We have finally reached the finish line of the 2017 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty, in Traverse City, Michigan. This 9-day, 2,300-mile journey has been full of ups and downs, but one team that had an unbeatable consistency was Jody Knowles and Beth Gentry. They are always competitive in the Expert division, but they stepped it up a notch this year. With a winning score of 44.55 seconds, this team is taking home more than $50,000 in cash and prizes! By the way, the Knowles/Gentry won the race on a set of our BFGoodrich Silvertown wide whitewall radial tires and Hot Rod Steel wheels! In fact, 9 of the Top 10 teams were rolling on Coker Tire products!
We love running across long time hot rodders, who have seen just about every stage of our automotive aftermarket industry. Jon Kosmoski is one of those guys, and he founded the "House of Kolor" paint company back in 1956. This guy has formulated custom automotive paint, and he's sprayed an untold amount of cars, trucks and motorcycles over the years. While the House of Kolor brand is now a part of the Valspar company, Jon is still involved, and he still has a passion for building awesome hot rods. His latest creation, a beautiful 1934 Ford Cabriolet, debuted in the House of Kolor booth at this year's SEMA Show. The build came down to the wire, but the finish quality is second to none.
[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.
It was exciting news to hear that the Model A Restorers Club National Tour would be Hosted by the Scenic City A's and based right here in Chattanooga, Tennessee! They're calling the event "Ahooga in Chattanooga" and it has truly been a pleasure to see hundreds of Model A's riding around town for the past several days. The event is based at the Chattanooga Choo Choo, but the members have spent some quality time at Coker Tire. Big groups came through for visits and we've seen our share of Model A's this week. Check it out!
We had an amazing time on the Hemmings Motor News Great Race this year, and it came down to the wire to determine the Grand Champion. All week it was a tight battle between the Knowles/Gentry team and the team of Howard and Douglas Sharp. Knowles/Gentry piloted a '32 Ford Cabriolet, which was formerly piloted by Joe Knowles, who unfortunately passed away in 2010. The Sharps piloted the oldest car in the Great Race--a 1911 Velie Racetype. Knowles/Gentry led the field for several days, but the Sharps came from behind on the final two days to take home the infamous BIRD and a check for $20,000!
[caption id="attachment_1836" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Corky Coker with Great Race Grand Champions, Howard and Douglas Sharp!"][/caption]