Summer Madness 2011

CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE SHOW COVERAGE
 
This years Summer Madness was the funnest Summer Madness I've been too in a long time. And I've been to a ton of these shows, I'm figuring at least 10-12. I had a big chance to really sit back at this years show and enjoy some drinks with some good friends and fellow club members. It was a bonding experience we haven't had in a show since Resolutions.Considering I just lost a friend this week, I was really hoping for a mellow weekend.

This year we drove up in a huge freaking motor home owned by my homie and fellow No Regrets member Mike Quigley. Knowing that the temperatures in Bakersfield are through the roof, we wanted to make sure we would have somewhere to sleep comfortably. Besides the RV, this year I also decided I would drink liquor instead of beer because really hot temps and beer just lead to bloated minitruckers. Liquid Cocaine's were on the menu, (Amaretto, Malibu, Southern Comfort and Pineapple juice) and they were the perfect blend for the hot weather.

Friday night ran smooth, people flowed in from all over southern California, central California and nor cal. It seems like everybody was there to hang out and party, and everybody left their attitudes at home. Show staff allowed people to cruise and have some fun. It seems like with all the good at every show comes all the bad. At this show we didn't have a huge problem with people dragging out of control, because dragging isn't allowed. So in the absence of truck destruction, guys decided to bust out their train horns. I'm a firm believer that train horns belong on trains, and I wasn't the only one. People could be heard booing all throughout the park. But this didn't deter the noisy truckers. I guess everybody is entitled to their form of fun, but when they do it at 4am or 6am it just really sucks ass!

Saturday was show time and this show was huge. I'm not even sure how many trucks were in the show, but I'm assuming it was around 350 or more. The show was great and even though it took them about 4 hours to set them all up but in the end, it was laid out perfectly. If I was them, next year I would lay out the show in the huge grass area because it would make it easier to set up and to walk it as a spectator. 

I know that next years show may have a different vibe since it will finally be under new management but I believe that the vibe will only improve. I know that Airbrush and his crew from Regulators will do an awesome job of taking over the show.  I hope that they can bring the prices back down to earth and hopefully that will help with attendance. Even though this years show wasn't the biggest ever, I actually enjoyed the atmosphere of the show, and I thought the staff handled the show well. I look forward to going next year and hope to see some of you guys there!