Latimore Valley Fairgrounds/EMMR – It was a beautiful morning in central Pennsylvania. A beautiful day for a drive in the country and a beautiful day to have the Checkered Flag – Hot Rod Annual event as your destination. Hosted by multi-talented Hot Rodder E.J. Kowalski along with his equally talented sidekick Liz Leggett, whichever path led you to the Latimore Valley Fairgrounds, once you entered the gate into the track, you were instantly transported into an incredible happy place of hot rodding. Whether you were looking for a hard-to-find part or just taking a walk down memory lane while browsing, the swap meet area had you covered. Lots of good stuff to be seen there, and bargains to be had!

Once you made it past the swap meet, there was lots of food and music to keep anyone happy and entertained. Of course, hard to ignore in that area would be the Camaro funny car of Bruce Larson, who graciously treated the crowd to the music made by a nitro-fueled funny car not once, but twice! I know of one first-time listener who was thrilled with the experience.

Once past the food and entertainment, your senses were assaulted by an entire field full of show cars of all kinds. Flames, flares, louvres….you name it, and a car there had it. So many impressive cars (and people) there, it really was hard to take it all in. I have to confess, I really didn’t take it all in. I saw a lot of cars leaving that I hadn’t seen while weaving among the rows. Trying to keep up with everything that was going on really was a challenge, especially when there were so many hot rodders there willing to share their racing or car building experiences with you. That alone was worth the price of admission!

Just when you were about to catch your breath after seeing so many unique and stunning show cars, you get confronted with another bunch of cars and drivers who were there for yet another reason. After leaving a field full of spotless cars, this bunch was there to get dirty. Yes, the circle track was not neglected as these folks were there to run laps and show everyone how much dust they could kick up. I’d be willing to bet if any of these folks were to go for teeth cleaning at their dentist on Monday, the oral hygenist would find more dirt than plaque due to the size of the smiles on the drivers’ faces as they made laps.

To top it all off, they soaked the track and a number of folks went out for “mud runs.” Just when you thought the happy faces couldn’t get any happier, the thrill of mud flying in the air took it up another notch! It’s worth mentioning that Liz Leggett’s mom, Connie, hadn’t participated in this part of Liz’s world, but that changed on this day in a big way. Liz took her for a ride around the track and treated her to a good dose of mud that made everyone smile!

It was really an amazing job by E.J., Liz, and the car clubs in attendance helping out to keep all this going so smoothly. If you missed this event, you missed something big that seems destined to only grow more popular. I’m sure E.J. and Liz will come up with something to kick it up a notch! Keep an eye on your calendar for next year’s event so you don’t miss it! And be prepared to wear some mud if you get too close!

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