Cruising in a pink cadillac
Former Lodi man wins at Pebble Beach car show
Although he now lives in Lake Tahoe, car enthusiast Kirk Wentland said his family has lived in Lodi since 1900, where he and his partner, Larry Camuso, store some of their many cars.
“Between my partner and I, we probably have 150 cars that we keep in garages in Lodi and San Jose,” Wentland said.
Last month, the two entered their 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz in the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in Pebble Beach for the Eisenhower Era Dream Convertibles class, for convertibles manufactured between 1953 and 1960, Wentland said.
“Getting into Pebble Beach is an honor, it’s like getting nominated for an Academy Award,” Wentland said. “You have to know somebody in order to get nominated, you can’t just decide to enter.”
Cars are judged on their technical merit, historical value, originality and quality of restoration, Wentland said, as well as a 65-mile drive along Highway 101.
“It’s really a lot of fun because we get to drive our cars,” Wentland said. “They sound fantastic as they’re going down the road.”
Wentland and Camuso’s Eldorado was restored approximately 15 years ago, Wentland said, equipped with bucket seats, air conditioning, cruise control and an air-ride suspension system that closely match the original factory settings.
“We won Best in Class for the ‘59 Eldorado,” Wentland said. “That was probably one of the most exciting points in my life. I’ve been at Pebble Beach three other times, and this is the first time I placed.”
Lodian Wayne Craig, a longtime friend of Wentland and Camuso who serves as chairman of the Pebble Beach Concours docents, was equally proud of the two for their victory.
“The Pebble Beach Concours is like the Super Bowl or the Oscars of the car world,” Craig said. “For them to win is as good as it gets, so I was very proud of them.”