I am delighted, ecstatic and overjoyed to announce that I will be taking part in this years Hot Rod Power Tour! This event combines long term ambitions of mine to attend a major hot rod event in the US and plan a road trip accross some of the States that I have not visited.
I will be working with the guys over at Pistonheads to bring you a daily report from the tour (along with plenty of photos of course) and thanks to the team at Family Events and Hot Rod Magazine I hope to interview some of the movers and shakers in the Hot Rod world who participate . Unfortunately I won't be able to ship over my '67 Camaro from the UK for the event but I'm hoping to have something special organised on the car front, watch this space.
Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour® Gears Up for 15th Anniversary Tour.
The pages of Hot Rod Magazine will come to life as thousands of hot rods & performance vehicles hit the road on a historic 7-city, 8-day journey, that kicks off in Madison, WI Saturday, June 6th 2009. (MADISON, WI)
The 2009 Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour® presented by GM Performance Division, widely considered to be the finest high-end automotive tour in the world, will kickoff from the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, WI Saturday, June 6th. This signature event of Hot Rod Magazine is the ultimate hot rodding adventure, traveling over 4,500 hot rods & performance vehicles on a 1,200 mile journey. This year’s event will roll through the Midwest and Central States and end in the Appalachian region of Tennessee. Once the Tour launches from Madison, Wisconsin at the Alliant Energy Center on Saturday, June 6th , the cruise will continue on a 7-city, 8-day journey through the heartland of America on the way to a final destination at the “Holy Grail of Motorsports”, Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee on Friday June 12th.
The Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour brings the automotive enthusiast and the automotive aftermarket together to celebrate their combined passion of all things automotive. Event organizers anticipate over 4,500 vehicles and well over 65,000 spectators to participate in this 15th Anniversary Tour despite tough economic conditions and the obstacles facing the automotive industry today.
When these high-end performance vehicles kickoff the event in Madison on June 6th, they will focus a nationwide buzz in the automotive aftermarket world will focus on this legendary Tour. The enthusiastic drivers and travel companions making the tour will make a significant impact on the local economies when they roll into each city along the way. Power Tour embodies everything that Hot Rod Magazine has represented for over 60 years. Event participants & spectators can plan to see not only the nation’s largest motorized traveling spectacle but also the latest never before seen project vehicles from GM Performance Division, the cover cars of Hot Rod Magazine, and a range of activities at each Tour stop including manufacturer displays, appearances by industry legends like Vic Edelbrock of Edelbrock Performance Products and spectacular give-a-ways. And, being Hot Rod’s signature event, Hot Rod editorial staffers will take thousands of photos and collect the stories of the road for their extensive post-tour coverage in the magazine and on the daily-updated
www.hotrod.com.
While a large number of the participants in the tour make the “long haul” and complete all the stops, others rendezvous with the tour and come along for shorter legs of the journey. At each stopover, local enthusiasts by the thousands come to display their vehicles for the day and take in the Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour experience.
The Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour is a traveling aftermarket fair.
In addition to the enthusiasts making the tour or stopping in for a day, 50 of the world’s premiere automotive and aftermarket parts manufacturers also come along. At each stopover city, these companies set up a huge midway filled with their latest performance parts and specialty service wares.
Participating sponsors include all hosting cities, ANPAC Insurance, Nitto Tire, Peak Antifreeze, Stainless Steel Brakes, Spectre, Air Ride Technologies, Cherry Bomb, Comp Performance Group, Edlebrock, Gold Eagle, Magna Flow, Mothers Polish, MSD Ignitions, Pypes Exhaust, Royal Purple, U-Coat It, Ididit, SEMA, Mobile One and Year One.
Hot Rod Magazine Publisher Jerry Pitt commented, “We expect thousands of automotive enthusiasts from all over the country to come out and see our traveling automotive collection of priceless high-end performance and specialty hot rods. Everyone has a connection with a classic car. So many people share the memory of cruising their hometown main drag or the local drive-in. The Power Tour welcomes everyone with a connection to America’s love affair with the automobile, even the casual enthusiast, as the event is free to all spectators at each stop.”
Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour 2009 itinerary:
Stop #1 Saturday, June 6 Madison, WI Alliant Energy Center
Stop #2 Sunday, June 7 Racine, WI Downtown Lakefront
Stop #3 Monday June 8 South Bend, IN St. Joseph County Fairgrounds
Stop #4 Tuesday, June 9 Warren, MI (Detroit) General Motors Technical Center
Stop #5 Wednesday, June 10 Dayton, OH University of Dayton Arena
Stop #6 Thursday, June 11 Somerset, KY Center for Rural Development
Stop#7 Friday, June 12 Bristol, TN Bristol Motor Speedway
Those participants who achieve “long-hauler” status by completing all seven stops on the tour will remain in Bristol for an extra morning filled with special awards ceremonies, photos, and festivities on Saturday, June 13th.