Power Tour

This morning we woke up in Knoxville, Tennessee. After a nutritious and delicious breakfast, we needed to top our tanks before setting off on our Day Two journey. Our driving directions told us it would be 301.3 miles to downtown Charleston, West Virginia. These route signs told us we’d be getting lost along the way. Jim took the lead in MOM’S ZR1. Rich and Paige Udell and Hoochie Momma, the wonder dog followed suit. Their ZR1 is much like our model, except it’s white, like our Farmer's tan lines. After a marathon one-hour stint on the road, Shane and Hoochie Momma needed a potty break. At least we were comforted with the fact that we could buy Tahoe cigs and Wrangler jeans in the same place. After they relieved themselves both Shane and Hoochie Momma felt much better. For the record, Shane is on the left. Back on the road, we shared the route with some very choice rides. Might be challenging to fit this one in the crick out yonder, but where there’s a will, there’s a way. Of course, a Mothers Power Tour would not be the same without one of Forrest’s historical landmark stops. On this episode of Forrest Takes us to Class, we visited the hallowed grave sites of two very famous families in the south. While I was hoping it would be the Dukes of Hazzard and the Robertsons of West Monroe, Louisiana, they were something else. How about the Hatfields… And the McCoys. Next time Forrest promised to take us to see the hometown of Francis Gary Powers, the U-2 pilot who was shot down by the Russians in 1960. With any luck, the Russians will shoot me down before this happens. The riveting tour of feuding gravesites left us famished. So we aimed our hot rods toward Pikeville’s Dairy Cheer to indulge in a Smashburger or two. Shane and I had an arsenal to choose from – our ZR1, Brian Thompson’s CTS-V wagon, Charlie Lillard’s LS9-powered Camaro or even Steen Gilbertson’s monster Chevelle. But none of those would do for us. For Shane and me, nothing says Power Tour more than a rented Lincoln Navigator. Did I mention it has heated AND cooled seats? Our Smashburger lunch crew. Sadly, no one would sit with Shane. It may have had something to do with his choice of wheels. Take note of Forrest proudly displaying his onion rings, still no doubt high from the rush of seeing an honest-to-goodness Hatfield tombstone. At lunch we ran into Rutledge Wood and his posse. Shane and Rut shared a tender moment… and a tater tot. Then, of course we needed more fuel. I kept telling Shane we should have rented a Fly Yellow Navigator to fit in, instead of the stately Slate Gray version we selected. These guys were going all out on the roadside repairs to this Z/28. With all of those tools, it made us wonder if they had a two-post lift in the trunk too. We’d like to think these guys were waving at our Navigator and not Steen’s Chevelle. The best thing about traffic jams on the Tour is the continuous eye candy just outside of your window. After a long day on the road we arrived in downtown Charleston. The Tour stop was quite the sweet spot on the main drag adjacent to the Kanawha River. Our Big Rig crew set up shop front and center with all of our Tour cars on display. Once again, the rental Navigator was left out of the mix. Here’s the crew that makes it happen, every day for the duration of the Tour. From left: Eric Bevin, Hunter Gilbertson, Eli Reed, Jonathan Stone, Bernice Usserry, Steve Polen, Tyrone Canterino and Jeff Burton. Not shown is our own Trucker John Schaffer, but we think that's because Ken Holland took him out for a steak dinner, which is odd, because Ken's not even here and he never buys us dinner. If you visit the booth, please make sure to give them a high five and thank them for their hard work. These guys make up the machine that drives our Tour presence. Our own Jim Holloway threatened to shoot our friend Charlie Lillard with his finger gun unless Charlie gave up the keys to his Camaro. Magnaflow’s Rich Waitas does it all on Tour, even the photography. Unlike me, as I can barely do the photography. I don’t write too good neither. Holy stretch pants, Batman, it’s the Man of Steel and the Woman of Wonder. Here’s our Forrest Tosie with our friend, the GN Gal. It’s easy to see where she got the handle. Because she’s a Grand National kind of girl. Jerry and Joann Gustin are friends with GN Gal and for good reason. They’ve owned their ’87 Grand National since it was new and treated it to a body above frame restoration. They added a Precision TE-44 slug with a three-inch downpipe to the intercooled 3.8-liter V6 along with a Turbo Tweek chip tuned for 12lbs of boost and a Scanmaster engine monitor. Check out the AutoZone rig complete with our Mothers Polish branding on the side. You can even see the Henry J that belongs to our friend Ted Dzus parked next to the Hotchkis Shelby Mustang. Chevy Performance from above. Falcon Futura with a bulging hood and big meats out back can only mean one thing. As Izzy Mandelbaum would say, “It’s go time.” Such a great finish on this blown ’70 Camaro. We saw this Jeep on the road today. The owner was wearing earplugs. We’re not sure if it was because the noise from wind, the engine or these Super Swamper tires. NVH all over the place. The third generation Impala is not the first platform that comes to mind when you think of a ratted out gasser, but for whatever reason, Ratnasty works for us. World’s greatest hood cut out. Yeah, it’s exactly what it looks like, a 1973 Dodge Monaco monster wagon. Go home, STI, you’re drunk. This Monte Carlo SS has a great finish, stance and engine bay. We support this message. There’s just something out of the ordinary about this S-10. Color us green with envy, this is one rare snake - ACR Viper. Pristine looking 5.0 Fox Body Mustang. What a misnomer. This “Turbo” Coupe Thunderbird clearly has a supercharger popping out of the hood. This was a strange one indeed. Phillip Teel painted his GTO the brightest shade of green after swapping in a 6.6L Duramax diesel. If all of this isn’t wild enough for you, check out the ride height. Phillip’s GTO is AWD. WTF?! It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but you gotta give him points for originality. We’ll leave you today with Leonard Walker’s 1929 Ford with a 383 stroker. Tomorrow we’ll go long with a 287.0-mile long leg to Summit Motorsports Park at Norwalk, Ohio. In the meantime click here to check out even more great images from Day 2.