The Central Ohio weather on Saturday suddenly changed from early spring to mid-summer overnight. Afternoon temperatures in the mid-80s and lots of sunshine brought out the cars on Saturday. Just about every show in the area had better than expected turn out. Some even set registration records.
I managed to break away for a few hours Saturday evening to attend the Cruisin' with the King show in Marysville, Ohio. The Shankles were once again kind enough to send me lots of photos from the Empty Pocket Cruisers Armed Forces Day Car Show they attended earlier in the day.
Armed Forces Day Car Show
On Saturday, the Empty Pocket Cruisers car club held their 5th Annual Armed Forces Day Car Show at the VFW Post 4931 in Columbus, Ohio.
The show set a record with 144 registered vehicles.
Here's a sampling of the 144 cars, trucks, and bikes from the show:
Click or tap to enlarge a photo
At the end of the show, the club presented 45 "Favorite" plaques plus five "Special" awards.
Unfortunately, I only have three of the cars that received a "Special" award. I'm hoping someone from the Empty Pocket Cruisers will send me the owner names and cars of all those that received one of the "Special" awards. So without further ado, here are the cars I have.
DJ's Choice
1972 Mercury Comet GT Custom
Most Patriotic
Late 5th Generation (2014 - 2015) Chevy Camaro SS
Best of Show
1957 Chevy Bel Air
I'll be sure to update this post if I get any more information regarding the "Special" award winners.
Cruisin' with the King in 2019
After a very frigid start to the season in April, the May Cruisin' with the King in 2019 really heated up.
The Mid Ohio Cruisers registered 86 automobiles Saturday evening at the Burger King in Marysville, Ohio. Counting the cars that didn't register, there were well over 100 cars that showed up during the evening.
Speaking of Mid Ohio Cruisers, Scott Ferguson who is normally the master of ceremony for the club missed this month's show because of his son's high school graduation (I suppose that's a good excuse). The rest of the Mid Ohio Cruiser members filled in admirably for Scott and the show went on without a hitch.
The Unusual
One thing you can count on at a Cruisin' with the King show is seeing that unusual or rare vehicle. There were a couple of such vehicles this month.
The first was this 2010 Dodge "Helkamino" belonging to Todd Stanton. The consensus from my Mopar friends is that Todd modified a Dodge Magnum to create his El Camino-like creation. Let me know if you think it's a different model in the comments.
The second was not so much that the vehicle was unusual, but rather who it belonged to. This 1966 Cadillac Deville convertible was driven to Burger King by Melissa Ackison who is running for state senator. Not very often that someone running for public office shows up at a car show in a "classic" car. The child seat in the back seat was a unique touch.
A Little Fun
Kelly Roberts from the Rod Knockers Car Club found this warning sign on the ground next to our good friend, Frank Sanborn's, 2010 Challenger. While Frank was off talking to folks, his friends thought they'd have a little fun and display the sign so everyone was aware of the warning.
The Awards
Here are the 15 "Favorite" winners as selected by the club:
Click or tap to enlarge a photo
1965 Plymouth Road Runner
Owner: Dan Ferriman
1970 Mercury Cougar Eliminator
Owner: Mike Besecker
1977 Chevy Corvette
Owner: Julie Perry
1937 Chevy
Owner: Dennis Miller
1969 Chevy Camaro Z/28
Owners: Pete & Michelle Carzano
1957 Ford Fairlane
Owner: Janice Foos
1967 Chevy Camaro
Owner: Dave Turner
1967 Chevy Chevelle
Owner: Russ Annis
1951 Ford Tudor
Owner: Carl Cooperider
1963 Chevy Nova
Owner: Jefferson Wyatt
1973 Dodge Challenger
Owner: Steve Rosepiler
1932 Ford Roadster
Owner: Terry Honaker
1966 Ford Mustang
Owner: John Collins
1988 Pontiac Firebird
Owner: Jeff Graves
Not Pictured - 1953 Pontiac Chieftain - Owner: Corey Stone
This month's two O'Reilly Auto Parts picks went to Jerry Klaiber and his 1993 Pontiac Firebird Formula
And Amy Rosepilar with a 1965 Shelby Cobra Replica.
Amy's husband, Steve, picked up one of the "Favorite" awards with his '73 Challenger.
As my Grandfather used to say, "The family that car shows together, stays together."
The last award of the evening was the "Favorite Club Member's Pick". This award is voted on by everyone who registers a vehicle. This month the award went to Mid Ohio Cruisers member, Robert Doren
Great weather, great cars, and a great crowd made for another successful Cruisin' with the King show. Next month's show is scheduled for Saturday, June 15.
Columbus British Car Day
Tony DiMonte was kind enough to send me the link to photos taken at the British Car Day show that was held Sunday afternoon at Quaker Steak & Lube on Polaris Parkway.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Sg9qYzbMFvbFtFfC9
Even if you're not into British automobiles, it's worth a look because the photography is outstanding. Of course, the last two photos of the McLaren are my favorite.
G. D. Ritzy's Cruise-In Lite
G. D. Ritzy's restaurant on North High Street in Clintonville and Auto Smarts Radio have partnered together to hold a cruise-in on the third Monday of the month from May through October.
The parking lot is small so participation is by invitation only.
I stopped by the restaurant on Monday evening for the inaugural cruise-in. Boots told me he invited 10 people to this first cruise-in just to get a feel for the parking situation. The weather was a bit on the cool side and only four of the 10 invitees had show
As you can see from the photo below, parking is tight. Boots said he has secured extra parking across the street to give the cruise-in some room to grow.
Next week
I won't be participating in any shows Memorial Day weekend because my son and his family will be visiting from out of town. We'll be celebrating my oldest grandson's high school graduation.
Next week's report will primarily focus on the first Der Dutchman cruise-in of the season, weather permitting.