Sixty-five exemplary classic car, hot rod and vintage car owners proudly drove off with their prize trophies sitting in their car seats at the conclusion of what sponsors say was “the best ever” Murrieta Rod Run held in Old Town Murrieta this past weekend.
Murrieta Rod Run Co-President Cindy Helmstead of the Drifters Car Club, coordinating the event, said this year’s Rod Run was “the best ever” with the 425 show car spaces sold out more than a month before the event held Oct. 17-18.
“Not only that, but all the vendors spaces were sold out weeks before the event,” Terry Carter owner of Terry’s Coffee Trader said. Carter opens his store to the Rod Run sponsors and volunteers in Old Town each year.
The car owners responded well to the Rod Run’s theme this year “Every Car & Every Guy has a Story.” Helmstead, and other members of the car club during the Friday Cruise Night, stood on Washington Avenue flagging down the bright and shiny cars cruising down the road and asking them about their cars and trucks. The interview gave the owners a chance to tell everyone how much work, effort and pride went into restoring their cars. Not only were the car owners able to talk about their cars but could open the vehicle’s exhaust headers to loudly reveal the power of their engines to the hundreds of spectators.
Delighted with the turnout was Tammy Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of Oak Grove Center, a vocational training school for special needs students that benefitted from the proceeds of this year’s Rod Run. The Center with schools in Murrieta and Perris provides vocational training for almost 200 special needs students. Oak Grove Center also provides help to special needs students throughout the nation. Wilson joined in with members of the Drifters Car Club to present the awards Saturday afternoon.
Over $65,000 was raised for Oak Grove’s At-Risk and Special Needs youth, said Wilson. She thanked the sponsors for supporting the center. The sponsors included BMW of Murrieta, VW of Murrieta, Lucas Oil, Anthony’s Lounge & Ristorante, The Mill and the city of Murrieta.
“I am beyond thrilled at the success of the Rod Run and what this means for the students we serve,” Wilson said. “Our goal was to support the vocational, culinary and gardening programs we are expanding at Oak Grove as well as some support for the expansion of our parking lot which allows greater safety for our youth. Job training is so important for our youth, and this focused effort will not only help our High School students but also students in our autism program with job skills and training.
“Our goals and expectations were exceeded because of the hard work of the committee and the generosity and compassion of our sponsors and supporters. It was a special privilege to work alongside so many wonderful people from The Drifters Car Club, but we are especially grateful for the tremendous efforts of Dave and Cecilia Lella, Cindy Helmstead, Craig Shelley, and Jean Vesey. The event was dedicated to the life and legacy of Pat Vesey who was the Founder of the Temecula Rod Run as well as the Murrieta Rod Run. Pat’s dream was to help youth who face challenges but learn to overcome, and he would have been so proud of the success of this year’s event. Our youth were so excited to participate and meet so many wonderful role models in the community. We are deeply moved and very grateful,” Wilson concluded.
Almost all of 162 Drifters Car Club members brought their show vehicles to the run, a record in itself, said Helmstead. Most classic, hot rod and vintage car owners in the area knew Vesey personally and his classic blue 1958 Ford. The club, in his honor, unfurled a banner in front of Murrieta Old Town’s The Mill restaurant’s patio.
A special award given away was the National Street Rod Association Award for construction and design sponsored the Chassis Engineering Inc. The winner was Richard Wyatt of Fontana who brought his 1952 Chevrolet Styleline coupe to the event. The judges were impressed with Wyatt’s bright red car and the safety features he had built into it.
Rob Weber from Canyon Lake, a member of the Canyon Lake Corvette Club, unable to bring one of his corvettes to the event, brought a his tricked out gray and green striped rare 1941 Willies coupe to the event. Saturday he anxiously awaited the award presentation hoping he and his car would drive away with one of the awards.
“The Murrieta Rod Run gets better every year,” said Weber. “But, it gets harder to win there are more cars to compete with.” He said he trailered the car from his home to the Pechanga RV Park and drove it to Murrieta for the show. Looking at the completely chromed engine he said, “It looks the same way underneath. I was worried it might rain.” It didn’t. The 80-degree weather was perfect for the two day event.
This year the show attracted some of the best hot rods and custom cars, some valued at over a $1 million, from as far away as Texas and Oregon, sponsors said.
Randy Zeal of Menifee proudly showed off a rarely seen 1952 Henry J. He said he bought it from another owner who had it set up as a drag racer. The shiny orange car has a big block 383 Chevrolet Stroker engine built in with the front end set up high just for racing.
Most of the cars at the event boasted high horsepower, souped-up engines with headers (exhaust pipes). At the Friday Cruise night they were allowed to open up their headers and gun the high powered engines on Washington Avenue much to the delight of the crowds that had gathered.
The car club, at the Rod Run show, also encouraged car owners to obtain photos of their favorite cars at a photo booth set up at the end of town with donations going to help Priscilla Powell a rod run disc jockey form Sounds Divine DJs suffering from a cancer relapse. Powell seeks a special medical treatment only offered outside of the United States. Many of the car owners took advantage of the photo shoot.
The post Third Annual Murrieta Rod Run ‘Best Ever!’ appeared first on Valley News.