The South rises again in the great state of Kentucky. This year's Seventh Annual Southern Showdown presented by Cool Cars and Nopi was bigger and better than in years past. Given the success of Cool Cars' previous Southern Showdowns, and the lack of any Tour shows in the area, it was time for Lowrider Magazine to sanction the Showdown, making the winners eligible for the Super Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The two-day event was held in Louisville's own Papa John Cardinal Stadium, which had more than enough room for the 300 rides that showed up for the event. Sponsors this year included Firestone, Viair, Marzocchi pumps, Scott's Interiors, Gangster Wire Wheels, Hagerty Insurance and Napa Automotive.Even though thunderstorms were thundering and storming on Friday night, the weather that weekend was magnificent with clear blue skies and plenty of sunshine. This set the stage for the vehicles, which started rolling in about 8 a.m. and continued throughout the day as DJ Kidd Kutt spun vinyl ranging from old school hip-hop to house all weekend long. The show had not one but two bikini contests to keep the guys entertained. On Saturday, the winner was Laressa Norman, and on Sunday, Kristie Manning took the honor.
The sanctioning of this show helped bring rides ranging from traditional lowriders to mini-trucks that filled the show area. Some of the clubs that made the journey to the show included Uce and Hostile. But it was Drop Mob C.C. that showed up with the most rides to take home the Club Participation award. When it came to Best of Show, Jose Torres rocked his Toyota Corolla, "Earthquake." Jose also took home the specialty award for Best Hydraulic Setup.The hydraulics competition at this show is usually off the hook, but the sanctioning of the event brought out all of the heavy hitters from around the way. Most of them tried their hand at qualifying for Vegas, but at the end of the day, once everyone had their chance to hit the switches, it was Matt Crabtree in Single-Pump, Chris Ponder in Double-Pump, Donny Abbot in Truck Hop and Rob Robertson in Radical Hop. The winners in the dance classes included Rodney Christensen in Street Car Dance and T & D Customs cleaning house in Street Truck Dance and Radical Dance.
When the weekend was over, people were already asking for the date of next year's event. For information on the 2007 Southern Showdown, check out www.coolcars.org. We'll see you there.