Southern Showdown

Regional radicals converge on Louisville, Kentucky, for a wild weekend of car show craziness.

By Saul Vargas

The two-day Southern Showdown II car show went off without a hitch at the Bullit County Fairgrounds in Louisville, Kentucky, last year. In fact, with more than 600 cars on display, the Fairgrounds served as a haven for area lowriders. The outdoor event was hosted by local automotive shop Cool Cars of Louisville. Other sponsors signing on included CCE Hydraulics, Street Gear, Lo Gear, Fleches Motor Sports, Nitto Tires and U&M Productions.

A few scattered showers that weekend couldn't keep DJ Trouble off of the turntables as he mixed beats throughout the day to serenade the crowd. Among those singing a happy tune were Scott Hoelscher, who won the Lowrider Editor's Choice award for his '61 Chevy Impala. In the Euro category, Chad Phillips' '95 Honda Accord was the top player.

There were 40 entries who came out to strut their moves on Saturday at the CCE Hydraulics-sponsored hop. It was only natural for CCE to have a few exhibition vehicles on hand, and that was the case as the Pennzoil Buick Regal busted a few moves. The crowd also witnessed the debut of the new and improved "El Sancho" car dancer, which displayed some violent antics. When it came time to hop, CCE's Mazda and "Gold Digger" were ready to take care of business.

In the Single-Pump class, Darin Johnson of Chicago, Illinois, dominated with his '61 Impala. The Luxury class had a few contestants, but in the end, local Brent Greer spanked the competition with his '80 Chevy Monte Carlo. Double-pumper Pando was nailing the back bumper with his '63 Impala. In the Truck Hop, Chicago's Victor Cabral took home the First Place trophy with his '89 Mazda. The Street Car and Truck Dance classes were combined and Greg Patlovich won First Place with his '88 Mazda. The Radical competition proved even more interesting with Jay Marchese rolling his '88 Mazda truck and winning the top spot.

There was lots more to see and do during the two-day event, with plenty of vendors on hand who were more than happy to discuss their wares. The dazzling Dazza played hostess for the show and called the action in the X-rated Ms. Naughty contest, while Bukshot and Haystack performed a live concert. Thanks largely to the efforts of Bryan Gillespie and the Cool Cars crew, the Southern Showdown series has become a big deal show in these parts, and we're already looking forward to this year's Southern Showdown III.