The cheesesteaks bringing together Fairfield’s petrolheads and police
The car Yioti Apostolopoulos drives to Frank’s Cheesesteak & Dogs has a 450 kilowatt engine, and waiting for him at the carpark gates is a Highway Patrol car.
Fairfield
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The car Yioti Apostolopoulos drives to Frank’s Cheesesteak & Dogs has a 450 kilowatt engine, and waiting for him at the carpark gates is a Highway Patrol car.
His car – a 1999 WRX STI in blue, not unlike Colin McRae’s iconic rexy – has a bad rap on the streets, for being loud and fast and about as good as an all-wheel-drive car can be.
But the officers let him in, as well as another hundred people in worked Honda S2000s, Mazda RX7s and even a Ferrari F430 Spider, because CheesestEak and Cars is a get together between the car community and law enforcement.
“There’s so much chatter about the event,” said 23-year-old Mr Apostolopoulos. “People are saying, ‘cops are cool and there’s cheesesteak’.”
It’s not an official police event, but rather the work of Steven Planinic, a 35-year-old Senior Constable with Highway Patrol. When he’s not working, there’s a good chance he’s racing his 500kw Mitsubishi Evo 9 on the track at Eastern Creek.
Mr Planinic, or as the community knows him, Plano, has held seven of these events – the most recent having just passed on September 6. People deeply ingrained in car culture bring their rides to the Wetherill Park restaurant, where they showcase their car’s engine work, have a Philly-style cheesesteak and raise money to help the families of fallen officers.
“I see a lot of the car enthusiasts chatting to Highway Patrol and they’re all smiling and laughing,” said Mr Apostolopoulos, who has attended almost all the get-togethers.
“You’re more inclined to do the right thing when there’s a police presence. When there isn’t … there’s always that one person that ruins it.”
CheesestEak and Cars is held in the carpark of Frank’s Original Philly Cheesesteak & Dogs every two or three months, usually from 6.30pm to 9.30pm. Collectively, the events have raised about $7000 for Police Legacy, through donations and sponsored raffles.
Holding the event at the restaurant is ideal because it is highly visible and there is some control over who comes and goes, Constable Planinic said.
“It’s about bridging that gap and getting that message across that there’s a place to enjoy the car and it’s not on the street,” he said.
“If we can convince one kid to go to a track day rather than race on the street, then we have succeeded.”
The 35-year-old from Fairfield has deep roots that stretch into both car culture and law enforcement.
“I’ve got a good reputation with the car community, and there’s no better way to take (racing) off the streets,” Constable Planic said.
“Most people’s interactions with us happens when they do something wrong, so it’s nice to talk to people about road safety in their environment.”
The support of NSW Police can be felt at CheesestEak and Cars. Highway Patrol vehicles park alongside Skylines and Chargers; officers in uniform wander the parking lot; and the proceeds support the families of injured or deceased police men and women.
Then there’s the party trick that NSW Police deploys: a 1984 Mitsubishi Cordia. “The (Cordia) police car is one of its kind in the state. Police purchased the car, restored it and put the markings back on,” the senior constable said.
He recalls the surprise of having the Highway Patrol Assistant Commissioner drop in, wearing plain clothes because he was off the clock, just to have a chat and a drink.
“I couldn’t do anything like this without permission,” said Consable Planinic. “The bosses like it and appreciate it.”