In scenario #1 maybe Chains will drive his tow vehicle and trailer to a designated trailer parking spot and unload the contents and drive it to registration, then to the event site, back to his hotel each night and the next time it sees the inside of its mobile sarcophagus is for the trip home. I can live with this guy and in reality this guy doesn’t deserve the name of Mr. Chains.
In scenario #2 is the Mr. Chains with an entourage, 4-5 friends piled in the quad-cab pull into registration taking up 6-8 parking spaces and the sunlight reflecting off all the genuine gold neckwear of the truck’s occupants is blinding not to mention they look like a pit crew for a top NASCAR team because they are all wearing matching shirts and pants with the name of the entombed vehicle embroidered on the shirt. After checking in they all pile back into the dually and head off to the event site. We’ll get back to these guys a little later.
In scenario #3 we have our Mr. Chains with an entourage arriving at their hotel and dropping off the trailer and its contents and driving said dually/quad to registration and get their event credentials and head back to their hotel maybe stopping for breakfast or brunch on the way. Once back at the hotel they unload the prize and after putting a towel on the driver’s seat and floor area (can’t have any dirt on the floor mat or sweat on the leather) the prized car is driven to the event site by Mr. Chains with the tow vehicle following. Did I mention one of the crew put cones in front of the trailer to save spots for the tow vehicle and behind it so there is room for the ramp to load the car each night? Once the car arrives at the event the car is parked on a corner in front of already parked cars and Chains and his roadies start a routine of placing descriptive signs around the car and maybe some mirrors underneath and the trophies from the past winter’s indoor car shows around the car. The crew then begins polishing and cleaning the car from top to bottom and that takes the rest of the day and this routine is repeated each day. After the day’s activities end, Chains drives the car back to the hotel and places it back into storage until sometime the next day.
I said I’d get back to our Mr. Chains and friends in scenario #2 so here we go. The chainers described so far are a compilation of chainers I’ve seen over the years. What follows actually happened to me and involved people that closely resembled those in scenario #2. I belong to a club that is a host club of a national event. This particular event is held in the infield of a 1.5 mile tri-oval race track. Cars already registered are driven down an access road to the tunnel to enter the infield. Only vehicles registered for the event are to be driven down this road. As I’m taking ticket stubs from the drivers and having a blast interacting with them, here comes our friends from scenario #2. They pull up to me and Mr. Chains hands me the window sticker for the as yet revealed car and tickets for all in the tow vehicle without saying a word and a “hurry up they’re waiting for this car to arrive” attitude. I told Chains that he couldn’t take the trailer into the show area and that he would have to turn around and I directed him to the trailer parking area. Chains replied that he just wanted to drop the car off and he’d pull the trailer right out at which time I repeated that he could not take the trailer in and that he would have to park the trailer in a designated area and drive his car into the infield. He began to argue that he couldn’t drive it because he didn’t want to get his tires dirty or stones caught in the tread. I think I said something like and with a chuckle of disbelief, “you’ve gotta be kidding me”.
Because this little interaction was holding up the line and being a warm day and fearing some cars might start overheating, an official who we’ll call “Sharky” from the hosting organization came to see what the hold up was. After hearing the problem he told the Chains to turn around and unload the car and drive it in or don’t participate. Chains replied that he couldn’t drive the car because the car had no fluids in it! That’s right, no gas, oil, ATF, coolant, nothing! Whoopee, a real honest to goodness world of hot wheels show car! Needless to say this particular car didn’t make it into the event.
In my humble opinion if a car is to be trailered to an event then the only acceptable scenario is #1. The trailer should be parked in a designated area and the hot rod driven all weekend as the main source of transportation. I have no use for those that take up 8-10 parking spaces in hotels or have to drive the trailer to the event each day and load and unload in the parking lot. It’s a car, cars are made to be driven on roads for long distances. If a person is only interested obtaining trophies and false accolades then there are plenty of winter time shows you can tow the car to.
Every once in awhile everyone needs to hear “good job” or get a pat on the back. That’s human nature. Fortunately most people in the hot rodding hobby are involved in it for the fun of building and driving hot rods, not to see how many dust collecting trophies they can accumulate. Driving to an event is half the fun and the other half is being with your old friends and making new ones and taking in the sights. If they win an award that’s cool and can be fun but it’s not their main reason for going. Maybe the unknowing public oohs and ahs at Mr. Chains’ mirrors and trophies and the hot rodders in attendance may respect the workmanship and detail of Chains’ car but nothing brings rodders closer than cruising down the interstate or back roads in a group. And for my money the best award a hot rodder can win is a thumbs up from people passing you on the road or having someone take a picture of your ride while on a pit stop because you know you have made someone’s day a little happier. And that my friends, in my opinion, is worth more than winning the Ridler award.
