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Welcome to the other side. It appears we’ve survived another drive. The Hot Rod Power Tour has been rolling down one highway or another for 21 years now and our Mothers Polish crew has long hauled each and every one of them. 
Over the years the Tour has grown into quite the beast. Thousands of cars drive the route with tens of thousands of people flocking to each stopover party. If you don’t believe me (understandable as I’m not trustworthy in the least), then take a look at this overhead shot from our Day 4 stopover party at Alabama’s Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, courtesy of the local police helicopter. Just don’t ask how we got it, as our own Jim Holloway has friends in high places. 
As the Tour has progressed, our participation increased accordingly. What started out as our own Ken Holland and Forrest Tosie chasing the Tour in a begged, borrowed or stolen car (hey, I’m not one to judge), has expanded into an all out effort with a Big Rig packed full of merchandise and a highly skilled crew of car care professionals. 
Mothers Polish on Tour is about so much more than promoting our own product. We hold the basics of proper car care dear, no matter which brand you favor. To that end we offer daily tech seminars on Tour in order to show you how to care for your own car the right way. 
For Mothers, the Tour isn’t only about product seminars. It’s about experiencing the open road with thousands of like-minded enthusiasts. 
This year, we added a twist to our 1,500-mile dash, with Mom Tour 2015. Own own Barbara Holloway and Judy Trepanier set out on the road with us. 
We couldn’t think of a more fitting ride for our Moms on Tour than our recently completed ’59 Sedan Delivery. Judy was the perfect choice to co-pilot because she’s Troy Trepanier’s mom and he and his Rad Rides by Troy crew were the ones responsible for our ‘59’s transformation. 
As immaculate as Troy’s work is, that didn’t stop us from taking the ’59 all the way on the road from Madison to Baton Rouge – no matter the rain that fell on our shine. 
On Tour, you battle the road itself, as well as the elements. This is what’s left of the oil pan on our friend James Schiefer’s 435hp ’67 Nova SS. Nothing a little JB Weld can’t fix. Not the first time I’ve uttered those words and it certainly won’t be the last. 
Unfortunately Larry Kelley is going to need to a bit more than JB Weld to straighten up his pristine ’59 El Camino. This is the aftermath of a deer getting up close and personal with Larry’s Elky. Fortunately, Larry owns Kelley’s Auto Body in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and his ’59 will live to Tour another day, too bad we can’t say the same about that deer. 
It happens on The Tour, as they say. Stories abound on Tour of “Plan B” rides, mundane, conservative commuter-mobiles called in as last moment replacements when our temperamental hot rods won’t comply with the call of a 1,500-mile road trip, as they do. This Z06 is perhaps one of the finest Plan Bs we’ve ever seen. Yet, it’s owner, our friend Steen Gilbertson felt slightly emasculated behind the wheel. Steen’s Plan A was his smooth SS 572 Chevelle and he says Power Tour isn’t the same unless it’s behind the wheel of a hot rod of sorts. You know, scary fast and always trying to kill you. 
One of the best parts of producing these posts with Mothers on Tour (aside from the daily naps and unlimited snacks) is the complete absence of any corporate edicts or content guidelines of any sort. This sort of unscripted dialogue is refreshing in this day where most companies favor a “rise and grind” hashtag approach in place of actual rising and grinding. The late Al Holloway started Mothers Polish in the early seventies with a little tin of polish with his wife Barbara (shown here with her son, Jim) and the company’s been family owned ever since. They don’t boast about how well they do, they just keep doing well. 
Today, Mothers Polish is comprised of a comprehensive line of 40 different car care products, which are responsible for the shine on some of the world’s finest cars. Cars like Charlie Lillard’s Mark Stielow-built Camaro complete with a ZR1 drivetrain. While Charlie’s ruby red ride is a rolling testimonial to the power of Mothers Polish on Tour, there is more to this event than such a shiny ride. 
Take this Baja ‘Bird, for instance. These guys long hauled the Tour in this beast and we’re proud to showcase such an eccentric ride even if it doesn’t have that Mothers shine. 
That’s what’s great about the Mothers team. As much as they make some of the world’s finest car care products, Power Tour gives them a chance to let their hair down and as demonstrated by our own Jumpin’ Jim Holloway, get up and get down. 
And nobody likes to get down more than our number one Muddy Buddy, Mothers own Shane Christman. This man is the driving force behind our Mothers Power Tour coverage, in that he drives each and every single mile in one camera car or another in order to serve up the best coverage for you. 
Speaking of coverage, our own Forrest Tosie has been covering the Tour every year since the start, 21 years ago. His celebrity on Tour rivals that of the boy bands that get Shane’s motor running. 
How big is Forrest’s celebrity on Tour? Try $4,000 big. That’s how much Guy and Leatha Thurman of Seymour Indiana paid to dine with Forrest at Gulfport’s Blow Fly Inn. All the proceeds went to the Susan G. Komen organization and our huge gratitude goes out to the Thurmans and Forrest for raising so much money for a worthy cause. 
Just think, on Tour I get to eat with Forrest everyday free of charge! And all I have to do is hang out the window of a perfectly good Yukon XL for 1,500 miles taking Power Tour pics. 
Riding shotgun with Shane is easy, dare I say, even somewhat sublime. The true unsung heroes of our Mothers Polish presence on The Tour are Jonathan Stone and our ride-to-die Big Rig crew and they work non-stop to give everyone the best possible experience. From left to right we have: Trucker John Schaffer, Fernando Campos, Adrian Ussery, Tyrone Canterino, David Kidd, Willie Snead, Jonathan Stone and Andrew Campos. Here’s to you, guys! 
To give you an idea as to the tireless dedication of our Big Rig crew, allow me to share this message we received during The Tour. “I just wanted to commend your company on having awesome people representing them. I was at the Hot Rod Power Tower stop in Memphis today when my son got extremely hot and almost passed out, the closest thing to us was the Mothers set up and I took him over there just to ask if he could sit down in front of the fans and cool off. I was so surprised when all the gentlemen took a very active role in helping my son, from getting him a chair and some water and ice to calling a medic to have him checked out. They made sure I had water also and kept a very close eye on us until the medic arrived. All of them were so polite and attentive, which is hard to find sometimes. When we left they gave my son some snacks and stickers and told him to stop by and see them again without being sick. They told us they hoped God blessed us and they would be thinking of him. I have always used your products on my cars, and will continue to do so. Men like them give a company an awesome reputation. I didn't get any of their names in all the chaos, I wish I had, but I hope you can find out who these fine gentlemen were and tell them that I could never thank them enough for their kindness. Thank you, Ragan and Anthony Schalkle.” I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Our Big Rig crew rocks! 
That does it for our coverage of the 2015 Hot Rod Power Tour. Thank you so much for visiting the site and if you were on The Tour, we were honored to share the road with you. We’re already having withdrawls. If you are too, feel free to check out all of our 2015 Tour coverage here. Bring on the 2016 Tour already!
