The busy summer show season is upon us once again as the Truckin' staff prepares for another summer of intense sessions behind the lens. Our schedules during these sizzling months of the year are, to say the least, busy. Weekends are spent flying to various states and collecting material to fill the fat pages of Truckin'. With much of our summertime booked with events far away from home, you can imagine how much we enjoy covering events which are not too far from our Southern California dwellings. Covering an event in a fun and exciting city also makes it that much easier to give up those coveted two days of relaxation known as the weekend.
On March 14, we headed to Las Vegas for the Hard Rock Cafe Import Challenge event, hosted by local event promotion company Euro Entertainment. As we entered the Hard Rock Cafe parking lot, we saw the pavement was filled with a wide array of slammed-in-the-weeds mini- and fullsize trucks doing battle for the gold in their respective classes. Euro Entertainment put a lot of thought into the event and had stock, mild, and wild divisions for each class, giving everyone a fair shot at leaving with something. The morning air was filled with the scent of wax and aluminum polish as participants spent some quality time cleaning their rides to snag the attention of the show judges. Throughout the day, representatives from Alumapro and Zapco were on hand, passing out literature on the companies' quality audio products and getting showgoers educated on their new goods. Live entertainment from Big Money Records got the participant and spectator crowd grooving with their off-the-hook beats and smooth rhymes, while a bikini contest brought out a few lovely ladies to compete for a little cash and win over the respective judges. To quell that midday hunger, participants could duck into the Hard Rock Cafe and replenish their energy for the intense show action going on outside.
Toward the end of the day, the show started winding down and it was time for the trophy presentation. In addition to all the normal show classes, Euro Entertainment also honored those with Best Paint, Best Interior, Best Engine, Best Graphics, and Best of Show. The participants who snagged these awards received products from Alumapro and Zapco for their efforts. At the close of the day, Euro Entertainment counted 68 show rides entering the grounds and 4,000 people checking it all out. Major sponsors of the event included Saturn of Sahara, Hard Rock Cafe, and Bacardi. For information on next year's Hard Rock Cafe Import Challenge Show, be sure to contact Brooke Tobias, President of Euro Entertainment, at (702) 326-5751.