2010 HUNNERT CAR PILEUP!!!!!!!

I can't tell you how much I anticipated attending this year's Hunnert Car Pileup! Last year my wife and I made our first trip to the Pileup, and after just making it into the event before the Illinois State Police shut entrance to the show down, we decided that we would definitely add it as a "must attend" event on our annual calendar. Last year, we arrived in the Morris, IL. area on Friday evening. The weather was damp and cold, more in line with what one would expect in late November. This year, we arrived once again on the night before, but this year, the weather was absolutely INCREDIBLE, with unseasonably high temperatures in the mid to upper 80's. As we rolled into our hotel parking lot, we saw lots of cool rides that had already arrived. Oh by the way, I forgot to mention, after last year's issues with SOOO many cars and spectators, the host club, the Chrome Czars, moved the event a bit south to Progress City in Decatur, IL.

Next year, I think we will try to arrive in time for all of the pre-event happenings, cruise, and concerts that the Decatur Chamber of Commerce puts on in the days leading up to Saturday. Heck, there is even a post-event party that takes place on Saturday evening after the show closes down at 5 pm.

I woke up early Saturday morning to the sounds of open headers outside of my hotel room window. As I looked down from our second story room, I watched most of the hotrods that made up the majority of cars in the hotel parking lot begin to leave for the show. Even though I would have loved to pull on my jeans and do the same, I crawled back in bed, having promised my wife that we would go down to the hotel lobby, eat our complimentary breakfast, then have a dip in the pool and hot tub before we headed out. (Hey, as long as I can find a nice hotel with an indoor pool, hot tub, and breakfast, my "bettie" is game to go to about any show with me.)

So when we finally got showered and packed, we headed out to the show at about 10:30 am. I would like to thank the cute little girl working the front desk for giving us some "local" back road directions. Because of her thoughtfulness, we didn't have to follow the printed directions that would have had us back on the Interstate. She saved us about 10 to 15 minutes of driving time, and got us from the hotel to Progress City in just over 5 minutes.

Words can not describe the ultra-koolness of this event. It has quickly moved up to the very TOP of my list of most enjoyable events in the Midwest United States. And the size of the new location will only allow the event to get even BIGGER in years to come.

 

Hey, today's JUST A START of the over 200+ pictures I took at this year's event. Make sure your are visiting Suede and Chrome daily over the next several weeks so that you will be sure not to miss a thing.