2008 Hot Rod Power Tour Coverage Part Two

[hanaylor]

We are officially past the halfway point of the 2008 Hot Rod Power Tour, and you can tell as the drive appears to be taking its toll on some vehicles and their drivers. The CPG Road Warriors’ drive to Lincoln, NE proved to be an easy trip with some beautiful scenery of the countryside. We did drive down the highway with two terrible storms on either side of us on the way but didn’t experience any bad weather ourselves. The Nebraska State Fairgrounds was a very spread out venue with sunny but extremely windy weather. Cars started showing up before noon so things kicked off a little early. The main lot of the fairgrounds filled up pretty quickly so back parking lots and grassy areas were used for the overflow. There were plenty of shade trees for people to park and sit under so we took advantage and parked in the shade, too. As we were parked right at the main entrance to the fairgrounds, we did see a lot of local traffic make a stop at the event just to check it out.

Our Road Warriors have been busy with a variety of jobs this week, from answering tech questions to tuning issues to selling t-shirts, so today was no exception. Brad from TCI helped get a Transmission Control Unit straightened out while Hailey and Bryan were busy chasing down the FedEx truck that was carrying a second order of hats and t-shirts (literally following it down the street and stopping the driver) to put on the trailer.

Our giveaway time on the main stage is our favorite part of the day and today we talked a little bit about ZEX, the CPG nitrous company and the products they sell (www.zex.com). Today’s COMP Kidz 500 winner was Gracie Flamig, age 3, and our Deal or No Deal Trivia winner was Cynthia Tull from Chanute, KS. Take a look below to see some more cars from today and the Lincoln, NE stop.

Tuesday's Winners
COMP Kidz 500 Coloring Contest: Gracie Flamig, age 3
"Deal or No Deal" Trivia: Cynthia Tull of Chanute, KS ($100 COMP Cams product certificate)

It’s about a 220 mile drive to our next stop – Ames, IA and we’re heading out tonight. Let’s hope for good weather and a lot of fun. We'll fill you in tomorrow!

[hanaylor]

The buzz at Iowa State University today was the weather. We had a beautiful and peaceful drive to Ames, Iowa, last night, but the drive for the Power Tour participants this morning was not so easy. Early this morning a group of violent storms rolled through the area with thunder, lightning, rain - the works. It was a truly dreary morning setting up the booths and then waiting in the rain for participants and would be car show goers to arrive. But the storms rolled out by noon, and we had a beautiful afternoon with a lot of wind. It was so windy that several manufacturers didn’t bother to put up awnings on their trailers because they would have been destroyed.

Air Ride Technologies set up an auto cross course that anyone could drive on, and it drew much of the attention all day. We saw vehicles of all types attempting it, some good, some not. We even saw the world’s fastest lawnmower make a pass. This was an entertaining way for spectators to pass the day.

Even after the morning weather cleared up, there was talk of more bad storms to come, so Hot Rod decided to move things along and end the day at 5:30 instead of 6:00. So at our earlier than usual afternoon giveaway time, we presented Laine, a five year old from Texas, with today’s COMP Kidz 500 prize (and this little guy was so excited to be the winner). Our Deal Or No Deal Trivia participant was Bill Bradford of Algona, IA. He had some help answering his first trivia question about the CPG electronics company, FAST (www.fuelairspark.com) to win a $100 FAST product certificate and decided to try and answer our second, more difficult question and win a $100 gas gift card. Unfortunately he didn’t come up with the correct answer and only walked away with a t-shirt and hat package (but he was laughing).

Wednesday's Winners
COMP Kidz 500 Coloring Contest: Laine, age 5
"Deal or No Deal" Trivia: Bill Bradford of Algona, Iowa (COMP Cams t-shirt & hat package)

After struggling to break down our booth in the windy conditions, we’re setting out on the 185 mile trek to Rochester, Minnesota, with a gloomy forecast on the horizon. Bad weather is definitely on the way.

[hanaylor]

Today was the next to last day of the 2008 Power Tour in Rochester, MN. After more bad storms last night and another wet start to the morning, the skies cleared, and it was another beautiful day. The Rochester Community and Technical College had several large parking lots for all of us – vendors in one lot all together like the midway at a fair and participants split between the others. Since it was so spread out, a few school buses were used as shuttles to help people get back and forth. It was so crowded that cars were parked on both sides of the main road for half of a mile in either direction from the college’s main entrance.

A huge hit with the crowd today was Kenny Wayne Shepherd in the YearOne booth signing posters (Hailey even managed to snag a picture with him), and DynoMax’s chassis dyno for participants drew huge crowds all day. Rochester knows how to throw a party though, and its citizens came out in huge numbers today to see the cars, visit the manufacturers’ booths and to enjoy a live concert on the main stage this evening. The crowds camped out under the trees located all over the campus to enjoy the music and car show atmosphere. When we left the venue at 6:45 this evening, the concert was going strong and the people were packed in until it was over. We left our rig to follow when things cleared out.

Our time on the main stage for our giveaways finally paid off, and we awarded Chuck Murray of Third Lake, IL with a TCI gift certificate and a $100 gas gift card for being our first contestant to answer two trivia questions correctly. We didn’t have a COMP Kidz 500 winner today, so we’ll have two tomorrow night. All in all, it was a great day for the COMP Performance Group Road Warriors. The booth stayed busy, and we saw lots of new faces.

Thursday's Winner
"Deal Or No Deal" Trivia: Chuck Murray of Third Lake, IL ($100 TCI product certificate & $100 gas gift card)

It’s approximately 220 mile to Madison, WI, our final stop. We’ve heard that it is getting heavy rain and flooding and that Interstate 90 (our way into Madison) is flooded in places. It’s looking to be a tough night of traveling.

[CPG Marketing]

What a night! The CPG Road Warriors left Rochester, MN at around 6:45 for about a 220 mile drive to Madison, WI. We had heard rumors of the storms and flooding that were affecting the city, but we had no clue what was in store for us. On Interstate 90 into Madison, the right hand lane was flooded and the water was still rising as we drove by on the shoulder. We made it through around midnight before the interstate was shut down sometime in the early morning hours. After driving in some nasty rain, we finally made it to Madison (about six hours after we left Rochester) and went to get some much needed rest.

The Alliant Energy Center was a huge venue but we managed to pack the parking lot regardless. Cars just kept coming. Today dawned cloudy and cool as it has for the last three days and then the clouds disappeared and the sun peeked out. Temperatures were slightly cooler than they have been, but it felt wonderful. The night’s storms caused serious delays for the long haulers, and everything today was backed up at least an hour to give people time to make it to the venue. These are dedicated people though, and even though it took some of them literally all day to make it to Madison, they were determined and stuck it out. This is what makes Power Tour special – the people who make the trip again and again, no matter what it takes to get it done, whether it be the high gas prices or Mother Nature. We’ve seen the most dedicated people this week, and we thank you all for being willing participants in the 2008 Hot Rod Power Tour and allowing us to be part of it.

Tonight’s giveaways were fun, and we presented two young ladies with our COMP Kidz 500 award tonight. The winners were Trystan Rudolph and Chloie Killeen. Our Deal or No Deal Trivia was a little different tonight, too. Hailey promised the crowd if the contestant couldn’t answer the second trivia question worth a $100 gas card, she would then open it to the crowd. Roger Pennington of St. James, MO walked away with a $100 COMP Cams product certificate, so the crowd was given the opportunity to answer a second trivia question about COMP Cams. Alan Haug of Grayslake, IL answered correctly and received the $100 gas card. All in all, our giveaway time on the stage has been fun for the actual participant, as well as the crowd (mostly because they can make fun) and it’s a way that we can give something back to those who support us.

Friday’s Winners
COMP Kidz 500 Coloring Contest: Trystan Rudolph and Chloie Killeen, both age 8
“Deal Or No Deal” Trivia: Roger Pennington of St. James, MO ($100 COMP Cams product certificate) and Alan Haug of Grayslake, IL ($100 gas gift card)

Thanks again for the privilege of making this trip with all of you. We’ll see you next year!

[CPG Marketing]

Special COMP Performance Group™ gift certificates awarded at each stop of the seven-day tour

For the fourteenth consecutive year, car and truck enthusiasts of all types fired up their high performance machines, braved some truly treacherous weather and cut through the heart of the Midwest for the 2008 Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour. At each stop of the tour, the COMP Performance Group™ personnel were in attendance to supply technical expertise and present prizes to a few lucky contestants in some new contests created just for this event.

This year, more than 2500 Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour Long Haulers traversed the entire trip, starting in Little Rock, AR, and finishing in Madison, WI. Along the way the tour stopped in Springfield, MO; Topeka, KS; Lincoln, NE; Ames, IA and Rochester, MN. The COMP Performance Group™ trailer was at each stop and had technical help for all CPG companies, including COMP Cams® and TCI® specialists, and a varied assortment of COMP Performance Group™ apparel for sale. COMP Cams® also sponsored the COMP Kidz 500 coloring contest everyday where kids 12 years old and under competed for a McDonald’s gift card.

But the hit of the tour was the “Deal or No Deal” Trivia contest. At each tour location, a randomly drawn contestant was given the chance to come to the main stage and answer a fairly easy trivia question about a COMP Performance Group™ company. If answered correctly, they earned a $100 gift certificate for COMP Performance Group™ products. They could then opt to walk away with the certificate or try to answer a second, more difficult question and receive a $100 gasoline gift card in addition to the prize already earned. If the second question was answered incorrectly, a COMP Cams® t-shirt and hat were the only prizes awarded. Only two winners earned the top award, Alan Haug of Grayslake, IL and Chuck Murray of Third Lake, IL.

This year, the Power & Performance News™ team was really on target, delivering daily reports from the field concerning the events and cars via the www.powerperformancenews.com website. More than ever, it was a chance to really see what participants do and go through to attend this event. For many attendees, this was the trip of a lifetime with great cars and great car people. Challenged by some unbelievably crazy weather that included tornadoes in Kansas, flooding in Iowa and Wisconsin and gusting winds in most locations, it was a wonder that these cars could make it through the tour (and laugh about it).

Regardless of the danger from severe weather outbreaks, this year’s Power Tour was an unqualified success as noted by attendees at the booth. For the 2008 Power Tour daily event coverage and pictures, visit us online at www.powerperformancenews.com.