Charlotte

Lowriders take North Carolina by storm.

This past spring, much of the East was suffering a serious drought. From New York to the Carolinas, annual rainfall was down by as much as 4 inches. Unfortunately, Mother Nature chose the weekend of the Lowrider Magazine Scrapin' Tour show in Charlotte, North Carolina, to make up for much of her past dry spell. Wind, rain and unseasonably cool temperatures dominated the weekend, but the elements weren't enough to discourage the Carolina lowrider community. They turned out in force, filling the three large buildings at the Charlotte Metrolina Expo Center as well as the outdoor display sites.

As you would expect, most of the crowd and the action occurred indoors but there was plenty of action outdoors as well. Vendors brought a huge selection of the latest accessories and said that the Charlotte show goers were great customers. The vendors were joined by the Lowrider Magazine/Go-Lo Entertainment staffs who shared similar views about the friendly Carolina lowriders whose dedication to the sport brought them together, even under adverse weather conditions, to enjoy each other's company. Of course, big league sponsorship by Gumout, Quaker State, Nitto Tire, Dayton Wire Wheels, ShowTime Hydraulics and Thump Records made it happen.

The Charlotte show, only in its second year, is fast becoming an established event with strong local participation and solid out of town attendance. Car clubs came in from as far away as New York City (Drastic C.C.), Wisconsin (Positive Force), Miami (Rest in Peace) and other distant locations. In addition to the large number of quality cars, the Charlotte Hop had more than two dozen high-flying vehicles that kept the crowd cheering for more. As emcee Dennis Cervantes introduced car after car, the hoppers and dancers outdid themselves, often incorporating smoke, fire and flying car parts into the entertainment package.

With just a short pause to reorganize, the name acts continued the fun with headliner Lisa Lisa bringing the Carolina fans to their feet. The Bikini and Hardbody contests kept them there, ensuring that the Charlotte show would be an event to remember. Hundreds of drivers took home permanent reminders at the awards ceremony while about a dozen more left considerably richer than when they arrived, thanks to the big honkin' Sweepstakes checks awarded to the top finishers.

The list of Sweepstakes winners included Abraham Lopez in the Lowrider Car competition, Eddie Gordy in Lowrider Truck and Rey Cintron in Traditional Lowrider. Chris Roundtree topped the Bomb field while Rick Hanson went to the head of the Euro class. Local favorite Tripp Hailey from Charlotte's G Ridez Car Club won Best Original and Carlos Zamudio got to pedal home with the Bicycle Sweepstakes trophy.

If you'd like to be part of the fun and have a day to remember, check out the Scrapin' Tour 2002 schedule to see when we'll be visiting a location near you. We think that you might just have a good time.

Bad weather slows down lots of things but the hoppers and dancers at the Charlotte show "didn't pay it no mind." More than two-dozen vehicles put on a show for the enthusiastic Carolina fans inside the large exhibition hall at the Charlotte Metrolina Expo Center.

The action began with James Cici's '86 Mazda taking a decisive Truck Hop win. His strong 43 inches was enough to prevail, beating Chad Vassalo's 26-inch hop and Nathan Shipp's 23 inches. Lee Sanford and his '81 Chevy Monte Carlo were uncontested in the Single-Pump Hop, but he still put on a good show with a 26-inch effort. David Cici followed, dominating the Double-Pump Hop category and sending his orange '63 Chevy Impala to 31 inches. In the Luxury Hop category, Brian Ball launched his '82 Olds Cutlass to 22 inches, but was no match for Chris Ponder. Operating under the assumption that it's "cool to rule," Ponder sent his white '83 Pontiac Grand Prix skyward, knocking off the old world's record of 53 inches and raising the new mark to 54 inches.

The final Hopping class was the crowd favorite. Several of the Radical Hop entries were looking to dislodge the 76-inch record set by Frank Carralero of Red's-Miami. Blue Johnson tried, but his orange Cutlass broke on the line. Bruce Camp got the crowd's attention when he jacked up the rear of his Ford Ranger several feet in the air before the start of the run. Camp got to 54 inches before losing a driveshaft and demolishing the front wheel. Bryan Gillespie, however, showed them how it was done. His yellow and white Cool Cars hopper launched to a crowd-cheering 70 inches with ease. It wasn't enough for a new record but was more than enough for a class win.

In the Street Car Dance category, Robbie Newman had a little trouble with his '82 Grand Prix, scoring only an 8. Preston Tucker fared better, adding smoke and a shower of sparks to his routine. His "Bermuda Triangle" scored a 13. But neither were a match for Dave "Gizmo" Harkins and his green '78 Grand Prix. His juiced Pontiac used up all of the dance floor, showing lots of style, grabbing big air and achieving a winning 22.

The Truck Dance guys were next and they certainly kept up the momentum. Curtis Riley's truck looked too pretty to compete but he wowed the crowd with a strong start. Unfortunately, he broke early, losing the right front wheel. David Caines followed with an equally strong performance that went the distance. Caines motivated his blue Chevy S-10 so hard that it bent in the middle, earning a 23. Bobby Wall was next and he had his work cut out for him. It only took a moment, however, to know that he was up to the task. He bounced the gray S-10 so hard that it was approaching vertical! He captured the class win with a 25.

The final category, the Radical Dance, pushed the envelope even further with Frank Enriquez getting off to a slow start with his '63 Impala, "Black Beauty." As everything came together, it began to hit really hard towards the end of the routine and achieved a strong 18. James Radabaugh, down from Detroit, Michigan, excepted the challenge with his CCE '64 Chevy Nova, hitting strong from the outset. He went front to back, side to side, round and round, and every way but broke for an impressive 24. But Jason Marquese had his own ideas about entertaining the crowd. His '97 Toyota 4Runner was certainly a strong performer, blasting all of the moves. When the passenger side door opened unexpectedly, Jason capitalized on it, dancing the 4Runner side to side until the door was pounded into dust. For his efforts, he got a resounding 29 and the class win.

It was quite a performance and while the oil, hydraulic fluid and scattered car parts were being cleaned away, the enthusiastic crowd let the hoppers and dancers hear their roar of approval. It's all in a day's work for today's hydraulics players.