Journal
Entries of Yvonne Black on the Hot Rod Power Tour 2003
We recently took our 1970 Sport
Satellite on the Hot Rod [Magazine] Power Tour 2003. We first
drove to Houston and met up with some of the members of the
Houston Club and caravaned to Nashville with them. Being the
only Mopar on the caravan, we caught quite a lot of good-natured
ribbing from our travelling companions. Sonny Poteet drove a 55
turquoise and white Chevy with a blown 502 power plant and huge
24-inch meats (tires) on the back. It was a beautiful car with
a DVD player inside and a chrome fuel cell in the trunk shaped
like the Chevy emblem. Needless to say, it got quite a lot of
attention. The Branches drove a black and white 55 that they
enjoyed in all its originality. Their son joined us later with
another modified turquoise and white 55 that he had been working
on. We reached Nashville May 29, the day before the cruise was
to start, so we had some time to visit with some other anxious
Hot Rodders. We saw some beautiful cars and met some fine
folks. We also toured the beautiful Opryland Hotel with all its
gardens, rivers and fountains, boat rides and even a small town
inside the hotel. I never saw so much chrome in all
my life and most of it under hoods! Every automobile imaginable
was represented there, and some that defies imagination. There
was a score of beautiful 55,56,57 Chevys ranging from the
original show car look to the wildly modified and customized.
Another Chevy favorite, the Camaro, I think must have been
represented in every year they were made and again in varying
degrees of modification. The Corvette club was out in force.
There were fast Chevys and loud Chevys, Novas, Impalas,
Chevelles, if it was a Chevy, it was probably there. Then there
were the beautiful T-birds, some A-Models with V8, custom
interior and a/c! Don’t forget Mustang Sally and all her
beautiful rides. Then there was the motorcycle that had a ’57
Chevy-looking rearend and a ’59 or so Chevy with a motorcycle
front, huh? And a jet truck, that’s right, you read it right.
I believe it was an S-10 with a modified front resembling a
Studebaker powered by a Bell Helicopter jet engine. The bed was
full of fuel cell and the 6-inch stacks loomed just behind the
cab. Then there was the fifty-somethingish Studebaker truck
rust bucket with the custom leather interior and shiny Corvette
engine under the hood. This was a true project in process.
Priorities, man, comfort and GO-power, then worry about the
looks later!
Friday, May 30, we all got
registered for the Long Haul and began admiring the 2,000 or so
other cars that arrived throughout the day of the official
beginning of the Hot Rod Power Tour 2003. Our registration
packets included basic directions to all the cities and points
of interest we would be enjoying throughout the week. We would
be traveling approximately 230 miles each day. This would allow
extra time for necessary fuel and snack stops as well as
enjoying some of the other points of interest along the way.
One of the rules of the Power Tour is “If Mama’s not happy,
nobody’s happy!” So letting “Mama” enjoy those other (non-car
related) sites might keep the gearhead of the family in the Long
Haul Gang. Besides all the great cars to look at we had
sponsor booths to visit. These sponsors passed out gifts and
signed us up for some great prizes. Chevrolet was one of the
main sponsors of the Power Tour and they had their new line of
concept cars there as well as the new line of cars and trucks
coming out. We were all fed by Insurance Group of North
America. Then Danny signed up for the barstool races. These
Barflys are actually barstools mounted on small go-cart frames.
On the practice run he was thrown off, flat of his back, as the
stool sailed over the hay bale barrier. He got back on and
engaged his vast experience with NASCAR (the many Sunday
afternoon armchair races) to “push” and “draft” and he won the
race! After he recuperated from his race, we enjoyed a great
concert with the Kentucky HeadHunters sponsored by Flowmaster.
Saturday, May 31,
our first tour was to the Desoto Civic Center, Southhaven,
Mississippi, which is a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee. The
drivers’ meeting each morning was held at the local Walmart.
This allowed plenty of parking for so many vehicles. In most
cases, this time became a parade-like atmosphere as locals
gathered to watch and admire. Some locals, however, just wanted
to get their shopping done and get home and we were pleased to
see that the folks on the Power Tour were polite and tried to
accommodate those people. It takes over an hour for over 1000
cars to clear the parking lot and be on their way. This first
hop was mostly Interstate highway travel and went pretty fast.
Many of us were busy taking pictures of each others cars going
down the road and giving each other the thumbs up as we were
passing and admiring the look or sound of their machine. We
arrived at the Desoto Civic Center where the entrance was lined
with hundreds of locals and fellow “tourers” taking pictures,
whoopin’ and hollerin’ and admiring. Shortly after we got our
Mopar parked, a man walked up and said, I have a hood you
need.” These stops are also great opportunities to meet people
with parts you need, or to let others know of parts you have
they may need. Superchips sponsored the event that night.
After we made our rounds to see the many cars that had just
joined the group or came out just for the evening, we were
pretty exhausted. The sun, the heat, well, we decided not to
stay that night for the meal and prize drawings. We went into
Memphis and had some of the best catfish you can imagine.
Although this was only the second day of the Power Tour, we had
been on the road for 7 days and it was time to find a
Laundromat. We decided we might be in the “wrong part of town”
when the attendant had to unlock the door of the “open”
Laundromat to let us in, then lock it behind us. He enjoyed
talking cars with Danny, though and they had a good time while
we got the clothes cleaned. We located our motel and settled in
for some rest.
Sunday, June 1,
Another driver’s meeting at Walmart , another parade with lots
of anticipation for the day. This time we were bound for
Jackson, Mississippi. The route took us through a series of
back roads and small towns. This was probably the best day so
far for us. What fun to go through those small towns where the
streets were lined with townsfolk admiring, commenting, waving
and making the “light ‘em up” hand motion to the muscle
machines. Even some of the police officers were standing out
there waving and yellin’ “light ‘em up”,… and of course… he
did. This day seemed relaxed, just enjoying the people and
fellow enthusiasts. We were not in a hurry to get anywhere and
liked the slower parade-like pace. Now this is “touring”! I
have not mentioned the scenery yet, but the Tennessee hills were
just gorgeous as was the Mississippi Delta. Us dwellers of the
Texas plains and dessert can really appreciate the beauty of the
assortment of tall dense trees of these areas. We entered the
Fairgrounds of Jackson amid scores of camera-clad onlookers.
Lots of locals came out to visit, ask questions, tell their
stories. Danny kept wanting to get back on the Barfly, but I
wanted to finish the tour, not spend the rest of our vacation in
a hospital, so I was “the bad guy”. When we left the
fairgrounds we exited by way of a street that led into the
center of the city. This street was a series of rolling hills
going ever upward. Danny said, “Look, just like Bullet (the
movie). Let’s play Bullett!” I had to give him “the look”. He
drove up the first hill to the first intersection and there was
Mr. Local Policeman just waiting for someone to get frisky. I
was glad Danny had controlled his impulse.
Monday, June 2 Day Four
of the Power Tour started once again at a local Walmart, but
what a great start. The employees there were great. They
provided donuts and coffee to the tour participants and when
they could catch a break would take a quick tour around the lot
to see and comment on the cars. Before we pulled out, a big
group came out and gave us a big cheer, a real pep rally for the
Hot Rod Power Tour. This time we were headed for New Orleans,
Louisiana. Again, we were back to mostly interstate highway
travel. When we got to New Orleans, we took the wrong exit and
toured a good portion
of residentia before finally coming to the largest fairgrounds
we had ever seen. We drove past miles of horse stalls before
coming to our designated area. It was also a horserace track as
well as fairgrounds. This time we parked in a Mopar-designated
area and really enjoyed visiting with others who shared our
interests. There were about 30 other Chrysler-built products.
A nice Hemi-orange ‘70 SuperBee, a 1939 Plymouth Cabriolet, a
yellow winged warrior 69 Plymouth Roadrunner, a ’57 Fury with a
392 Hemi, an awesome Modified Cuda. If it hadn’t started
raining, I’m sure Danny would have dehydrated from drooling over
these beauties. When the liquid sunshine started coming down,
many of the participants decided to take advantage of the offer
from a local parking garage to shelter their rides. We stayed
and visited with other die hards. Danny even crawled under a
SuperBee to check out a noise it was having. My advice to
anyone going to New Orleans: Be sure you have plenty of time,
because you will spend most of it going round and round one way
streets trying to get to places. The downtown area is a maze of
one way streets none of which lead to your hotel or parking
garage. There is very little parking area and it is taken by
the tourists who are there to enjoy the French Quarter, Bourbon
Street and other interests. By the time we finally found our
hotel, my head was pounding and “Mama wasn’t happy!!” We got
our car parked in a large parking garage and I just grabbed a
few things out of the suitcase and left everything else, because
we still had to walk to our hotel. We didn’t dare get the car
back out to find a place to eat, so we walked and found a really
nice little café just a few blocks from the hotel. Southern
hospitality at its finest. It presented just the relaxed
atmosphere we needed after a frustrating evening and the catfish
and oysters were “to die for”. Some of the participants enjoyed
some of the activities New Orleans is famous for, but we just
needed rest and the tapping rain on our window was the perfect
lullaby.
Tuesday, June 3
On Day 5 we never actually found the Walmart where we
were supposed to meet, so we just headed on down the road at a
pace in which we knew we would eventually be overtaken by the
Hot Rod lead team. This team of writers and photographers
would, from time to time, be seen hanging from overpasses or
offroading up an embankment to get just the right pictures for
the magazine and video for Hot Rod TV. Check out their day to
day accounts on
www.hotrod.com.
After our previous days’ adventures, we were glad to see that we
once again would be taking the back roads winding through the
bayou country of Louisiana. It was a pleasant trip for us out
to who-knows-where to a great quarter-mile race track called
No Problem Raceways. The slightly overcast skies provided
the perfect climate for us spectators to enjoy those trial runs
down the track, some for the first time ever. Thunder Racing
provided lunch for us, some great jambalaya with beans and
cornbread. I think a lot of local guys must have been out there,
because there was an assortment of rods out there I had not seen
on the tour. They were beautiful older model cars of various
makes that had been customized, some chopped and lowered, all
with beautiful detail and a lot of work, sweat and blood I’m
sure. There was one boxy little “T” Truck that blew the theory
of aerodynamics to smithereens! It was fast! After several
passes were made down the track, the clouds burst and we all got
back on our way toward Lake Charles. The rain let up and it was
an enjoyable trip snaking through the countryside along the
bayous. One thing that is inevitable on a trip this long with
cars this old is the possibility of breakdowns. The tour
participants were always good to pull over and check on fellow
cruisers when problems forced them to the side of the road.
When we stopped for one, however, he told us the Chevy support
team was on its way. I envisioned a team of grease monkeys
climbing all over his car until they found and corrected the
problem and had him on his way. There were many stories along
the way of local garages, fellow cruisers, and the support team
helping out and getting them going again. That gave me an even
better sense of security for the trip. We did come across one
team of very determined Long Haulers though. A U-haul trailer
held a beautiful black Grand National. A brand new Dodge Ram
Cummins Diesel pulled it. The back window of the Grand National
read, “We came. We broke. We bought a truck!” The Lake
Charles Civic Center was a beautiful place set right on the edge
of the lake with a huge parking lot that was almost filled to
capacity with beautiful machines. Just across the lake was a
huge Harrah’s Casino with a big river boat behind it, a long
picturesque bridge spanned the lake. There were fountains and
playsets for the kids to enjoy. I was tempted to join them in
the fountains. Edelbrock fed us a delicious BBQ dinner with all
the trimmings. The announcements and drawings were moved up
then cut short that evening because of the impending rain with
the possibility of hail. We cleared out as fast as 2,000 plus
cars can clear a parking lot and headed for our respective
motels.
Wednesday, June 4, Day Six
started at the Walmart parking lot where they announced changes
in the route. Since we had enjoyed the back roads so much,
though, we elected to stick with that route, as did several
others. Another beautiful day as part of a very colorful chain
winding its way through paths edged to the sky on each side with
tall pines, magnolias in bloom, mimosa and an assortment of
beautiful trees. Parading through small towns where people came
out to enjoy our cars. We were supposed to meet for lunch at
the Horseshoe Casino, but since we were not really interested in
the Casino, we just enjoyed the slower pace of the back roads
and towns. We arrived at the Red River Raceway north of
Shreveport shortly after noon. This is where we watched and
supported our caravan buddy from Houston, Sonny in the blown
’55. His best run was ll.9. He was disappointed, but
considering the street tires and conditions, we thought it was
good. We were also very impressed with the wheel-standing
Cruiser. This powerful defyer of gravity started out as a PT
Cruiser. It has sprawling cowboy painted on its hood. As you
go to the back, it looks more like a small pickup-type bed with
a small block Chrysler engine in the back facing the rear.
Chrysler developed this special engine for NASCAR. The 3-4 inch
header pipes were equipped with fuel injectors to put on quite a
show. I was sure impressed! After shooting flames way out each
side, it lined up and shot out, raised up immediately and stayed
on it’s tail with its nose in the air the entire quarter mile.
What a sight! Rain once again sent everyone scrambling and
stopped the races for a while. At the drawing that evening we
sat on hay bales while we anxiously waited for our name to be
called. Nope, nothing tonight except a good lesson. Don’t sit
on haybales after a rain. When you stand up, you’ll be soaked
to the bone! After excellent meal at Outback Steakhouse we
located our motel and settled in.
June 5,
Day 7, A day of mixed emotions as we began to realize we
were nearing the end of our tour and were heading back to Good
Ole Texas. Our target today was The Ball Park at Arlington.
Once again we were driving Interstate and having to deal with
rain. The heavier traffic near the Metroplex and the rain
caused concern among our ranks. We reached The Ballpark parking
lot early and since it was raining and none of the sponsors were
setting up yet, we decided to take our meal at the Front Row
Grill. This special version of TGI Friday’s is located behind
the upper home run porch in right field in The Ballpark. Wow,
what a view! Great place to dine. More participants began to
arrive and we began hearing stories of long delays due to
accidents on I-20. We were glad we got here early. As the sky
began to clear, the parking lot began to fill. We heard
disturbing news of fellow participants who had been involved in
accidents. Especially disturbing was a tale of a man who drove
his corvette on the tour who had totaled it and was in bad shape
himself. We later found out at the show and drawing that he was
okay in a local hospital and that the car could be fixed. We
were all glad to hear that. Once again, we enjoyed the cars,
the people, the atmosphere of a huge car show. We had made some
good friends on the tour and lost touch with some who had to
drop out due to mechanical problems. There was one long hauler
that drove his Dodge Dart version of an El Camino. It had the
steering wheel on the wrong side because he had come all
the way from Australia. Talk about being a Long Hauler!
That evening, we feasted on good old Texas beef barbecue brisket
and all the trimmings. (When you have BBQ in Tennessee,
Mississippi and parts of Louisiana, it’s pork, and sometimes
it’s very dry pork.) Painless Performance Products sponsored
this feast. We were entertained by a great Bellemy Brothers
concert. They did some great songs and the audience liked them
so much and responded so well that the group did two or three
encores for them. Because some of our previous giveaway
drawings were cut short or drowned out completely, the sponsors
had extra things to give away that night and there was a lot of
excitement. Part of that excitement was the anticipation of
winning the Hot Rod Magazine Project PowerDriver 1967 Chevelle.
(You’ve gotta check this beauty out on
www.hotrod.com) GM
Performance Parts drawing for a 350 HO Deluxe Crate engine
caused some excitement, too. It ended up being a great day
after starting out so…well…wet.
Friday, June 6 The Long
Haulers Award Ceremony got off to a
slow start. They were stalling for time while the photographers
prepared to take the group picture and it got painfully boring
and long. We finally all got together for the pictures and each
were presented with our Long Hauler’s Award which was a very
nice plaque with a place for a photo of our car. All the
sponsors were presented, thanked, and then the big moment. (Drumroll,
please)
Grand-prize winner (customized 1967
Chevrolet Chevelle): Dick Holdren of Filley, NE
First-prize winner (GM
Performance Parts 350 HO Deluxe engine): Nancy Wilder of Sulphur,
LA
Long Hauler first-prize winner (GM
Performance Parts 350 HO Deluxe engine): Steven Zimmer of
Victoria, TX
The rest of us gathered our things.
Handshakes, pats on the back and address exchanges for newfound
friends. A few more waves to the cameras lining the exit street
and it was over. Then we were off to Oklahoma to see our
granddaughter.
What a great trip! We hope by
letting you know how much fun we had, that some of you will be
anxious to join us next year. We hope that we can have a large
group caravan to Ft. Worth next year to begin the 2004 Hot Rod
Power Tour!
Danny & Yvonne Black
Mission, Texas
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