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.

The Severed in the Southwest show has been getting bigger and bigger every year. This year’s show, held on December 4th, 2011, was spectacular with over 350 vehicles in attendance. The show was held at Castles and Coasters, in Phoenix, Arizona. The weather was sunny but frigid with a high of 55 degrees. But the show kept people coming and going all day. Rockford Fosgate Soundlab van was on hand showing people what 12 15-inch subs sounds like. Pork on a Fork had a booth setup selling warm food to the cold show goers. Other sponsors included Auto Core, Praxair, Universal Technical Institute, and Kinetik. For more information about this or future shows, go to severedties.com.

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.

Courtney Halowell was an avid automotive enthusiast who wrote hundreds of magazine articles over the years and had a knack for simultaneously building friendships along with his finely crafted his trucks. Active in all aspects of the automotive hobby, Courtney’s career included tours with magazines that featured bikes, trucks, rods, and muscle cars. Famous for his unique outlook on life, his enthusiasm was contagious and will be remembered both for his talent and as a great friend with an ever present smile.

Courtney died in July and within three days of his passing, Negative Camber club members Mike Barcia and Chuck Scheer decided that they wanted to do something for Courtney’s family. "Our way was to throw him a truck show," Mike told us. Their goal was to raise money for the family to help with the unexpected bills associated with Courtney’s passing. "Lots of friends have come together to help us, traveling from as far away as Maryland and Pennsylvania. Vendors donated tons of raffle prizes to help us raise money. Quaker Steak and Lube here in Clearwater, Florida gave us the opportunity to use their facility. The "Lube" helped even more by donating 15% of the food proceeds to the family."

Like all cool car shows, the great collection of vehicles gave spectators lots to enjoy throughout the day but the afternoon action began in earnest with the Chicken Wing Eating Contest. The goal was to see how many you could eat in three minutes but "Yankee" finished his plate in half that time! Raffle prizes were next on the agenda and everyone who bought tickets eagerly scanned the huge collection of donated items. From simple T-shirts and caps to elaborate high end stereo speakers, amplifiers, and head units, the gift selection was amazing. Equally unique was the huge collection of one-of-a-kind trophies presented at the award ceremony. Tom Hingle, the legendary force behind Billet and Acrylic Fantasies, created a pair of machined masterpieces for the Best of Show and the Courtney Pick award. The Top 10 trophies, built by Robbie Taylor from Metal Head with graphics by Maximum Audio Video, were beautifully done and incorporated a picture of Courtney. The collection of specialty awards was just as impressive, built by Matt Smith of Rockstar Kustomz and Eric Foelber of Big Dog Customs.

Capturing Best of Show was Scott Farrell and his just completed, Candy Lime Green, 1966 Chevy C-10. It was only his second show and he won Best of Show trophies at both! Receiving the coveted Courtney Halowell Pick was Juan Carlo Ibarra for his collection of three outstanding pickups, a 1948 Dodge Rat Rod, a white 1948 GMC five window, and his Roush-equipped, orange and black F-100. The Club Participation Award went to Freaks of Nature. As a result of the dedication and generosity of everyone involved with the event, a check in the amount of $5,037.00 was sent to the Halowell family.

It takes a lot of talent and dedication to put on a successful show. Special thanks goes to supportive sponsors like Maximum Audio Video in Tampa for their printing, to Brandt Fuqua of Graphic Disorder for the flyers, and to Tommy Warwick and the Low Rollers club for their thoughtful donation. Finally, thanks to all the hard-working members, friends, and family of Negative Camber.

Slamfest, the longest running truck show in Florida barreled into Gainesville, Florida and the Alachua County Fairgrounds could barely hold them in. In spite of rolling thunderstorms during the entire weekend, hundreds of trucks found their way into the show to showcase their latest additions. The famous club games was a good way to get all the local truck clubs involved and was followed by the world famous bikini contest that always seems to get hotter each year. “I want to thank all the supporters over the years and all the hardworking truck enthusiasts,” Promoter Mike Murray tells Truckin’. “Without you we wouldn’t be able to carry on this long tradition of Slamfest.”

We expect Slamfest XXI to be even more entertaining with new games being worked on for next year. For more information log on to www.facebook.com/SLAMFESTNGAINEVILLEFL.

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

Another year and another successful Off-Road Expo presented by Lucas Oil. Held the weekend of October 8-9th, 2011, this year's expo was as big as ever. From rock crawling to desert racing and even camping, if you are into anything off-road the Off-Road Expo was where it was at. Slated to be the biggest and baddest, the 12th annual expo featured motocross stunts by Keith Sayers, Kenny Bell, and others, trophy truck jumping, celebrity appearances, hundreds of vendors, and fun for the whole family.

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!

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.

Show promoter Charlie Cobble is well known for his great events, thanks to almost three decades worth of experience in the car show hobby. After talking to Chevy enthusiasts around the country and teaming up with show sponsor, LMC Trucks, Charlie decided to bring back the All Chevy Supernationals, an event that he originated many years ago. Last year was the inaugural show and this year followed the same format. The Thursday through Saturday get-together saw a return to the new Pigeon Forge Municipal Parking Lot with its spacious display spaces and convenient River Walk immediately adjacent to the show field. Shade trees, a running stream, and picnic tables offered the perfect alternative to the warm Tennessee sun. But the 80-degree temperatures did not slow down the enthusiastic crowd of drivers and spectators who spent the weekend examining the 371 vehicles on display.

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.

It's a fear that all custom wheel owners share-and the threat never goes away. That deep pothole on the way to work, the big uneven concrete ridge on the way in to your apartment complex, the debris that is suddenly upon you on the freeway...all of these things have become dangers, making the world a scary place for big wheels dressed in low-profile tires. Try as you might, there may be a someday in which some unavoidable hazard leaves you with a bent wheel. But how to fight back? As wheels become both frighteningly expensive and hard to come by (as older models get discontinued), buying a new one isn't the answer we want. Enter Wheels America.

Held in Arlington, Washington, Sittin Pretti is one of the largest mini truck shows in the Northwest and features an extensive list of classes for opportunities to drive home happy with a trophy. Great sponsors like Toyo Tires, Les Schwab, MHT, KMC, Viair, Lowrider Depot, Air Zenith, AVS, Kinetik, Grant Kustoms, and Chassis Tech help you realize that this show is doing something right. Every once in a while, photos get lost and we just found these photos from last year's show, which is perfect timing for getting everyone excited for the 2011 show on August 20. For more information, check out sittinpretti.com.

Making a resurgence like the F-100 did in the late ‘90s, the Chevy C10 is becoming a go-to platform for builders of all ages. Seeing the rise in popularity continuing to gather steam, we looked into our files for some of the nation’s finest C10 trucks, and what we came up with was a huge assortment of ’67-’72 Chevys and several very nice ’73-’87 square-body trucks. We couldn’t possibly fit all of them in this issue, but over the next six pages we can provide you with mini-features of deserving trucks that epitomize the world of custom C10s. Whether you like muscle trucks that can handle, classic, hot-rod–styled Chevys, slammed to the pavement C10s, or a Pro-Street with a big-block, we have them all at www.truckinweb.com. Click on our special C10 section and you’ll be able to read and view the full-length feature on each of the trucks pictured on this page. In addition, you’ll find more photos and more in-depth stories for each truck in our C10 section. We hope you enjoy our tribute to the classic Bow Tie, and if you have a truck of any make or model that you feel is deserving of a feature, send your photos to maxwell.matthewson@sorc.com.

On the weekend of July 22-24, 2011, the Travis County Expo Center in Austin, Texas was engulfed by hundreds of custom show vehicles attending the Custom Sounds’ Texas Heat Wave. Spectators and vehicle owners infiltrated the grounds, and a steady stream of golf carts, show trucks with pounding sound systems, and action-hungry enthusiasts explored the show all day long. Some, seeking momentary refuge from the pounding heat, found comfort in the indoor show area, taking advantage of the hydraulic contest followed by an air bag battle between Hellboy and Cyclone II.

Meanwhile, dust, rubber, and debris flew outside as high-horsepower monster trucks crushed cars and brave participants demolished their tires in a burnout contest, all alongside Truckin’ Magazine’s first ever autocross event. Coming head-on with dozens of cones marking the narrow, windy autocross path, drivers were able to show off their driving skills. Egos were both bolstered with fast times, and likewise bruised by bulldozed cones. Project Novakane, Truckin’ Magazine’s screaming 2004 GMC beast and current cover truck, hit the autocross course hard and was on display all weekend. All in all, a heck of a good time was had at Heat Wave this year.

Make sure to keep an eye out future events at www.heatwaveshow.com.

EVENT: 2011 Texas Heat Wave
DATE: July 22-24, 2011
LOCATION: Travis County Expo Center in Austin, Texas
HEATWAVESHOW.COM

It's with great excitement that I announce the partnership between Truckin' and Holley Performance for the 2011 LS Fest, held over the weekend of September 9-11, at Beech Bend Raceway Park, in Bowling Green, Kentucky. For the first time, we're bringing our THROWDOWN performance truck shootout to the East Coast at LS Fest. Competitors will have the chance to race down the quarter-mile, muscle through the 600-foot slalom, slam the brakes in our stop box, compete in an autocross course, and show 'n shine, where the winner will receive a feature in Truckin'.

Any truck, SUV, or van powered by an LS engine is welcome to attend, and competitors can apply for THROWDOWN below, by simply filling out the required information (below) and emailing it to dan.ward@sorc.com. We'll pick the top 10 trucks and send out invitations to the lucky entrants. All THROWDOWN competitors will be required to purchase an All Access Pack through Holley. Pre-registration ends September 6. Come on out and see what your truck is made of at Holley's LS Fest. For more information, visit . holley.com/lsfest

THINK YOUR TRUCK HAS WHAT IT TAKES? APPLY NOW!
COPY, PASTE AND PROVIDE THIS INFORMATION IN AN EMAIL TO DAN.WARD@SORC.COM.
Driver/Owner Name:
City/State:
Truck make/model/year:
Engine mods/power adders:
Suspension mods/chassis:
Wheels/tires:
Brakes:
Paint & body/appearance mods:
Previous race competition (drag race, road course, autocross):

More than 2,000 people drove out to Fletcher, North Carolina, for the 2011 edition of Scrapin’ the Smokies, during the weekend of June 11-12. The 5th annual event saw two large raffle winners take home $3,000 towards a SPECKtacular Kustom Graphics paintjob, a full air-ride suspension thanks to Slam Specialties, Viair, and Stylin Solutions. Also raffled off, lucky winners were awarded an AccuAir VU4 manifold, Kinetik Battery, Suicidedoors.com gift card, and our very own Mini-Truckin’ magazine subscriptions. With perfect weather for a truck show, Brandon Burrell organized a bikini contest sponsored by precisionrides.com, a draggin’ contest, and several different family and mini-trucker style games. Best truck and Best car both took home custom trophies from The Drag Shop and they also had $500 cash in their pockets. All Pepsi proceeds and money from the 50/50 went to support the Erwin Middle School Cheerleaders.

Sponsors included: Precision Rides, Rhino Linings of WNC, Slam Specialties, Stylin Solutions, Garner’s Stereo Center, Burrell Images, Auto Extremes, Top Gun Customz, Grant Kustoms, Kinetik, AccuAir, SPECKtacular Kustom Graphics, Lowrider Depot, Viair, Pepsi Cola, Getbored Designs, The Drag Shop, Dula’s Automotive Alterations, Farm Bureau Agent Wesley Kilby, C&C Chemical, KIK Clothing, Beale and Company, The Tire Station, Redline Performance, C&J Machine and Motorcylce, and Midwest Mayhem.

For more information, you can check out scrapinthesmokies.com or facebook.com/scrapinthesmokies.

This year's Scrapin' the Coast is now in the books. Held annually at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center, the show drew crowds from all around and 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, three and a half 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.