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Rosemont, Illinois, March 6, 2011 – A spectacular 1956 Chrysler 300B named “Passion” and owned by Nancy and Roger Ritzow of Franklin, Wisconsin captured the prestigious Legend Cup presented by CleanTools, Makers of the Absorber, at the 49th annual Chicago World of Wheels show. During the awards ceremony at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL, the Ritzows were presented with the Legend Cup trophy and a check from Absorber for $5,000. Built by noted custom car builder Troy Trepanier over a period of 16 months, the winning entry also holds the unique distinction of turning laps at famed Road America, where it hit speeds exceeding 140 mph.
“It is absolutely awesome to win the Legend Cup,” said Mr. Ritzow. “We knew how good the car is, but to come here and win with the competition that was in this show is truly amazing to me, and I truly appreciate being awarded this honor.
“I’d like to thank Troy and the whole crew at Rad Rides by Troy, including Moose (Trepanier team member Brian Ferguson) who is the car’s custodian, taking it everywhere we need it to be. They went the extra mile to make sure everything was taken care of, and their efforts obviously paid off.”
Celebrating its fifth year in 2011, the Legend Cup is open to any hot rod or custom vehicle never previously shown in the Chicagoland area. Although the actual competition did not start until Friday, the seven-member World of Wheels Advisory Board started their work during set-up day on Thursday, walking through the show conducting preliminary evaluations of every possible entry among the over 700 cars on display.
Through numerous meetings and deliberations, the board reduced the field to twenty vehicles on Friday, with the Select Six named on Saturday. After a final review, which included a one-on-one interview with each vehicle’s representative, the winner was chosen based on its style, quality and craftsmanship.
“The level of competition for the Legend Cup has increased exponentially every year,” said Pete Toundas, President of Championship Auto Shows. “Every vehicle in this year’s Select Six showed a tremendous amount of creativity as well as workmanship of the highest caliber with an outstanding vehicle and competitor being named the winner. It was a great ending to a wonderful show.”
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