This weekend the 10th and final Hunnert Car Pileup happens in Decatur, Illinois. One of the country’s biggest and best traditional hot rod and custom shows will have a final fling with more than 1,000 cars and 15,000 people loading themselves into the nearly 400 acre Progress City facility that the show is held in. Outside of the cars, there will be music a-plenty, parties, artists, food, and on and on. If you have been waiting to see this event, it is put up or shut up time because there will not be another one.
Here’s the full press release from the Chrome Czars car club that puts the shin-dig on with help from more than 200 volunteers!
DECATUR, IL (September 30, 2011): For one final time, the Chicago-based Chrome Czars Motor Club will be bring their popular traditional hot rod & custom show, the Hunnert Car Pile-Up , back to Decatur, Illinois this October 8th. The “Midwest’s Greasiest Hot Rod ShowTM” has been held annually on the second Saturday of each October since 2001, and the club announced earlier in the year that this special 10th anniversary celebration would be its last. Hotrodders from across the country are planning their trip to the 2011 Pile-Up at the 380 acre Progress City facility (www.progresscity.us) in Decatur, Illinois — about 3 hours southwest of Chicago. As many as fifteen thousand “traditional-style hot rod and custom” enthusiasts are again expected to visit the Pile-Up, and will flood Decatur area bars, restaurants, and hotels throughout the weekend. The famed Pileup pre- and post- parties will be held at Snapper’s Bar & Grill, inside an 1800s opera house in nearby downtown Clinton, Illinois – where the entire town square will be reserved for vintage cars on both Friday & Saturday evenings.
More than a thousand 1950s and early 1960s vintage hot rods, customized cars, nostalgia dragsters, and old-school motorcycles will motor into the venue in Decatur for this one-day event, along with live rockabilly & garage rock bands, automotive artists, great food, merchandise vendors, and a swap meet. Headlining the show on Saturday is famed country & western guitarist and singer Junior Brown, from Austin, Texas.
The unique Midwestern grassroots gathering has grown to draw international attention and almost a cult following, with enthusiasts, car builders, spectators and media attending from across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and even Australia. Dedicated hotrodders will be driving their cars to the final Pileup from states as far away as New York, Massachusetts, Florida, California, Oklahoma, and Texas.
The show’s return to the Progress City location speaks volumes about the partnership and support the Chrome Czars have enjoyed from the Progress City facility, local businesses, the Chamber of Commerce, and Convention & Visitors Bureaus throughout the greater Decatur, Clinton and Forsyth area. “Come out and celebrate 10 years of the Hunnert Car Pileup with us,” stated Chrome Czar Joe “Hellfish” Wislar. “Let’s have one last party in Decatur that we’ll someday tell our grandkids about!”
The Chicago-based nine-member Chrome Czars Motor Club, organizers of the Pile-Up, run the event with help from Catherine Mayotte and more than 240 friends & volunteers, and donate show proceeds to 401c3 charities. For more updates, a complete list of bands, and to determine if your pre-1965 hot rod meets the show’s strict entry criteria, visit www.HunnertCarPileup.com
Why is this the final Hunnert Car Pile-up?
GREAT Show..
I’ll be there
I agree Speedy, why is this the last one?
I’ve heard that they are too small of a club to deal with the rapid expansion of it and that it has become too ‘mainstream.’
Allegedly the organization that runs Vintage Torquefest will be setting up some sort of show in the area to replace it so don’t worry too much. It’s not going away!