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The 15th annual
Hot Rod Magazine
Power Tour was held from 6/6 - 6/13, 2009 and traveled through
Madison WI, Racine WI, South Bend IN, Mt Clemens MI, Dayton OH, Somerset
KY, and Bristol TN. 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 for the 2009 Power Tour. |
The 2009 Hot Rod Power
Tour was the second Power Tour that I've done, and it was even better
than the first. The Atom was driven
through seven states for a round trip of 2327 miles. Some things I'll remember
for a long time from this year's event:
* The press in attendance seem
to like vehicles that are rare or different, and the Atom fits into this
category well. Jeff and I were both the subject of interviews and
video footage throughout the week. Some of the interviews & coverage that took
place:
* Woohoo! I made
it into Hot Rod Magazine! Scans from the October 2009 issue of Hot
Rod Magazine can be viewed
HERE (at bottom).
* RideTech interviewed
Jeff with the Atom in Madison, WI along with filming one of my runs on the
autocross course. You can see RideTech's video
HERE.
*
Hot
Rod Magazine in South Bend, IN. Spent about 45 minutes with
videographer Jeff which resulted in
a nice video on the HotRod.com website.
* A local newspaper in Toledo, OH (Toledo Today?)
* Local chamber of commerce in Somerset, KY.
* CarsOnline.com.
* Cherry Bomb interview discussing the Atom's custom exhaust
fabrication.
* Dave & Amy from
ARS Promotions were filming video
for a Power Tour DVD they were putting together. Here s a picture of
Dave
filming video from the Atom's passenger seat as I lapped Bristol Motor
Speedway. They ended up including several video clips of me & the Atom
on the DVD and you can see them here:
Cherry Bomb's Matt Graves talking about my exhaust,
Interview while unpacking the car in the rain,
View of Bristol Speedway from the passenger seat.
* I now know the true definition
of the word vacation. When you don't know what day it is, don't
know what state you're in, and have
no cell phone service - THAT's a real vacation.
* Being reluctant to enter the
RideTech autocross in Madison due to the long lines and rain showers,
but eventually participating. I thought I did alright, and later found
out from Bret at Air Ride Technologies that I earned a first place finish
with
a nice trophy and serious gift certificates from
Air Ride and
Painless Performance.
Thanks a lot guys!
* After 5 minutes of conversing with another Tour participant in Madison in
our hotel lounge, Jeff was offered the keys to a Corvette Z06 in exchange
for his spot in the passenger seat of the Atom. Oh man, how can you
pass THAT up?
* Hearing the really cool story of the Plymouth Fury Wagon that is the
nunrunner.
* Eating at McDonalds in Racine WI during a Cruise-In where a local
photographer took a few shots of my car. When I arrived home, I was
greeted by
THIS in my e-mail inbox. Wow.
* All the
spectators and fans along the way. They waved, yelled, offered
food & beverages, and displayed signs to make us feel welcome.
* The road behind the hotel in South Bend, IN being turned into a
burnout exhibition.
* Not having the patience to wait in line for the autograph of
Vic Edelbrock
Jr., and then having him sitting in the table next to us at an Outback
Steakhouse in Bristol, TN.
* Rolling through the main street of a small town and having a man on his
front yard spraying the street with a garden hose. Meanwhile just up
the street, a cop had stopped a Tour participant and was writing him a
ticket (presumably for doing a burnout). With the cop about a hundred
feet away, car after car did a burnout as they rolled through.
* Seeing a number of spectacular views along the way:
#1,
#2,
#3.
*
Lapping Bristol Motor Speedway at speed.
* The owner that didn't have time to get the car painted before the event.
It's nothing
a handful of markers can't fix.
* 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.
--> Click
HERE to
be taken to my photo & video gallery.
Links to others with photos/videos from Power Tour 2009:
Mothers Car Care Products.
Forrest's daily writeup is outstanding - you absolutely must read it.
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