Junior Brown
3 Bad Jacks
The Reckless Ones
Art Adams
Hot Rod Hucksters
Th’Empires
The Gravetones
MG & the Gas City 3
It will be a killer show worthy of the 10 year anniversary…
It will also be the last Hunnert Car Pileup.
This was a very hard decision to reach. The Chrome Czars have devoted 10 years of their lives to this show, and we have an emotional attachment to it. We debated (and argued) about what to do, but finally decided that ending the show was best. It was time.
There are a variety of reasons behind the decision, and we struggled with it, but we feel the show is going in the wrong direction. It’s becoming more about the spectators and it’s getting harder to keep out cars that are not truly traditional. Fun for all, sure, but no longer the original intent of the show. The show’s “vibe” has been dimming and drifting as a result. We’d rather kill it while we still respect it, than let it go down in a smoldering wreck. 10 years is enough, and there are several other traditional car shows now that can carry the torch.
Furthermore, as the show grew, it became harder for us to manage it, even with the help of the Great Red Shirt Army. The strain on our day jobs and families started to turn the show from a Labor of Love to just Labor. We are not professional promoters.
A long time ago, we decided that we would rather stop doing the show, than to see it lose “the vibe” that made it so special. So, we would rather end it now while that vibe is still flowing through the show, and maintain its integrity.
For now, we are going to concentrate our energies on the Hunnert Car Heads Up vintage drag race event. There have been many shows that started because they were inspired by the Pileup, just like the Pileup was inspired by the Lonestar Roundup and the original Billetproof. The traditional hot rod flame is burning brightly in these shows. Go to the Blacktop Barons’ Road Block. Go to Vintage Torque Fest. Go to the Symco Shakedown. Go to the Rust Revival. Go to the Heads Up and Meltdown Drag Races. These are just a few of the shows in the Midwest.
We would like to thank the hundreds of volunteers in the Red Shirt Army who have donated countless hours over the years to making this show happen. They are the heart of the show. Thanks to the hot rodders who drove their cars from all over the USA and came to the show in the cold, rain, heat, and even snow. Thanks to all the spectators who were so inspired by what they saw that they returned the next year with a car they could drive through the gate. Thanks to the rat rods and street rods who challenged our interpretation of “traditional” every year and kept us on our toes. Thanks to the towns of Sycamore, Morris, Decatur and Clinton for welcoming all the crazy hot rodders over the years, and thanks to those rodders for keeping it peaceful and clean. And a special thanks to our families and friends for helping make this show happen, especially Catherine (DW) and Diane, who go that extra mile in planning the event.
We wanted to make this announcement in advance for all of you who keep saying “I’ll get the car done later. There’s always next year.” Not this time, friend. GET WRENCHING!!
Celebrate 10 years of the Hunnert Car Pileup on Oct 8, 2011. It will be an event that you’ll be telling your grand kids about!
Don’t miss it!!
GreaserAlley 