The 2002 Lowrider Magazine Scrapin' Tour is in full effect and LRE's there to capture all of the action from across this great nation. Check out our show coverage from just about all ends of our awesome country; it's a little different than usual. We thought that you gearhead guys and girls might like our new format.
Our coverage begins in the Southwest; Dallas, Texas, to be exact, where hot cars and hot girls seemed to be the model. The Dallas Fair Park was full of cars and girls basking in the sun in all of their glory. A handful of Euro/sub-compact car owners held their heads as high as the clear Texas sky, among them Dwain Collins, the owner of "1 Bad Max," an '87 Nissan Maxima that rolled in from Arkansas to take First Place in the Euro Sweepstakes. Dwain was followed by Tim Taylor's "Flagship" Ford Probe (featured elsewhere in this issue) in Second Place and Dallas local Oscar Gutierrez in Third with his hot Honda Accord.
The Tour then ventured to the Southeast, specifically in Tampa, Florida, where we saw a healthy number of premium Sunshine State rides. Of course, only three top competitors could emerge victorious. The First Place trophy was handed to Cesar Gonzalez and arriving in Second was Johnny Calvo who owns a candy green '97 Honda Civic. Go-Lo Entertainment saw that Edwin Chong received some recognition in Third Place.
The Tour next scraped its way to the Midwest. The Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana, was the site of a wild weekend almost comparable to the legendary Indy 500 race. It seemed that the Indy Tour stop brought every Midwestern lowrider out of the woodwork, including some leading Euro builders. In the Euro/Sports Car class you had Reynaldo Rodriguez of Ground Force C.C. emerge victorious with his '87 Toyota Corolla, "Precious Moments." Second Place was won by Rick Hansen's Ford Probe from Positive Force C.C. with Cory Turley's "Gold Mine" settling for the silver.
We stayed in the Midwest for our next Tour destination. LRM's "Aztec Dos" stopped at McCormick Place in the "Windy City" only to find a whirlwind of cool Euros. Even with rows of show cars on hand, there could only be a few top winners. A few familiar names dominated, as Chi-town local Reynaldo Rodriguez again took home First Place. Second Place was won by Kentucky resident Tim Taylor, who proudly displayed his Probe once again. Rounding out the top three in this class was Luis Sanchez.
Packing our bags and heading to the Pacific Northwest, we stopped next at the Portland Expo Center in Portland, Oregon. Ryan Peterson's '91 Mitsubishi 3000GT, "Blade," cut up the competition with its highly detailed chassis and extensively worked-over interior and engine bay. Coming in Second was Jason Suicich of Salem, Oregon, with his intense '96 Volkswagen Jetta, "Jetta-Fied." Jason had a new ride in tow with him: his wife Amanda's '95 Dodge Neon done up with lowrider flavor. Running in Third was Robert "Chopper" McCain with his plush '84 Pontiac Trans Am sporting the Legion of Doom C.C. plaque.
We then headed to Kansas City, Missouri, where we checked out as many of the Midwest's hottest rides as the American Royal Complex could hold. The Euro scene was busy as well, with a tough decision on who would be the top dog in the Euro/Sports Car category. Reynaldo Rodriguez scored 184 points and received a check for a cool grand for First Place. Coming in Second Place with 150 points was Dwain Collins, and Arthur Manzanares was pleased as punch with his Third Place spot that he won with his '89 Toyota Corolla.
The Tour then paid one more visit to the Lone Star State, stopping this time at the Reliant Arena in Houston, Texas, where the cars seemed to be hotter than the Texas summer weather. In fact, people in the indoor air-conditioned facility still felt some heat seeping through, though it didn't come from the weather, but from the contender's rides. Jon and Theresa Chuck blew away the competition as their tricked-out Chevy Camaro, "Mr. Ouija," wowed the crowd. Oscar Gutierrez won Second Place with Alfonso Medina laying claim to the Third spot.
Thus ends our show coverage for this latest issue of LRE. Stay tuned for our next issue as we still have several more shows to go, including the "grand daddy" of them all, the Las Vegas Super Show, where all of the top Euro cars and qualifiers will battle it out for the coveted Euro of the Year award.