After holding the East Coast Nationals at the Richmond International Speedway for the last three years, show promoter Ashton Harwood decided to move the event back down the street and around the corner to the Show Place, where the event was originally held back in '99. The Show Place used to be a large department store at one time. It has a huge parking lot in front where you can park over 2,000 vehicles and a large air-conditioned building where you can showcase more than 150 customs inside protected from the elements.
Being a three-day event, the gates open for registration and set up at 8 a.m. on Friday. This year the Show Place building was used for vehicle setup and vendors, and there was also a snack bar open. The good thing about this was that the building was air-conditioned, which gave show goers and participants alike a place to go and cool off and get something to eat and drink. Saturday morning, the gates opened at 7 a.m. for registration and the start of the day's activities. By noon, all the spaces in the Show Place building were full and the overflow participants were setting up in the big parking lot out front.
We hear James is a big fan...
We hear James is a big fan of stuffed animal bikini contests. Tell him we said hi!
There was a ton of cool customs on hand this year that came from all over the country, including up and down the entire East Coast. One of the many East Coast clubs on hand was Cali Style representing hardcore with three badass feature vehicles and many more killer rides on display.
We definitely need to get...
We definitely need to get this thing featured-very original!
Later that afternoon, the club games got underway, and everyone had fun teaming up with their fellow club members to compete against other clubs for the Grand Prize. Starting about 6 p.m., several live bands took to the stage to entertain all those in attendance. Sunday participants headed back to the show site for the high-low contest and the trophy presentation. With over 200 classes and specialty awards, there were hundreds of trophies up for grabs. This is one of the East's best shows and is definitely a must-attend event. For more information on East Coast Nationals 2006, check out the website at www.eastcoastnationals.com.