Phoenix welcomed sport truck...
Phoenix welcomed sport truck enthusiasts with magnificent weather this past October, making our action-packed weekend of fun at Firebird Raceway even more enjoyable.
If you're looking for an action-packed sport truck event and you haven't attended our Truckin' & 4x4 Nationals in October, you're missing out. This past year, the usual searing desert heat of Phoenix's aptly named Valley of the Sun took a vacation, presenting showgoers over the weekend of October 23-24 with mild but sunny weather in the mid-80s. It was perfect weather to check out all the custom show trucks, racing Monster Trucks, the quick quarter-mile action, and all the other activities we designed to make this an enjoyable, entertaining as well informative event.
The action started at 9:00 a.m. Saturday, with the truck drags, Meguiar's show 'n' shine, Toughest Truck championship heats, King of the Hill rockcrawl, and Your Driving Adventure, where you got to road-test most of the new trucks on the market. The Monster Trucks started catching big air at 11:00 a.m., with the Toughest Truck competition moving to its trophy dash phase at 4:30 p.m. Sunday's schedule mirrored Saturday's, except the competition heated up, as the finals neared the end-of-day awards and we added the Miss Truckin' & 4x4 swimsuit competition. And if that wasn't enough, just about all the great aftermarket companies with cool product and gear for your sport truck were present with their sharpest technical minds to help you get the gear you need to build your truck.
Chad Anderson brought out...
Chad Anderson brought out his wild '98 Chevy Tahoe to compete in the Fullsize SUV Radical category.
Drag racing is always part...
Drag racing is always part of this show. This Blue Ford F-100 ripped up the asphalt with an e.t. of 10.73 at 124 mph. We also saw a brown F-100 run 11.75 at 111.79 mph and an Chevy 5.3L Silverado stop the clocks at 13.84 seconds at 100.22 mph with an STS bolt-on turbo kit - not bad for a street-legal driver. Add a couple of seriously quick Ford Lightnings and a 12-second Chevy SS, and we call the drag racing part of the show a success.
We didn't get the owner's...
We didn't get the owner's name of this clean S-Blazer, but thought it cool enough to give it some ink.
What more can we say? If you're in the Southwest or plan to visit there in October, plan on attending our Truckin' & 4x4 Nationals at Firebird Raceway near Phoenix. For more information on 2004's event or to register for this year's event, contact the Firebird box office at (602) 268-0200, or go to www.firebirdraceway.com.
Class Winners
4x4
Toughest Truck: Rob Bonney
Off-Road Scramble: Rob Bonney
Drag Racing
Street Truck:
11:00-12.99: John Malvin
13:00-14.99: Jim Obyrns
15:00-slower: Steve Fuller
Sportsman Truck:
11:00-slower: Ken Devereaux
Pro Street Truck:
10:99-quicker: Shane Becker
Show 'n' Shine
FullSize
SUV Full: Joey Gonzales - '00 Ford Excursion
SUV Mild: Alex Lerma - '77 Blazer
SUV Radical: Mason Rush - '00 Expedition
The Monster Truck races are...
The Monster Truck races are always a favorite with the fans. We caught Bounty Hunter in mid-flight.
Late-Model ('87-'04)
Full: Robert Speer - '98 GMC Sierra
Mild: Lou Goedhart - '99 Chevy Silverado
Radical: Larry Zelfer - '95 Chevy Silverado Extended Cab
Pro Street: Beny Edwards - '57 Chevy
Classic (to '87)
Full: Don Whipple - '55 Chevy pickup
Mild: Charles Benda - '72 Chevy C-10
Radical: John Adams - '53 Chevy Seven Window
Restored: Todd Adams - '51 Willys
Commercial Truck: Cloyce Clark - '49 Ford F-6
4x4
Radical: Jeff Wilson - '94 Chevy 1500
Full: Ernie Ortega - '77 Chevy
Mild: Tom Tait - '74 Chevy
Off-Road Comp: Mike Areghine - '82 Jeep Scrambler
Mini
4x4 Mild: Eric Van Brunt - '01 Tacoma
SUV Mild: Chris Wilson - '87 S-10 Blazer
SUV Radical: Mike Francoeur - '86 S-10 Blazer
Open Radical: Josh Adkins - '94 Toyota pickup
Ken Devereaux won the Sportsman-division...
Ken Devereaux won the Sportsman-division drag race in his 11.6-second Ford Lightning.
This '55 Chevy sport truck...
This '55 Chevy sport truck belongs to Don Whipple. He showed it in the Classic Full category. The truck has several rare features, but one of the most interesting to us was his claim that the midsize bed (notice the distance between the fender's front edge and the cab) was a factory option offered through the Sears catalog.
There are some truly hard-core...
There are some truly hard-core sport truck builders out there. Brendan Lucero, the Under Construction winner, told us that after he paid off his '02 Ford F-250, he decided to cut the body off and wrap early Chevy iron around a Ford Power Stroke diesel power chassis. The truck's low - so low that the tops of the tires are higher than the bedrails.
With lots of cash and prizes...
With lots of cash and prizes up for grabs, the competition was heavy-duty in the Meguiar's show 'n' shine.
Sergio and Susana Caraveo...
Sergio and Susana Caraveo showed their '71 Bow Tie in classic mild.
Every year, the quality of...
Every year, the quality of the sport trucks that show at this event gets better.
Nissan showed off its Troy...
Nissan showed off its Troy Lee Designs custom Titan.