For the second year in a row, the Huntington Beach Holiday Toy Drive & Car Show invaded Four Sons Brewing for a fun filled day of Hot Rod’s and holiday cheer. Despite a weather forecast that threatened to dampen this year’s Toy Drive and Car Show, Saturday turned out to the perfect southern California sunny day, and ideal weather for the classic car owners and enthusiasts who came out to enjoy the day’s activities.
A DAY FULL OF HOLIDAY GIVING, FRIENDS & FAMILY…
Friends and family started showing up early, and most everyone hung out for the entire event. Throughout the day, participants and spectators were treated to more than 60 classic cars, live pinstriping by Von Hot Rod, a parts raffle, local food and craft beer, an engine building competition by the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow, and so much more. Let’s take a look back at this great event.
SOME NITRO-BURNING EXCITEMENT!
Spectators were able to view a wide variety of makes and models and were treated to a close up look at some Nitro breathing nostalgia Top Fuel dragsters. Frank Baney displayed his late father Lou Baney’s Yeakel Plymouth Special driven by Tom Mcewen, and Jerry Bivens displayed the Check Mate dragster campaigned by Bivens and Fisher. We got a lucky treat when Jerry “cackled” the Check Mate digger, and filled the air with the sweet smell of nitro. Check out the Facebook live video below:
THE NATIONAL ANTHEM KICKS THINGS OFF.
Rodney Allen Rippy, who appeared in TV commercials for the fast-food chain Jack in the Box in the early 1970s, as well as in numerous roles on television and movies, kicked off the days events with our Nation’s anthem, Star Spangled Banner.
THE HOT RODDERS 0F TOMORROW COMPETITION!
The Hot Rodders of Tomorrow have been inspiring young people to lead successful careers in the automotive industry and beyond through there Engine Challenge competitions since 2008. Hedman Hedders has supported this program since its inception, and this year we had two Southern California teams competing –Loara High School led by instructor Chris Gardner, and Katella High School led by Joe Rolf. After 3 rounds of fierce competition, the overall times were nearly identical. With both teams giving it their all, and an unofficial timing system in use for the demonstration, show coordinators deemed the event a dead-heat, and declared both schools the winner. Each team netted $500 through the incredible generosity of our donors. We hope this donation is helpful in saving money on travel expenses for the teams and to provide supplies for the class.
The Huntington Beach Fire Association was once again on hand and had multiple trucks on display. Active duty trucks made a presence just outside the shows driveway as well as the pride of the departments 1923 Seagrave fire engine that served Huntington Beach from the 1920’s to the 1950’s. In conjunction with local sponsors and the community, The Huntington Beach Firefighter’s Association have been restoring Huntington Beach’s first motorized fire engine and we were very honored and excited to have it displayed at our show.
THE CRUISE DOWN SURF CITY, USA’s MAIN STREET
Following the conclusion of the parts raffle and award ceremony, The Surf City Classics Car Club escorted show participants on a 2.5 mile cruise through downtown Huntington Beach (also known as Surf City, USA) and paraded the vehicles down Main St.
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE INVOLVED!
The Hedman Performance Group and show staff want to thank everyone who came out to the show and donated an unwrapped toy for ABC 7’s Spark of Love Toy Drive. We would also like to thank everyone for participating in the product raffle and 50/50 drawing, which donated a total of $1000 to the programs for the two local Hot Rodders of Tomorrow team’s that competed at the show. All additional monetary donations will be distributed to a local, non-profit children’s charity fund.
We need to give a special thanks to all of our automotive industry partners whose product donations made this year’s raffle possible. We’ve included a full list of supporters and what they donated. We’ve also included links to their website. Please support those that support your hobby by visiting these sponsors. The Hedman Nation Facebook page did a live feed of the entire awards presentation and raffle drawing. Watch the video below, or Click here to check it out on our FaceBook page.
***RAFFLE DRAWINGS***
- 50/50 drawing: 0:05s
- Distinctive Industries complete upholstery kit: 1minute :00 sec
- Champion Cooling System Radiator: 4 minutes :35 seconds
- Hoonigan Swag Packages (4): 5 minutes :45 seconds
- Hotchkis Sport Suspension Sway bar Kit: 8 minutes :45 seconds
- Hedman Hedders set of headers: 9:50
- Tom McSweeney customized skateboard deck: 10:40
- Solution Finish Car Care Kits (4): 11:40
- Classic Car Motor Oil (One Case): 19:10
- US Wheels– Set of 15×7 Smoothies: 20:00
- Air Flow Research (AFR) SB Chevy Intake Manifold: 20:40
***AWARD PRESENTATIONS***
23 minutes :10 seconds
- BEST TRUCK: 23 minutes :30 seconds
- BEST PAINT (presented by Von Hot Rod): 24:20
- SPONSOR OF THE SHOW: 25:50
- SPECIAL AWARD “Stayin’ Alive” Award: 26:25
- BEST OF SHOW: 28:50
- CHECK PRESENTATION TO LOCAL HOT RODDERS OF TOMORROW TEAMS: 30:10
Winner of “Best Truck” was Brett Oake’s #HedmanEquipped Monster Chevy Truck, Rojo Grande. Accepting the award on his behalf is his duaghter.
Mark Ducharm of Menifee, CA took home “Best in Show” for his wicked 1929 Dodge Bros. 5 Window Coupe, powered by a blown HEMI.
Von Hot Rod selects Eleanor G.’s Black 1950 Mercury 2-Door Coupe to receive the award for “Best Paint”
Curt Chivers received a special “Staying Alive” Award. Curt suffered some complications at last years show when he fell to the ground and hit his head. Kurt suffered extreme head trauma. Thankfully, off duty firemen who were displaying their truck at the show were on him in seconds. The HBFD training center was just next door and within a minute they had the best crews and equipment working on Kurt to save his life. Kurt spent over a month in the hospital and is still recovering today. We wish Curt continued recovery, and thank him for coming out to the show with his 1956 Ford F100 truck.
Russell Bacarella wins the gift certificate for a 2 or 3 core radiator, courtesy of Champion Cooling Systems! Russ and his son, Ryan, were there with their new Cosworth powered 1970 Chevy Monza project.
Thank you to everyone, and we hope to see you all again next year.
hedmanperformance 