Tri-Five Chevys are super hot right now, and we were so excited to see the Tri-Five Nationals pop up a couple years ago in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Our buddy, Chris Sondles from Woody's Hot Rodz is responsible for organizing the Tri-Five Nationals, and he has a great crew to help him knock it out of the park every year. One of the biggest attractions for the Tri-Five Nationals (aside from the 2,000-plus Tri-Fives) is the Give-Away car. Last year, it was a very cool '55 Chevy, which we featured here on the Coker Tire blog. Then, for 2016, it was a high tech '56 Chevy. For 2017, we're proud to announce that Woody's Hot Rodz built an incredible 1957 Chevy gasser. This thing is nuts! The car is built using a brand new steel body from Woody's and a new gasser chassis from No Limit. It has a legit fiberglass front end from

We're not sure about you, but we often day dream about what tire and wheel combinations would look cool on our cars. Having an extra set of tires and wheels on hand isn't always practical, but it sure makes for an easy attitude adjustment for your hot rod or muscle car. We proved it with the "Malibeater", a 1967 Chevelle Malibu project car, which has been featured in various tech articles in Muscle Car Review magazine. Arvid Svensen brought the car down to Tennessee for the tire and wheel swap, and photographed the combinations for an article in the magazine. All three combinations offer cool looks for the car, but there was a pretty clear winner in terms of style and performance after we had driven the car with all three configurations. Just to add another cool element to this tire and wheel swap, we decided that our least favorite combination would be subject to a tire-smoking burnout. [products]

The SEMA Show is a sea of glitz and glamour, from high end sports cars to outrageous custom builds, but sometimes it takes a little rust and patina to stand out in the crowd. That's the approach that Bryan Dagel took with the Rat Rod Magazine "Tour Rat" build. Every year, Rat Rod Magazine hosts a long distance tour, and Bryan builds a new car each year. This year, the plan was to go with a traditional hot rod look, instead of the wacky, over-the-top rat rods that you may remember. We love it--the '35 Chevy sedan body has just the right amount of patina and the stance is spot on! Power comes from a small block Chevy, and Bryan put it to good use, driving the car all the way to the SEMA Show from Minnesota. And then he drove it back, even after a tire-melting burnout at the SEMA Ignited event!

While there was an abundance of nicely restored Tri-Five Chevys at the inaugural Tri-Five Nationals in Bowling Green, Kentucky, there were hundreds of modified cars. Some were slammed customs and some were sky-high gassers, while others had cool nostalgia vibes with '60s style modifications. We enjoyed the diversity of the show, and the fact that LOTS of cars were rolling on Coker Tire products. We picked out 15 customs and gassers to showcase here, so keep scrolling and check them out...also keep us in mind for your Tri-Five Chevy tire and wheel needs!

Last 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.

Cheater Slicks | Dragster Slicks

Cheater slicks are very popular in the traditional hot rod and nostalgia drag racing world. Cheater slicks got their name from just barely being able to cheat the DOT laws many years ago. Tire manufactures would include just enough tread to make the tires street legal, but still use a compound that would work well on the drag strip. Now, Cheater Slicks have made a huge comeback, as the nostalgia drag racing scene continues to grow. Coker Tire offers Cheater Slicks in the Firestone product line, and they are perfect for the rear of a hot rod.

Last weekend, we had a lot going on. Coker Tire was widely represented across the country, as we had a truck and trailer at the Bakersfield, California HCCA meet, as well as a big crew at the Portland, Oregon Swap Meet. Without a doubt, we supplied lots of tires for collector vehicles, but we also had some fun too! While our sales guys were hard at work, our staff photographer went up to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee to the Spring Grand Rod Run. He came back with a bunch of cool pictures, so we just wanted to share them here. Check 'em out! [caption id="attachment_2450" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="This Model A is super cool! Love those Firestone cheater slicks on the back!"][/caption]