The 2026 Tri-State -- Montrose, Colorado
Updated 12-Aug-2026 = Copyright (c) 2026 Corvairs of New Mexico
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41st TRI-STATE CORVAIR MEET ------- MONTROSE, COLORADO
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Report from PIKES PEAK CORVAIR CLUB
REPORT FROM ROCKY MOUNTAIN CORSA
FROM THE JULY 2026 DRIP-LINE, VOL. 50 NO. 7, PAGES 9 - 12
50th Anniversary Tri-State
By John Green
This year was the 50th Anniversary of the Tri-State meeting that was
first held in 1976. However, this year's meeting was actually only the
41st meet, as there were several years when there were no gatherings.
If you were fortunate enough to purchase one of the beautiful
commemorative t-shirts, the back side lists every event and its
location. Thanks to Randy Karl for the design!
This year's event was held in Montrose, Colorado, as all the "6" years
are, to commemorate the 1976 meeting held there. There are two
individuals that have been to every event - Steve Goodman and Steve
Gongora. Since this was a big year for the Tri-State and for them,
they both received a 50th Anniversary award and travel cup with this
year's logo on it.
The Pikes Peak Corvair Club was the host club of the festivities this
year. A caravan of four Corvairs and four chase cars went on Thursday
from PPCC to start getting things ready. Another caravan came in on
Friday along with most of the other attendees. There were six clubs
represented with 8 people not from a club. There was only one minor
incident coming to the event with Lee Olsen from Kansas having fuel
pump issues in his Yenko. Luckly it was in a town with a great
mechanic that got him fixed up and on the road. He won the "Hard Luck"
award which included a custom certificate award, and a $50 gift
certificate donated by Clark's. There was also one Corvair that was
actually driven from Fort Collins, CO, taking the scenic route through
Durango that received the long-distance custom certificate award and
$50 cash to Dave Olwine.
On Friday afternoon we held the event check-in. Diane and Tony Lawler
set up the 50/50 raffle and gift baskets in the check-in room. We also
had lots of snacks for people and a great location to hang out with
other enthusiasts and catch up after a year or more.
We had a wonderful get together at Pomona Brewing Company on Friday
evening after registration at the host hotel. It was attended by many
of the event registrants. We filled up the back room of the restaurant
along with others in front and out on the patio. We enjoyed a lot of
good food and drinks, and catching up with others we may only see once
a year.
The Show-N-Shine was at Cerise Park on Saturday morning. Phil de
Groot, Tony Lawler and I (John Green) showed up early and got our cars
parked. Very shortly after other cars started showing up. I pointed
them in the direction of Phil who got them lined up and spread out for
the show. We had help from Randy Karl and several others getting
everyone parked. Then of course, all the touch up and cleaning
started. Some had displays they had to get set up as well. We had a
total of 36 Corvairs parked out in the grass. It was a wonderful thing
to see all the different models and styles of Corvairs there. And
Colorado's weather cooperated this year. It didn't seem to get too
hot, plus there were several tents everyone gathered under. During the
show we gave away a large number of "Door Prizes" to attendees which
was a big hit. We also offered a fan belt toss game which was utilized
throughout the show. We had several members of the local car clubs
come by, along with people from town, who got to vote for the
"People's Choice" Award that went to Steve Woods and his stunning 65
coupe.
After the car show, Tony, Diane & Phil had set up a timed rally for
people to participate in in their Corvairs (or whatever Brand "X" they
were driving). They started and ended at the host hotel. Fourteen cars
completed the rally with Mike and Karen Piper winning with the exact
time of 39 Minutes.
In the evening the banquet was held at the Elks Club. We had 104
attendees! John & Lynda Kull had arranged for the room and locked down
a caterer from Grand Junction. The dinner was delicious, featuring
several meats (including a Jackfruit offering that was hard to
distinguish from pulled pork), salads and sides for the members to
choose from. There was even enough for people to have seconds if they
wanted. The center pieces were two choices of cupcakes for after your
meal, decorated with gold flourishes to celebrate 50 years. The bakery
also made a cake featuring this year's 50th Anniversary logo. No one
went away hungry, and we heard many compliments on the food.
While people finished eating, Kathy Green started MC'ing for the
awards. Besides MC'ing, she had also created all the awards that were
handed out. Awards were presented as follows:
* Early Closed: Phil de Groot
* Early Open: Thor Anderson
* Late Closed: Steve Woods
* Late Open: Mike Piper
* Forward Control: Tony Lawler
* Station Wagon: William Pearce
* Specialty: Vee Stowell (brought a trailer made from the Front
and Back of a Corvair)
* Best in show voted by Corvair owners: Phil de Groot, '62 sedan
* People's Choice: Steve Woods
After the awards, Diane and Tony announced gift baskets, which made a
lot of people happy! They also pulled the ticket for the 50/50 winner
who received $207.
At the end of the banquet Thomas Gwyther from the Utah Bonneville Car
Club shared their plans for Tri-State 2027. We are pleased to have
Bonneville back in the fold to share hosting responsibilities. Next
year's Tri-State will be held June 4-5, 2027. Bonneville has selected
Moab as the host city, and will be getting information out soon
regarding registration, hotel, etc.
Everyone really seemed to have a great time making connections and
visiting with old friends. Mark your calendar now for next year. We
hope to see another big crowd in Utah!
There were way too many photos to share here, so Randy has created a
google drive for them all. Please go and check them all out! -- Kristal
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1u-7FQPMIc4na6b0Yhv9UjlwLxE-7siCf?usp=sharing
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FROM THE JULY 2026 DENVAIR NEWS, VOL. 51 NO. 7, PAGES 1 - 6
REPORT REPRINTED FROM:
The Denvair News - July 2026
The Official Publication of Rocky Mountain Corsa - Volume 51, Issue 7
The REAL Tri-State!
50th Edition, Same Old Town, Even a Couple of the Same Old People!
The 50th Tri-State Corvair Meet came off about as well as anything
organized by humans can. By the time the last entrant vacated the
host hotel parking lot on Sunday the 7th, dozens of Corvairs had
left personalized oil spots somewhere in Montrose.
The majority of entrants arrived in time for Friday evening's casual
gathering at the Pomona Brewing Company, where Corvairs outnumbered
the bland newer cars and inevitable giant pickups in the parking
area. The weather was about as good as it gets, and remained that
way through Sunday.
A few more Corvairs trickled in Saturday morning, finding their way
to the Show & Shine in Cerise Park to be steered to their appropriate
club areas in the open paddock. In the pleasant afternoon, after the
display disbursed, many joined the Timed Rally before wandering off
to seek out local sights and/or napping before Happy Hour at the Elks
Lodge primed the participants for the evening's Awards Dinner and
recognitions.
Special honors there went to Steve Gongora and Steve Goodman, who've
participated in every Tri-State meet since the very first in 1976.
The Pikes Peak Corvair Club did a wonderful job as hosts, even
arranging nearly deserted highways for the first hour or two of
the drive back to the Denver area on Sunday morning. It was truly
a memorable weekend!
PHOTO CAPTION: This particular image sums up the 50th Anniversary
Tri-State Show & Shine perfectly: A bunch of shiny Corvairs in a big
green field on a perfect early summer day with content owners and
spectators enjoying the cars and the atmosphere. Corvair events just
don't get much better than this...
PHOTO CAPTION: It can be argued that all Corvairs deserve to have
the 'unique' term applied to them, but the matching trailer gets
extra unique points over Lee Olson's Stinger. It was not determined
whether the trailer's headlights work at night, but the tail lights
are functional!
PHOTO CAPTION: Right, Phil DeGroot's very clean 1962 Monza features
a Thermador cooling device that was likely the bee's knees in the
early 1960's. Some viewers, though, speculated that it's actually a
booster rocket used for passing in the mountains.
PHOTO CAPTION: Below, Tony Lawler's Rampside carried the flags.
PHOTO CAPTION: Below Left, decidedly not a Corvair, this old Ford
was driven to the park by a local gent so he could view the Corvairs.
It's a chick magnet.
PHOTO CAPTION: Below, after the Saturday morning show, some ventured
to nearby Ridgeway to check out a few classic vehicles of an even
earlier era. They have a nice railway museum tucked into the town.
PHOTO CAPTION: Above, the Tri-State banquet featured an impressive
selection of prizes, all guarded by some serious veterans (heads
protruding through the wall) who watched carefully as folks like
Jon Whiteley made their selections.
PHOTO CAPTION: Below, the banquet crowd enjoyed good food, ample
space, and lots of Corvairish conversations. The awards program
and prize drawings were handled with friendly efficiency, and
everyone seemed to agree that the 50th Year was truly one for the
record books.
PHOTO CAPTION: Yenko Stinger YS-066 wasn't quite "streetified" in
time to make the Tri-State, but had clearly been instrumental in
making the lives of many rodents who lived in the car trailer
better. Note the abundant seeds, which were evidently deposited
within the headliner over the past quarter-century. Without
pulling the headliner out completely, we were only able to remove
about 10 pounds! Had that been done years ago, it might have
improved race lap times by half a second...
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