When Caliente Pizza & Draft House took on sponsorship of the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix’s International Car Show, the next logical step was to enter a vehicle in the nation’s largest vintage street race.

“We were thinking about building one,” Hampton resident Perry Bogacz said. “And we also were looking at cars that were already done.”

Caliente’s decision makers — including his father, Nick Bogacz, the company’s founder — landed on the latter option, at first considering buying a half-century-old BMW 2002.

“It needed a little more work than we wanted to do,” Perry said. “So we kept looking. We found some other ones that were five hours away, 10 hours away, halfway across the country, stuff like that.”

The search eventually led to a North Hills dealership, near the homes of Perry and his parents in Pine, and the purchase of a sleekly styled 1967 Triumph Spitfire. Then came the job of detailing the car with Caliente branding, including the depiction of a pizza slice.

Driver Josh Hartman, a relative of the Bogaczes, tested the Triumph at Summit Point Motorsports Park in West Virginia, and now it’s ready for the Vintage Grand Prix’s prime attraction, the race scheduled for July 22-23 in Schenley Park.

“I’ve never been to it, so I’m looking forward to it,” Perry said. “I’ve always wanted to get out there. Now we have the car, and I’m hoping we can win it. I think we’ve got a shot at it. We’re fast, and we have a good driver, too.”

Held the same weekend as the race, the International Car Show features 20 separate displays with more than 3,000 cars. A Caliente food truck will be on site serving food and distributing coupons.

Caliente is among the sponsors of the Passport to Elegance Party on July 20 at Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport, one in a series of Vintage Grand Prix events starting July 10 with a car show on Smallman Street between 16th and 18th streets in the Strip District.

For more information, visit pvgp.org.

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