If there is one certainty about Bowling Green, Kentucky, it’s that you do not plan around the weather. What had been a hot, muggy and sunny day was quickly darkening and cooling. It was inevitable that the hoards of enthusiasts that were somehow still pouring into Beech Bend were going to get rinsed off with a nice, quick summer shower. Some saw the writing on the wall and tried to make a break for the hotels, but most hung around as one fat raindrop turned into a ten-minute deluge that soaked the whole place down. Drag racing was suspended. Autocrossing…not so much. In fact, watching the Magnuson Superchargers’ Camaro rip around the course in the middle of the pouring rain was one of the best things I’ve personally seen in a while.

Another neat thing about Power Tour is that you’ll meet up with notable names. We know that Rutledge Wood is on the Tour and that Finnegan came out to the Georgia stop. I found Dylan McCool and got to chat with the YouTuber for a minute or two before we caught up with some Aussies who had a streak of bad luck on the way into Bowling Green, striking a strap ratchet like you’d find on a semi truck’s flatbed trailer, which mauled one of the 19″ wheels on the Holden Utility they were driving around. And it wasn’t the only Aussie car with Aussie plates roaming, either…kudos to whoever brought the XC Ford along! Click on a photo below to see more from the kickoff, including the Checker Marathon, the supercars hitting the strip, and the Groaning Rock Chevy flatbed!