Though Blood Drag started in West Palm Beach, Florida, as a benefit show, it's turned into a popular event that continues to grow annually. Since February '99, the show has become an East Coast phenomenon that has been known to draw huge crowds of vehicles and spectators. Because of Blood Drag's huge success, word about it spread throughout the rest of the country. During the time that this event had become a premier show, the scene on the West Coast dwindled with shows being cancelled left and right. In this time of despair, club No Regrets wanted to change things with a new event. So, with the help of the original Blood Drag crew, the club got going with plans for a West Coast Blood Drag.
Keeping with the tradition...
Keeping with the tradition of a sanctioned Blood Drag show, the American Red Cross was on hand to take donations.
The first thing No Regrets club members decided on was a time at which to hold the show. Since nothing was really going on this past October in Southern California, that time was chosen. To keep things interesting, they looked into different venues and picked a local Universal Technical Institute facility. Since that particular automotive school is involved in and teaches students how to customize vehicles, it was a good place to host it. Keeping up the tradition of the show, a local blood bank was on site to take donations and officially call it a Blood Drag event. In the end, this was a fresh approach to throwing a show in this area, and hopefully word will spread so it too can grow.
The 411
Show name:
Blood Drag West Coast
Dates:
October 12, 2008
Venue (City/State):
Universal Technical Institute, Rancho Cucamonga, California
Spectator Attendance:
Unknown; show was free for spectators
Total Vehicle Entrants:
248
Awards Given:
Owners of winning vehicles received custom acrylic trophies that had the show name and award printed on them. Best of Show categories included best truck, car, audio/video, graphics, engine, interior, paint, lifted suspension, and lowered suspension. The No Regrets Club Pick went to Chris Couto for his '63 Chevy C10, while the California Cruisers Club Pick went to Art Sanchez for his '03 Chevy Silverado. Club Participation went to Severed Ties who had a whole gang of members present.
Special Events:
Since the show was in the school parking lot, things were toned down and it was primarily just a show and shine. If you were feeling froggy, you could have scored some free cookies by donating some valuable blood to those in need.
Sponsors:
Classic Parts Depot, Devious Customs, Diesel Gear, Draggers Inc., GO-EZ Customs, Grommet Industries, Kinetik Audio, Ludikrs Kustoms, and Universal Technical Institute
Contact For Future Events:
myspace.com/blooddrag, blooddrag1@yahoo.com
 Not only did Tom McWeeney...  Not only did Tom McWeeney of Kustoms Inc. bring out his way cool S-10, but he also packed his pinstriping brushes and One Shot paints. From morning to afternoon, he was busy laying lines on rides. |  |  The staff of UTI opened up...  The staff of UTI opened up the doors to the shop area of the school so everyone could catch a glimpse of the equipment and depth of student training. We were definitely impressed and wound up drooling over the hot rod section. |
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 Queen Ester was at the show...  Queen Ester was at the show and stunning everyone with her beautiful bod. |  |  |
 Jap's Isuzu was clean before...  Jap's Isuzu was clean before it was featured in our mag. With new paint and interior work, it looks better than ever. |  |  |
 |  |  Mike DeMello's '73 C10 is...  Mike DeMello's '73 C10 is really making progress. It has been spending some time at Sisco Kustoms for bodywork and other details. As you can see, Brandon Sisco just finished shaving the firewall and core support and adding wheeltubs. |
 |  Here's an interesting combo:...  Here's an interesting combo: an '88-'98 body-style Chevy Truck with an '01-'06 Cadillac Escalade front clip. |  It's pretty cool to see past...  It's pretty cool to see past cover trucks that are still babied and brought out to shows years after their photo shoots. |
 |  The promoter of the Resolutions...  The promoter of the Resolutions show, Bob Hase, rolled out his custom Astro van. We dig the Torq Thrust wheels combined with dragster-style tires. |  |
 |  |  Since Art Sanchez's '03 Chevy...  Since Art Sanchez's '03 Chevy Silverado was finished and debuted at this show, we picked it for our Sport Truck Editor's Pick award. |
 No, Travis Pruis's C10 is...  No, Travis Pruis's C10 is not sporting the unfinished finished look. It is truly under construction and awaiting a few more mods before paint. |  |  |
 |  |  It's always shocking to see...  It's always shocking to see SUVs that are dropped down to the rockers. |
 Although the styling on the...  Although the styling on the outside of this S-10 is very simple, the inside is filled with all sorts of stuff like these cool, fiberglass door panels. |  |  |
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