The 14th annual Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour was held from 6/7 - 6/14, 2008 and traveled through Little Rock AR, Springfield MO, Topeka KS, Lincoln NE, Ames IA, Rochester MN, and Madison WI.  I was joined on the Tour by fellow car club member and long-time friend Jeff P. Click HERE to be taken to my photo & video gallery.

The 2008 Hot Rod Power Tour was a blast, and I had the time of my life.  The Atom made the 2400 mile trip through 7 states.  Some things I'll never forget about the event:

* Hot Rod Magazine filmed us in transit on the day of the Tour that it rained.  A few still images can be found HERE.
* The Mopar guys doing burnouts in the hotel parking lot in Ames Iowa that kept yelling at us to join them.
* The father who put his teenage son behind the wheel of his Impala for much of the Tour.  He had a learner's permit and was fulfilling the requirement for his supervised behind-the-wheel time.
* Chris, the Hot Rod Magazine photographer, having his hat go skyward from my passenger seat on the highway.
* Seeing Vic Edelbrock Jr. & Stacey David in Madison Wisconsin, but missing out on AJ from Overhaulin'.  Damn.
* Clarence, that character.  Need I say more?
* The story being relayed of a cop who politely asked a driver if he would do a burnout.
* The mother and daughter who left the rest of the family at home to drive their 60's big block Corvette across the country.
* The gentleman who wasn't finished with his car in time, so he brought along a truck and trailer to help out anyone who broke down along the route.
* The GM Performance rolling garage & the Motor Medics.  They fixed 200+ cars along the way for no charge, and loaned out tools and equipment to anyone who needed it.
* The sponsors who gave away so much great stuff that we had to turn down a lot of it because it wouldn't fit in the car for the ride home.  And the cruise night dinners were outstanding too.
* The guys who traveled 13,000+ miles from South Africa to join the Power Tour.
* The pair of guys sitting in the shade next to the Atom in Ames Iowa who made up answers to people's questions about it and threatened to sell it if we didn't hang around.
* My first run down the dragstrip in the Atom at Heartland Park in Topeka Kansas.
* The story of the guy with a broken-down truck, and the the fellow participant who stopped to help out and just happened to have a spare distributor that fit perfectly and fixed the problem.
* Co-driver Jeff is now an expert on the differences between a LeMans and a Tempest.  Next up: introduction to the 4-barrel Holley double-pumper.  There will be a quiz, so pay attention.
* Adams Chevrolet in Denison Iowa - what a reception, with a cookout and a band.
* Everyone who spends countless hours wrenching & polishing their cars - and then hop in and drive them across the country.  Hard.
* The hard work and dedication of the entire event staff and all the guys & gals at Hot Rod Magazine.  The planning and coordination that went into the event must have been staggering.
* The kind words and wishes from everyone who stopped by to talk to us.
* All the spectators cheering and waving along the way.
 

--> Click HERE to be taken to my photo & video gallery.

Links to others with photos of Power Tour 2008: 

Mothers Car Care Products.  Forrest's daily writeup is outstanding - you absolutely must read it.
Hot Rod Magazine, with daily photos and video.