Power Tour

It took me six years to realize I’ve been doing Power Tour all wrong. Six years. That’s a long time - half a decade to be precise – perhaps even longer if I knew how to use the calculator on my smartphone. But this year, I believe I've finally got it right. For as long as the good, albeit slightly misguided, people at Mothers have been entrusting me to report on the Power Tour they've done it in the same methodical fashion - big, boring and basic (much like my love life). This year our rental 'burban was more of the same. It got the job done comfortably and reliably with room for all of our junk in the trunk (again, much like my love life). I know we need our reliable rentals to capture as many moments as we can, but I've always fantasized about experiencing the Hot Rod Power Tour from behind the wheel of a real deal hot rod. I've also fantasized about Miss Painless Performance. But that's another story. For another blog. There's also something incredibly compelling about breaking down on the Tour. I'm not talking about emotional breakdowns (had enough of those), but mechanicals. I'd never wish such misfortune on my worst enemy (even Shane), but breaking down on the Power Tour is a badge of honor of sorts. It's almost as if you haven't experienced the Power Tour until you've been on the side of the road with an open hood. I believe the richness of your Power Tour experience is in inverse proportion to the quality of your ride. You can't go full hot rod with a rental. In other words, real men don't need A/C. Or hoods. Or fenders for that matter. I've always relished my role as the documentarian of our group. Content to report from the front lines without actually doing battle. But this year's Power Tour hit me with more than I could have hoped, and bargained for. On Day 3, my man Forrest would make all my dreams come true. Well, not all of them, ahem, Miss Painless Performance and I've yet to be invited to attend a Cardinals game (hint hint, Forrest). On this day I was fortunate enough to ride in the iconic Mothers 59 Sedan Delivery. A rare gem that was recently refined with a full ground-up resto mod courtesy of the one and only Troy Trepanier and his artisans at Rad Rides by Troy. True to their name, this crew churned out one rad ride, with an Art Morrison chassis, 650hp Lingenfelter LS3 with a Magnuson Eaton TVS supercharger, Bowler transmission, Eaton Posi LSD and one-off Billet Specialties wheels. It was a glorious ride, for all of forty miles, until... Disaster struck. I should be careful what I wish for, because I got exactly that (sadly, none of it involved Miss Painless Performance). Even the finest builds aren't immune from trouble - it is a 1,300-mile trip after all. Thanks to the failure of a 29 cent part, our 59 was forced to make an unscheduled stop in Taylor, Texas. Shortly after the elation of earning my Power Tour chops faded, the reality of being stranded 190 miles from our destination took hold. Thanks to some great friends, with even greater minds (Steen Gilbertson in particular) and a never-say-die attitude we were back on the road. Things got even better on Day 5. This is Charley Lillard driving his 1969 950-hp ZR1-drivetrain swapped Hellfire Camaro built by Mark Stielow. And this is my view from behind the wheel of the Charley's bitchin' Camaro. Yes, I drove the infamous Hellfire Camaro on the Power Tour. Clearly Charley was unaware of my questionable driving abilities, but his ignorance is my reward. I finally got the full Power Tour experience and now I truly understand how special this is and why it means so much to Mothers. It's even more than a Hot Rod party of the grandest scale. It's a road trip that takes place over one week, covering hundreds of miles across America. And a chance to bond with friends new and old. Provided they aren't choosing the perfect Instagram filter. I wouldn't be able to experience any of this without the Mothers crew. Over the years this Mothers crew has been a proud participant, partner and supporter of the Power Tour. So much so that they’ve been on every single edition since the very first one, 22 years ago. And they're always excited to bring something special to the show. This year it was their latest build, a Shelby Terlingua Mustang, which our own Jim Holloway promptly took out and set the fastest lap on the autocross course at the pre-party. Go, Jim, go! And while we love to have fun on the Tour... We are truly passionate about car care and the Tour is the perfect opportunity for us to share some tips and tricks to help you make your ride look its best. But that doesn't mean we aren't afraid to drive 'em hard. No trailer queens here. Detail. Drive. Repeat. Thank you so much to the team at Mothers for going so big at the Power Tour and making all my Tour dreams come true (Miss Painless Performance notwithstanding). I know I say this every year and with each passing edition, the sentiment grows even stronger, but I cannot wait to kick this party off all over again in 2017. On behalf of everyone at Mothers, thank you for following our exploits and we'll see you on the road next year. And remember, you can’t wax off without waxing on first. John Naderi for Mothers® Polishes•Waxes•Cleaners facebook.com/mothersusa