Power Tour

As Barry Manilow would say, it looks like we made it. I'm writing this as I wring out my face from the sixth and final leg of the 2015 Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour. Today we covered 169.0 miles traveling from Gulfport, Mississippi to the Lamar Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, Louisiana just outside of Baton Rouge. This morning, we awoke to this view, which pretty much sums up the Power Tour perfectly – Rad Rides, rentals and rat rods. Such is the wide variety of machines you’ll get on the Tour. And this is the view of the parking lot of every Power Tour hotel each morning. Trunks, hoods and doors open in preparation for the route ahead. Our friend, Keith Echols making sure he comes correct with his 1973 Camaro, aka “Showbread.” Keith brought his copper Roadrunner in the early part of the week and then traded it out for the Camaro. Dude changes cars like I change my underwear. Come to think of it, I’ve been wearing the same chonies since Memphis, so Keith has me beat on that front too. Mass murder reported this morning at Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers in Gulfport. Today’s route started with a spectacular drive along the Gulf Coast. We learned that these coastal residents are serious about their high tide prep. Forget about raising the roof, these guys take their foundation game to new heights. We followed the Tour route today and traffic jams like this were a common occurrence. We could sit in this kind of traffic all day long. Our ’59 Sedan Delivery looked great in the morning sun. And here’s our friend Keith again with his ’73 Camaro. Pratt & Miller Restorations and Specialty Vehicles built this one with a 630hp supercharged LSA running through a 4L80E gearbox, Detroit Speed suspension and body and paint by Browny’s Customs. I would say this guy had the best seat in the house today. “I’m sorry, sir. It appears we spilled BBQ sauce on your 1099 form.” The only time I yelp is when I cut my toenails too short, but Shane was able to find the Old Rail Brewing Company in Mandeville, Louisiana with a Yelp and a smartphone. Tasty food and perhaps even a beverage or two for lunch. The road leading into the Lamar Dixon Expo Center was a cavalcade of awesome. Once we arrived at the final stop we were pleased to see our favorite HOONIGANS made it more or less intact. We spotted this polished Camaro 454 SS parked with our friends from AutoZone. Our friends from Chevy Performance took this ’67 Chevy II Nova Concept on Tour this year. It’s powered by a 272hp LTG 2.0L 4-cylinder boosted with a twin-scroll turbo crate engine with a G-Machine front suspension and an air ride system. We really loved the blacked out pro-touring look on this one. Just when we thought we’d never meet an HHR we could respect, we stumble upon this one from the mad minds at Wizard Race Cars. LSX and a mini tub out back make this the greatest shop truck ever. Weaver Customs built this all steel ’62 Ford unibody truck that was on display with our friends from Pilot Transport. This one rocks a 12-valve twin turbo Cummins and it’s been chopped with a leaned back windshield, custom cowl treatment, smoothed body, widened fenders and a custom rear tail pan and finished off with custom mixed colors from Axalta. If she skated over to hand her dad a beer, then I would like to nominate her as the world’s greatest car hop. Power Tour badge of honor. Fix it yourself and get back on the road. Don’t be sad, kids, the Power Tour will return next summer. Almost on cue, the clouds opened up signaling the end of the 2015 Power Tour. I’ll leave you with this great shot that our friend, James Schiefer took of his sublime 435hp ’67 Nova SS. We’ll be back with a final recap from our 2015 Power Tour experience. In the meantime, check out all the pics in our Day 6 Gallery while I take a little nap for 15 hours or so.