Tag Archives: Truck / Tractor Events

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Charles Wickam and I were all excited to be heading down to the Williamson County Expo Center in Taylor Texas for the Texas Heat Wave Show, even though we had heard that the last couple years had not been super kind to the show. Texas Heat Wave has been around forever and was one of the premier custom truck shows when I was starting out in the mini truck scene and was one of those shows that Courtney, Finnegan and Alexander would hit and cover in the pages of the magazine all the time and that I dreamt about going to. So when I moved to Texas in December of 1997 I was stoked as hell to be taking my lifted, bagged,  shaved, flamed, and billet-equipped 1992 Chevy pickup to the show the next summer. And oh did I! And it was awesome!

Everywhere you looked were bagged, body dropped, lifted, shaved, and all-around custom trucks of every size and description. From mellow street cruisers and daily drivers to the most insane show trucks, they were all there and cruising the grounds. This show was definitely what it was originally started to be back in 1989 when two clubs started this show to be like a West Coast truck show. That means three days, camping and partying and cruising, like Resolutions, numerous events on the River in California and Arizona, and more. And the folks in Texas nailed it with Texas Heat Wave. Unfortunately, the growth and fame also caused some issues as the event outgrew venues in the Austin area and found resistance from some local law enforcement. This was the case when I went in 1998, but it was still an epic show.

Fast forward over the next few years and other venues and the show was still great even with some location challenges. I moved back to California in 2007 and didn’t do much in the custom truck show scene as I was focused on racing, but when I came back here to Texas last year I was hoping to hit Heat Wave up again, which leads me to this weekend.

It was hot, which is no surprise for Heat Wave, as it is always held in late July or August which is the hottest time of the year here in Texas. So Wickam and I trudged our fat asses around the show, losing a few pounds in water at least, and a whole stack of cash out of our wallets to get in, and checked out most everything that was on-site, and the turnout was certainly not overwhelming. I’m sure COVID is still impacting things, but there was a lot of open space at this show, which has not been the case in other custom truck shows this year, and the venue didn’t seem to be utilized very well. Despite having lots of nice open grassy areas there was a huge amount of the show on gravel which made for a very dusty mess that just wasn’t nearly as enjoyable as it could have been. And for us, the variety of trucks just wasn’t there that we’d seen at other events this year, which was again a little disappointing.

I love trucks, and respect stuff even if it isn’t my cup of tea, but the bro dozers felt like the largest group of trucks at this event this year and we heard it from several other show goers walking around. Again, kudos to those guys for building some cool rides, but we also wanted to see more lowered and custom trucks. And there were some, which we have photos of to share, but we were hoping for a lot more. The tattoo expo part of the show was small but cool and the stereo display and sales area was hopping too. In fact we spoke to a few manufacturers about projects we have to plan for and got some great information and saw some cool new stuff. We’re hoping for big things from Texas Heat Wave in 2022, so we aren’t giving up on it, and hope that all of you truck enthusiasts out there will come on down and make Heat Wave great again as well!

CHECK OUT OUR FIRST GALLERY OF PHOTOS BELOW AND CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO MAKE IT LARGE SO YOU CAN CLICK THROUGH THEM ALL QUICK AND EASY

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May 22, 2021BangShift Galleries, Car Shows, Gallery, Truck / Tractor Events

If You Like GM Trucks Then You Have To Check Out All Our Photos From The C10 Nationals At Texas Motor Speedway

(Photos by Charles Wickam) It doesn’t really matter what year Chevrolet or GMC trucks you like, there was likely to be something there you dug because the C10 Nationals have become the all encompassing GM truck event with more action than you can imagine. Dyno shootout, drag races, truck show, autocross, burnout contests, and more are all on site at this event and it really is something to see. Wickam drove his multicolored C1500 to the show and then proceeded to snap a jillion photos, take some rides in killer autocross trucks, and even choose a winner for our BANGshift Pick award.  I’ve got a new gallery each day this week from the event, so remember to check back in each day for the latest photo from Wickam. Remember, there is another C10 Nationals event happening in September in Nashville, so you are going to want to check that one out if you live anywhere within 3 states of Tennessee. It’s going to be an epic event as well.

The C10 Nationals have become one of the must-attend truck shows in the country in recent years and with good reason. The show is huge, is held in a killer location, and you are sure to find every single kind of C series GM truck you can imagine. No matter what you like, you’ll find it here and probably in multiples. Short beds, long beds, duallys, and more, are all here and ready to check out regardless of what years of C10s you are into. With drag racing, autocross, burnout competitions, a dyno challenge, and the huge car show all happening around the facility there was plenty to do and see for everyone on site.

Luckily our dude Charles Wickam was on-site to take it all in as I had to go to Bryan Texas for an SDBA Drag Boat race and couldn’t come to the show. Wickam shot all kinds of photos and even gave out our BANGshift Pick award to one lucky attendee at the show. They won an entry into the upcoming C10’s in the Park event happening this fall in Waxahachie and you can see the truck he picked in the blog item linked below.

CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR OTHER GALLERIES FROM THE C10 NATIONALS

CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR BANGSHIFT PICK FROM THE C10 NATIONALS

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New, old, weird, common, you name it and they had it on hand at Holley’s LSFest West in Las Vegas. And there was no shortage of weird and wacky and fun and awesome going around the autocross, track cross, 3S challenge and more during this insane event. We call it insane because the size, scope, and variety are unlike any other event in the world, which has become a staple in the LSFest world. Check these photos out and tell us which ones are your favorites.

IF YOU MISSED ANY OF OUR PREVIOUS PHOTOS FROM LSFEST WEST, CLICK HERE

LSFest is a spectacle people and that was never more apparent than in Las Vegas during the 2021 LSFest West event held at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. With thousands of cars, and tens of thousands of spectators, it was an event of epic proportions even during these COVID times. Thanks to a great partnership between Holley’s production team, track staff at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, along with local, county and state health organizations, this event was able to happen. And happen it did. There were cars, trucks, SUVs, vans, buggies, exotics, pre-runners, race trucks, and everything in between on site to celebrate everything you can do with LS power. We’re talking Drag Racing, Autocross, 3S Speed Stop, Donuts, Burnouts, Drifting, Sideshow, Truck Jumps, Dyno pulls, Manufacturers Midway and tons of food and drink. This is an event like none other and has a very different personality than LSFest East in Bowling Green Kentucky. If you have only been to one, you definitely need to get to the other.

Everyone that’s anyone wants to be at LSFest and this weekend was no different. YouTube stars from B is for Build, Cleetus McFarland, Blake Wilkey, and more were on hand to throw down, have fun, and cut loose in Vegas. After having to cancel the 2020 show, despite trying to reschedule, there were fans, racers, and enthusiasts from all over the country clamoring to get to Las Vegas for this year’s event. Because no on site ticket sales were allowed, all entries were pre-entry and everyone had to buy their spectator tickets ahead as well. After a bustling Friday, Saturday morning started with record numbers coming through the gates for an actual sold out crowd. And we’re not talking about the BS sold out claims you get from some promoters, we’re talking actually sold out crowd and it was epic to see.

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