It’s no secret in the Viper Nation that VCA members give their all in support of a long list of charitable causes. However, the entire world got a recent glimpse of the giving side of Viper owners, thanks to the efforts of Central California President Jerry DeYoung and his wife, Paula. The DeYoungs, through their third-generation construction company, DeYoung Properties, joined the Emmy award-winning, hit reality show, ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” to build a new, quality-constructed DeYoung home in just seven days for one deserving family in Fresno, Calif. The episode aired on March 8.

Mary Ann Riojas and her family were understandably surprised when Ty Pennington, team leader of “Extreme Makeover,” accompanied by his design team, knocked on their front door in early January and announced their home was chosen to be drastically revamped. The DeYoung Properties team went to work right away, tasked with overseeing construction on the intense, one-week build while maintaining the highest standards of quality craftsmanship, design, earth-friendly features and energy-efficiency in creating a dream home for the Riojas clan. All labor and materials for the makeover were donated by the DeYoungs and their trade partners.

DeYoung Properties was chosen as the builder for the “Extreme” project in large part because of their 30-year tradition of giving back to their Central California community. DeYoung Properties supports local schools, non-profits and community groups, in addition to its neighborhood building activities. The company donated two homes to benefit the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in 2007 and 2008 and will donate a third home in 2009.
“DeYoung Properties’ unwavering passion for their community was clear,” said Conrad Ricketts, executive producer of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” “We are looking for ‘Heroes in the Community’ and both the family and DeYoung Properties are wonderful representations of our theme this season.”

“We were honored to have been asked to be the builder for this extraordinary project to help change one family’s life forever,” said Jerry DeYoung, president of DeYoung Properties.

“What a way to begin a new year!” chimed in Paula DeYoung, executive vice president of DeYoung Properties. “To be asked to build a safe, quality-crafted home for one deserving family in one week with all labor and material donated, is the Super Bowl of home building, so we were honored to say yes.”

For further information on “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” or DeYoung Properties, visit www.abc.go.com or www.deyoungproperties.com.

Gateway Region’s Mark Eidelman purchased this little Viper for his nephews Ryan and Tyler pictured with their father, Ken Foster. “I wanted to start Ryan and Tyler out right with their enjoyment of fine cars,” said Mark. “They are enamored with the Viper’s MP3 player and radio. They love the quick acceleration and torque of the Viper and especially its ability to run over and smash flowers and bushes in their garden.”

Here’s a snapshot we unearthed from the VM photo archives. A sunny day at the drag strip always brings a smile to one’s face—even for a Dodge Viper!

By Nancy Ann Friend

In October, my husband Larry and I took our annual fall road trip with our two Vipers. We traversed eight states in seven days. We both love to drive our Vipers, so consequently, the 2000 miles did not seem extensive. The first site we visited was Brown County, Ind. After a day and a half there we moved onto the great Smokey Mountains. At the Biltmore Mansion in N.C. the security guards were very accommodating and allowed us to park in front of the mansion for a picture or two. They then led us to our own private parking spots.

That night at the hotel it started to drizzle and while we were unloading our luggage the driver’s door on my Viper would not close. It was late and we both knew repair shops would not be open. We couldn’t keep the door open all night in the rain. Fearing that we would break the door if we pushed too hard, we decided to call our Dodge dealer, Roanoke Motors in Ill. It was late there, but as usual, John Gastman answered his phone and was there to help us. He assured us that this had happened before and that the piece in the hinge would break before the door would. Larry pushed until the door closed. This is not the first time we have sought the help from Roanoke Motors. We are fortunate to have such an accommodating dealer.

The next day was rainy and we didn’t expect to see much. While in Tennessee my Viper veered right, but luckily it happened at an exit ramp. I had trouble controlling the Viper until I arrived at Bristol Motor Speedway. Being huge NASCAR fans we just had to tour as much of the track and museum as we could and it proved to be an unexpected highlight of our trip.

Another thrill was crossing the Appalachian Mountains in W.V. and Ohio using only the back roads. All day our Snakes slithered their way around sharp curves, switchbacks and steep grades. We really put our Vipers through their paces thus testing the legendary handling of these cars.

This 1936 Auburn Boattail Speedster features a 2000 Dodge Viper crate motor (460 hp, 500 lb-ft of torque) that is mated with a Viper 6-speed transmission. This custom beauty was hand-built over a period of four years by Brad Videen of Cambridge, Minn., and his brother Greg.

“Special thanks to my brother Greg Videen, Stan Berg and Mike Speidel for their guidance and talented help in completing this car,” said Brad. “Greg has fabricated countless parts, was the chief technical guide, and did all of the tig and arc welding. Stan took my body work to a final finish, and Mike worked with me on multiple projects during the course of construction.”

Other Viper modifications include: Viper seats with custom leather by Venzano Automotive (Mich.); adjustable Viper pedals (narrowed), “SUPERCHARGED” factory hood emblem modified to read “VIPERCHARGED;” Viper oil cooler, 2 ½” high flow custom stainless exhaust, Viper headers; Borla mufflers and crossover pipe; Viper steering column with tilt Viper wheel; and the paint is ’96 Viper GTS Blue Pearl Metallic.

Viper-powered pickup photos courtesy of Paul Ronald from VCA Washington.

Dan Govero, of Imperial Mo., was set to race at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kan., this past March with the NARRA (formerly Viper Days); however, due to a late snow storm (6″ of snow) the event was canceled. As a result, Dan decided to plow snow with his Snake—well, not really, one of Dan’s employees thought he’d have a little fun with Photoshop.® “Since I couldn’t race, I may as well have a little laugh about it,” said Dan.

Jeffrey Knapp takes great pride in his Viper cookies. He made his first Viper cookie over 10 years ago. “This past Christmas I purchased a 2000 Viper GTS,” said Jeffrey. “I thought it was time to thank Santa with some baked Viper Deliciousness!” I’m sure Santa was happy. The cookie looks great!

In the fall 2008 issue of VM, we covered Hugh Hoard’s accomplishment of being the first person to exceed 200 mph in the mile at the Silver State High Noon Shootout. Now, here’s a further update from Silver State participant, John Fuchs:

“In the last event, Bill Bagshaw and I won the 150 mph class (again), this time in a 2008 Viper SRT10® coupe, with a time variance of 0.021 seconds and an average speed of 149.9985 mph over 90 miles. In doing so, we beat 21 other cars in our class, nine of which were Corvettes. Another VCA member, David Green, took a second in the 115 mph class in a Neon SRT4,® with a time variance of 0.1267 and an average speed for 90 miles of 114.9948 mph.”

John Seward of Fort Myers Beach, Fla., is justifiably proud of his black 1994 Viper RT/10. “It’s won a number of awards, including many that were Best of Show,” Seward explained.

However, his Viper may be a special breed due to an unusual interior enhancement. Seward said, “It has a black leather interior, possibly the only 1992–1994 RT/10 that does. I was told it was built for a top Chrysler exec.”

How about it? Anyone else have a 1992–1994 with black leather interior? VM would like to know.