Al Gagnon, of Crossville, Tenn., polishes the hood of his 1967 Chevy Nova on Thursday at Chattanooga State Technical Community College during the Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour. Drivers of custom hot rods, classic cars and trucks filled the college’s parking lots on the tour’s stop in Chattanooga.Oklahomans Herschel and Terri Ring are one-year empty-nesters and the proud new owners of a 638-horsepower 2010 ZR1 Corvette.
The torch red, $128,000 car still sports temporary tags and a license plate frame that reads, “It’s fast, it’s red, it’s mine.”
“We’ve worked hard to get where we’re at,” Terri Ring said, sitting in a lawn chair behind her car in a Chattanooga State Community College parking lot Thursday. “So why not let Mom have something like this to drive around in?”
More than 700 miles from home, the Rings stopped in Chattanooga with about 3,000 other hot rod owners Thursday as part of Hot Rod Magazine’s 2013 Power Tour. The long-distance caravan of high-performance vehicles started in Arlington, Texas, on June 1 and wraps up in Charlotte, N.C., today.
“This has got to be on everyone’s bucket list if you’re a car buff,” Terri Ring said, gesturing at the wide array of high-performance cars. “This is the biggest car show you’ll ever go to.”