Moparty

[GoMangoBoys]

Will anyone be at the Moparty at the Beechbend Raceway in Bowling Green Ky?  How is this show?  How is the swap meet?

[JH27N0B]

I've been going the first 2 years and plan to go next month.
Facility is great.  The racing is great both drag racing and the rally racing.
The car show is decent but could use some organization like cars parked in classes.  It's mostly just like the "fun field" at the nats except the grounds are hilly and there's trees as opposed to sitting out in the sun.
The swap meet is no great shakes.  It's small. Maybe it will grow as the show grows.

[JH27N0B]

I should have included links to my photo albums of the event.
Car show-
https://www.flickr.com/photos/111914442@N04/albums/72157719878259454
Racing-
https://www.flickr.com/photos/111914442@N04/albums/72157719931950230
Other than the random nature of how the show car field is, the event is very well organized and has Holleys money and network behind it.
The city gets congested in the evening and we couldn't get a reservation at any steakhouse or bbq place on Saturday night last year. We stay at a Marriot and it reminds me of stories I hear about Carlisle where the hotels gouge on rates. However friends who stayed at hotels on the outskirts of the city said rates there were reasonable.
There's 2 hotels next to each other where we stay, and the adjacent hotel is where the modern Mopar club headquarters. Lots of partying going on, and people stopping by. If you're cruising around Friday or Saturday evening stop by there and check it out.

[69BFan]

The Holley Moparty show in my opinion will surpass the Mopar Nats within the next five years.  It will never be able to match the Carlisle event, but will offer that part of the country a viable show for the Mopar crowd.

Holley will do what is necessary to make the event a success.  Geoff McBryde has been brought in to organize and put things in place for a true swap meet.  FM3 Marketing has been responsible for all of the LS Fests throughout the country and they recruited Geoff to oversee the swap meet.  The swap meet draws some of the vendors as seen at Carlisle and Columbus, but still draws different vendors that does not travel that far East for a Carlisle or Columbus show.  You will especially see different vendors who are selling items that they have have accumulated over the years or through prior restorations.  Stephens Performance, Dale's Cuda Shop, Restoration Parts and Materials, Jim Kramer, Steve Ivester and several more vendors will be there selling new product as well.

You will also have the larger vendors like Summit, Jegs, Super Shops, Holley, Edlebrock and several others there on the midway with their feature product lines answering questions.  These companies do not bring product to sell, but come to market their product line and answer questions.

The layout for the show is being changed around slightly for the event.  The swap meet is being moved from the paved area adjacent to the race car staging to an area adjacent to the show car field and spectator parking.  The drag racing draws so many cars that they needed the extra space that the swap meet was taking up.  This gives a distinct area for the swap meet and a distinct pit area for the racers.

Additionally, Mel Majors has lined up ten cars to be under a Survivor Tent.  To my knowledge, Rick Myers and Tim Welborn along with several others will be bringing cars to be displayed.  This will only grow and will be cars not seen before at say Carlisle.

Unlike some car events, this show has a very broad appeal to a number of different Mopar followers.  The show features drag cars to drift cars to an autocross to a countryside cruise.  There are seminars for Gen Three conversions to modern suspension updates and you will still see everything from rat rods to OE level restorations.

For those who have not been or on the fence on attending, here is a link to the show.  We will be there supporting the event as the Holley and FM3 Staff have been great to work with.  With Geoff heading up the swap meet, it will only grow as I am sure that the event will grow in all aspects.

https://moparty.com/

Hope to see you guys at the event.  For those who will be attending and looking for any of  the new reproduction parts available through DCS or RPM, let me know and I will attempt to have them at the show for you to look the pieces over.

[GoMangoBoys]

I just booked my hotel for the Moparty. I will be there all 3 days.  Driving my truck to be able to haul swap meet items back.  Debating on renting a trailer to take the Charger.  It pains me to my core to trailer a car to a car show, but I am hoping to need the truck, so it is trailer the car or leave it home.

[GoMangoBoys]

I have another question about the Moparty event next weekend.  The schedule says that it goes Fri-Sun.  Can anyone say what Sunday will be like?  Will the swap meet people pack up on Saturday like at Carlisle?  Will there be much going on that day?  Trying to decide if I am staying all 3 days.

[mccannix]

You will also have the larger vendors like Summit, Jegs, Super Shops, Holley, Edlebrock and several others there on the midway with their feature product lines answering questions.  These companies do not bring product to sell, but come to market their product line and answer questions.



Additionally, Mel Majors has lined up ten cars to be under a Survivor Tent.  To my knowledge, Rick Myers and Tim Welborn along with several others will be bringing cars to be displayed.  This will only grow and will be cars not seen before at say Carlisle.

https://moparty.com/

Hope to see you guys at the event.  For those who will be attending and looking for any of  the new reproduction parts available through DCS or RPM, let me know and I will attempt to have them at the show for you to look the pieces over.

For those who dont know...sadly, Mel Major passed away on August 17th of this year.
He was a true gentleman and worked effortlessly with the survivor tent at Carlisle shows.
Hopefully someone will carry on his work.

[JH27N0B]

Sunday is similar to the nats. Many have left already. Racing still going on. Awards ceremony sometime mid day or early pm.
I'm hoping to get on the road home Sunday am.  I'll be wiped out after 2 days!

[69BFan]

The swap meet for this show is somewhat like the Indy Cylinder Head show in that it draw some of the same guys that do not make the trip East to Carlisle.  Some of them you will see at Columbus.  I know in 2020, some vendors came in on Saturday as they were there for Saturday and Sunday.  In 2021, it rained like crazy on Wednesday and there was light rain and sprinkles on Saturday morning as I recall.  By Saturday afternoon, it was nice, but the rain still kept people away.  The drag racing ran late into the evening.  For that Sunday morning, rain was expected throughout the day, so the show was officially cancelled due to the forecast. 

With that said, not really sure on how things will play out for this year.  The first year was hampered with Covid.  The second year saw rain on Saturday morning and the Sunday was called.  So for this year, the early forecast looks good.

I know in talking with the staff, the swap meet area is looking to expand into an additional area due to the number of spaces being requested.  As with most of the Friday, Saturday and Sunday shows, the attendance is down by at least 40 to 50% on Sunday for all of the event areas other than some of the special draws which have time commitments.  By Sunday, the drag racing is cut down to the select finals which allows the racers the chance to leave on Saturday evening if they do not make the cut.  I know of spectators coming from as far away as Central Florida and Wisconsin.  So things are looking promising.

At this time, I am not sure who will be taking on the responsibility of coordinating the Survivor display for this event.  Mel had called me less than two weeks prior to his passing with questions concerning the Bowling Green event and layout.  For the most part, Mel had most of the attendees already in place and it will be a fitting honor to him that there is a great display of Survivors to honor his dedication to the hobby.

For those on the fence on coming, the event offers something for almost everyone.  They have even added an off road course this year for those with four wheel drive trucks and the such.   Everyone have safe travels!!!

[anlauto]

R.I.P. Mel 

[JH27N0B]

Moparty was great!  Weather cooperated and turnout was big. 
I got back yesterday late afternoon, and got my '71 and my trailer back to storage. This was my first experience towing a car in an enclosed trailer and it went well.  The 6.4 in my Ram pulls great even in Kentucky hills, and looked like I was getting a tad over 11 mpg.
I stayed up late working on my pictures last night, at least my car show pictures, and will try to get the car show pictures in a Flickr album to share.
I will have a lot of work still on my racing pictures but hopefully get those up this week.
Needs more E bodies, y'all mark your calendars for next year!

[JH27N0B]

Here's the lineup of most of the Chicagoland Mopar Connection club cars that made the trip.  My '71 in the middle. Mopar Mitch and Mopar Mark from our club weren't in the lineup as they were in the rally racing!

[GoMangoBoys]

My observations on the Moparty.
1.  I had a great time.
2.  I should have made arrangements to meet up with the forum members who were going.
3.  This show is WAY smaller than the Carlisle show.  I only went to the Mopar Nats in Ohio once, so I don't have a fair comparison.
4.  I was disappointed by the swap meet.  I walked it all the first time in about 1.5 hours.  I did get to pick up my glass from Stephen's Performance and I did get a few things that I needed, but the swap meet was pretty small.
5.  I felt like there were a lot more younger guys there (20's and 30') than other shows taht I go to.  Maybe things like the Auto Cross draws those guys.
6.  I love the Beech Bend facility as I attend a 55-57 Chevy show there for the last 6 years.  The layout for the Moparty was not as good.
7.  Manufacturers midway was lacking I felt.
8.  No where on the Moparty website did I see that ticket sales were online only.  Fortunately, someone in the hotel told me that the night before.
9.  I am pretty sure that I will go back next year.  One way or another, I will drive a car to put in the show.  This will make it even more fun.

[JH27N0B]

The swap meet was quite a bit bigger than the last two years where I think there were only 20-30 spaces down adjacent to the pits.  Therefore it is growing and should get bigger every year!
The ticket sales thing was sort of confusing as to how it really worked.  I heard that the website said spectator tickets were going to be online in advance only.  And someone I know who went there as a spectator said there were signs as you drove in saying the same.  But then he parked, went to the gate and was able to buy tickets there?
Every show has its own character and I'd say Moparty is closer to the type of character the Nats is, compared to Carlisle.  Carlisle is a huge show and swap meet.  The Nats is a real big swap meet, a large but disorganized car show, and drag racing.  Moparty is a fairly small swap meet, and fairly large but disorganized car show, drag racing, rally racing, and dirt track racing, and exhibitions.
The facility blows National trails away as far as being pretty, lots of areas with shade, and clean bathrooms.  The additional types of racing are great.  The dragstrip is much nicer than National Trails too, with roofs over the grandstands being a huge plus, and you can get so close to the race cars compared to any other strip I've been to.
Check out the dragstrip!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXQfVvHWzSs
I really do think that as time goes on, Moparty will beat out the Nats as the go to show of the character of show they are.
The car show section and swap meet will never be anywhere as big as Carlisle though.
The show is only 3 years old and is a work in progress.  They sent out a survey to participants the other day that I filled out.  It asked about what you liked and what you didn't like.  They are certainly working to build and improve the show.  Considering that the first one was in 2020 and one of the few things going on that year due to Covid, and the sophomore year was hampered by rain, I think they've come a long way and it will only get better next year!

[anlauto]

Yea, I wish it wasn't so far away