Old cars turn grown men into kids during Hot August Nights
By Guy Clifton, Reno Gazette-Journal
Reno’s Russ Sheltra has participated in every Hot August Nights for one simple reason.
“For one week out of the year, we get to be kids again,” said Sheltra, 68, who will be entering his prized 1963 Corvette and 1957 Chevy in this year’s Hot August Nights, which starts today at South Lake Tahoe and moves to Reno on Sunday with a pre-kickoff show-n-shine at Sheltra’s Bonanza Casino.
Since Hot August Nights debuted in Reno in 1986, Sheltra has been taking the week off from work to enjoy the event, which celebrates the classic cars and music of the 1950s and ’60s. For Sheltra, both the cars and the music remind him of his high school days in Southern California. He graduated from Canoga Park High School in 1959.
