Larger than Life

WE LOST Anthony Robert ‘Chic’ Henry, the founder of the Street Machine Summernats, on 14 April after a long battle with cancer. He was 75.

As he had always done, Chic lived his life to the fullest even in his last months. In January, he took great pride in bestowing the Grand Champion sword to Jason Mansweto at Summernats 34, and was thrilled to learn that the ’Nats burnout pad grandstand was to be named in his honour.

A couple of weeks later, Chic was able to see his son Kody get married and walk his new daughter-in-law Filia down the aisle. In early February, Chic took his famous ’62 Impala on a Camp Quality Charity Cruise and remained in regular contact with his many friends right up to the end.

The impact Chic had on our scene over five decades is massive. You can bone up on his history by scanning the QR code on the opposite page, grabbing a copy of his book I Remember One Time… or checking out the interview series on the Summernats YouTube channel.

But for now, we’ll let Chic’s family, friends and fans pay their respects to Mr Summernats.

Angela Henry

DAUGHTER

UNDERNEATH his Summernats hat, Chic was just my dad. Sure, he was famous, charismatic and funny, but I could tell him anything and we would laugh about random stuff. He was tough but fair and never went crook at me when I knocked Mum out with a frypan.

Dad sacrificed a lot when he started the Summernats, and I was proud to be there from day one. Summernats was a beast, and sometimes more like a wildchild sibling. I loved it and I still pinch myself that Dad brought so much joy to so many cool folks. He loved people, and everyone mattered.

What’ll I miss most? His voice saying, “Just checking in, chooko.”

Owen Webb

SUMMERNATS LEGEND

I’VE been extremely fortunate to have known Chic Henry and call him one of my closest friends for over