Springtime in Kentucky…and there is a lot to look forward to. Sunny days, warming temperatures, the occasional tornado, and the noise that is a pack of late-model Hemi freaks pouring into town to celebrate Speedy’s contribution to car culture, ChallengerFest 9. This year, like just about everything else on the calendar so far, had to be played by ear because the weather is so off-track that the normal two days of racing just wasn’t going to happen. In addition, a second car show sprung up at Martin Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, and because yours truly is one busy human this weekend, not only did the racing need to be covered in one day, so did any and all of my ChallengerFest coverage. So, sadly, Angry Grandpa got a breather and I…well, I’m already defying doctor’s orders, so what the hell? Time to grab the camera and get going…

First stop was straight to Beech Bend Raceway Park where a very scaled day of racing was going on. The usual suspects that we’ve come to know from the Modern Street Hemi Shootout series were present, including Erik Storms, the wizard behind Angry Grandpa’s build, “Witchy” Wendy Robertson in her new daily driver Challenger SRT, Andy and Jennifer Wagner and her 2015 Charger R/T, John Burleson (sans the BadWagon Magnum, which is under construction) and many others who we enjoy seeing at the strip. Additionally, we had Demons…two of which were grudge-racing for cash. There was at least one $500 run between the orange and the gray Demon, with the latter drilling out a 9.90, dead on it’s index number.

Some socializing and other work later, we moved on to the show at Martin Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, where the dealership had moved the stock to the back of the lot and let the show cars take over for the day. Many awards were handed out to some beautiful cars, including a Dodge Magnum SRT that had been put back together after it had been taken out of commission. Arriving in the rare Satin Jade Green paint shade and wearing a Chrysler front clip, you’d never know that it had been finished just a couple of hours before it arrived for the show. Well done! But the biggest award of all has to go to the DJ who played “My Heart Will Go On”…you know, that song from the movie Titanic…after the show was over and the cars started heading to the Holiday Inn.

Speaking of the Holiday Inn…a local tip: if there is some major event in Bowling Green and you don’t know where to go to see some cool rides, go to the Holiday Inn. They are always there, and ChallengerFest is no different. Each year, Speedy manages to fill up the section of the parking lot that the hotel allows him to have, with Mopars of every color and type. We had Demons, Hellcats, R/Ts, SRTs, and even a V6 Challenger that was a bit more feisty than expected. With luck, as you read this, there will be enough of a clear sky for participants to hit Beech Bend up for a second day of racing before the awards are handed out, the auction goes down and someone takes home the Demon that Racing4Vets.com is auctioning off! Meanwhile, click on a photo below and take a quick look at the rides that made it to Kentucky for a friendly little get-together: