July 17, 2017 – The 35th Annual Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix has come to a close as the checkered flag was waved on Sunday afternoon. We want to thank everyone involved for another successful year. Hundreds of thousands of dollars will be raised for the Autism Society of Pittsburgh and Allegheny Valley School. The final amount will be revealed when it is merged with the “Dancing with the Cars” event to open the Auto Show in February.
PVGP Chairman of the Board, Dan Taylor, was pleased with all 10 days of events and as the races concluded exclaimed “I hope everyone will stop for a moment and savor the taste of victory. Thanks to all involved in this great race.” Click here to see recent press coverage on the event and here for race results.
The efforts of our volunteers were evident at all events. Rain or shine, our family of volunteers worked tirelessly to make each segment of each event a success while raising funds for charity. Thank you to everyone who attended our events including the Black Tie Gala, the Historic Races at PIRC, the Walnut Street Invitational Car Show, the Waterfront Car Cruise, the Downtown Parade & Car Display, the Tune-Up at Atria’s, the Countryside Tour, the new Passport to Elegance Jet Center Party, the Forbes Avenue of Speed Parade and Race Weekend in Schenley Park.
The new “Passport to Elegance” Jet Center Party celebrated our 35th Anniversary and exceeded all expectations. Susan Gera, co-chair with Eric Zagrocki said “our mission was to plan a “can’t miss” fundraising event in Pittsburgh unique to anything the PVGP has ever done. I am thrilled to say we not only accomplished that goal with this inaugural event, but based on guest responses have created a first-class experience unique to boundaries well outside just the PVGP and the Pittsburgh area. We are all looking forward to the excitement of what the next year will bring and am so proud to be a part of it.”
Congratulations to our family of 1,000 volunteers, some of whom are still in Schenley Park breaking down the track and putting away the snow fence. Volunteers are the main reason we have become the nation’s largest vintage race event and the only one run on city streets.
Thanks to the city of Pittsburgh for helping us to transform a tranquil park into a racing circuit for a weekend. We have already begun to restore the golf course and Schenley Park. PVGP Executive Director Dan DelBianco reiterated the PVGP’s commitment to restoring and repairing the Bob O’Connor Golf Course – “we value the relationship we have established with First Tee of Pittsburgh and I speak for our volunteers and our Board of Directors that we appreciate the use of the facilities and are thankful to Marc Field, Jeff Duxbury and their staffs”.
Hope to see you next year – our 2018 Race Week will run from July 6 through 15 with July 14/15 Race Weekend in Schenley Park. BMW will be the Marque of the Year and BMW O’fest is coming to town!
Dan DelBianco
PVGP Executive Director
