AMSOIL Shines at "Back to the Fifties"

There were cars galore at the 35th annual MN Street Rodder Association's Back to the Fifties event in St. Paul this past weekend. The gathering was the endpoint in Street Rodder's Road Tour which passed through Superior, WI last week.

AMSOIL CFO John Hosler described the scene like this: "At the show you can see everything from pristine frame off restored trailer queens to down & dirty rat rods – from survivors to drivers to brands which have unfortunately gone away like Auburn, Studebaker, Oldsmobile, Willys, Henry J., Hudson, Simpson, Packard, etc. – sedans to rags to woodies. They were all there, 11,693 of them in fact." More than 60,000 people per day came to pay homage to these vintage cars and the memories they foster.

It was a special delight to have Jo Coddington on hand for the duration, a classic car enthusiast in her own right. Jo rode in Jerry Dixey's lead car for the part of leg three of the Road Tour and was delighted to see so many familiar faces and enthusiastic youth getting introduced to the rodder scene.

For those car collectors whose rides don’t fit into MSRA there is the Minnesota Street Machine Association (MSMA) featuring muscle cars and cars of the 60s & beyond in conjunction with Car Craft magazine another sizable show at State Fairgrounds in July.

Click on the images to enjoy them at full size.

More Road Tour Scenes

Along with lots of smiling faces there were many cameras on hand Wednesday night, and far too many pictures to share here, but for those who missed, you can see we had quite an outing when the Street Rodder Road Tour rolled in. Thanks again to all who made this such a great success.

The following morning, the Road Tourians, as they call themselves, gathered in front of the product center for coffee and doughnuts before heading south. What follows is the morning line-up, a Wisconsin scene from "on the road again" and Jo Coddington in the front seat of Jerry Dixey's lead car at Culver's where we gathered in Vadnais Heights for a late lunch.

It's a Happening!

The AMSOIL sponsored 2008 PPG Street Rodder Road Tour slipped into town tonight, and whoa, were there cars to see or what! The word on the street was that the street rodders were a-comin' and that local car clubs were busy with spit and polish for the shindig. The AMSOIL Center parking lot became a full fledged car show.

In case you missed it, here are some images to give you a taste of tonight's spice. The festivities began at 5:30 for those who were in the road tour. The public had been invited from 6:30 - 8:00 but a lot of folks got here early to put their pride and joy into the choicest spots on the asphalt. Like more than two hours early! And a good thing, too, because there were more than 400 cars on hand, along with countless rodder fans checking things out.

A lot of old timers had flashbacks looking at the cool cars from a 1927 Model T to some rather hip muscle cars, rat rods, and everything in between. It was a full color spectrum and a spectacle rolled into one.

Add to the mix an absolutely perfect day, cloudless sky and sunshine, a little Fifties rock 'n roll, and celebrities like Jo Coddington and Jerry Dixey. A pinch of sass and local media coverage made it a kick. If you got to be part of it, we're glad you were here. Thanks to all who helped make it happen.

Click on photos to enjoy at full size.

Street Rodder Road Tour Coming To Town

For a lot of folks, it’s like Christmas in summer. Wednesday night, June 18, the Street Rodder Road Tour will be making its last stop before heading to the Minnesota Street Rod Association’s Back to the Fifties event in St Paul. We’re currently anticipating 28 cars and a contingent of local street rodding enthusiasts. This leg of the Tour which originated in Bowling Green, Kentucky, currently has 22 vehicles making the whole trip, but six more will be joining soon. That’s how road tours go, with enthusiasts hopping aboard along the way.

A special feature of this stop will be the presence of Jo Coddington, wife of the late Boyd Coddington, one of street rodding’s most influential builders and centerpiece of American Hot Rod. Jo will be joining Road Tour Director Jerry Dixey in the lead car for the last segment of this journey.

June 18 Agenda
The agenda here on Wednesday is for the Road Tourians to arrive at AMSOIL Center after checking in at their hotel. From 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. we’ll have suitable street rod music blaring and vendors on hand if you need a bite to eat or something to quench your thirst. And of course there will be the cars, which is what it's all about. Happily, the weather appears to be promising. Local car clubs and the public have been invited to view the cars on the tarmac inside Gate A at the AMSOIL Center.

Evidently there’s a lot of buzz out on the street. Anyone wishing to join the parade of classic cars on Thursday’s day trip to St. Paul is more than welcome. We’ll be gathering again in the morning at the AMSOIL Center to head south at approximately 8:30 a.m. If you’re planning to drive Back to the Fifties, be sure to double check the start time when visiting Wednesday eve.

Top Truck Challenge: Report from Hollister

For off-road enthusiasts it doesn't get any better than this. The staff at Four Wheel magazine must have a ton of fun dreaming up ways to smash a four wheeling off road machine... and a few of the hearts of those who bring them here to Hollister for the Top Truck Challenge each year. No question it takes a rugged team and a tough truck to survive this experience.

Kevin Dinwiddie, our man on the scene this year, reported that it was the most exciting Challenge event ever, with a first place tie at the end of it all. The pictures tell a good part of the story. For the full details be sure to get your hands on the November and December issues of Four Wheeler magazine, available on news stands September 23rd 2008 and October 21st 2008 respectively.

Some trucks didn't make it through all of the events and occasionally needed to be excavated out. In addition to the challenges of the terrain, on the final day competitors also had to deal with poison oak on the sides of the hills and poison oak scum in the water holes. The Four Wheeler Top Truck Challenge requires the most die-hard commitment. For those who watched, and those who worked it, it was smashing.

In the near future we'll grab some footage which we'll share here at amsoil.com. Later this year look for the DVD from Four Wheeler Magazine for all the gritty visual details. In the meantime, here are a few select photos to give you an idea of what this competition is all about.

Click on photos to enlarge.