HOT ROD Power Tour Takes Over the Capital of South Carolina

The capital of South Carolina, Columbia, was virtually taken over by the HOT ROD Power Tour as thousands of cars and spectators crammed the city during Day 4 of the epic event.
By Glen Wilkinson, Greg Clark                Photography: Glen Wilkinson, Greg Clark

The show site for Day 4 of the HOT ROD Power Tour was a lot different than the last three. Our parade of two-thousand-plus cars virtually took over Columbia, the capital of South Carolina, as we motored into the heart of downtown to park in the shadow of the Colonial Center, which, for you hoop fans, is where the University of South Carolina plays ball. Being in such a locale made us reflect how much the Power Tour has grown over the last 12 years as it's come a long way since the days of meeting in Wal-Mart parking lots.



We put the car in park, stepped out and did a 360 taking in all that's around. The obvious spot to go first was the entrance road where hot rods of all kinds were rolling in. Has luck would have it, about 50 feet from where we stood was a contraption dear to the hearts of all rodders – TRACK LAB’S 1600 HP MOBILE DYNO.

The TRACK LAB MOBILE CHASSIS DYNO was there for the Mobil 1 Dyno Challenge. The challenge is a simple one - find out who has the most horses during each stop of the Power Tour. A line of cars accepted the challenge and the runs were on. First up was Jim Boyles of Plain City, OH.


First on the dyno was Jim Boyles''71 Chevelle.


Jim was real patient as the dyno got sorted out.


Jim looks over the results from his two pulls.



"I'm really interested to see what she'll do," Jim speculates as he sits on the dyno. The deal is two pulls taking the max horsepower from the two and posting that number for all to see. The leader gets to park his or her car along side the Mobil 1 Race Car Trailer as the king of the day. Though, if the number is surpassed, then you've gotta find a new parking spot next to Greg Carillo’s AA FUEL Dragster, the Mobil 1 Busch Grand National Car and the Mobil 1 Super Drag Bike

The Mobil 1 Dyno Challenge runs each day of the Power Tour from 1 to 5 p.m. Anyone can enter and there will be a daily or host-city horsepower champ and, after the whole cruise is over, an overall Long Hauler champ.

Jim did pretty well and, partially, actually entirely, because he was the first run of the day, got to park his '71 Chevelle in the coveted spot. His numbers? 320.8 max power and a max torque of 375.


The TRACK LAB crew running the dyno did a heckuva job strapping cars in.


Tarry awaits the go sign.


The crowd watching Tarry's Nova got a great view and earful of his run.



"I'm pretty pleased," Jim said, "considering it was hot. A little cooler and with some tuning I think it'd run better."

Jim's time atop the leader board didn't last too long as the next car up was Tarry Lorentz's 383 stroker Nova. Tarry pulled 343 max power and 371 max torque and got to back his car up in the primo spot.  "I'm happy with the run," Tarry said,” especially when a few days ago the old motor let go."

Tarry's plight was one of those epic Power Tour stories. His engine gave up the proverbial ghost on the drive down from his hometown of Danbury, Connecticut to Kissimmee while on his way to Day 1 one of the Power Tour.



Seems his motor suffered from a bad crank. Luckily, his brother lives in Greenville, South Carolina and he was able to stop in, order new parts and fix the ailing Nova in time for the start of Power Tour. "I used three cars to make just this one," Tarry recollects as he was the one who did all the resto work himself. "A lot of aftermarket guys just don't make the parts like bumpers, fillers and such to complete it. But I was very fortunate to have my brother there and to have Summit work has hard as they did to get me back on the road. It worked out in the end."
Tarry's run, however, fell a bit short - well, a lot short. The winner of this day's Mobil 1 Dyno Challenge was Brian Anderson from Warner Robins, Georgia. His '64 Rambler classic pulled an evil 1,075.36 max power and a jaw-dropping amount of torque at 803.39.


Wayne Potts of Philadelphia ran his Hemi Cuda to the tune of 275 max power and 304 max torque.


Mobil 1 is displaying Greg Carrillo's 8,000 hp Top Fuel Dragster during at each stop.


Some local Hooters girls were hanging out at Year One's display - and so were a lot of guys.



The dyno runs ran late on into the night trading noise-volume punches with the giveaway announcements on the nearby Power Tour stage. Tomorrow we're pointed toward Roanoke, Virginia for Day 5, but Day 4 still lingers with the memories of hot rods ruling the capital.