THE 4 WHEEL PARTS TRUCK FEST has become a familiar favorite for 4x4 enthusiasts around the country wanting to get up close and personal with the movers and shakers in the aftermarket. Until the July 28-29, 2007 Truck & Jeep Fest at Canfield, Ohio, previous Fests had been inside events with static displays. The Canfield event became the automotive equivalent of a movie director shouting "action."
One difference from a normal Truck Fest is reflected in the event name... Truck & Jeep Fest. 4-Wheel Drive Hardware, just a few miles up the road in Columbiana, was a big participant in this event. Especially since it coincided with its annual Jeep Parade through Columbiana on Friday the 27th, followed by a Jeeps-only customer appreciation get-together at the store.
The Canfield Fairgrounds in Northeast Ohio has a long history of hosting exciting four-wheel drive oriented events. These had more or less dried up in the past few years, but 4 Wheel Parts and 4Wheel Drive Hardware rekindled that fire with the help of Special Events company.
It’s clear that many of the more than 12,000 who attended the Fest were blown away with the scope of the 4x4 oriented entertainment available. Displaying true ‘wheeler grit, the Saturday rain and Sunday mugginess seemed only to fuel the fire of desire to attend.
There were both spectator and visitor participation activities. The rock crawl was an example. With courses on two levels, a “pro” type course for very built rigs and a slightly easier course for less built rigs, you could play... or watch on the convenient bleachers. The mud bog and burnout competitions were also open to all comers and in full view of the grandstands. Sergeant Smash was there offering thrilling monster truck rides over parts of the monster truck competition course. Some 642 privately owned 4x4s of all types, brands, flavors and build levels were parked around the area for the show and shine. Ten drove away with “Participant’s Choice” awards, and others survived professional scrutiny and took home “Best Of” awards in various categories.
Spectator action included the aforementioned participant-fueled events or watching the monster truck pros duke it out. The semi-pro Tough Trucks competition also offered plenty of action. If your tastes ran towards observing the female form, the Miss Truck and Jeep Fest Contest provided some non-gearhead entertainment.
Among the notables in attendance were Extreme 4x4’s Ian Johnson, there to sign autographs, shake hands and pose for snapshots. Ian had to do double duty because his TV show partner, Jesse Combs, is still laid low with a back injury. The Iron Man himself, Ivan Stewart, was also there to sign posters and to chat about going fast.
On top of all that, the core part of Truck Fest, vendor displays, were also there. Elaborate showcases of accessories, from scores of big-time manufacturers who had sent their top reps to offer the direct skinny on their products, offered Fest goers an opportunity to ask questions and see desired parts up close and personal. With precision and efficiency enough to make a military logistician grin, 4 Wheel Parts and 4Wheel Drive Hardware set up tent stores with computers, catalogs and a warehouse so you could take home the source of your mechanical lust. And at a bargain price!
Visitors came from all the neighboring states and a few from even farther. We saw plates from Utah, Vermont, Virginia, North Dakota — even Canada! This very successful event is likely to be repeated next year, so follow the “Events” links on the websites listed below for the exact dates. The rest of this story comes in the form of eye candy!
Stay tuned! Future issues of ORA will give you more detail on the Trucks and Jeeps of Truck and Jeep Fest.
SOURCES
4 Wheel Parts
www.4wheelparts.com
800-284-9840
4-Wheel Drive Hardware
www.4wd.com
800-555-3353
The Promotion Company
www.familyevents.com
Photo Captions:
001.Carnage, even on a manmade course. We didn’t get this local fella’s name but once righted, this battered little Sammy hardtop kept right on going.
002.Rock crawling in the rain on the non-pro course proved more of a challenge than normal.
003.Manmade or not, the pro rockcrawl course no cakewalk. The spotters actually had to do some “trapeze” work.
004.Ian Johnson shows off the SubUrban Gorilla built on Extreme 4x4. Starting with a $600 Suburban rustbucket, Ian, Jesse and the Urban Gorilla gang built this Hummer clone using one of the Urban Gorilla kits.
005.The rain on Saturday didn’t stop Sergeant Smash. Think of it as a monster mass transit.
006.Miles of Jeeps take over downtown Columbiana for the 4Wheel Drive Hardware Parade.
007.Miss Truck & Jeep Fest 2007, Alison Miller (left) with her runners up Amanda Benchwick (middle) and Torrie Trella. Alison is 19 and from Youngstown, Ohio. Amanda is 18 and from Austintown, Ohio. Torrie is 27 and is also from Youngstown. Alison took home $800, which she no doubt will put into her ’95 Mustang racer.
008.Attendees got to be the first in the east to see the BFG Mud Terrain T/A KM2. Peggy Petrola from BFG MC’ed the unveiling and explained why this new tire will be the next sliced bread in the tire world.
009.Mark Noto’s Ford garnering even more frequent flier miles with its third place performance. Mark’s times were remarkably consistent both days.
010.Ford vs Dodge. Rammunition and the Black Stallion getting frequent flier miles while duking it out in the Canfield stadium. Geremie Dishman’s Rammunition was the overall winner of Monster Truck Thunder Drags.
011.Wishful thinking or total confidence?
012.Amidst all the big iron, here’s a little guy that was one of the five to climb out of the mud pit at the far end... under its own power!
013.The winner of the Tough Truck competition, Jeff Dedick, going though some of the whoops on his way to a third place time on Saturday. On Sunday his time was unbeatable and he drove away with the event trophy in his ’06 Chevy.
014.Off-road racing legend, Ivan Stewart, signing posters at the Magnaflow trailer.
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