Vintage Torque Fest 2011 |
Created by Evilbahumut 
| Date: | Apr 29 08:00AM — Apr 30 10:00PM |
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| Location: |
Jackson County Fairgrounds 1212 E Quarry St Maquoketa, IA 52060 |
| Cost: | $5 |
| Description: |
Many people were surprised at the turn out that came to Farley Speedway last year for the Vintage Torque Fest. It rained almost 3 inches the day before the show, and this is never a good thing for a car show. But that did not stop the faithful hot rodders from showing up from Texas, Michigan, Nebraska, Kansas, and as far away as North Carolina! This was a nationally advertised show and did not rely on the usual local car clubs. Instead Los Punk Rods Car Club from Kansas City, Oliver Group from Des Moines, and The Cheaters Car Club from Milwaukee held most of the responsibilites of helping run the show. By casting a wide net the show got almost 500 cars and 4000 spectators. This created a bit of a parking snafu at the Speedway. The Vintage Torque Fest promoter John Wells states, "We simply ran out of room. We did not expect the turnout to be quite so heavy and as a result we have had to move the event to Jackson County Fairgrounds in Maquoketa, IA." In addition to moving to a much bigger facility to accomodate all the spectators, there is room to put all the hot rods and custom cars on the grounds. The main thing that makes Vintage Torque Fest different from any other show out there is the fact that participants are allowed to go out on the dirt track and make laps with their own cars. This unique aspect of the show is only available at two other shows in the world - one outside London, England and the other is by Gettysburg, PA. "It is hard to drive these old cars more than 200-300 miles to a show," says Bruce Oliver. "We would love to go to Pennsylvania, but we just can't get the time off of work, and I am not sure the guys I roll with could make it. I mean we ARE talking about cars that are 40-80 years old." The common joe may not realize that the cars that come to Torque Fest are driven. Very few are trailered to the event. This is another part of what makes these drivers unique. The mindset of coming to a car show that is 4 miles away from your house, getting out the lawn chairs and sitting behind your car staring at the bumper for 7 hours is NOT what this particular group has in mind. This type of festival attracts those that are obsessed with the past, or at least certain aspects of the past. And these people are full of energy and interested in having a good time. The attitudes that you may find at some car shows are not present at this type of show. One of the reasons is that there are no trophies given at Vintage Torque Fest. The show promoter, John Wells, feels that if you are needing validation for your car by getting some trophy - then this show is here to open up your eyes. Some car clubs create home made awards to give out, but driving your car is the real reward at Torque Fest. Digging up the past is not hard to do at the Vintage Torque Fest. There is a swap meet that only allows vintage car and motorcycle parts or other related automobilia. This is the kind of stuff that fans of American Pickers love to see. The swap meet will be managed by the Tin Butchers. This car club based in central Illinois have one of the best swap meets in the middle of America, called the Scrap Drive. The bands that are playing all day long are steeped in the traditions of the past - surf music that was popular in the 60s, honky tonk country that would have been on the radio in the early 70's, and of course hard core rockabilly is a staple of these type of events. A model contest, art show, vendors, and high end show rods and kustom cars are inside the 16,000 square foot building that is on the fairgrounds. Some of the indoor special exhibits will be Jack Walker and his Kustom Kemps of America winner - The Phoenix. This car won the prestigious 777 award for America's Best Kustom of 2010. Seeing this car in person is a real treat. Salt Flats Racing from Colorado will be bringing something special from their stable as well. This is a group that restores historic hot rods that have been seen at Bonneville many years past. Also included in the indoor area will be the art show. Artists from around the world contributed to the art show last year and even more are slated to participate in the expanded art show in 2011. This year special guest artist will be Keith Weesner. Weesner has been featured in magazines all over the world and has a loyal following that wait anxiously for his next gallery showings. Max Grundy will also be coming to Iowa from California to support the show. Max did the 2010 art for the shirts, and people seemed to like his unique art very much. Motorcycles are very welcome at this event as well. Half Fast Motorcycle Club from Chicago helps sponsor the two wheel area of the show. The Vintage Torque Fest allows in the pre-'75 choppers and bobber motorcycles. Nortons, BSA, Indian, Triumphs are all welcome at this event and this year there may be some special board track bikes from the 1920's actually hitting the dirt track on Saturday. In addition to the jam packed action that happened in 2010, there have been major additions for 2011. For starters the Vintage Torque Fest has reserved the Route 61 Drive-In for Saturday and will be showing Two Lane Blacktop for anyone that has a wristband from the Vintage Torque Fest. The first 300 cars that pre register are guaranteed a spot in the drive-in to catch the classic car movie. The show is officially expanding to two days this year. Last year there were about 100 cars that showed up for the pre-party, so instead of limiting the amount of people that come on Friday - they have instead expanded the event to two days. Friday night will see bands and Midwest Jalopies will be hitting the dirt for an exhibition for everyone to see them out on the dirt track. Overall the Vintage Torque Fest promises to pack a lot of excitement for a small price. It is only $5 per day for spectators, $10 for motorcycles, and $20 for vehicles. This $20 gets the driver access to the show all weekend, dirt track on Saturday, and the movie presentation at the Route 61 Drive-In. Max Grundy, special guest artist flying in from Los Angeles, states "I do shows all over the world and I can tell ya, that there are only a few shows that I attend that are as good as Vintage Torque Fest. This show is a success because the coordinators want to give people the maximum bang for their buck. So many of these national shows expect to get a $15 admission fee plus parking. By the time a family comes in they have already spent $60, and that leaves little money in their pockets to spend on art, parts, shirts, or whatever else may be at the show. I think that a family of four that comes in here and spends $20 for all day of entertainment will definitely be happy. You can't go see a movie for that price - and the movie only lasts 2 hours! C'mon out and check it out - even those that are not into cars have a good time because it is such a different experience." The Vintage Torque Fest is something that will appeal to all auto enthusiasts, as well as people that may be into art or music. A fun filled day, that happens rain or shine, is in store April 29-30, 2011. Check out: http://p4.hostingprod.com/@vintagetorque.com/TorqueFest.html Video preview: http://youtu.be/mII1zKEvz6U |
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