As the sun rose on October 4, 2003, in Tampa, Florida, so did several local and not-so-local show truck owners to make their way to the Florida State Fairgrounds for the 13th annual Slamfest Custom Truck Show hosted by the crew from Mini Madness. The weekend of October 4-5 brought custom trucks out of the woodwork to compete for awards and magazine attention at the annual Slamfest show. Having attended this show in years past, we are always pleasantly surprised at the high caliber of custom trucks in attendance, and this year was no exception. From 'rail- and body-dragging fullsize Chevys and crazy mini-trucks, to tubbed and Rat-motored classic pickups and sky-scraping 4x4s, Slamfest has something for every type of enthusiast.
Early Saturday morning, the registration line began to grow, as enthusiasts were eager to roll through the gates, secure a good show spot, and start cleaning and setting up. After the estimated 1,600 vehicles and 10,000 spectators rolled through registration, the show was kicked into Fifth gear, and participants wandered around checking out their competition and catching up with old friends and making new ones. Over at vendor row, everything from lighting accessories to stereo equipment was on hand for participants to add that finishing touch to their rides. As we cruised the show in golf-cart style, we were drawn to several trucks in the show which had the right look and quality to be moved in front of our lenses to be photographed for a feature article in Truckin'. This year's show sponsors included Scrape-N-Customs, Street Options
Auto Accessories, Mild 2 Wild AVE Car Stereo Wherehouse, Automotive Engineering, Radioactive Car Audio & Accessories, and Diesel Audio, and they helped to make yet another Slamfest event a huge success. A look inside the indoor pavilion revealed some of the highest caliber custom trucks at the event surrounded by elaborate displays. Spectators swarmed around these trucks throughout the day, checking out all the detail while munching on grub from the indoor and outdoor food vendors.
Once Sunday arrived, spectators gathered for the burnout contest, where those who entered hit the rev limiter to put on an impressive smoke show for the crowd. For a solid hour, owners rolled their trucks into the burnout box and were given 30 seconds by the Slamfest staff to strut their stuff. Participant Ricky Layman apparently won the crowd over, as he was able to put on the best smoke show. After the burnout contest, a motorcycle stunt show was held, where participants performed all sorts of crazy tricks on their bikes to please the crowd. Wrapping up the show prior to the extensive trophy presentation was an all-out bikini contest, where several ladies competed for the attention of the custom truck enthusiast audience. If you missed this year's Slamfest, the Mini Madness crew plans to do it all over again on October 2-3, 2004. For information on next year's event, contact Mini Madness at (941) 366-9123 or look them up on the web at www.minimadness.com.