2015
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November 23, 2015If you've been following the Chattanooga Cruise In over the past few years, then you know that it has grown tremendously. For 2015, we only planned to have one Chattanooga Cruise In (our Spring event), due to scheduling conflicts during the fall months. However, thanks to the overwhelming response from our loyal followers, and a little bit of motivation from the man with a mustache, we created the Chattanooga Cruise In Toy Drive. We chose a Saturday morning that worked for our schedule and didn't collide with the local car show schedule, and we made it happen. We joined forces with the Chattanooga area Toys for Tots Foundation, and made this event all about helping local kids have a better Christmas. Several hundred people came out to donate toys and money, and we ended up with nearly 400 cars on display, on the streets surrounding Coker Tire and Honest Charley. Everyone had a great time, and our final tally was two full truck loads of toys, and nearly $3,000 in cash for the Toys for Tots!
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November 11, 2015The SEMA Show is something that millions car enthusiasts want to attend, but since it is not open to the public. This trade only event gets a lot of attention from the media, allowing enthusiasts to get a taste of what the event is about, but the SEMA organization put together a mixed bag of aweseomeness when they created SEMA Ignited--a public event tacked onto the end of the SEMA Show. Last year was the inaugural SEMA Ignited event, and while it was a success, this year's new location and format was WAY better and offered some exciting attractions.
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November 04, 2015Day one of SEMA 2015 is in the books. We had a big ol' day and met a lot of great folks. The booth was packed with people all day, but our media guys went out and covered a lot of ground to show you the cool stuff from the show. There are dozens of vehicles riding on Coker Tire products, and we plan to find 'em all and show them to you in one way or another. If you don't see it here, you might see it on our Instagram or Facebook page. For now, take a look at some of today's highlights, and come back tomorrow evening to see what else we can get into!
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October 26, 2015The Posies Driven Dirty Tour is a very cool, very relaxed event that involves driving a hot rod across the country with a destination of the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. It's been going on for a few years now (10 to be exact), and it's a cool tour of the country, which includes shop tours, good food and lots of hanging out. All of this leads up to the SEMA Show, which a little more fast-paced. The Posies Driven Dirty Tour starts in Pennsylvania, so it takes quite a detour for a Southern swing into Tennessee, but we offered a warm welcome, as the guys rolled into Chattanooga on Saturday, October 24th. We gave them a tour of our headquarters here at 1317 Chestnut Street, as well as a bus ride to our Distribution Center a few miles away. Then, we had a fried chicken dinner from Champy's and toured Honest Charley. We had an awesome time showing them around and we wish them safe travels on their adventures. The bad thing about the Posies Driven Dirty Tour is...well, that we're not on it! Have fun guys!
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October 09, 2015As you know, we love it when vintage American iron is on the road, instead of sitting in the garage. When we peeked out the window and saw two vintage motorcycles sitting in the parking lot, we had to go investigate. As it turns out, Steve Burris and Bruce Mason stopped at Coker Tire for our daily tour, to check out Corky's collection of cars, motorcycles and memorabilia. They were quite a ways from home, but they had a little more traveling to do before reaching their destination of Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama for the annual Barber Vintage Festival. This vintage motorcycle show and race has become a huge attraction for motorcycle enthusiasts, including these two dudes from Ohio. We're glad they stopped by Coker Tire on their way to Barber, and we enjoyed eyeballing their '48 Harley Davidson Panhead and '37 Indian, which rolls on Coker Diamond Tread 400.18 motorcycle tires. We wish them safe travels on the rest of their trip, and hope they can join us again in the future. If you haven't checked out our daily tours, feel free to drop by Monday through Thursday at 10am and 1pm Eastern time, and Friday at 10am and 2pm to check out our place. Keep reading for more pictures of these awesome vintage motorcycles! [products]
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September 29, 2015We're big fans of events that require you to DRIVE your collector vehicle. Somernites Cruise puts on a monthly cruise in on the fourth Saturday of the month from April through October, but the September event is extra special as it is the Somernites Power Cruise, presented by Holley. That means that hot rodders from six starting points converge on Somerset for a huge gathering! Back in 2012, Coker Tire got involved and started the Chattanooga leg of the Power Cruise. We had high hopes for being the largest Power Cruise leg this year, but bad weather caught us by surprise and hindered participation, as well as the overall turnout in Somerset. We cruised up Highway 27 to Somerset, and had a blast, as the soggy stuff moved out in the afternoon. Despite the crummy weather, more than 800 cars showed up in Somerset, and we spotted a bunch of them with our tires and wheels. Check out our favorites and be sure to check out www.somernitescruise.org for more information! [products]
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September 20, 2015Boy, these three-day rallies sure seem to fly by, and the 10th annual Coker Tire Challenge is in the books. The 2015 event was a great success, with awesome weather and very few break-downs. The Sunday route is always a short one, and it ends right here at Coker Tire with a warm welcome from the Coker Tire staff. We also enjoyed a hosted BBQ lunch from Shuford's Smokehouse, and a great awards ceremony where we crowned the top contenders from Coker Tire Challenge 2015. Congrats to David Reeder and Sawyer Stone on their victory! Enjoy our photos from today!
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September 19, 2015The Saturday portion of the Coker Tire Challenge 2015 event is always a full day of rallying, and this year, we headed East toward the mountains. We followed the Ocoee River briefly, and then peeled off on Highway 30 for a beautiful drive through varying elevations with lots of twists and turns. From there, we motored north for a pit stop in Etowah, and then got back on the clock for some intense rallying. With lunch in Cleveland, Tennessee (only a short distance away from Chattanooga) we had a very technical course that eventually led us back to Coker Tire, where the racers got their scores for the day. The weather was absolutely perfect, and the scenery couldn't have been better. Check out some of our favorite photos from today's action!
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September 19, 2015It's that time of year again! The third weekend of September is always a time to reunite with all of our Great Race buddies, even though we've only been apart for a couple months. The Coker Tire Challenge 2015 event is a three-day rally with lots of great scenery here in the Tri-State (Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama) area. It's a bunch of fun, and it's not a two-week commitment like the Great Race so it's much easier for local car guys and gals to participate. The competition is a big challenge, but the most fun aspect of the event is being able to spend the weekend behind the wheel of a vintage car. Friday's route sent us into Georgia, where we snaked through the beautiful back roads until we found ourselves in Dalton, Georgia for lunch. Then we doubled back onto some of the same routes to make our way to an hosted dinner at Corky Coker's house in Wildwood, Georgia. He recently finished a huge renovation, and invited all of his rallying friends to check it out. The impressive entertainment area was filled with Coker Tire Challenge participants, who are celebrating the event's 10th anniversary. Enjoy our Friday coverage and click HERE for Saturday coverage, and HERE for Sunday coverage!
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August 17, 2015Last year, we heard about the Tri-Five Nationals, and instantly wanted to be a part of the inaugural event. It helps matters that it is organized and promoted by our buddy Chris Sondles from Woody's Hot Rodz, which is a shop that specializes in Tri-Five Chevy builds and sells many of our products. As the plans for the event developed, Coker Tire stepped up as one of the leading sponsors, and presented the "Celebration of 60 Years of the 1955 Chevy", a special section with original 1955 Chevrolets of many models and configurations. As we rolled into historic Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, it didn't take long to see that the Tri-Five Nationals was destined to be HUGE. And that's exactly what it was--the official car count was 1,858 registered entrants, all ranging from 1955 to 1957 Chevys, including a few pickup trucks and Corvettes from the famous Tri-Five years. Tens of thousands of spectators took part in the event, which had drag racing, autocross racing, a massive show-n-shine area, a swap meet and a packed vendor area.
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August 10, 2015[caption id="attachment_6365" align="alignleft" width="720"] The classic hot rod profile of a '32 Ford three-window coupe is accentuated by a big-n-little whitewall tire combination with steelies painted to match the red accents.[/caption] The '32 Ford is an iconic hot rod platform, and boy did we see some good ones at the 2015 NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky! Folks have often said that it's tough to make a '32 Ford stand out because there are so many out there, but we picked out 11 (because we just couldn't narrow it down to 10) of our favorites. Of course, all 11 Deuces are rolling on Coker Tire products, and we'll give you some more details in each photo caption. Continue reading to see 11 awesome '32 Ford hot rods, and find out why they're cool.
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August 10, 2015We've been attending the NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky for many years. A lot of things have changed during all those years, but it's still a must-go for all street rodders. This year, the event saw 10,000-plus street rods, muscle cars, gassers and more. We saw lots of Coker Tire products on the grounds, and enjoyed the variety of applications. From rough and rowdy rat rods to high end customs, we spotted a bunch of great cars wearing our products. Keep reading to take a look at some of our favorites, and also look forward to a couple more posts with special cars that caught our eye.
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July 13, 2015The Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty is an annual vintage car rally that puts driver, navigator and car to the test through nine days and 2,400 miles of intense competition. The route changes every year, and this year, it featured a Route 66 theme, starting in Kirkwood, Missouri and ending on the Santa Monica Pier in Southern California. It was the ultimate road trip for a car enthusiast, and the field of 120 cars filled quickly when the route was announced. We covered the entire trip with daily blog entries with cool pictures from each day's adventures, but we'd like to sum it up here with a collection of our favorite photos, and to let you know that more than half of the 120-car field was running on bias ply or radial tires from Coker Tire! Even the winner, Howard and Doug Sharp's 1916 Hudson, was running our tires--more specifically a set of Excelsior Stahl Sport Radial tires. The Great Race is the adventure of a lifetime that you can do every year, and we certainly enjoyed our involvement with the event this year. Next year is gearing up to be even better, as the race starts in San Rafael, California and ends in Moline, Illinois, using the Lincoln Highway as the theme. Be sure to check out www.greatrace.com for more information on how you can participate!
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June 27, 2015The Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty presses on, as we make our way across the country. We've spent plenty of time on Route 66, and today was no different, as the course instructions put us on one of the longest uninterrupted strips of Route 66 early in the morning. We made our way to Kingman, Arizona for lunch, were three-digit temperatures were already in play. It was then time to do some mountain climbing, as we scaled the Hualapai Mountains, and eventually made it to Sitgreaves Pass for one of the most amazing scenic views in Great Race history. At the bottom of the mountain, we rolled into Oatman, Arizona, which is one of the coolest old towns in the country. Donkeys greeted us as we stopped in town for a quick look at some of the establishments. The temperatures climbed to a maximum of 117 degrees, and it's still over 100 degrees here in our overnight hosted city of Lake Havasu City, Arizona as we write this recap. Enjoy the scenery and take a look at our favorite shots of the day!
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June 26, 2015Things are changing on the 2015 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty. We're heading into new territory and we had a wild range of temperatures and terrains throughout the day's rally course. The day started at our overnight host city of Gallup, New Mexico but we jumped into Arizona right off the bat. From there, we entered the Petrified Forest National Park and saw some extreme scenery on our way through the park. Unfortunately, Team Coker Tire's Volkswagen Beetle continues to have problems, but that's not keeping them from finishing each day's route. As they say, "to finish is to win" and sometimes that can be easier said than done. After a hot lunch stop in Winslow, Arizona, we climbed to a much higher elevation and drove through a beautiful forest atop the plateau. It was a nice break in temperatures, and the evening hosted stop in Flagstaff, Arizona offered a bunch of spectators and LOTS of choices for dinner. We're anticipating a scorching hot day tomorrow, so wish us luck, as Team Coker Tire's air-cooled VW fights through the desert.
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June 22, 2015Another awesome day of Great Racing is done, and we're hanging out in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma for the evening. We had an excellent time on the route, and even more fun at the hosted city stops in Claremore, Oklahoma and OKC! Spectator turnout was spectacular at both stops and we saw lots of cool landmarks on the course. Route 66 has a lot to offer, and we're taking advantage of it. Team Coker Tire's Volkswagen Beetle is having a few mechanical issues, but it's a freshly-rebuilt car so that's to be expected on a road trip of this magnitude. The scores are tight and it will only get tighter as everyone gets in the groove this week. We're having a blast and we hope you enjoy our daily recaps. Check out www.greatrace.com for scores and additional pictures, and also remember to keep an eye on our Instagram and Facebook pages for live updates of all the cool stuff on the road!
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June 21, 2015We are truly blessed to be in the position to sponsor the Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty, and we are also blessed to own and operate the event from our Chattanooga, Tennessee headquarters. Over the last five years or so, we have poured a lot of effort and time into the event to bring it back to its former glory and it's working! This year, the Great Race had 117 entrants, all 1972 or earlier, so that means that between racers, support, staff and others, we have about 400 people rolling from town to town. It's amazing, and we're glad to be a part of it. The 2015 event is super special, because the theme is Route 66, and driving Route 66 in an old car is on every gear head's bucket list. Our time in the start host city, Kirkwood, Missouri was excellent and the teams departed with thousands of spectators on hand to cheer them on. Greg Cunningham is once again representing Team Coker Tire, but this time, he's in his customized Volkswagen Beetle, which is (of course) riding on a set of whitewall radials from Coker. Check out today's action from Day 1 of the 2015 Great Race, as we traveled across Missouri, from Kirkwood to Rolla and eventually to Springfield. Stay tuned for daily updates and you can also watch our Instagram and Facebook pages to see live updates each day.
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June 10, 2015Our tires go on some of the coolest hot rods on the planet and we were overwhelmed when we found out ALL FIVE of the Goodguys Hot Rod of the Year finalists are wearing our tires! The Hot Rod of the Year is a highly sought after award given by Goodguys at the Indy Nationals. This year, the field of entries was a tough one, but the judging staff narrowed it down to five deserving finalists with bad-to-the-bone traditional hot rods. The best part of the Hot Rod of the Year program is that the cars must be driven on a street cruise, and run down the drag strip to prove that it's not just a show car. The five finalists did not disappoint, so keep reading to check 'em out!
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May 20, 2015We get around to a lot of car shows here in the Southeast, and just because we're not set up as a vendor doesn't mean we're not interested in the event. The Goodguys Nashville Nationals is a great example, as it's just a couple hours away from our office, and it offers up a couple thousand cars and trucks. The venue for the event is LP Field, which is right across the river from downtown Nashville, Tennessee. It's an excellent show, and we're always glad to sneak away from the office to check it out and snap a few pictures of cars with our tires and wheels! And though the weather may have hindered the overall turnout, the event was still huge and gave us a lot of cool stuff to look at. Oh, you like cool stuff, too? Well, you're in luck, as we've compiled a bunch of our favorite hot rods, muscle cars and classic trucks that feature our tires and wheels.
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March 12, 2015If you've followed Coker Tire for very long, then you know we are HUGE advocates for getting out and putting plenty of miles on your collector vehicle. We're proud to announce a new excuse to get in and go for a drive--the Coker Tire Tour to the Classic Motorsports Mitty. If you've never heard of "the Mitty", it's a road racing event held at Road Atlanta and it's geared toward vintage cars. We're planning an awesome ride from our facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee to the awesome Braselton, Georgia-based race track. The trip will include twisty back roads, delicious food and a finish destination that will offer lots of fun. It all starts with a "Cars and Coffee" type event here at Coker on Friday, April 24th. Then, we travel to beautiful Mercier Orchards in Blue Ridge, Georgia, and finally navigate the back roads to Road Atlanta, where a BBQ dinner will be waiting for us at the Mitty. Your ticket includes
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February 24, 2015Coker Tire Company has been a huge supporter of the Great Race for many years, and continues to be a sponsor of the event each year. The Great Race promotes DRIVING old cars, and that's what we're all about. We're excited to announce that the Great Race has expanded its format to include the Great American Tour for this year's course on historic Route 66. And while the Great Race is geared toward competition, with $150,000 up for grabs, the event organizers decided to offer a more laid back option for car enthusiasts who wanted more of a tour and less of a race. The result is the Hemmings Motor News Great American Tour presented by Hagerty, an epic journey on historic Route 66 to see all the sights of The Mother Road.
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November 05, 2014Leading up to the SEMA Show, we always get the inside scoop on killer project cars. We had the opportunity to be a part of a very cool build that is on display in the Ford booth in Hot Rod Alley. The Ford booth is always a destination booth, and this year, there are a bunch of new-for-2015 Mustangs on hand with many custom treatments. The Watson Racing prepared Mustang has a drag racing theme, making north of 700 horsepower, thanks to a supercharged 5.0-liter engine. Our involvement with the project car was a set of M&H Racemaster DOT-approved drag radials, sized at 185/55R17 and 325/45R17. These tires will stick to the drag strip, and they're legal for the street, so it was the perfect combination for the new Mustang. Also, the huge brakes on these cars require at least a 17-inch wheel, so our M&H product line had 'em covered with radial tires for 17-inch front runner wheels, and sticky drag radials out back. Check it out!
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November 05, 2014The SEMA Show is the biggest automotive event of the year. It's a trade show with thousands of vendors, and thousands of awesome cars, trucks and motorcycles on display. Folks from around the world attend the event to show off new products, and increase sales for their businesses. It's a huge opportunity for everyone involved, and we're glad to have a big presence at the show. We have an indoor booth in Hot Rod Alley (booth number 22775), and we have a tractor trailer rig in the Silver Lot outside. This year, we debuted a brand new booth design, which has a vintage gas station theme.