Phoenix

The Arizona State Fairgrounds played host to this year's Phoenix Scrapin' Tour stop.

By Saul Vargas

The Arizona State Fairgrounds played host to this year's Phoenix Scrapin' Tour stop. As the only Tour stop in Arizona, the people came out in force to support the indoor/outdoor event. Once again, this Scrapin' Tour stop was made possible by sponsors Gumout, Quaker State, Nitto Tires, Dayton Wire Wheels, ShowTime Hydraulics and Thump Records. Without their super support we couldn't bring you these events.

The one-day Phoenix event featured a few new faces who came in from far and near. All of the way from Denver, Colorado, was Robert Espinoza who brought his beautiful '64 Chevy Impala, "Pura Onda," which dominated the Traditional class. Second Place was won by Steve Watson of Super Natural C.C. with his immaculate baby blue "Cold Sweat" '59 Impala, which was featured on the cover of the March '02 issue of LRM. Arizona resident Steve Sanders of Sophisticated Few C.C. took home the Third Place trophy in his '65 Ford.

Leading the Euro/Sport Car pack was Ronnie Payan's tasty '89 Nissan Sentra, "Sabor Ami, Otra Vez," from Southern California. Second Place was claimed by Juan Ochoa of the Manicos Car Club, and coming in Third was Jarvis Malone's custom Honda Civic from San Diego, California. On the opposite end of the spectrum from the Euro guys is the Bomb Truck class, and the $1,000 prize in this class was won in Phoenix by Luis Ortega. Gerald Osorio scored enough points with his entry to guarantee a Second Place finish as well as $500.

Heading the Bomb class was Billy Felix's '37 Chevy DeLuxe from the Desirable Ones of Las Vegas, Nevada. In Second was Frank Moreno's '47 Chevy DeLuxe representing Oldies C.C. in fine style. Jaime Diaz, also of the Desirable Ones, entered a '53 Chevy Bel Air that garnered enough points to win Third Place. The Truck class featured heavyweight Frank Silva of Outstanding C.C. come out and represent strong with his First Place finishing '85 Chevy Blazer. Second Place was won by Bebe Jaramillo with his '95 Dodge, and coming in Third was Jose Hernandez of the Majestics Car Club.

In the Car Sweepstakes, Alejandro Vega captured First Place with his candy green Chevy Monte Carlo. Tonya Maxwell stunned the crowd with her purple '64 Impala convertible and came in a close Second. Third Place and $250 was won by Mike Roybal, who never showed up to claim his trophy and prize money (Hey Mike, call up Go-Lo Entertainment if you want your winnings). Another Traditional class ride in the house was Allen Lopez' Lowrider of the Year, "Evil '63" Impala, which was displayed on exhibition only status.

Many clubs came out to support the Phoenix Tour event, including Sophisticated Few, Outstanding, Manicos, Desirable Ones, Royals, Del Valle, Amigos, Oldies, Supreme, Mexicans, among others, and the Most Club Members award was won by the Majestics C.C. The Best Car Club Display was won by local favorites Arizona Unlimited C.C., who impressed the crowd and the judges.

Besides the many cars and trucks to be seen on the Fairgrounds, there were also vendors galore, hydraulics competition (see complete coverage elsewhere) and live entertainment featuring Frost and Lighter Shade of Brown. With this year's Phoenix show a complete success, we're already looking forward to returning to Phoenix next year for what is always one of the hottest events of the season.

New records highlight hot Arizona hydraulics action.

The hydraulics action at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix, Arizona, was hot once again. The Arizona Scrapin' Tour show was an indoor/outdoor event, with the outdoors hydraulics competition sponsored by ShowTime Hydraulics. The activities featured 17 of the nation's top competitors. Starting off the Hop was Arizona resident Noe Ortega with his '63 Chevy Bel Air, which hit 25 inches to win the Single-Pump class. In Double-Pump action, Augustin Gomez of Oxnard, California, set a new record with his green machine, which skied to 56 inches.

There weren't any truck hoppers as all of the old truck hoppers moved up to the Radical class, so the next batch of contestants were the Luxury hoppers. Local favorite World Wide Customs quickly set the pace at 44 inches with their '83 Olds Cutlass. Next up was Thaddeus Findley with the first of two Luxury hoppers, an '87 Buick Regal that hopped 46 inches. Bad Thad's second car up was an '87 Cutlass that hit only 45 inches, which was enough to beat the Arizona local and take home Third Place. Last to come out in the Luxury class was Alejandro Vega of C&L Hydraulics who hit 53 inches. Alejandro was only 1 inch short of tying the world record, but still high enough to win his class.

The new Radical class had Caesar Martinez set the height to beat at 66 inches with his '62 Chevy wagon. Next up was the '91 Mazda from Cool Cars of Louisville, Kentucky. The CCE-equipped Mazda fell short of Third Place, hitting 58 inches. Next up was the controversial '88 Toyota owned by Art Robles. This truck barely qualified for the Radical class. The owner had to modify a few parts to qualify and be allowed to compete. The controversial hopper gave it all that he had and was only able to hit 80 inches, having to settle for Second Place. Next up was Los Angeles, California, resident Jorge Guzman, who worked his "Black Magic" '87 Toyota on the crowd, clearing the 90-inch hop stick altogether and winning the class.

Next up was the Car and Truck Dance. The first of the dancers was Billy Walsh's '88 Mazda, which set the standard and won the class with 27 points after performing all of the necessary moves. Next up was big Mike Kaufman and his '80 Chevy El Camino. John Markiewitz was on the switch of the ShowTime-equipped El Camino, which gracefully danced to the tune of 26 points. In the Street Car Dance, Juan Chavoya danced to a 27-point groove, which remained the score to beat as his "Twister" '88 Cutlass was the first car dancer to hit the pit. Next up was Ventura County's Jerry Lamm, who brought out his CCE-equipped '88 Monte Carlo and managed to score 24 points as it performed its routine. Last up was Noe Ortega, who danced away and scored 16 points, even as his vehicle limped through the last few seconds of the 90-second required time, still earning enough points for Third Place in the Street Car Dance.

The last category in car dancing was the Radical class, which is normally set up for cars and trucks to compete against each other. This show only had two competitors. Coming out first was John Markiewitz, who brought his '88 Mazda, "Raising Hell." This ShowTime-equipped truck started off well as it launched off the ground and eventually busted out all of the required moves to score 23 points. Next up was Royals C.C. member Ron Eggers from Las Vegas, Nevada, with his "VooDoo" '94 Nissan Pathfinder. Ron's Pathfinder managed to pull off all of the moves, as well as roll on its side. It also finished the required time and scored 29 points to win the class.

As the season continues to heat up, we're sure that the competition will get more and more intense, as a few of the regulars are still working on their rides at the time of the Phoenix Hop. We're sure that we'll see more hydraulics madness at future Tour stops. We hope to see you there.