The Havoc show had all the necessary ingredients for a fun-filled weekend truck show. It was held indoors at the convention center in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, which meant two things. First off, Kentucky is central to everybody, and second, an indoor truck show means air conditioning. The temps inside never climbed high enough to break a sweat, and since the show was indoors, you only had to detail your truck once without fear of wind or dust messing it up.
Havoc also had several other things going for it. The city of Louisville was kind enough to block off an entire city block to provide an area suitable for draggers to do their deed with zero interference from police. All you had to do was sign a waiver at the show, and at 6 p.m. on Saturday, you could do lap after lap of railin' your ride out on the street in front of a captive audience. Unlike other shows, where the draggin' takes place on uncontrolled city streets, there were no pedestrians, no locals swerving through traffic to cause accidents, and best of all, the whole scene was entirely legal.
The action was off the chain! One guy dragged past the crowd with his truck's tilt bed in the up position, hammering the roll pan as he flew on by. Another guy in a Nissan Hardbody actually laid his truck out at 40 mph with the driver-side suicide door all the way open-craziness! Brian Brubaker's Tacoma actually slid sideways down the street, once the air was out of the 'bags, the rockers hit the floor, and the tires relinquished grip with the pavement, earning him the coveted drag-off championship award.
When the drag session ended, everyone headed around the corner of 4th Street to yet another city block that was roped off and ready for fun. This area was chock-full of bars and included a bowling alley and a pool hall. A valid ID got you through the velvet rope and into an area where roaming the street in pub-crawl mode with a frosty cold one in your hand was, again, perfectly legal. The close proximity of the host hotels, the convention center, and all the extra-curricular activities made for an easygoing weekend.
Being the first year for Sport Truck and Mini Truckin' magazines' joint effort at hosting a show, we had low expectations. The turnout was better than expected, even with the relatively mild amount of media exposure the event garnered beforehand. If the buzz of the crowd in attendance was a barometer of the show's success, then there's good reason to attend next year as this event blows up like it should.
We'd like to thank the sponsors, including Chevy Trucks, Toyo Tires, J.C. Whitney, LMC Truck, Aim Industries, Vortex Spray-On Liners, BTW, Stylin' Concepts, RBP Diesel Performance, and especially Eddie Cebreco and the guys from Subculture for making sure the bikini contest and judging went smoothly. See ya next year!