Power Tour

Welcome to Day 5 of the Power Tour. Today was a bit of a bust and I'm not just referring to the coconut holders on Precious the mannequin. No, I'm gonna take it all the way to the days of Milli Vanilli and blame it on the rain. In the most Bad Luck Schleprock manner, the stormy skies followed us for the entire 204 miles from Indy to Fort Wayne, Indiana's Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. The pouring rain not only put a damper on our Day 5 party, it effectively shut down the Power Tour Layover festivities forcing everyone to close up early. I had a game-changing idea to spray my entire body with CMX Ceramic Spray Coating with the hope that the formula's relentless water beading would keep me dry. However, our party poopers in legal want me to tell you that YOU MUST NEVER APPLY CMX CERAMIC SPRAY COATING DIRECTLY TO YOUR SKIN, and they even used all caps, so you know they're serious. I should probably retract my earlier statement, or at the very least, hit the old backspace button and delete it forever. There's only one problem, I don't know where my old backspace button is. Wait, found it! ............ Nope, that's not it. Okay, let's make a deal, just promise me you'll never read the aforementioned paragraph and we'll be cool. Good Morning, nicest Courtyard by Marriott ever! Thank you for the most comfortable bed, giving me a great night's sleep. Well, it was that, and the entire bottle of NyQuil I chugged before bedtime. Okay, now legal wants me to remind you that YOU MUST NEVER CONSUME MORE THAN THE RECOMMENDED DOSAGE OF ANY OVER THE COUNTER MEDICATION. Seriously, don't you lawyers have anything better to do than read this blog?! This is the engine bay of Charley Lillard's 65 Riviera. Sled Alley Hot Rods completed this all-new build with an all-too familiar power package. It's essentially the same engine design found in Charley's infamous Mark Stielow-built Hellfire pro touring Camaro - built LS7 bottom with an LS9 top end and supercharger. In Hellfire, this package throws down 950hp, but Charley had it "slightly detuned." I'm proud to say I helped Charley drop a full second from his ET yesterday, mainly because I wrote that his 12.62 @ 120.3mph was an 11.62. No matter, 12.62 is still impressive, especially from a 4,200lb driver. My error also helped Charley keep his "Idiot" pet name for me, so I have that going for me, which is nice. Somewhere along the way, I lost my status as Charley's number one idiot. This year on Tour, that role is being played by Randy Pennington from Rod & Custom in Linchfield, Kentucky. Randy's a good friend of Steen's. He even painted Steen's Chevelle, so I know he's a good guy. Apparently Randy and Charley really hit it off on Tour riding together and trading stories. Before you ask, I'M NOT JEALOUS (sorry, how'd legal get involved again). To show that I'm the better man, I managed to catch the best sides of both Charley and Randy on Tour and I'm including those snaps here. Here's Charley... And Randy. Nope, I'm not bitter at all - signed, Charley's favorite idiot. On the road to Fort Wayne, it's clear to see that some mid-week commuters are better than others. This gas stop was mayhem. Once inside, I finally figured out how Charley made his Hellfire-powered Rivi money. He's a chicken magnate! Yo, Charley, what does a fellah need to do to get a coupon for a 12-piece TENDERS IN-THE-BOX? This just in from Forrest. "While you were working, I was, too – cheering on the Saint Louis Blues as they won their first ever Stanley Cup, beating the Boston Bruins decisively in game 7. The longest drought for the NHL’s top prize has been slaked. 50-plus years of frustration lifted in just a few hours – #PlayGloria. To celebrate the occasion, we inducted Forrest into the Muddy Buddies gang. Do not ask about the initiation process. It is not pretty. Pizza at 10am from a gas station outside of Indy? If you ask me, these people are living their best Power Tour life. If I V8 swapped my E36 M3, I'd "forget" to put the hood on too. Saw this Chevelle wrecking shop on the drag strip at Indy. Didn't see the time, but it had a serious amount of chop and the big meats out back meant business. Was definitely exciting, and somewhat frightening, to see him on the road with the same big rears. Wonder how this one did in the rain. This was Chevelle guy's buddy. Pro street looking Chevy II with a tubbed rear end and a cage. It's safe to say these cars get down. Into everyone's life a little rain must fall and it fell hard today on the road to Fort Wayne. And yet, even as the heavens opened up from above, here was our friend Keith, still looking as smooth as ever. After losing one of our favorite Chevelles on Tour yesterday, it was so good to see our favorite Banana Hammer back in the mix today. Steen, Hunter, and Randy rejoined our group (to Charley's immense pleasure, no doubt). Steen, being the awesome human that he is, took a detour yesterday to help a friend in need with the hope of getting it running on Tour. Sadly, a bricked ECM kept them from accomplishing their mission. Over the years, I've seen Steen pull off many a seemingly impossible roadside mechanical miracle, so to see him return to the group empty-handed was a bit like seeing Superman take a Kryptonite nut shot. For purposes of legal review, I should clarify that I meant a nut-sized piece of Kryptonite and not a blow to the nether regions (that's my story, and I'm sticking to it). To make up for my disappointment, Steen has promised to give us a proper tire-melting burnout, which sounds a lot better than a "nut shot" or a shot to the nuts (lug nuts, that is). And, um, if you're reading this, Mrs. Steen (and you bastards in legal), all of this will be done under controlled circumstances. Or in Mexico. And we thought we were miserable in the rain. Check out these Chuckleheads. The Darwin Awards candidate in back has no helmet. More oxygen for the rest of us! Keith's Day 5 outfit. How in the world does this man's luggage fit inside his Camaro?! Tomorrow, the forecast is for brighter skies, when we’ll go 165 miles to Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio for the sixth and final leg. In the meantime, please enjoy our gallery of pics from Day 05 here. John Naderi for Mothers® Polishes•Waxes•Cleaners facebook.com/mothersusa