As the State 2 State Cruise entered into the city of Las Vegas Nevada, it started sprinkling. In fact, by the time we checked into the Lady Luck Hotel/Casino, all the skies went dark, and the rain began coming down. This was bad, as the Las Vegas Nationals were supposed to happen tomorrow morning with a show and shine, several concerts, a bikini contest and all sorts of other cool stuff. It wasn't just cool ... it was downright cold, and the increasing rainstorm wasn't helping either.
The next morning, we awoke bright and early to get a jump on the day. Sadly, the rain was still coming down in torrents. As we sat in the Casino's cafe having some breakfast, the conversation turned to the possibility of canceling the show. This wasn't good, as there were over 145 vehicles that pre-registered for the show, not to mention all of the vendors who brought out their displays for Vendor Village. After much discussion, it was decided to wait until the afternoon to make a decision. Since we were staying at Lady Luck, perhaps she would smile upon the event and blue skies would prevail. So we waited.
 Primedia's Joe Rafael (right),...  Primedia's Joe Rafael (right), Nick Sing (left) and Steve Warner (back left) contemplate what to do about the event and the bad weather. |  A little bit of rain didn't...  A little bit of rain didn't stop folks from picking up event T-shirts down on Vendor Row. |  When the rain finally stopped,...  When the rain finally stopped, folks came out of the woodwork to dry their rides before the show. |
A little after high noon, the rain stopped, the clouds parted and all we could see was blue skies for miles. Looks like staying at the Lady Luck paid off after all. All of the car show participants and vendors broke out the chamois and squeegees to get their trucks all dolled up before the watchful eyes of the show and shine judges came around. The Fremont Street promenade was completely packed with trucks of all shapes and sizes ... full size trucks, mini trucks classic trucks, off-road trucks, some PT Cruisers and old panel trucks made their way out to the show. In fact, everywhere you turned there was a truck of some sort staring you in the face!
 The lovely Nikki Zeno was...  The lovely Nikki Zeno was signing posters in the booth. She's awesome! |  Now that's a tall truck! Put...  Now that's a tall truck! Put a coulpe of lawnchairs under it and you've got some nice shade for the Summer. |  No kidding ... we really want...  No kidding ... we really want one of these things. |
Vendor Village was teeming with activity, as spectators and show entrants wandered around to get a glimpse of some of the new products folks had to offer. Of course, Primedia had a booth selling T-shirts and magazine subscriptions, as well as the lovely Nikki Zeno. Well, she wasn't actually for sale, but you could get a signed poster from her if you asked nice enough. As the day went on, the temperature kept rising, as did the expectations of the eager crowd for the upcoming bikini contest. Through out the day, there were announcements made reminding people to make sure they were at the stage at 8:00pm for the contest. We got to see some of the bikini hopefuls, and it was looking to be a wild show.
 The Fremont Street area was...  The Fremont Street area was jammed packed with trucks. So many were there it was hard to find decent parking. |  The folks at Chevy Trucks...  The folks at Chevy Trucks had a huge display in Vendor Row. |  Bright colored paint jobs...  Bright colored paint jobs were the order of the day. Flames, two-tones and scallops were everywhere you looked. |
One of the show entries that caused quite a stir was the killer golf cart in the Action Audio Motorsports booth. This thing was decked out to the max, and featured a sound system that rivaled a lot of the other vehicles in the truck show. Or maybe it was Phoenix and Melissa, the pair of hotties in the booth that were doing some ... um, naughty posing on the cart, much to the delight of the crowd.
 This is the super cool golf...  This is the super cool golf cart from Action Audio Motorsports looked really good in thier booth ... |  ... but looks even better...  ... but looks even better with Phoenix and Melissa posing on it. |  I think the shirts these young...  I think the shirts these young ladies are wearing says it all. |
As the sun started to set, things really started heating up as the crowd around the main stage area at The Fremont Street Experience started growing. By the time the bikini contest started, the crowd was way out of hand, and the noise level was so intense, you couldn't even hear the names of the girls as they were called. Not that it really mattered to the hoards of spectators. Hosting the parade of bikini-clad babes was the lead singer for the Tijuana Dogs, the band that was playing right after the contest. Group by group, the girls were whittled down until the final three were standing. When the applause had died down, Nikki Zeno was crowned Miss Vegas Nationals, Tylene Buck was First Runner Up and Phoenix Marie took third place.
 This young lady had a few...  This young lady had a few last minute adjustments before strutting her stuff in the bikini contest. |  As you can see, the group...  As you can see, the group of beauties was top notch for the contest, but since there can only be 3 winners ..... |  ..from right to left, Nikki...  ..from right to left, Nikki Zeno was crowned Miss Vegas Nationals, to her left, Tylene Buck was fist runner up, and last but not least Phoenix Marie was third place. |
With the girls off the stage, it was time to rock the block. The Tijuana Dogs took to the stage like flies on sugar and cranked out the cover tunes like there was no tomorrow. People were having a great time ... drinking, singing and dancing around like hippies on free acid at a Grateful Dead concert. It was a wonderful time for everyone involved ... heck, even some of Las Vegas' homeless were dancing around to some Led Zeppelin classics. The music and festivities went on well into the night, and ended up around midnight for the awards ceremony. Once the awards were handed out and all of the sponsors thanked, the crowds started to disperse to the local bars and other nightlife establishments. This signaled the end of the 2004 Las Vegas Nationals. All that was left was the bragging rights for the next 365 days, and the anticipation of next year's show.
 While the bikini contesat...  While the bikini contesat was a hard act to follow, the Tijuana Dogs did a great job |  I gotta tell you, the lead...  I gotta tell you, the lead singer really kept the crowd going. |  This guy was one of the better...  This guy was one of the better drummers I've ever heard in a cover band. |
Big props go out to this year's Vegas Nationals sponsors, including:
Chevy Trucks, JC Whitney, Truckin' Magazine, Sport Truck Magazine, AIM Industries, Mini Truckin' Magazine, Vortec Engines, Rhino Linings, Vortex Bed Liners, Dealer's Sport Truck, Advanced Flow Engineering, KAIK, Magna Charger, Sylin' Concepts, Gibson Exhaust, Alfa Otto, Rolling Big Power, Fremont Street Experience, Lady Luck, Euro Entertainment, Truckin's SUV Magazine, Off Road Magazine, Custom Classic Trucks Magazine, ATS, Street Scene, Tucker's Classic Truck Parts, Volant, Pro Car Parts, Makatoauto Trends, Smeding Performance and Van Demon Designs.
Make your plans now to attend The 2005 State 2 State Cruise and Las Vegas Nationals!