2022 What's a Venue? And Other Tidbits

Here are a few tidbits that I learned on the Power Tour.  (You will know this is written by a female because guys usually know these things!)

VENUE

"Monday, June 12, 2022    Memphis International Raceway was our starting venue for the Hot Rod Power Tour."  I hate to admit my stupidity, but I had to look up "venue".  Do you know what it is? 

"A venue is a location where something happens."  This explanation is intriguing but I think this is even more clear:

All venues are places, but not all places are venues. 

Your house, for example, is a place. The stadium in your city is a venue. Your house could be a venue, however, if you were to host some kind of gathering there.

It makes life interesting to learn new words, doesn't it?

RAT RODS

 A rat rod is a custom car with a deliberately worn-down, unfinished appearance, typically lacking paint, showing rust, and made from cheap or cast-off parts.  Basically a hodge-podge of car parts that may not even use custom items from the same era.

 Reminder, click on a pic to enlarge it.

The Power Tour - This is the 28th year it's been held.

How many cars go on the Hot Rod Power Tour? 

In previous years, there were 6,000 to 8,000 cars registered.  We think the 4,000 this year is a pretty good turnout, considering that gas is almost $5.00 per gallon and we're still gearing down from the Pandemic.

There are also many participants who run the route without registering so they can see all these unique, souped-up, improved cars and trucks. 

 
Have you ever wondered what it is like to go on a cross-country road trip with 4,000 of your friends?

The Motor Trend Hot Rod Power Tour is just that – a five-day, five-city mobilized car show where 4,000+ participants bring anything from classic hot-rods to newer builds to showcase.  Plus, there are up to 100,000 spectators.  

 

Last year, a friend had a relative who lived on the route.  He said cars started passing his home before 8:00 a.m. and continued the entire day till after 5:00!   It took a full day for 6,000 cars to pass by.

Social Event Every Evening

All the motels for miles around are full of Power Tour cars that come from all over the place.  We saw cars from Wisconsin, California, Texas, Washington state, and Vermont.  In the evenings, you walk around and chat with friendly people about their prized cars. The tone is so positive and upbeat."

The Route of the Tour

Carefully chosen routes pretty much avoid the interstate highways and take us through beautiful scenic farms and small towns.  

They inform the various towns so there are often people out in their lawn chairs, under shade trees, with all ages of people waving us on.   Local cops sometimes direct traffic to keep things moving.  When we stop for gas, the stations are crammed with hot rods gunning their motors.  Finding restrooms can be a challenge!

 

The most fun part of the Power Tour for us is throwing out Hot Wheel cars to children along the way.

Some people throw out ball caps or Mardi Gras beads.

 

A friend found a dollar store going out of business so Gary had her get all they had.  We started out 3 years ago with 150 cars.  In 2018, the tour was in early June so kids weren't out of school yet.  In 2021, it was in August so kids were already back in school.

 

This year, we finally saw some kids!  I was busy throwing cars so didn't get many pics.

2022 Hot Rod Power Tour

(Click on any photo for an enlargement)

We once again went on our "summer camp on the road" vacation.  Every year the Power Tour is sponsored by Hot Rod Magazine.  It started in 1995 so this makes Year 28 for this fun event.  It's the 5th time that Gary has gone and 4 years for me. 

We had 10+ cars from the Shenandoah Valley in past years but this year there were only 2 cars - ours and that of Wilmer and Shirley Shank. of us. One could not ask for better travel companions than Wilmer and Shirley. They set up all the hotels, mapped out our side tours, led the way, and were simply fun to be with!

Launched in 1995 by the HOT ROD magazine staff as a way to personally connect with readers, the HOT ROD Power Tour is widely considered to be the finest high-end hot rod–based automotive tour in the world, bringing together more than 4,000 vehicles in 2022.

 

 

Memphis to Nashville to Birmingham to Pensacola, to Atlanta

Day 0   Sunday, June 11, 2022    750 miles  Harrisonburg, VA to Memphis, TN   It was a long day but we did just fine.

Day 1   Monday, June 12   Memphis International Raceway was our venue.  We registered after standing in long, long, long lines.

We then toured Graceland, the famous home of Elvis Presley. 

Graceland was not as majestic as I had expected.  However, Elvis was only 42 when he died so he might have had more palatial homes in his future, had he lived longer.

His living room featured a piano in the adjoining room at the far end and a then-modern TV set.

 

 

The pool room ceiling and walls are covered with a gathered print bright fabric.

While in Memphis, we had lunch at B.B. King's Blues Club on the famous Beale Street. 

Day 2   Tuesday, June 13   About 200 miles   Memphis to Nashville

As always, most of the Power Tour follows smaller roads so we get to see small town America.  This was a nice ride. 

I started noticing the beautiful mimosa trees.  It's a bit too cold in the Shenandoah Valley for mimosas to thrive.  We saw them lining the highways for miles and miles.  Too bad the photos can't portray the beauty of these peachy colored blooms.

p.s.  I need to correct myself.  I just saw a whole row of mimosa trees along Rt. 33.   So, they do grow in the Shenandoah Valley!  I understand they're VERY messy to have in your lawn.

 
Day 3  Wednesday, June 14, 2022   200 miles   Nashville to Birmingham

 

We left a bit earlier than usual (8:30) because Wilmer remembered that there were shade trees along the roads inside the Hoover Met Complex.  We set up our chairs in the shade to watch the never-ending parade.  

 

We parked and went under the stadium where we had the most delicious and hottest (temperature-wise) Chick-fil-A sandwich I've ever had.  Somewhere we took a photo of us at our picnic table but it might have melted.

Yes, you're seeing correctly.  Our Corvette thermometer showed 100 degrees

 

 

Gary and I went inside to get our lanyards punched.

 

We came back to our chairs and watched some more.  We decided to go and came back to our car to see this:

Yes, that says 107 degrees!!!  And here we were walking around on asphalt!  Gary says that's the closest he ever wants to be to hell!!!

We went to our hotel to discover that our room was 63 degrees!  I froze but shook under the heavy duvet for a nap.  It took a while to reset that irksome thermostat and it finally got warmer.   (Keep this in mind - 107 to 63 within an hour.... more later on that.)

Day 4  Thursday, June 15   about 255 miles  Birmingham to Pensacola

We parked next to a guy who has a Pontiac G8 like Wilmer has.  They were having a good time visiting, so Gary and I went into the Venue to get our lanyards punched.

 

Gary with a Drag Race Funny Car

 

Gary with a Dragster

 Nice Wrap Job!

Day 5  Friday, June 17    about 800+ miles    Pensacola to Harrisonburg

Shirley started with a cold and got worse and worse.  We decided together to skip Atlanta so hit the road for another long haul.  We got in at dusk on Friday evening.

Just keep scrolling below for 3 more posts for 2022

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Or, you can click on each link below:
2022 Hot Rods Galore
2022 What's a Venue? And Other Tidbits 
2022 Our Favorite - Chop Top 54 Plymouth

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Posts from Previous Years

It Started at DQ   2021

What is the Power Tour?  2018

Power Tour in 2017 Corvette 

It Started at DQ

There were a few guys with Corvettes and other snappy cars around our area here in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia who knew each other.  Some of them have gone on the Power Tour sponsored by HotRod Magazine.  Others are kin or are local friends.

This is the original group:  Gary and Mary Suter, Orden and Reba Harman, Galen and Susie Shank.  (Wilmer and Shirley Shank were with us but might have slept in that morning.)

Galen Shank started telling folks, mostly ones he knew from the Power Tour, that he would be at the local Dairy Queen on the outside patio on Sunday evenings.  This simple idea started with the Power Tour people but has generated some new friends who also love Corvettes.

One Sunday evening someone observed several Corvettes parked in a row and realized that all of the owners were raised in the Mennonite church.  Thus was born our whimsical name "The Mennonite Corvette Club."
 
This summer we made day trips to the Homestead near Hot Springs in VA, the Greenbrier in WV,  Canaan Valley in WV, the Peaks of Otter on the Skyline Drive, and Graves Mountain Lodge, north of Charlottesville, VA.

This photo is a treasure. It is at Graves Mountain Lodge, our largest group yet - 18.  There was a buffet filled with home-cookin' and it was a beautiful day for a ride. 

This was October 17, 2021.

We sat Mennonite style at the tables -
which means the women sit together and the men sit together.  

Anyone knows that guys want to talk about manifolds and alternators, while women like to talk about "Feelings!" EEEUUUU!!  

Galen and Susy Shank
are the instigators, errrr..., make that
initiators
of our delightful "Mennonite Corvette Club." 

Click on pic for a closer view.

Larry Martin, Marietta and Richard Barnhart, Gail Martin, Karen and Arlan Blosser, Becky and Bill May, Reba and Orden Harman, Susy and Galen Shank, Shirley and Wilmer Shank, Mary and Gary Suter, Sharon and Whit Menefee.

Here are a couple of links from past years:
What is the Power Tour?    Power Tour in 2017 Corvette

Power Tour in 2017 Corvette

(Sometimes I wish I had taken more photos but it might have "watered down" the experiences I was having if I would have been concentrating on snapping photos.  This blog is my journal which I use to jog my memory and to share with anyone who wishes to read it.)

Gary and I went on the Power Tour for a week in June.  This is put on by Hot Rod magazine and this was the 23^rd year it has run.  This was quite an event and words can hardly do it justice, but here's an overview.   “Seven Cities in Seven Days” is the theme.  

Now…..before I tell you more I want you to know that there were 6,000 to 8,000 cars participating in this!  It can be any car, not just sports cars.  Gary drove his 2017 long-beach-red Corvette and we traveled quite comfortably in it.  Getting in and out gave our muscles a good work-out.

A course is laid out and it stays off the interstates so we see the local scenery.  People

were lined up in their front yards with their coolers and cheering us on.  It was a blast!!!  Sometimes our group would just stop and watch the cars go by for a while.  It was noisy what with all the spin-outs and burning rubber take-offs.   6,000 is a LOT of cars!!!!!!

Naturally, the motels were filled with Power Tour people so it was like a mini-car show every evening.  We walked around, talked to people, and just hung out.

There were 8 of us from the Harrisonburg area.  We ate breakfast together at the motel, had fast food together for lunch, and went out for dinner.  That lent itself to getting to know each other and we have made some new fun-loving friends including Orden and Reba Harman, Galen and Suzie Shank, Gary and Mary.  Not pictured are Wilmer and Shirley Shank.  A Singers Glen guy and his wife, L.F. and Debbie Miller, joined us for a couple of days.

This is at the National Corvette Museum and assembly plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  The tour of the plant assembly portion is mind-boggling to say the least.  I didn't realize that there is no other place in the world where they make Corvettes.   

  
The Corvette Museum is where, in 2014, a sinkhole opened up in the middle of the room and 8 Corvettes feel into the bottom of the DEEP hole.  Fortunately, no people were hurt as it was about 5:30 a.m. but the security cameras caught it all.  7 of the cars were restored but this one they left for all to see.

In Kansas City, Missouri we toured the Arabia Steamboat Museum and it was a highlight of our trip.  The Missouri is the longest river in the US and has claimed nearly 400 other steamboats over its 2,500 mile course.  In 1856, the Arabia was carrying over 200 tons of cargo intended for general stores in 16 mid-western frontier towns.  The steamer was still fully loaded when it hit a tree snag and sank just 6 miles west of Kansas City. 

Due to erosion, the Missouri River changed course over time, and the Arabia was buried underground for over a century – along with all of its precious cargo. Lying 45-feet deep beneath a Kansas cornfield, the Arabia’s payload was protected from light and oxygen and was thus remarkably well preserved.

From fine China to carpentry tools to children’s toys to the world’s oldest pickles—the Arabia’s artifacts are astounding.  Plus, the family who took on the project in 1988 has cleaned and displayed these items impeccably well.

Every afternoon, there was a venue in each of our tour cities.  There were lots of accessories, etc. for the cars, as well as shirts and food.  I felt sorry for the workers because they had to pack up their wares and hightail it to the next stop every day. It was like a county fair for cars each day.  That's where we went to get our badges validated.  

We have figured out that the Harrisonburg area wouldn't be large enough for the Power Tour because there wouldn't be enough motels and even the fairgrounds wouldn't furnish enough parking for the 6,000 - 8,000 cars, vendors, and other workers.

 
Gary and I completed all 7 cities in 7 days so we won our “Long Haulers” metal plaque!
 

 OUR ROUTE:  We started in Kansas City, MO;  then Newton, IA;  Davenport, IA;  Champaign, IL; Madison, IL; Indianapolis, IN;  and ended up in Bowling Green, KY.
     

This shows you some of the boxes that were filled with plaques.

Another one of our adventures happened the last day of the tour.  We got on the elevator to go down to breakfast and the ELEVATOR GOT STUCK!!!   We were in there about 45 minutes and, even when they did open the door, it was between floors so we had to crawl out.  It was a dramatic ending to a Power Week of fun!

My hero, Gary Lee Suter, with his jazzy shirt and hat. 
 We covered 3,153 miles in that fast-paced week!   

Would we like to go again?  Sure thing!

What is the Power Tour?

(This blogger program isn't doing what I set up......that's why things are weird sizes and colors.)   
 By the way, you can click on any photo to enlarge it.

Hot Rod Magazine organizes a route that goes to 7 cities in 7 days for any and all sorts of cars - including sports, souped up "family cars," and "rat rods."  This route takes small, local roads which gives us a chance to really see the country.  The rally in 2018 was the 24th year this event has been held. 

There were 6,000 to 8,000 cars this year!!!!!

Every late afternoon, we go to a venue (such as a race track or fairgrounds) to get our badges punched in order to get our Long Haul plaques at the end.   The many vendors set up booths where they sell all sorts of things.

Each evening, all the motels for miles around are full of Power Tour cars.  It's such fun to wander around to see the cars and chat with people.... people from California, to Texas, to Maine, to Virginia.

Last year the tour ended in Bowling Green so that's where it started this year.

Power Tour 2018
Bowling Green, KY

Chattanooga, TN

Birmingham, AL

Atlanta, GA

Darlington, SC

Raleigh, NC

Charlotte, NC

 Planning Time 
Our trusty-dusty leader, Galen Shank, calls a planning meeting.

A friend hates the "twin-sies" look so we sent her this photo!

One of our evening meals.  Dining together was a great time to share the day and to get to know each other.

L.F. Miller, Susie Shank, Shirley Shank, Wilmer Shank, John Sauder, Larry Martin, Galan Shank, Gary Suter, MaryMay Angelil, Franklin Miller, L.F.'s son-in-law.

This website isn't letting me arrange the pictures the way I want so I'll just show you some of the cars.  Some of the them might look like family cars, but when they start up - VAROOOMMM -  you know there has been some souping up under the hood.

 

 

Some of these old ones are referred to as rat rods.

Many are like new from the factory.

    

The interior of this one was simply superb.

I have nothing brilliant to say about these except that they're all fun.

 A Lincoln Continentals is always impressive, especially when it's perfect like this one.

This is one of the first rat rods we saw.

This car was right in front of one of our group.  Going down a steep incline, it must have slipped on the wet road and it flipped over and down the bank.  The man's grandson was in a car ahead and somehow came back to find the man.  This is the grandson crawling in and dragging his grandfather out.

It appeared that the man had hit his head but they were on their way to the hospital when we left.   We heard later it took a while to get 911 help because there were no cell towers on that little mountain.  As far as we know, things ended OK.  Except his pride and joy, a 1957 Chevrolet that was impeccably restored was ruined.

 Several times throughout the week, we would stop and just watch cars go by for a while.  It takes a long time for 6,000 - 8,000 vehicles to pass through an area - and it is NOISY!  We would watch for a while, then rejoin the caravan.

Watching the World Go By
Gary Suter, Galen Shank, Orden Harman, Kurt Glover, Ron Williams, and Franklin Miller.

Gary, Galen, Orden, MaryMay, Susie Shank, Reba Harman.

Throughout the week, Hot Rod magazine has photographers along the way.  They take a picture of each car and other candid shots that go into their magazine.  You go to their "booth" to see your photo and order or not.  Gary's photo was dark so we went the next day to see if it could be improved.  We were invited into an "RV" that was converted into a photo lab.

The wife did the computer work to prepare each photo for printing.

The owner standing by the printer.  He redid Gary's without hesitation.

A photo coming out (not Gary's).

The employee mounted and trimmed the poster.

Ta Da!  A photo of Gary's poster (looks better in person).

The finished product is a nice souvenir for remembering a fun, fun week. 

It is amusing that grown-ups will stand in line in the hot sun to get a metal plaque.  Here are thousands of people waiting patiently.

L.F. Miller and I grew up in Singers Glen and our mothers were great friends. 
L.F.'s son, Franklin, lived there as a youngster.

Hot Rod magazine publishes the route for next year fairly soon.  It ended in Charlotte, NC this year so it will start in Charlotte next year.  Galen probably has all the motels booked already!

The part of the Power Tour I like best is being with friends for breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well as sharing all sorts of adventures along the way.