After many years of wanting to participate in the Hot Rod Power Tour, on June 10 I finally was able to participate! In that 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of this event – my attendance officially ended 29 years of procrastination!
Day One started at the National Corvette Museum (NCR) Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, KY where I once raced. Upon arrival I quickly realized that this event had grown much larger than I envisioned – there were approximately 6,000 expected entries with long lines at the Registration tent.
Beech Bend Raceway Park was also on the schedule for Day One for drag racing, auto crossing, and checking out the many vendor booths. The variety of cars (and trucks) in attendance was simply amazing in that there are no restrictions on vehicle age or country of origin to participate in this event.
Our ride of choice was my neighbor Tony Chiles’ 1969 Corvette convertible Owens Corning #12 tribute car complete with LS4 power and 6-speed gear box. The car performed flawlessly during the Tour, including the Vintage Air AC unit.
Day Two found the Power Tour at the Nashville Speedway, and the event seemed to swell with more participants and more vendors as well. The Motor Trend booth featured PROJECT-X, arguably the most famous 1957 Chevy of all time. I can still remember reading each issue of Popular Hot Rodding when the build began back in 1965. The projected value of this car at auction is astronomical!
We considered continuing on to Louisville for Day Three, but it was a fairly long haul, and Tony and I opted out. Experiencing the thousands of great cars and trucks had us both eager to get back to work in our own shops.
But if the Hot Rod Power Tour gets this close to me again, I may do the whole 5-day event. It’s that good!
