The Power Tour officially started today with absolutely perfect weather. It was cool in the morning and there was a constant breeze that kept the heat at bay all day. We all had breakfast at the hotel before heading across the street to the venue at Arrowhead Stadium. We got there a few minutes before they opened the gates, and waited in a holding parking lot. The holding lot rivals many car shows I have been to. There must have been 200-300 cars. When they opened the gates we all proceeded in a fairly orderly fashion around the stadium to the Power Tour lot. As soon as Tara, Jacob and I got in the gate, we made a bee line for parking spots along the grass median near a great shade tree. Others had the same idea and it didn't take long for the lot around us to fill up. Everyone gets excited for Power Tour. We passed a little kid in a Ghostbusters pedal car- complete with trapped ghost on the back.
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| Primo parking!! |
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| Who you gonna call? |
Once we were parked, we grabbed our credentials and made our way to the sponsors midway and main stage to get clocked in and pick up the Power Tour freebies. I had already bought my Kansas City Participant's t-shirt yesterday, so I was able to skip the t-shirt sales trailer. For the rest of the stuff, it's like automotive trick-or-treating. Spray wax from Mother's, Magnets from MSD, T-shirts and hats from GM, more hats from Edelbrock, and, of course, the Hot Rod Power 2017 windshield sticker from Painless Wiring.
Not only do we get free stuff, but the sponsors also have some really unique cars parked around them. I was impressed by a Ring Brothers (big time performance car builders) totally custom yellow and black DeTomasso Pantera. While we were at the Edelbrock trailer, I made sure to thank the Edelbrock guys for convincing me to buy the supercharger for the Corvette (it's been a really fun year with that puppy installed) and we also offered our condolences on Vic Edelbrock, Jr's passing away. He was a Power Tour staple. He would long haul his supercharged Corvette and sit for lengths of time signing autographs. The automotive world will certainly miss him.
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| Ring Brothers Pantera |
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| Red White and Blue Beauty |
After we made our rounds, we checked out some of the cars in the parking lot and then went back to the cars. Pictures cannot begin to demonstrate the sheer awesomeness of thousands of show cars (and a few "Plan B" normal cars) all gathered in one parking lot. Whatever your fancy, it's probably here somewhere.
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| They just kept coming after this was shot too! We were parked towards the top of the photo |
Camaros of all generations were by far the most plentiful. There are also Vipers, rat rods with wicked turbo engines, we counted at least 4 Mustang IIs. We even saw a 1970's tricked out motor home. This event is an gearhead's dream.
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| Oooh shiny! |
Once at the car, I added the "2017" to the six previous Power Tour years on the back windshield. It was a tight fit and I may need to move some of them around when we get home. To our benefit, not only did our tree provide plenty of shade, it was right by the entrance and exit and proved to be a great spot to watch the cars come and go. We talked to several long haulers we had met last year in Wichita. They had a beautiful orange 1969 Satellite. I didn't get a picture, but I will try and stalk them down at the next stop.
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| Tim and his '57 |
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| 1967 Chevelle Gasser- "Stuck Up" |
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| Blue and white and white and blue |
We had lunch via a Kansas City barbecue food truck. Tara and I split the "fat kid" which was an open faced sandwich loaded with brisket, cole slaw, beans and sauce. It was really good. We picked a different route back through the parking lot so that we would be able to see different cars.
Some of the amazing cars today included a 1971 'Cuda convertible, a Mercury Cougar on a custom car hauler that may once have been a fire truck,
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| 1971 'Cuda Convertible |
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It doesn't look like much...
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| but TURBO!!! |
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| For the discerning Corvette owner worried about turbo lag, there's always a blower option!! |
We spent as much time at the venue today and took full advantage of the great weather. There's a heat wave hitting many of our Tour stops this year and who knows how hot it might be tomorrow or the next day. Tara talked to tons of people about the Acadian. The car draws more questions than Alex Trebec.
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Oh, it's a Canadian car, eh? You're from where?
How El Caminos are made. |
We had dinner and more than a few drinks with our friends at the hotel before heading out to the Acadian to a bit of maintenance before our first driving leg. We topped off the power steering fluid, checked the oil and, most importantly, re-glued the mirrored centers of the "6" and "o" on Tara's front license plate. Tomorrow we are off to Newton, IA.
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| A room with a view |
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