With only one Lowrider Magazine Tour event in Texas this year, people from all over the Lone Star State and the entire country were marking their calendars and looking forward to the late July event at the Reliant Arena in Houston, Texas. Cars from all over the country came down to H-town to compete. We saw heavy hitters from Arizona, California, Oklahoma, Georgia and Illinois, just to name a few.
Anticipation for the Houston show was so high that people started to line up at 10 p.m. on the Friday night before the Sunday show just to be among the first allowed into the arena. With more than 300 cars lined up by 4 a.m. on Saturday, there were plenty of reasons to just chill, kick back, listen to some jams and throw down a few drinks. As the morning sun started to rise over Houston, more vehicles started to arrive until there were more than 600 cars, trucks and bikes lined up whose owners were lucky enough to have pre-registered.
During the move-in, we walked the lines under the hot Texas sun (80-percent humidity didn't make it any better) and checked out what was coming into the show. We realized that there were a lot of new cars busting out with full force and ready for the competition. The show floor started to fill up with chrome, flake and candy paint jobs.
As we walked the aisles on Sunday morning, we noticed a large number of spectators who were anxiously awaiting entry into the show, but then who wouldn't with all of the cars on display and all of the goodies that were to be given away by show sponsors that included Quaker State, Harley-Davidson, CCE Hydraulics, Hispanic Lending, Thump Records and the movie Illegal Tender. The sponsors had games and prizes galore. Actor Danny Trejo was at the Harley booth taking pictures with his fans.
The arena was filled with lots of cars from all over the nation, but many of the best were from right there in Texas. Lone Star lowriders representing Texas included Ever Mendoza from Houston, who won Best Truck, and Enrique and Elma Garcia from Fort Worth, who took home the cash for Best Traditional. Famous Texas lowriders "Outer Limits" and "Rolling Malo" made their presence felt with full displays.
With the hot weather came the hot Texas ladies and, at the end of the day, the Bikini Contest. But before the sexy Texans took the stage, there was live entertainment for the enjoyment of everyone. Bash and DJ UNK rocked the stage for all of their fans and admirers.
Being the only Texas Tour stop of the year guaranteed that Houston was going to be a hotbed of lowrider activity and one hell of a party. At this time, we're not sure about next year's Tour dates and locations, but we recommend that anyone interested in showing at Houston send in your application early to make sure that you don't miss out on this one-of-a-kind show and that you'll be a part of history in the making.
Houston WinnersBest Car Of ShowFirst-Manuel Vento, '85 Olds Cutlass Second-Raja Chaudhry, '78 Chevy Monte CarloThird-Ben Garcia, '72 Chevy Impala
Best Traditional LowriderFirst-Enrique and Elma Garcia, '69 Chevy CapriceSecond-Robert Robledo, '63 Chevy ImpalaThird-Fransisco Archuleta, '75 Chevy Caprice
Best BombFirst-Gene Bare, '51 ChevySecond-Raja Chaudhry, '48 ChevyThird-Stacy Stewart, '39 Chevy
Best TruckFirst-Ever Mendoza, '90 Chevy vanSecond-Mario RodriguezThird-Sam Blount, '50 Chevy
Best Custom CompactFirst-Paul Ireson, '65 Mini CooperSecond-Alfonso Medina, '84 Ford TempoThird-Chuy Fabela, '94 Mazda MX-6
Best BikeFirst-Angel FraireSecond-Jose HernandezThird-Chris Moreno
Best TrikeFirst-Christian FloresSecond-Cesar MorenoThird-Jason Benavides