Houston

Houston, Texas, is the kinda place ya just gotta love. Upon our arrival at the airport we were greeted by what can only be described as a hurricane. The wind picked up to gale force and then the heavens opened up for a deluge that hasn't been seen in these parts for as long as most folks here can remember. But the lowrider crowd is not easily intimidated and the sun cracked open the skies again and the weather made believe that the torrential downpour never happened.

Houston is also the home of two of our big Tour sponsors, Quaker State and Black Magic, and their presence was felt in the vendors hall as they pulled out all of the stops with a row of video driving games and plenty of cup holders, hats and oil to hand out to the spectators at the Reliant Arena. In addition to hometown heroes Quaker State and Black Magic, we once again received big-time sponsorship from Nitto Tires, Player Wire Wheels, Exide Orbital Batteries, CCE Hydraulics and Limited Alloy Wheels.

Saturday's roll-in found the weather hot and steamy (summertime in Houston) and as we set up cameras for a few photo shoots the temperature continued to rise. By midday we were glad that the show was gong to be inside on Sunday. The roll-in did have us excited about some of the cars that were showing, like Jose Tristan's orange Honda Civic, which was completely laced out with wires and the whole 9 yards. For the more traditional folks, Stacy Stewart's "Chopped, Slick and Wicked" orange '39 Chevy Master Deluxe was also in the Houston house.

Another super-clean ride that made its way from Decatur, Georgia, was Tony's heavily detailed green Chevy Impala, complete with Kermit the Frog, a molded system in the trunk and rollin' the big billets dirty South like. Rey Pineda's '90 GMC truck was sitting pretty on jackstands, showing chrome undercarriage, custom interior and plenty of colors. On stage, Baby Besh and his crew threw down along with Lil' Rob and the "Wanksta" Lil' Troy.

The day's big winners were a varied lot. Gary Lee Cooper took home First Place in the Traditional Sweepstakes for his "City Slicker" '52 Chevrolet Styleline DeLuxe (which coincidentally is featured elsewhere in this issue). Brian Doran took Second Place and Ken Wood came in Third. The Car Sweepstakes winners included Alejandro Vega in First Place thanks to his '79 Chevy Monte Carlo, with '82 Pontiac Grand Prix owner Ramiro Bautista wrapping his hands around the Second Place trophy and Mike Luna landing in Third with his '68 Impala.

First Place in the Truck Sweepstakes was claimed by Carl Anderson in the name of his '94 Chevy pickup, ahead of Rey Pineda's Second Place GMC and Rick Suarez' Third Place '89 Mitsubishi.

In the Bomb category, familiar faces Frank and Rosie Requena reppin' Rollerz Only C.C. with their '48 Chevy Fleetline took home $1,000 and a trophy, with Stacy Stewart and Mark Orta taking Second and Third, respectively. In the Bomb Truck class, Margarito Patino's '59 Chevy pickup was loaded with the First Place trophy, while Frankie Requena took Second with his '51 Chevy and Ernesto Padilla took Third with his '50 Chevy.

Kevin Kester bested the Original '69 & Below Car Sweeps with his '62 Cadillac, and that field included Ralph Villareal in Second and Pete Davila in Third. Jon "Mr. Ouija" Chuck chucked out the Euro/Sports Car competition with his '88 Chevy Camaro, while Alfonso and Melissa Medina settled for Second Place and Carlos Jimenez did the same for Third. Isidro Juarez of Rollerz Only claimed the big Bike prize and Armando Escobedo topped the Trike triumvirate.

The Houston show was a happy event for everyone involved and with the event being indoors and the air conditioning pumping, the Arena was a comfortable environment in which to check out all of the cars on display. Another stop on the Legends Tour and we're still zooming across the country to bring you some of the hottest rides and honeys in the nation.

Susan putting her best asset forward for Nitto Tires.	Lolo's "Orgullo Mexicano" '79 Monte Carlo drawing the crowds.	Pedro Fraire III and his major Sweepstakes display.

2003 Legends Tour
Points TotalA new trophy awarded to the top lowrider in the country!Through the June 8 Portland, Oregon, show. All scores are subject to verification with the judges. (25 points per show plus additional 50 points for back-to-back shows.)1. Alejandro Vega
'79 Chevy Monte Carlo
Five shows attended
Fontana, Charlotte, Phoenix, Dallas, Portland
1598 total points

2. Frank and Rosie Requena
'48 Chevy Fleetline
Five shows attended
Miami, Phoenix, Tampa, Indianapolis, Dallas
1448 total points

3. Joe Phillips
'51 Chevy
Three shows attended
Fontana, Phoenix, Portland
670 total points

4. Frank Silva
'85 Chevy S-10
Two shows attended
Fontana, Phoenix
532 total points

5. Anthony Fuentes
'57 Chevy Bel Air
Three shows attended
Fontana, Phoenix, Portland
496 total points

6. Carl Anderson
'94 Chevy truck
Two shows attended
Indianapolis, Dallas
448 total points

7. Armando Gonzalez
'91 Chevy
Two shows attended
Fontana, Phoenix
444 total points

8. Eddie Gordy, Jr.
'87 Mazda
Two shows attended
Charlotte, Tampa
433 total points

9. Sergio Palafox
'98 Mercury Marquis
Two shows attended
Miami, Tampa
400 total points

10. Alberto Garcia
'78 Olds Cutlass
Two shows attended
Charlotte, Indianapolis
397 total points