Never say die
BUFFALO TWP — An avid race fan who also sells racing publications at Lernerville Speedway, Chuck Bollinger gets around.
And his car's been around ... and around and around and around.
Bollinger, 62, of Ellwood City, drives a 2000 Chevrolet Cavalier that he bought brand new in June of that year from a car dealership near his residence. The car has 346,000 miles on it — and is still running strong.
Bollinger paid $12,500 cash for the car 20 years ago.
“My aunt died and left me some money, and I had enough money to cover the rest,” Bollinger said. “I haven't had a car payment since the 1980's. I don't know what that's like.
“I just got lucky with this car. I can't explain it.”
Bollinger said he changes the oil every 3,000 miles. The spare tire and jack have never left the trunk. The motor and transmission are original.
The front rack was replaced five years ago. Some framework has been done on the vehicle and the rocker panels were replaced last winter.
“The water pump has been replaced. Besides that, most of the parts under the hood are the same,” Bollinger said.
He said he's bought two new cars in his lifetime. The first was a 1978 Trans Am which has been parked in his garage since 1994.
“I'm not sure what I'll do with this car when it's done,” Bollinger said of his Cavalier. “I'm hoping to get it to 400,000 miles. I still drive it to work every day. It's running fine.”
Bollinger's drive to work is 30 miles round-trip. But this car has driven through roughly 25 states over the years.
Bollinger has driven it to Florida and back 12 times. He's taken it to Wyoming and Colorado and back on four occasions. It's been to the Mall of America and Wisconsin three times.
Virtually all of those trips have been to attend racing cards.
“I chase the races a lot,” Bollinger admitted. “All of those trips to Florida have been to see races during the winter. I drove the car out west for more than two weeks one time and put 11,000 miles on it driving around to races.
“The races got rained out three times. I had a lot of bad luck on that trip.”
He hasn't had much bad luck with this car.
“I bumped into another car one time and scraped the bumper. I didn't even bother calling the insurance company for that,” Bollinger said. “A car backed out of a parking space and hit my car in the lot maybe 15 years ago.
“That was a hit-and-run. That's the only time I had to file an insurance claim on this car.”
The car does not have cruise control. Bollinger drove it to the top of Pike's Peak twice “having to stop a few times to keep it from over-heating.”
The vehicle's air conditioning unit hasn't worked for a number of years.
“The cassette player still works, though,” Bollinger said, laughing. “I've never gone for the fancy gadgets in cars. When I do need to get a new car ... I know they've changed a lot in 20 years.
“It may not be for a while yet. There's a little rust on this car, but not much. I think there's a lot of life left in it yet.”
(top 10 through Aug. 21)<i>Sprints</i>Carl Bowser 246, A.J. Flick 234, Dan Shetler 196, Brandon Spithaler 195, Brandon Matus 192, Jack Sodeman Jr. 188, Brent Matus 183, Dan Kuriger 176, Michael Bauer 169, John Garvin Jr. 143<i>Late Models</i>Ken Schaltenbrand 170, Tyler Dietz 167, Colton Flinner 159, Kelvin Kohan 128, Gary Lyle 128, Mike Miller 117, Joshua Powell 116, Jayme Beck 110, Tommy Beck 102, Clay Ruffo 102<i>Modifieds</i>Garrett Krummert 246, John Mollick 238, Rex King Jr. 232, Brian Swartzlander 217, Dave Murdick 206, Rex King 202, Jeremiah Shingledecker 181, Steve Feder 167, Colton Walters 153, Steve Slater 139<i>Pro Stocks</i>Corey McPherson 280, Tyler Dietz 279, Joey Zambotti 269, Mike Miller 248, Brett McDonald 186, Joe Kelley 168, Mike Bordt 165, Chase Lambert 155, Gary Bertges 143, Ryan Maglione 130
