he did the Impala and eventually the Corvette . “ I also used to race at the old Concord Dragway when it was still open , and it ’ s actually where I won my very first race . The year was maybe 1970 and Concord had just switched to AHRA sanction . They had some sort of gas class for sports cars and that ’ s where they put me to race my Corvette . It had a real soft index and I was able to cover it and win . Best I remember , I won something like $ 10 and a trophy ,” he remembers fondly .
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June 2017 |
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