San Antonio Show

The Southwest's best lowriders come out to support the Scrapin' Tour.

By Marco A. Patiño, Nathan Trujillo, Edgar Hoill

Late last season, the Lowrider Magazine 2002 Scrapin' Tour rolled into San Antonio, Texas, at the Alamodome Center, where some of the hottest rides in the Southwest were corralled under the bright lights and flashing cameras. With the support of Tour sponsors Gumout, Quaker State, Nitto Tires, Dayton Wire Wheels, ShowTime Hydraulics and Thump Records, the event drew crowds of lowriding fans to check out rides from throughout the Southwestern region of the US. Weather-wise, it wasn't too shabby for the move-in during the day before the show as Go-Lo Entertainment moved in dozens of cars, trucks and bikes into the large facility. By Sunday morning, the judging crew was busy with clipboards in hand, going through the aisles checking out the perspective classes. Cars, trucks, Euros, bombs, bikes and wild lowriders of all types were gone over with a fine-tooth comb.

With that said, let's check out who did well at this year's final Texas stop. It was definitely "Showtime" for Bobby Madrid from Rollerz Only Car Club of New Mexico. Bobby's '77 Chevy Monte Carlo had the upper hand that day against another quality masterpiece in the form of Ramiro Bautista's flaked-out Pontiac Grand Prix, "Just a Dream." Coming in Third Place was Junior Romero and his '61 Chevy Impala "Queen of Hearts." As for the Traditional Class, Raul Ramon's gorgeous '64 Impala hardtop caught many an eye with its fabulous attention to detail. The Chevy was followed by two more in its class: Enrique Garcia's sharp-looking '69 Impala, "El Pachuco," took Second, while Steve Ruiz' clean '63 Impala rounded out the top three in the Traditional category.

For those who can also appreciate an "OG" ride, judges ruled that Gary Lee Cooper's super-looking blue '52 Chevrolet DeLuxe was the best in its class, with Rosie and Frank Requena's bright red '57 Chevy Bel Air coming in a close Second and Robert Garcia's black '49 Chevy rolling in Third. The same could be said for the Bomb Truck Sweepstakes entries. Ed Rodriguez of Rollerz Only C.C. brought out his '51 Chevy pickup and earned First. Ernest Padilla was next up with his blue '50 pickup for Second Place, while Freddy Castillo took Third with his clean '52 Chevy trokita.

There were a few solid entries in the Bomb Sweepstakes category as several vintage heavyweights did battle for the top spot. But in the end it was the Requenas' '48 Chevy Fleetline, "La Carcacha," in the top spot. Frank and Rosie brought the car down from the Dallas, Texas, area to represent Rollerz Only and show the gente what can be done with a beautiful old classic. Stacey Stewart was next up with a super-firme orange '39 Chevrolet Master Deluxe, while Flora Leyva took Third with her sweet '36 Oldsmobile, which also flies the Rollerz plaque.

Last but not least was the Euro/Sports Car Sweepstakes category. Jon Chuck's '88 Chevy Camaro IROC, "Mr. Ouija," cut up the competition with its highly detailed chassis and extensively worked over interior and engine bay. Coming in Second was a representative of Brown Impressions C.C. out of Laredo, Texas. That'd be Johnny Cordova with his intense '91 Ford Mustang, "Puro Untamed." Running in Third was Jason Watts with his plush '93 Honda Prelude.

Up towards the stage area we found droves of fans checking out sultry Angelina running through a medley of hits as well as some fresh material for the masses. The NB Ridaz moved and grooved his set of jams as well. Speaking of moving, a bevy of bikini-clad women shimmied across the stage. The muscle-bound dudes were next, as all of the ladies rushed the stage to see the spectacle of pecs. All in all, it was a good day with tons of rides and happy lowrider fans checking out all of the happenings at one of the Texas' best annual shows. We'll see you Texas dudes later on for the 2003 Legends Tour.