(Winston-Salem, NC) – Despite the fact the host club for this show is the SVT Cobra Mustang Club, this was an all-Ford show. Being this was my fourth year participating in this show, I knew what to expect. A show filled with some very nice Fords, which would primarily be Mustangs. In fact, aside from the Mustang Week show, this is one of the largest shows in the area. Even better is the fact it is only located 15 minutes from my house!
I arrived shortly after 8:00am, and started putting the final touches on my car. The skies threatened rain most of the morning, and one shower did roll through around 10:00am. After that, the sun teased us a few times, but never enough to make one feel that rain later would not be a possibility at some point. Thankfully, the rain did stay away. Out of the four years I’ve been a part of this show, rain has made it’s presence known in three of them!
This was the first year that it really became noticeable that the number of the earlier model S197’s participating was starting to taper off. Many owners have simply started yearning for something different and have moved on to the newer 5.0’s in the last year or so. While the appeal of a newer car does have its allure, it’s also nice to have a car that starts to look less like many of the others in the show field. So it my eyes, it’s a welcome change.
Judging began close to the noon hour, and I’ll give credit to the judges for doing a thorough job in checking all the cars out. I know they spent a great deal studying my engine compartment as well as checking out areas such as the insides of my wheels to ensure they were clean. Several of the people I knew mentioned that the judges even pointed out the things they discovered wrong, which is always helpful where future shows are concerned.
The awards ceremony started right at 3:30pm, and I was pleased to take home the First Place trophy for best 2005-2006. I was even more pleased given the company I was in, as there are always several incredibly nice cars in this show and in my class. I expect in the next year or two that my class will likely be merged with the 2007-2009 class, as the newer Mustangs start arriving in a much larger force.
With the show behind me, I can reflect back upon the efforts of the SVT Cobra Mustang Club and its volunteers knowing that they have once again pulled together an awesome show. As it has been for the last four years, I’m sure this show will be a highlight of next summer as well!