Thu, 10 Sep 2009, 10:18 PM Their House is Decorated in Early Camaro

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2009 Auto Imagery, Inc.

The Chevy A Go-Go

A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, before race cars carried sponsor names, logos and other forms of paid advertisements, they actually had names on them that reflected the personality of the driver. And if not his personality, at least something he liked. The professional cars that were among the fan favorites included "Jungle" Jim, the "Blue Max," the "Chi-Town Hustler" and many more. In the sportsman ranks the names often had something to do with the car itself. For example, almost every purple car was called "Plum Crazy." An orange station wagon was, almost always, the "Orange Crate." And a Chevy Nova almost always had something to do with the word "Deuce" and a Mustang was some kind of a "pony." Among my favorites over the years were, of course, the "Moose," the "Big Blue Wonk" and, maybe my favorite of all time, "That Brown Dodge." While most of those cars are now just memories, there is one survivor of a time gone by, one car that is just as comfortable at the track now as it was back then, and that is the world famous "Chevy A Go-Go."

Isabel and Ed Matsko

As familiar as the car itself is, the two people who race it are just as familiar and just as popular. Ed and Isabel Matsko have been together and racing together for a long time. "Before I had this car (the '69 Camaro) I raced a 1958 Chevy," Ed said. "I still have it and we're restoring it right now." That car, that was powered by a 277 cubic inch de-stroked engine, was the original Chevy A Go-Go. "The guy who sponsored us back then came up with the name and we've stayed with it ever since," Ed said. The "new" car, the 1969 Camaro, has not only carried the same name for a long while but has had the same paint job for almost two decades. "It's been like this for a long time and everywhere we go people remember the car." It's obvious that Ed and Isabel like to hang on to things, after all, they've had the same car for twenty-four years, the same paint job for almost as long and every trophy they have ever won. "We started racing back at Pittsburgh Dragway and we did very well with the '58 car," Isabel said. "Not only do we have every trophy but we have a lot of pictures that people have taken over the years. In fact, they are hung throughout our house, in every room. I guess you could say that our house is decorated in early Camaro." Now that's a design you don't see on those home shows on television very often.

Matsko vs. Fletcher at Maple Grove in 2006.

While Ed has had success over the years with his car, his best showing on the NHRA national event scene came at Maple Grove in 2006, the year he was runner-up to Dan Fletcher in Super Stock. "That was such a great weekend. So many people came up to us during the race and told us they were pulling for us. It would have been great to win but we had a lot of fun anyway." As Ed made his way through eliminations Isabel was right there on the starting line watching him every round, and that's another thing the couple has shared over the years. "I have been there for every run that he has ever made down the track," she said. "And that includes every qualifying run and every elimination run and I've enjoyed every minute of it." That, of course, brought up another question, and that is, just how many times has she watched Ed run? "I have no idea," she said. "Let me just tell you that it's been a lot of runs and a lot of fun." She also had a lot of fun when she got to race a few years ago. "I got to drive our '68 El Camino and I didn't do too badly." When asked what she meant by that Isabel just smiled and said, "Ask Ed." Ed, who pretended not to hear her, then admitted that when they raced Isabel beat him, not once, but a couple of times.

The immaculately prepared Chevy that the couple campaigns, uses a 277 cubic inch engine for power and runs in the SS/FM class, a class that has both automatic and manual transmissions in it. Ed, who chooses the five-speed manual transmission, said that there is absolutely no chance that he would ever switch to an automatic. "Not in this lifetime," he said. Ironically, there was a time, several years ago, when he almost didn't have a choice about using an automatic. "I had a really bad accident at home," he said. "A lawn mower almost cut my hand off." Ed was taken to a hospital where they told him they were going to amputate his arm, but he fought the doctors and told them not to do it. "The nurses were great, I'll never forget them," he added. After a very long operation to save him and his arm, Ed was sent home to recuperate and ponder what the future holds. "I just sat there for hours at a time thinking that I may never drive again." But through shear determination, Ed not only drove again but he drove a five-speed, manual transmission car again. "I went to the track and made a few runs. The first couple of passes I couldn't get all the gears but I finally did, and when I came back to the pits there were lots of racers there to congratulate me. That's a moment I'll never forget."

Ed Matsko

As one of the really special couples in the sport, the obvious question is what keeps them coming back?" I just love the competition," Ed said. "I like racing and I really enjoy winning." And as for Isabel, she enjoys everything about the sport. "It's what we do and what we love," she said. And as the MAC Tools U.S. Nationals were going on at Indy this year, Ed was among the missing. "I raced there for years, but now my car's too heavy and I can't run fast enough to make that field. I raced there for years when they used to put the class winners into the eliminations and I competed in a lot of Indy races." He has also competed at a lot of other races and race tracks and has done well at most of them, and places like Pittsburgh International Dragway appreciates what he has contributed to the sport. "I was inducted into their Hall of Fame a few years back," he said. "That was really special." The Chevy A Go-Go and the two people who run it are special, too. And if you're ever in western Pennsylvania, stop by their house; check out the trophies and all the pictures. The house will be easy to find, after all, it's the only one decorated in early Camaro.