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Here we go again. Welcome to the first of our daily posts from this, the 2017 Hot Rod Power Tour. I’m John “nads” Naderi, your humble, and somewhat sunburned “tour guide.” I’ll be giving you a glimpse (I’m such a tease) of all the good, bad and ugly (yes, there will be selfies) from the 23rd edition of the Tour. Enough of my witless banter, let’s dive right in. 
In keeping with tradition, this Tour launched in the same city where last year’s Tour ended. It's all so very meta and it's also what brought us back to Kansas City, MO, Paris of the Plains, the City of Fountains and the home to some very tasty BBQ (unless you're on a diet - but then who would be silly enough to go and do that - spoiler alert - it's one of us). The kick off party took place at Arrowhead Stadium, which is where the Chiefs and Royals kick, throw, hit and catch balls (yes, balls!), among other such sporting exploits. All I know is that it was a great place for a party. 
You can't start the day without a nutritious and delicious breakfast. And it was the perfect opportunity to get our band of merry Mothers and friends back together. It's like a reunion tour mashed up with Groundhog Day the movie (if that's the case, I want to play Ned Ryerson, if only because I've got mad whistling belly button skills). 
Our own Forrest Tosie returned to keep his streak of somewhat consecutive (ish) Tours going. I really did think he was happy to see me, until I learned that was indeed a banana in his pocket. But enough with the banana humor - I find those jokes so unappealing. 
My main man, and handler/liason/supervisor/accomplice Shane Christman and Trucker John Schaffer can be seen here comparing Merle Haggard playlists, but something's clearly amiss here (and I'm not talking about Shane's piss poor napkin swan-making skills). 
There it is! Or lack thereof. Namely 57lbs worth of Grade A hunk Christman seems to be missing (as shown by our own Jonathan Stone). Seems as if Shane found Jesus (who may or may not be his trainer) and discovered something called the Whole 30 Diet. Apparently it's working (I just hope it's not a cult). I believe this grape was Shane's lunch. 
Hey, I'm happy for him. I'm a big proponent of self-improvement (provided it doesn't affect my-self), but his clean eating is cutting into my road trip snack habits (what have you done with my Muddy Buddy, Shane!). If this is what I have to look forward to for the next six days and 1,300 miles I may as well just walk to Bowling Green. 
Shane won't even stop at the Little Pig BBQ. And that makes this little piggy want to go wee, wee, wee all the way home (seriously, who do I need to talk to about getting off this runaway Fitbit train?). 
If this is the case, then I may just need to commandeer this tri-five and fill it with enough Twisted Taters to sustain me for the next week. 
Okay, thanks to those Twisted Taters, I can unbunch my chonies and get back to our kickoff party good vibrations. Our Big Rig was bumping with long lines throughout the day. 
Why? How about our line up of audacious rides, awesome demos, fine Mothers Polish product samples and the new hotness, the latest in our line of Mothers Power Tour couture, our 2017 Power Tour shirt. It's a limited edition and a damn fine value at any price. How much would you be willing to pay for a shirt of this quality? $20? $30? More? If you're on Tour and you act now (or at least at our Big Rig, during one of the scheduled stops), you can get this shirt for a mere $5. As an added bonus, it almost surely tastes better than one of Shane's protein bars. 
Here they are. Our dream team. The driving force behind our Power Tour presence - our team of car care experts that make up our Big Rig crew. From left: Nicholas Morelle; Greg Nigh; Jeff Burton; Justin Richardson; Pete DiCandia; Tyrone Canterino; Trucker John Schaffer; Jonathan Stone (our events big gun); Jim Holloway (our fearless leader). Thanks to these gents, our Power Tour operation always runs like a well-oiled (and finely polished) machine. 
And these young bucks have been a great help too, jumping in whenever needed, no questions asked. For the record, I'm only posting this image because Eli Reed teared up, just a little bit, when I told them that I only grabbed this pic to help me frame up the Big Rig crew shot. At least I think that's why he was crying. It could have been because he wore black, completely ruining the boy band vibe the group was going for. 
At least Eli's happier in this pic. I think it's because he can now lay claim to Team Forrest colors. #whoworeitbest #ofcourseitwasskinnyshane #thehashtagsareforeli #nowpleasestopcrying 
Look at how happy Jeff Thisted, the Power Tour emcee is here with Forrest. I'm sure it has everything to do with the fact that Forrest won't ever make Jeff undertake the Whole 30 diet. 
Speaking of diets, Shane, if you need me, I'll be riding with these guys and their V8 BBQ trailer. Their idea of the Whole 30 is to put the whole thirty pounds of meat on the grille at once. Mmmmm, grilled meat. 
What's my world coming to? First Shane makes the leap across the velvet rope of fitness, leaving me behind in a blubbering mess (which is what I call my midsection) and now this?! This far-too-happy man, is our dear friend, Keith Echols and he is a hot rodder's hot rodder. Counted among his many notable builds is a real-deal Pratt & Miller Camaro. At a recent track day, Keith ran out of talent and brushed the wall. He was fine, but the Camaro wasn't. His Plan B is Mrs. Keith's Cadillac XLR. While Forrest calls it a Caddy sitting atop a Corvette drivetrain, the fact remains that it's still a blue convertible Cadillac. And don't even get me started on the pink shirt. 
Now my world is coming back into focus thanks to our Shelby Terlingua Mustang. 850hp under the power of Jim Holloway's prodigious right foot is exactly what I need to get my Power Tour chakra back in alignment. 
Our '59 Sedan Delivery also gets me right in the feels thanks to a meticulous resurrection by Troy Trepanier and his team at Rad Rides by Troy. 
Our man, Steen Gilbertson is also back with his monster Chevelle. He's ready to roast his tires whenever the smell of Shane's banana chips gets to be too much for me. High speed shenanigans are always bound to happen when Steen is in the mix, unless Mrs. Steen is reading this, then those speeds will be limited by state and local laws. 
Our pal Glen Reed stepped up his Power Tour game this year with an Outlaw Mustang. I was told the driver side wheels are finished in a contrasting color, but I heard Shane was doing burpees behind the rig and I didn't want any part of that. 
This year's Tour is especially exciting for us here at Mothers since we just announced our new Speed Line of products designed to provide superior results in a fraction of the time. They look even better up on the stage, sharing the spotlight with Forrest's sinewy stems. 
Ever wonder what the Mothers Big Rig logo would look like reflected onto the back window of Buick Grand National? Well, wonder no more. 
At the Edelbrock Big Rig, we found a fitting tribute for the man, Vic Edelbrock Jr. who passed on the eve of this Power Tour kickoff. Godspeed, Vic! 
On a brighter note, we found our pal Matt Boice from TEN, Hot Rod's parent company. He tells us the fun factor of this year's Power Tour is trending upward, while his Four Season's visor tells us that he's buying lunch tomorrow. 
Pretty cool giveaway with a chance to win this Camaro. Wonder who the lucky winner will be? Probably the type of guy who would wear a Four Season's visor, because we all know that guy makes his own luck. 
Road Kill's General Mayhem and a positively pristine '59 Impala. They're both cars with four wheels and V8 power, but they couldn't be more different. Forrest likens the gulf to the rift between Taylor Swift and Katy Perry. I'm not entirely sure what the beef between Tay Tay and K Pay has to do with these two cars, but then, I'm not as plugged in as Forrest. 
HP Tuners had this bug from Blake Wilkey. It was extreme, although not nearly as much as his previous one. 
I was thinking about getting one of these for Forrest's house. Too much? Agreed. I'll just go with Satan's School for Girls. 
David and Brenda Conzelman from Kenner, Louisiana are back in the their black '71 Nova SS. I may have to ditch Shane at the next stop and hop in with the Conzelman's. I can only take so much Merle Haggard and banana chips. 
I'm pretty sure this isn't on Shane's diet, but then again, at this point, I'm pretty sure I don't care. 
There it is. A pic of our new Mothers Speed being used in the wild. Did I earn my vodka lemonade yet? 
Learned that his name is Wally and he loves getting his picture taken. Didn't learn what Wally is exactly. Lemur? Damn near killed her (I've been waiting so long to drop that one). 
These guys. Years ago I made the mistake of proclaiming that if this post-apocalyptic holy roller makes it all the way, then I'd buy them a sixxer. They've been proving me wrong for many Power Tours since then. All these years and still no beers. If I can sneak the barley-based bevvies past Sergeant Shane, that will change this year. Provided they can long haul it. #doubleornothing #hashtagsforeli 
I do believe this is the very same '59 Elky that went up against Bambi's mother on Tour a couple years ago. It looks much better today. Bambi's mother? Not so much. 
This is the answer to a question only Forrest could ask. It is a 1982 Firebird SE with a big block Chevy relocated to the rear and sitting on a Toronado transaxle and a Handcrafted GT2+2 body kit. After a couple of vodka lemonades I could easily see the Testarossa influence. 
Here's a rolling personification of one of Ken Holland's jaunty hats. Remember, one time, years ago, Forrest and Ken did the Power Tour in PT Cruiser. On second thought, let's try to forget that. #getpitted #hashtagsforeli 
Trippy hood mural. Surfers, sharks, eagles and the American flag. What does is all mean? #covfefe 
Can it be? Is this the EM-50 that Bill Murray and Harold Ramis used to zip in and zip out of Czechoslovakia? Just like Wisconsin. 
It appears the South will rise again, under the mighty footprint of 54-inch tires. 
This story would be so much better if this one is long hauling. 
"Can't go wrong with side pipes and stripes," said everyone in the seventies. 
Forrest told me that our formidable Finnish friends, led by Mikael Forsman were planning on bringing a fire-ramp truck conversion towing a trans am-style sixties Cougar. I didn't believe him. But then I didn't believe him when he told me about the Taylor Swift Katy Perry beef and look what happened there. 
Tomorrow we'll be headed to Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. In the meantime, please enjoy our gallery of pics from the kickoff party here. John Naderi for Mothers® Polishes•Waxes•Cleaners facebook.com/mothersusa
