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Car Show: Chuck Shotwell Weekend Report 09-22-23-2012

Chuck Shotwell Weekend Report 09-22-23-2012

Stafford, VA
Friday, September 21, 2012
Photos by: Charles Shotwell

Friday evening Dan & Ramona and the Princess & I cruised 51 miles to Colonial Beach, VA and the bi-monthly cruise at Fat Freda’s restaurant.  Dan & Ramona’s ’55 is in the car hospital getting fixed from the deer hit so they drove their new red bullet Chrysler Town & Country minivan.  When we arrived there were 8 hot rods parked so we said Hi and went inside for dinner.  As usual the food was great….especially the shrimp.  The Princess said they were the best shrimp she has had in a long while….so I guess she is now a shrimp expert too.  That would make her the Shrimp Princess….?  I think I’m going to leave that alone.  The service was fun and the prices were fair….try it when you are in Colonial Beach sometime.  When we returned to the cruise lot everyone but one other truck was gone!  The lot was being taken over by daily drivers?  Maybe it’s too late in the season to sit in chairs outside….maybe not?  So we cruised 51 uneventful miles back home….  But….since we were going to be within 200 miles of Carl’s Ice Cream the Princess said we MUST go to Carl’s….with that over the glasses, through the teeth command that cannot be ignored….so we visited Carl’s!

Saturday we met Fred & Debie at Bob Evans in Stafford, VA for breakfast.  After we provided the customary old people abuse to the waitress we left Stafford at 8AM and cruised 68 miles to a little south of Culpeper, VA and the Chrysler of Culpeper Dodge dealership.  We had decided to attend the third annual Mopar Madness show (Page 1) that Wade Schick’s dealership was hosting.  Tony V. and the Rappahannock Region Mopar Club was managing the show for Wade and since we had heard good things about the event in the past we decided to check it out.  I have to tell you that that I was beginning to think maybe I should drive something other than our Chebby to a Mopar only deal….visions of little Pentstar and blue Mopar emblems stuck all over our truck was giving me second thoughts.  I knew if the parking staff directed us to the back of the dealership, next to the dumpsters, we were going to be in trouble!  But since we had a few friends in the club and since we are really a Mopar friendly family (we have owned a ’72 GTX RR, ’73 Dodge PU, ’34 Nash 4dr Sedan and a ’70 Gremlin, ’94 Jeep CJ) we decided to chance it….kinda like the reverse “occupy” scenario….we would be the 1% and the Mopars would be the 99%....scary!

My apprehension was soon proved unfounded….we were parked behind the owner of the dealership’s cars!  WOW!  We were welcomed and after we paid to support the charities I put a “Press” card in the windshield and all was OK….  I wonder if we would have received the same warm welcome at an all Ford event….?  Hmmmmm?  It is neat that “Mopar” also includes the AMC & Willys nameplate as I think that adds to the rich heritage of the Mopar history.

The event had much to see and do in addition to checking out all the cool Mopar cars.  Bruster’s Ice Cream, Snowie shaved ice and Maria’s Digital Photique provided something else to investigate.  The JROTC provided the Color Guard and roamed the premises talking about what they do in JROTC.  There was also a contingent of soap box racers that was very impressive, check out the zebra painted one!  The commitment of these young people and their parents is refreshing in today’s often too busy lifestyle.  One of the charities, Hospice of the Rapidan, had a table set up and answered questions about their contributions to the community.  The other charity was The U. S. Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment.  The club had many T-Shirts for sale and the door prizes were the best I have seen at many a car show!  The goodie bag was complete and enclosed in a neat fabric, reusable little tote bag….with a Dodge nameplate on it, that is NOT going to end up in a trash can!  Gary provided the music and announcements.  His play list was great and easy to listen to.  His announcements and trivia questions were worked in nicely….I think he has done that before, hehehe!  The registration people from the club made that part of the event painless and quick….except for that old, almost retired guy….grin!  Tony and a friend collected money for the charity for the time they would wear the Bruster’s “Scoops” costume….I don’t think you could pay me enough to do that….hehehehehe!

The competitor’s field was varied and heavily represented in the post mid 60’s group.  The early years were not present in equal numbers.  Fred & Debie’s ’57 was one of the few early cars.  There were a lot of 60’s & 70’s Dodge & Plymouth examples as well as the “new” cars….but early 60’s and before were not well represented.  I have seen many examples of vehicles of that time frame around our area but they stayed away?  I hope that changes in the future or else this will be a “late” model Mopar event instead of a Mopar event.  That said I did like the new cars and especially the blue over silver SRT Challenger with the chrome and blue chrome wheels….THAT one can park in my garage anytime!  I also liked the red ’67 Barracuda with the slant 6 engine….so many V-8’s, the 6 cyl is a welcome choice.  The green ’67 Duster with a ring gear that must have been as big as his tires was nice too….I think it idled at 28,000 rpm….too radical for me….did I say that?  I think my favorite was Mr. Major’s yellow Charger R/T….I have always liked that car.

The weatherguessers said we were to receive severe weather to include hail in the late afternoon….  About 2PM the clouds started rolling around us, some were very dark!  So the award ceremony was begun a little early so we could escape the oncoming deluge.  One of the neat things about this event is the participation of the dealership owner, Wade.  He was involved all day, mingling in the crowd and taking part in of some of the closing ceremony.  I have attended many dealership hosted events and seldom ever see the owner much less have him so accessible to the attendees.  That level of hands on support is truly rare….Thanks Mr. Schick!

One of the things I try to do is take a video of the participant vehicles as they leave an event.  This event would be perfect….there was only one way out, they would have to get into the loud pedal a little to merge on the relentless traffic on Rt. 29 so I would be able to video them under power a little.  But when I positioned myself I noticed the crown of the road….if anyone got out of shape they would be on a trajectory right where I was standing!  So….I hid behind the dealership sign….and….since I was hidden some of the drivers might not try to “show boat” for the camera….a good plan me thinks.  As it turned out all the participants were mature enough not to embarrass themselves and I got a few good clips of their leaving….nice.   A great end to a very enjoyable day mingling with Mopar people!  Fun….ever heard of it?

As we started to leave Debie and the Princess started whining about food, the Princess said she wanted a hamburger….so….our little group decided to visit the Bull Run Street Rods cruise at the BK in Manassas, VA….(Page 2) since it was on the way?  And now the weatherguessers were saying the storm would go north of us….and we believed them like we always do….because they are always right….right? 

We cruised in to BK and the lot was only about ¼ full!  This place is always jumping on Saturday but today not so much?  It must have been the weatherguessers again, scaring people away from doing what they really want to do by making them believe they would have more fun sitting inside their homes looking through the newest Jeggs or Summit catalogs while it rained outside….hmmm.  So….no rain here!

Dennis & Paul along with some of the other “regulars” were there and the sinister black/white ’54 Chevy car came in.  That car is really cool.  There was a gaggle of little “pulling tractors”.  I never knew they existed!  More about that in the future.  There were a few more cars that rolled in but we decided to call it a day….the Princess and I forgot to apply sunscreen and both looked like ripe tomatoes!  So we cruised 32 miles back home….I love this hobby!

Sunday we left Stafford and cruised 31 miles to Alexandria, VA and the Hayfield HS show (Page 3).   We attended the first one a few years ago but have been unable to join them since then because of scheduling complications.  But this year we have been looking forward to being there to help the HS Auto Shop raise funds for their project car.  They are putting together a kit car and have it rolling now.

The event is in a shopping mall parking lot but still is a nice venue.  One of the benefits having it there is that spectators come through the field of cars and ask questions.  The Princess and I like that kind of thing….we usually prefer to interact with spectators than talk in cliques away from spectators.  John T. is the teacher from the school that organizes the event and with the assistance of his band of students and Steve from PWC the event runs very well.  The door prizes at this event are a welcome change from the bundle of shop rags….they give out gasoline cards.  And they have “Special” door prizes for the ladies, a gift card for 8 one hour sessions at a local ladies fitness center.  The Princess won a door prize….she always hoots and hollers and shows everyone within 28 miles of her whenever she wins anything.  But when she got back to the truck with her “prize” she wasn’t very cheery?  She got one of the “special” fitness prizes!  Now the Princess thinks that her fitness program consists of keeping me on the straight and narrow by constantly informing me of the error of my ways.  She gets that bus driver scowl and pointy finger going real good!  She said that it was very inconsiderate giving HER something about fitness!  Luckily John T. was walking nearby and overheard the whining.  He quickly stepped in and told her he would fix that….he took her fitness gift card and returned with a Shell gift card for $25.  Whew…. thanks John…..that could have turned ugly!  Chuckle

The car entries are varied from a couple stock Model A’s to very new Mustangs.  I liked the white ’53 Corvette with the stock 6 cyl engine!  When I compare Big A’s blue Vette to the white ’53, the evolution of the mark is just amazing!  I messed up with my camera and didn’t get a clean picture of the best of show vehicle.  I usually don’t care which vehicle is chosen for best of show but this time it was a vehicle I would have picked….the black 40 something Dodge farm truck is just perfect.  I have photographed it before and will dig up another photograph to put with this set of pictures. 

We had a great day interacting with spectators and friends but it was time to make the trip home.  We cruised back home and after we put the truck away we started getting calls from friends that wanted to go out and eat dinner.  I won’t go into too much detail….but….we may not be allowed to return to the Chili’s in Stafford. grin
 


 

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