When thinking about major national Sport Truck shows, the St. Louis, Missouri, area is rarely on the top of the list. The S-Series Nationals, hosted by the St. Louis S-Series Owners Group is out to change that frame of mind, along with breaking the stereotype of a standard sit-and-sweat event. This event is about actually driving your truck.
June 16-18, 2005, was kicked off at the Pin Oak Creek RV Park, which was the initial meeting place for the S-Series Nationals. From there, it was time to turn up the tunes and hit the road. Friday night, the first stop on the event schedule was at Gateway International Raceway for an evening of all-nighttime drag racing action. The participants were encouraged to register their trucks for grudge racing. This portion of the event was open to all makes and models.
Saturday's events started with a cruise to the next stop, Hot Shots, a favorite local sports bar. This show 'n' shine was the place to be for some of the sponsor-donated raffles, free snow cones from the CCC Snow Sled, to get your truck washed by the Hot Shots Girls at their Hot Bikini Car Wash, or participate in the sound competition presented by Sound Ideas of St. Louis. Later that night, everyone cruised back to the campsite for the trophy presentation-no, you don't have to wait until Sunday at 4 p.m.-and more raffle prizes.
The weekend was topped off with yet another cruise to Hooters of St. Louis for lots of hot wings and the Hooters Girls Choice award. The girls chose John Collet's '97 Sonoma with the true-fire tribal graphics for this award, bringing this weekend to a close.
Everyone knows how expensive it can be to attend an out-of-town show, but again, the S-Series Nationals is working to break this mold. With paid registration, participants of the S-Series Nationals are entitled to an all-inclusive show. The host club provided a campsite, food, beverages, snacks, trophies for 24 different classes, raffles for sponsor-donated prizes, activities, and other competitions for the whole weekend. All this, and somehow, they still manage to donate a sizable portion of the proceeds from registration and raffles to charities working toward a cure for cancer.
Special thanks go to this year's events sponsors, which included Victory Graphix, Hooters of St. Louis, Hot Shots Bar and Grill, SuicideDoors.com, Sound Ideas, CanDo Specialities, Midwest-Signs and Designs, S-10 Forum, and S-Series Forum. Clean Cut Creations also sponsored this year's show and have signed on as the premier sponsor of the 2006 show to be hosted in St. Louis on June 16-18. If you'd like to attend or add your name to the list of sponsors, visit the show website at www.s-seriesnationals.com. Check the website throughout the year for updated show information and raffles to be held throughout the year to benefit the show. The current raffle is for a flamed refrigerator donated by Clean Cut Creations. Get your tickets fast-only 1,000 are available.