I won a trophy!

[kiwigtx]

Dennis opened my eyes to the fact that it isn't the trophy that matters

Dennis is my type of guy to hang out with. He is a realist and is there for some fun and driving his car.

I've had my fair share of shows over the years....and at times it got embarrassing how many trophies I won with my GTX. I've done everything from organising shows and cleaning up the mess afterwards, to just being a participant...it was fun.

I've also experienced the crappy side where people come along and criticise your car and pick holes in the finish. At one show these two fat blokes were trying to outdo each other with what was right & wrong on my GTX as I stood nearby. I intervened after a few minutes and said I didn't think the owner would appreciate their comments. One asked what it had to do with me. I replied it was my car.
Fat blokes made a hasty exit.

Other times I have had similar comments - about my truck. Those comments are usually from losers who don't even have something to show.

And as for drag racing...well....I've had it all from winning trophies to going home early on a tow truck.....lol
All I have learned from drag racing is that it's a great way to piss up your money for the benefit and entertainment of others. Sure, I got some nice times, but it has cost me enough to build another car out of all the heartache and repairs afterwards.

getting towed into the barn by a ride-on mower....lol

 

[eldubb440]

I don't know anyone who actually "preps" for a show........ more likely they go to a casual show where a few trophies are doled out, and wind up being a recipient

 

[HawkRod]

I barely look at the cars anymore........I just like hanging out with my peeps

every now and then, I'll get a trophy pic text from someone who's car I worked on ........ it does give me a little bit of the fuzzies

The key is not to sit, Dave. We park Fred, get out and we're gone until we've made the rounds...

For me, the five decade quest to acquire the one I loved back in the day can never be matched by a trophy. Sharing the story has been the ultimate recognition.

Like many have said, I don't go for trophies. I've gotten a few, and that's fine, but the main thing is to share the car with people. These cars have stories, and many of them are really cool. People seem to dig the fact that I drove mine to all these cool places in the country and camped out of the back of it.

I've been to my neighbor's church car show twice. Both times, a young man named JJ has been in love with my car. He is developmentally challenged and what he really loves is the "beep-beep" horn! On both occasions, I have told him to sit in the car and honk the horn, and I've also taken pictures of him with his camera. Did I make his day? You bet. Did he make my day? You bet!
Win-win!!!

For 2 years I was a show judge...

I get to choose a "celebrity choice" at Carlisle each year and I always pick my own or my friends...

KIDDING - I would never do that! I seek out cars that tell good stories. Also, a bonus if it is a young man or woman who owns the car. I don't care how nice it is - it doesn't have to be show winning quality. What it has to be is a labor of love and a story. Family ties are a bonus too...

 

[Charles Cook]

The best trophy I ever received is standing in front of my car.

 

[HawkRod]

Dennis is my type of guy to hang out with. He is a realist and is there for some fun and driving his car.

Totally agree. I think he's got the right idea. Here is me and @Dennis H "duking it out" on some winding roads on the way to his house back in 2015. It still makes me smile to look at these pictures!

 

[Charles Cook]

Same trophy 13 years ago with my car.

 

[beanhead]

What makes the experience worthwhile is the whole day....the environment, the people, the cars. It is the guys and gals getting together to celebrate these great cars regardless of what some judge thinks of the car itself. It is the telling of stories of when the cars were new or the trouble you got into with them. The girls you met, the experiences you lived with them.

What made the show so great wasn't just the show. It was seeing people that I only see once or twice a year. It was talking cars with real enthusiasts, driving the cars on the road, fixing stuff on the cars in the parking lot, having meals together, cracking jokes and telling stories with great people that share the same interests.
Dennis opened my eyes to the fact that it isn't the trophy that matters, it is the entire experience of the show from the moment that I leave home to when I get back.

Completely agree Greg. And admittedly, as the pilot of a not-even-close-to-original-born-a-plain-Jane-318 Satellite-turned-groundpounder, I used to be in the group that thought my car had no business being parked inside any 'show'.

Then I started seeing stuff at shows where the owners didn't give two chitz about what their car was or wasn't; they just went for the atmosphere and the experience.

Those folks seemed to be having the most fun at shows, and it really loosened me up from my old way of thinking. I've put my car in several over the years, just to be there.
While there are definitely the "snooty" purist types that look down their noses at anything that isn't a #s matching "desirable" model and who's main purpose IS getting a trophy, I've had a lot of people compliment me and ask questions about how I did this or that.

I've met some really cool people, made some connections and had some great conversations that I otherwise wouldn't have.
So, yeah....I don't give a sh!t if my car doesn't compete with the perfect restored Hemi cars or "make the cut", there's plenty of good times to be had!

 

[eldubb440]

 

[Kern Dog]

I have that picture....!
From the left, Mark Fox's son, Mark Fox, Dennis Harris, Me, then Lloyd!

 

[davek]

View attachment 1683776

Hope Im not being charged for the dent in that hood.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

BTDT Got the trophy... And gave it away... While I appreciate that people acknowledge the effort it takes to have a nice car I'd rather take the car for a drive... Spring Fling this year was a blast, as Greg said, is was spending time with a lot of good people, solving problems & enjoying the ride....

And yes there are those who must receive a trophy.. Back around 98 I took a first place trophy at a semi prestigious car show, it was pretty apparent the second place guy wasn't happy.... There was another show the following week, this guy wound up having his Hemi Challenger parked right next to my car... But he wasn't around his car much.... He had a guy showing the car for him while he was staying with one of his other three cars in the show.... When the judging began he showed up and with everyone watching he grabbed the head judge and read him the riot act... Letting him know he'd been robbed the week before & it had better not happen again... If it did he wouldn't be showing his four cars at this event any longer....

If it were me doing the judging I'd have told him he should probably load up and head home... That didn't happen.. He got his 1st place trophy... When in fact his car was probably a forth of fifth place car...

Turns out he had two Ferrari's a Duesenberg & the Hemi Challenger.. One of his Ferrari's took Best of Show...

The guy showing the Hemi Challenger for him previously owned another Hemi Challenger, and he beat Daddy War Bucks three shows in a row... Daddy War Bucks had bought that guys Challenger just to eliminate his competition & was paying the guy to show his car....

Talking with the guy who was being paid to show the car his thinking was the same as mine, if you have all this $$$$ and you need a trophy so badly, why not build a superior car rather than looking for ways to bully your way to the trophy...

Have I ever mentioned some people are nuts...

 

[eldubb440]

Hope Im not being charged for the dent in that hood.

he was 42 pounds that day....... no dent

that was over 100 pounds ago

 

[Kern Dog]

Maybe for some, it becomes more about the trophy than the car itself. It is the validation of the effort, the applause and fanfare matters more than anything.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I barely look at the cars anymore........I just like hanging out with my peeps

 

[66 Sat]

The trophy would only have some meaning if you built the car yourself, or if it was a street machine modified type show, and it was your vision that created the car.

If you just bought a fancy show car and parked it there, then who cares?

 

[1 Wild R/T]

The trophy would only have some meaning if you built the car yourself, or if it was a street machine modified type show, and it was your vision that created the car.

If you just bought a fancy show car and parked it there, then who cares?

Daddy Warbucks?

 

[davek]

Daddy Warbucks?

A lot of them out there that cant work on their own car.

 

[beanhead]

Dennis is my type of guy to hang out with. He is a realist and is there for some fun and driving his car.

I've had my fair share of shows over the years....and at times it got embarrassing how many trophies I won with my GTX. I've done everything from organising shows and cleaning up the mess afterwards, to just being a participant...it was fun.

I've also experienced the crappy side where people come along and criticise your car and pick holes in the finish. At one show these two fat blokes were trying to outdo each other with what was right & wrong on my GTX as I stood nearby. I intervened after a few minutes and said I didn't think the owner would appreciate their comments. One asked what it had to do with me. I replied it was my car.
Fat blokes made a hasty exit.

Other times I have had similar comments - about my truck. Those comments are usually from losers who don't even have something to show.

And as for drag racing...well....I've had it all from winning trophies to going home early on a tow truck.....lol
All I have learned from drag racing is that it's a great way to piss up your money for the benefit and entertainment of others. Sure, I got some nice times, but it has cost me enough to build another car out of all the heartache and repairs afterwards.

getting towed into the barn by a ride-on mower....lol

View attachment 1683740

View attachment 1683745

My favourite reply to the guys like you described is, "mmmm okay, so which car out here is yours?"
That usually shuts 'em right up!
Oh, and by the by Rog....if you EVER make it over here to the West Coast you BETTER let us know so we can take you on a proper 'grand tour'!!
(Just let me know in advance so I can warn my friends in the various law enforcement departments! )

 

[GetX'd]

I had many trophies from back in the day from runs at the strips in Mpls. After I left there they all just disappeared, don’t even know to where. I had never once taken the X to a show event. I went to them but never brought my car. Wasn’t my thing. But after the resto and being in SoCal I thought maybe I’d enjoy shows since the thrill of street racing was never to be again and no strips either. So I went to like 3 shows. The first was Spring Fling at the behest of Dennis H., and Jimmy. I discovered at that show that I had no desire to talk with people about the car. I sat in a lawn chair w/a ring of guys including Jimmy, Dennis and others. Jimmy kept saying hey Kev you’re public gathers - I never even went over to chat w/any of them. I walked around and scanned the other rides there - a lot of primo vehicles. I left that eve thinking this is not for me. I went to 2 lesser shows closer to home - felt the same way. So that was it for me with shows. Then of course the problem of caring and working on my car where I live - all conspired to make me feel it was time to sell. There was no more street racing or any of the things that were the thrills for me before - And even the car culture here where much of it was born was like a shadow of what it must have been like. Mpls has a far better retro culture than SoCal. Those are the reasons I felt it was time - and sold to my life long friend back home. He goes to all the shows and wins trophies etc but that was simply not to be for me. I just didn’t care. The thrill was gone. Still very difficult but I moved on. Still go to look at others cars and like to keep active here because I enjoy it - But yesteryear was what it was all about for me and that was not to be recreated unfortunately…..

 

[DeltaV]

So, people that like trophies would rather receive a trophy for some class competition?, or receive a People's Choice trophy from the public attendees who were permitted to cast a vote?