CHARLEY’S CHOICE

> ONE OF THE BEST PAINTERS IN THE WORLD IS COMING TO SUMMERNATS 30 TO PICK HIS FAVOURITE CAR

LEGENDARY US auto painter Charley Hutton is coming to Summernats 30! It’s not his first visit – he was here back in 2011 for ’Nats 25 – but he can’t wait to come back for Summernats’ big 30th anniversary show.

“It was a blast last time,” Charley says. “The burnouts were the funniest part for me. Everyone kept saying: ‘Have you seen the burnouts?’ and I’m thinking to myself, it’s a long way to walk to see a burnout, we have burnouts in America. Then you go over there and it’s like, holy crap! The other funny thing was, you don’t have a car in Australia unless you have a blower on it!”

Of course, Charley’s not just coming over here to watch burnouts and drink JD slushies, he’ll be doing some Q&A sessions and meetand-greets, but he’s also been asked to pick his favourite car.

“We’re going to make a trophy and bring it down and I’ll pick the car that catches my eye, something I’m excited about and would love to cruise the event with,” he says. “It doesn’t have to be the coolest, fanciest car; l like the beaters just as much as the high-end show cars.”

And when it comes to high-end show cars, there are few people who know more about getting the perfect paintjob than Charley, with his most recent success being the Ridler Awardwinning ’39 Oldsmobile. So whatever you do, make sure you swing by the PPG tent or keep an eye out for him out and about – he’ll be the guy with the permanent smile on his face.