Despite some rain, the Return to Renton Car Show endured, raising about $11,000 for the Renton Police Department Youth Fund.
“We had a brief moment of panic when the rain started coming down,” said organizer Ryan Runge. “We lost a few cars, but nothing major. A lot of people toughed it out. We held the rain off the rest of the day.”
Holding the annual show downtown for the second year, organizers hoped to encourage people to visit local shops and restaurants.
“It’s exciting to contribute to one thing that spiders out to other things,” Runge said.
The Liberty Cafe had about double the normal visitors, owner Mike Moskowitz said. “The best part of it all: the visibility.”
A DJ blasted tunes all day from the Piazza, while about 3,500 visitors checked out roughly 400 cars.
At one point in the day, a group of people, cops included, did the electric slide in the middle of Third Street, Runge said.
A favorite vehicle was a 1954 vintage metro bus, which had a museum onboard, Runge said. “You don’t typically see something like that.”
The spirits lifted once the rain did, but the show still didn’t attract the 550 cars it hoped for. Though it did attract the King and Bunny’s hydroplane.
When organizers said all vehicles were invited, “we literally meant everything,” Runge said. “We had it all.”
Winner’s List:
Best of Show – Rick Cottom, ‘62 Chevrolet Bel Air
Participant’s Choice – Valerie Pipkin, ‘55 Buick Roadmaster
Classy Cruiser – Valerie Pipkin ‘55 Buick Roadmaster
Under Construction – Gary Estes ‘41 Chevrolet Flatbed
Splendid Survivor – Phil Torres, ‘51 Buick Wagon
Favorite To Get a Ticket In – Mike Maxwell, ‘70 Dodge Challenger
Ride I’d Sell My House For – Jonell Bitney, ‘33 Buick Victoria
Favorite To Drive Down Memory Lane – Don Maletta, ‘41 Lincoln Continental Luvable License Plate – Jeannie Hobart, ‘67 Ford Mustang
Slickest Oldie – Jim Briere, ‘32 Ford
Trickest Truck – Bill Larson, ‘69 Chevrolet P/U
Lotsa Muscle – Rob Henderson, ‘69 Cobra
Phantastic Paint – Keith Simmonds, ‘55 Chevrolet Bel Air
Groovy Graphics – Marc Lecoq, ‘66 Mustang
Founders Award – Dave Williams,’30 Model, Ford sedan
Lusciously Low – Jason Rosete, ‘83 Coupe de Ville
Cool Chrome – Ron Spino, ‘49 3100 Pick-up
Impressive Import – Jake Jacobs, ‘58 BMW Isetta
Favorite To Play In the Dirt In – Paul Hartman, ‘45 Dodge Pick-Up
Pre-1940s Original – Lee Thomas, ‘39 Ford
Pre-1940s Modified – Ed Knevel ‘39 convertable
1940 Original – Alex Cordas, ‘41 Lincoln
1940 Modified – Ken Bushorn, ‘40 Ford coupe
1950s – Mike Woods, ‘57 Chev Bel Air
1960-1964 – Rob Kimball, ‘64 Chev Malibu SS
1965-1969 – Roosevelt Langston, ‘65 Malibu Chevelle
1980-Present – Montez Larson, ‘85 Monte Carlo SS
Fav. Amer. Motorcycle – Adam Long, 2008 Harley
Fav. Metric Motorcycle – Adam Long, 2002 Honda VTX
Fav. Japanese Import – Doug Foster, 2003 Acura RSX Type S
(Names and award categories were submitted by Ryan Runge.)
