As the editor of a national magazine, I get to go to a lot of events. I've been all over the country for car and truck shows (and motorcycle events before that)...probably somewhere around 30 of our fabulous states. But this past weekend, I didn't even have to leave my own county. I went to the first, the original, and the granddaddy of them all...the downtown Los Angeles Pep Boys store.
You see, Pep Boys was introducing a new deal at this historic store, the new Speed Shop. What Speed Shop is, is a store within a store. It's an area designed just for hot rodders like you. The Speed Shop has all the cool aftermarket parts (like Banks, Rancho, Edelbrock, Meguiar's, etc.), and a lot of them are out on display. It's cool to see entire exhaust systems plastered on a wall.
The grand opening party was really fun. They had a car show in the parking lot and vendor booths with reps to tell you about their products. And they had free hot dogs. Not that I'd drive to downtown L.A. for free food, but that was pretty cool. We'll have a full story on the event next issue.
So, what's the point of all this? It's fun to go to an event and hang out with other people who like the kinds of things you do. You're into diesel trucks and modifying them to be your own personal chariot-so when you go to a show you will get good ideas, meet people who think like you do, and have a good time.
Some jerk wads, however, tried to have just a bit too much fun recently at the TS Performance Outlaw Drags in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and nearly ruined the entire weekend for everyone. One or more yahoos did endless donuts on the grass of the camping area at the racetrack, and the owners of the track were incensed. They shut the place down and sent everyone home...post haste. That's a terrible thing to happen at an event put on by Dennis and Sheila Perry-two of the most genuine people you will ever meet. But it happened. The spirit of the group of diesel truck enthusiasts, however, wouldn't let it get them down. Everyone just moved on over to the fairgrounds a bit ahead of schedule and waited for the sled pull to commence. In the end, most people understood why it happened and went ahead and had a good time anyway.
I love the feeling you get when you're at a show. You owe it to yourself to make sure you get out to one when you can.