MyRideisMe on the Hot Rod Power Tour

Posted by Bubba Harmon on Jun 16, 2010 in Featured, Shows & Events, Vintage Rides | 4 comments

The Hot Rod Power Tour is one of those car events that you need to experience at least once in your lifetime.

This seven day/seven city driving tour changes location every year. The route for this year, the 16th annual, began in Newton, Iowa on June 5th and finished in Mobile, Alabama on June 11th.

Caddy owned by “Kid Cadillac” who told us, ‘On the Power Tour this year the odo hit 45 thousand miles on this since I finished her 3 1/2 years ago. She still gets looks and wins trophies. Don’t be afraid to drive them!’

Each leg of the tour averages around 200 miles. Often times during the Hot Rod Power Tour a sponsor will host a lunch stop. This year we had a great lunch provided by Mid America Motorworks at their facility in Effingham, Illinois. Their reproduction vintage gas station made for a great backdrop for photos.

You don’t really need a souped up hot rod to run the Power Tour. As long as it runs and has four wheels it is welcome to ride. Each Hot Rod Power Tour sees more and more modern muscle like Camaro’s, Challenger’s, and Mustang’s. Rental cars are frowned upon and towed vehicles (trailer queens) will require you to have extremely thick skin to survive the ribbing from  the other drivers.

Celebrities like to hang out with hot rodders. This year was no different. Sam Memmolo, Linda Vaughn, several spokes models, and even Chip Foose were on hand to chat and sign autographs. Chip Foose was working the MagnaFlow booth in Newton and I was lucky enough to chat with him for a few minutes. And yes, he is as nice as he appears to be on TV.

A couple major cities closed off their downtown areas in order to accommodate this year’s Hot Rod Power Tour. Both Springfield, Illinois and Mobile, Alabama blocked off streets and redirected traffic so that the thousands of hot rodders could park.

The thing that I really enjoy about the Hot Rod Power Tour is its emphasis on actually driving. This year’s 1307 miles of driving was mostly on back highways and avoided the interstates as much as possible.

Hot rodders that make the entire journey are known as “long haulers”. The Saturday morning after the Hot Rod Power Tour is set aside for all the long haulers to get together for a family photo. This year’s photo was taken on the USS Alabama. If it wasn’t for the blistering heat, the photo would have been the perfect ending to a perfect cruise.

So were you there? And if not, why not? Too far? There were Aussies there with Utes and even a couple from South Africa. Keep checking Hot Rod Magazine for next year’s cities. Give the Power Tour a try and see how you like it!