Las Vegas Hop - Extreme High Rollers

Moving onto the Street Dance, the one, two, and three spots read almost like last year's winner list. Rob Robertson was in the Third spot winning $250 this year, changing it up from last year's winner, Travis Piper. First and Second Place were identical to last year with Juan Chavoya and his '86 Cutlass flying, rocking, and rolling to Second Place and $500. Juan managed all of this even after burning out a solenoid just before coming out to compete. A quick rewire got him out but made it harder to get all his moves, but he pulled through. For yet another year, the Shorty's Hydraulics' crew and their '85 Blazer, "El Mero Mero," showed why they've won consistently with a score of 27 out of 30 and banking a cool "G." They did all this even after losing the front driver side wheel during the routine. Shortly afterward, the Wayne Costa Memorial award was given to John Vega, the pilot of "El Mero Mero."

The Radical Hop was a no-holds-barred, leave-it-all-out-on-the-hop-pit contest. Many times the vehicles doing battle leave many of their parts on the ground, literally. Wheels flying off, glass breaking, and things burning make it an exciting visual feast. This year did not disappoint. Rogelio Loera Jr. came to Vegas to do battle with his '84 Cutlass. The color green with the top cut off, rollbar in place, and solenoids smoking, placed Third with a score of 24 points and snagged $250. Next up was the Black Magic crew who did manage to keep all their wheels on this year. That feat, along with some good switch work by Ron, netted a Second Place finish and $500. Rob Robertson and his purple and white blazer managed to hold it together as well by going through all the necessary moves, garnering him 28 points for First Place and $1,000. Rob placed Fourth earlier in the year.

With the end of another season we saw some new excitement in the radical class, with the addition of some good-looking cars making their way through the hopping pits. For those of you who've been counting, we gave away one of our biggest purses yet--close to $20,000 in prize money at the Super Show alone. We're sure the judges are going to have some changes in the works to make 2009 even more exciting. We'd like to thank all the contestants this year for coming out and competing. They give the crowd a great show and hopefully had some fun in the process. Until next year, charge those batteries and gear up for another wild, swingin' ride in 2009.

By Reinaldo M. Robinson

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