Triple-digit temps, hot ladies, and even hotter trucks made La Paz County Park in Parker, Arizona, the place to be over the weekend of September 23-25. West Coast Nats was in town, and that meant good times, plenty of hydration, and of course, river fun that brought back the feel of a classic river run. After a short, four-hour drive, we arrived Friday afternoon to a park full of minis, fullsize, and custom classic trucks of all makes and models. Hosted by Sunset car club, security kept everyone in check, and if a hotel room wasn't your cup of tea, a tent was all you needed to camp out next to your truck. As a bonus, Saturday saw the Sunset team open up the grass infield for the show trucks, and you could peruse the aisles all day with every custom color under the Arizona sun on display. For more information about next year's show, which will be even better with the help of a new bar/restaurant set to open up called The Pirate's Den, go to www.wcnevents.com.

Toyo Tires was proud to present Sittin Pretti’s Summer Slam on August 20 at the Arlington Airport in Washington. The best trucks from the Northwest converged for what has become a late summer tradition in the Seattle area. Great weather, along with great sponsors made for a one-day custom truck gathering that no one will forget any time soon. Thanks to the vast expanse of the airport’s layout, the show provided row after row of minis, fullsizes, and classics. Custom-made trophies were presented to the deserving owners, and several vendors were on hand to answer questions and sell parts. Go to www.sittinpretti.com for info on next year’s show.

January

January 28
Drag for Diabetes
Pearland, Texas
www.dragfordiabetes.com

Sparking interest all over the country, we're bringing our Throwdown performance truck shootout to one of the hottest areas for go-fast trucks—Houston. Known for their extreme dragstrip pickups, we're going to challenge Texas' fastest trucks to do more than just go fast in a straight line. Held at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas, on Saturday, April 7, we're going to have a 600-foot slalom, speed stop challenge, autocross course, and thanks to www.houstonperformancetrucks.com, we're going to have a quarter-mile shootout as part of our competition. Making the day a complete custom truck experience, we're bringing back the Havoc truck show to the parking lot of Royal Purple Raceway. Imagine a ‘bagged truck shining in the Texas sunshine parked next to a fully caged 1,000hp race truck—sounds like a good time to us. It will be a day filled with custom trophies for the deserving winners, Top 50 trophies, a bikini contest, burnout contest, and the ability to see our Throwdown performance truck shootout up close and personal. We'll also continue our west coast Throwdown in Southern California in May and head to the East Coast for Holley's LS Fest in September. For more information and to register for the event, check out www.truckinweb.com or email Maxwell.matthewson@sorc.com.

This year’s Scrapin’ the Coast is now in the books, but we can’t stop thinking back on the great weekend we had at the show. Held annually at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center, the show drew crowds from all around as well as show trucks from as far as Miami, Florida, and beyond. This year the show fell on the weekend of June 24, 25, and 26 and was met with great weather and good times. Scrapin’ is known for their surfboard awards, and this year was no different, except for the Best of Show Car and Best of Show Truck. These were all metal, 3½-foot-tall tikis made by Robbie Azevedo at Pacific Coast Customs. The rest of the Best Of trophies were custom-painted skim boards and the First, Second, and Third Place club trophies were full-fledged custom-painted surfboards.

The 63rd Grand National Roadster Show is in the books. Being my first GNRS, I returned from the show awestruck. The quality of the vehicles at the show far surpasses any show I have been to. Held the weekend of January 27-29, the GNRS is one of the oldest and longest running car shows in the world. The theme was futuristic, which seemed fitting because the cars and trucks were out of this world. The show was put on with the help of O’Reilly Auto Parts, Meguiar’s, Peterson Automotive Museum, and Galpin Auto Sports among others. Just like it has been for the past nine straight years, the show was held at Fairplex in Pomona, California, and drew in thousands of spectators trying to get a glimpse of the hundreds of premier customs. Along with the beautiful rides, there were vendors on hand selling everything from vintage metal signs to hot-rod inspired art. Food vendors made sure that all the spectators had full stomachs and live classic rock bands kept the atmosphere nostalgic all weekend. If you didn’t get a chance to go this year, definitely try to make it next year. To see the winners of the 2012 Grand National Roadster Show, visit rodshows.com.

At this year’s Texas Heatwave show in Austin, Texas, the temps were in the triple digits, the sun was shining brightly, and the sound of screeching tires could be heard from the north side of the parking lot. Those tires screaming for help were part of the first-ever Truckin’ Autocross Challenge that we, in conjunction with the Heatwave staff, provided for performance-minded enthusiasts. Like us, these guys were tired of sitting under an EZ-Up and getting drunk in the heat. To remedy the same old thing at a truck show, they fired up their trucks and cars and whipped around our autocross course. Everyone had a great time, especially the new drivers who had never driven around a coned course before. One truck owner hopped out of his truck and said, “Forget building trucks to drag and tear stuff up, this going fast and actually driving is where it’s at.” We agree with that sentiment and honestly, we were surprised how many “fast” trucks said they would come out and race, but then wussed out because of worrying about getting a nick in their paint or scratching a wheel. Come on, get out there and drive your pride and joy.

One of the most prestigious shows of the year was the 11th Annual Goodguys Rod & Custom gathering held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, in Del Mar, California. Del Mar is nestled up against the sandy beaches of the blue Pacific. Del Mar’s picturesque fairgrounds feature breathtaking colorful gardens, well manicured landscaping, and Spanish Mission-style architecture. The Goodguys Del Mar three-day extravaganza treated thousands of spectators and participants to an incredible gathering of more than 2,000 custom cars and trucks thru ’72. Hundreds of mild to wild custom trucks were on display for all to admire.

The 7th Annual Turkey Drag car and truck show is in the books. Being one of the last truck shows of the season, this year’s show was held on December 3-4, 2011. The weather on Saturday was windy but the high was around 70. Sunday was a bit less inviting with the high being in the 50’s and rain falling lightly throughout the day. The rain made things muddy at the Sky Vue Theater, where the show was held, but only a couple trucks got stuck and in Texas, they love the mud. Two years ago, attendees were greeted with snow, so a little rain was a much better sight. The show was as big as ever with over 400 trucks in attendance.

This year’s Turkey Drag was also one of United States Autosound Competition International’s (USACI) double points competitions. The USACI guys kept the environment loud and energized. Food and merchandise vendors were on hand making sure that everyone in attendance had full bellies and empty wallets.

Down to Earth Day in Visalia, California, proved yet again that the custom truck scene is alive and well in California’s Central Valley. Cutler Park was filled with an assortment of fullsize and mini trucks, as well as cars and even bikes. The event was held in an ideal location for spectators and truck owners alike, with ample room for parking, food vendors, and plenty of shade under the many trees in the park. Airbagit.com and several other companies sponsored this year’s show. Spectators got a chance to see an airbag install on a truck, participate in a tug of war contest, eat from one of the several vendors, and even try to dunk Airbagit owner, Joe Morrow, in the dunk tank.

Sam Houston Raceway Park was the venue for Houston’s hottest show (literally) during the weekend of June 17-19. More than 700 custom trucks rolled into Houston and took residence as they enjoyed a bikini contest, burnout contest, rap concert, and triple digit temps. With great vendors like Rimco, NOS energy drink, Memphis Audio, Intro Wheels, Ekstensive Metalworks, Kustom Werx, and Extreme Off Road, there was no shortage of quality parts and shops onsite to transform your ride. Congrats go out to Alamo Customs for taking home Best of Show with their gorgeous ’51 Ford F-1 (see the full feature later this year). Other winners included Austin O’Krinsky who took home Best of Show 4x4 and Anthony Baird who won Best of Show fullsize truck. For more information on next year’s Showdown event, check out www.heatwaveshow.com.

The second annual Canidae California Classic presented by Master Craft Safety, held on Saturday November 26th, proved that racing in Southern California goes late into the year. The weather was 80 degrees in the day and 60 degrees when the sun went down.

For the first time ever the King Taco Super Trucks had a 75-lap race. We were on hand to catch some of the action-packed racing.

At the end of the race, the 2010 Champion, Ryan Partridge, was in the lead with Matt Kimball behind him in second. Coming in third place was the 2009 Super Truck Champ, Rod Johnson Jr. A good friend of Truckin’ Magazine, Ryan Pobanz, raced in the King Taco Super Trucks race for the first time and came in 15th overall. His fastest time and speed being 20.8 seconds and 86.5 mph. Not bad for a rookie.

Luckily there were no yellow flags and all but four trucks finished the race. For more information about next season’s races go to toyotaspeedwayatirwindale.com.

Thanksgiving is a time of reflection for the blessings you have, and one of the biggest blessings of living in Southern California is the amazing weather. Held over the weekend of November 25-27, the 1st Good Guys Fall Del Mar Nationals was a huge success thanks to 75-degree temps, bright-blue skies, and glorious sunshine pouring down on more than a 1,000 pre-’72 custom cars, trucks, rods, and surf-ready woodies. With an autocross course ready for go-fast enthusiasts, a swap meet, vendor row, and of course the show cars, it was the place to be over the holiday weekend. For more information, check out good-guys.com.

EVENT: 2011 SEMA Show
DATE: November 1-4, 2011
LOCATION: Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada

We continue with Part 2!

EVENT: 2011 SEMA Show
DATE: November 1-4, 2011
LOCATION: Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada

Showfest 2011 went off without a hitch—that was after the threat of flooding, snakes, alligators, and thunderstorms. Once the show kicked off, it was a blast. Moved from last year’s venue, Sam’s Town, due to the flooding of the Mississippi River, this year’s show was held at Harrah’s in Tunica, Mississippi. The media’s coverage of the flooding scared some showgoers away, but for the most part the turn out was good. There were about 10 vendors on hand from KIK Clothing, Ekstensive Metalworks, and Solo Films, to Drop Em Wear and Kicker. DJ Get Low was on hand providing the beats and Harrah’s provided a tent that sold food and drinks. For more information on Showfest 2012, go to showfest.com.

Triple-digit temps, hot ladies, and even hotter trucks made La Paz County Park, in Parker, Arizona, the place to be over the weekend of September 23-35. West Coast Nats was in town, and that meant good times, plenty of hydration, and of course, river fun that brought back the feel of a classic river run. After a short four-hour drive, we arrived Friday afternoon to a park full of minis, fullsize, and custom classic trucks of all makes and models. Hosted by Sunset car club, security kept everyone in check, and if a hotel room wasn't your cup of tea, a tent was all you needed to camp out next to your truck. As a bonus, Saturday saw the Sunset team open up the grass infield for the show trucks, and you could peruse the aisles all day with every custom color under the Arizona sun on display. For more information about next year's show, which will be even better with the help of a new bar/restaurant set to open up called The Pirate's Den, go to wcnevents.com.

The Inaugural 2011 Viair Show 'n Shine, held Saturday, August 13, at the Viair Corporation headquarters in Irvine, California, was a fun-filled event highlighted by Best-Of awards, exhibitors, music, raffle prizes, food from the West Coast Customs Chronic Taco truck, and a variety of custom vehicles. Exhibitors included Mac's Springs, Slam Specialties, AVS, SIK Fabrication, Drivers Inc., Kinetik Batteries, Air Lift, Air Runner, and more. Truckin' represented fully by having a booth and several magazine projects, including Novakane, on hand all day. Viair even let in trucks that weren't running Viair compressors! All joking aside, this event helped bring the community together to remember Courtney, with an additional bonus being that all proceeds were donated to charity. Two thumbs up!

It was a picture-perfect day at Mooney Grove Park, in Visalia, California, as Dangerous Toyz threw their annual Danger Zone show. This year’s theme was quality over quantity as the overall number of trucks was down, but the unfinished, primered trucks weren’t missed. Classics, late-models and everything in between filled Moody Grove Park on Saturday, April 2, and thanks to several hard-working food vendors, everyone had a great time. Aftermath really outdid themselves, bringing top-quality trucks out in force and even bringing out a trailer-mounted Porta-Potty with matching 22-inch Devious wheels. Yes, you did just read that. Special thanks to the Dangerous Toys’ crew as the show went off without a hitch. CLICK HERE to see more than 200 photos we couldn’t fit here.

Tex Mex was the show we had circled on our calendars months ago and it was with great anticipation we landed in Houston to check out the sixth annual event held in Lake Somerville, Texas. To say the show met our high expectations would be an understatement as the grounds of Welch Park were filled with high-quality custom trucks from Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and even as far as Florida. Fullsizes, classics, SUVs, minis, Tex Mex had something for everyone, which also included a wild night life, the famous Mini Trucker Olympics, and unique Top 100 and Best Of awards. The weather was great, with the exception of high winds on Friday, which blew enough dust and dirt to discourage even the cleanest of clean freaks. Cruising the large show loop was a daily occurrence, food was on site from great vendors such as Freebirds, and if you wanted a T-shirt from your favorite magazine, clothing company, or shop, they were for sale all weekend long. When the awards were handed out on Sunday, there weren’t any real surprises as Tim Donelson’s Color Blind Silverado won Best of Show Truck and Robbie Bryant’s ’09 Ram won Best of Show Paint—both very much deserved. Sponsors for the event included NOS energy drink, Hernan’s Transmission, Raceline Wheels, Mothers, Kinetik, Ekstensive, Status, Little Shop of Horrors, Nfamus, and KIK Clothing. If you couldn’t attend Texas’ best show, be sure to check out truckinweb.com for more than 600 photos (yes, we really mean 600) .

Only in its third year, Slamily Reunion has become one of the hottest shows going, and this year was no different. Even the record-setting heat could not slow this show down, as more than 500 rides came through the gate. To say they were not disappointed is an understatement, as the trucks that showed up were almost as hot as the weather, and with temperatures reaching 113 degrees that's some hot rides to check out. But that's not all there was to do at this great show, as the guys from KEG Media and Aftermath made sure there was plenty to do and see. There was everything from great contests to participate in, a DJ playing music all weekend and so many vendors you would have thought you were at an outdoor mall.

When it was time to hand out all the awards on Sunday, the show promoters called everyone in to some cold air conditioning and started handing out water jet cut Top 125 trophies and some of the most amazing best of awards anyone had ever seen. They also handed out all kinds of goodies such as T-shirts, DVDs, speakers, amps, and even a full air ride set up all from his sponsors such as J. Pauley Toyota, Audio Addiction, Breeden automotive group, Arkansas Customs, Smith Automotive Group, KEG Digital Garage, Keefs Rod & Custom, Self Built Rod and Custom, Hand Made Seat Co., Wilson Auto Body Inc., Kutting Edge Hot Rod Interiors, Fort Smith Taekwondo Academy, Easy Scrape, Ed Williamson, Kustom Pint, Art Buche Designs, ESD, Slam Specialties, Air Zenith, AVS, GC Valves, Guest House inn and Candlewood Suites. Make sure to check out www.slamilyreunion.com for all the information on next year's show.

This past weekend was the Severed in SoCal truck show. After a short hiatus, the show is back with a vengeance. This year’s show was held at the Cucamonga-Guasti Regional Park in Ontario, California. With over 200 rides coming out to brave the 110+ heat, the show was a pretty big success. Along with the title club, other participating clubs included Aftermath, Swift, Nokturnal, Mayhem Click, Xtreme Lowz, No Regrets, Sunset, Relaxed Atmosphere, Negative Camber, and many more. There was a tribute to the late, great Courtney Halowell along with a special “Courtney’s Choice” award which went to Negative Camber’s own Chris Couto. Overall, even though the temperature was extremely high, so was the enthusiasm and I am sure that everyone had a blast.

Just about everybody knows someone who is or has been fighting in the military overseas. What better way to show our thanks for them risking their lives than to send them care packages? That is exactly what Truckin' 4 Troops was for. Entry to the show was free as long as you brought out a grocery bag with stuff to send to our troops overseas. Held August 13, 2011, at Toro Sushi in Ontario, California, the show was a huge success. With approximately 90 vehicles in attendance, there was something there for everyone.

In the last few years, we have seen lots of car and truck shows fall by the wayside, with the sluggish economy getting most of the blame. Pay the entry fee or pay the rent! But we've also seen that truckers will prioritize their hard earned bucks and support the top shows on the circuit. One of the best examples of that success is the Southeast Showdown, now in its eighth year. Run by Jon Fulmer and a few close friends, the event retains its popularity year after year because Jon is an active enthusiast himself and genuinely enjoys the truck scene. Formerly held at the Anderson County Fairgrounds, this year's event saw a new location, the Anderson Motor Speedway just across the line in Williamston, South Carolina. The track is a popular local attraction with six divisions of stock cars pumping out high horsepower, racing thrills every weekend. With a somewhat easier set of rules than the old location, the track should be the perfect site for creative burnouts, Bikini contests, and more.

With the long-running Resolutions show only in our memories, Forbidden Fantasy has picked up the torch of being the first major show of the year. The fact that it’s in Truckin’ magazine’s backyard makes it even better. Filling the Perris Auto Speedway parking lots with entrants and vendors, including local fabricators showing off their latest creations, and food from world-famous Pink’s Hot Dogs, the show was a success yet again.