Before a single show truck scraped across the parking lot of Firebird Raceway in Phoenix, for the 2002 Truckin' Nationals, a different gathering commenced in Southern California. A group of 170 like-minded individuals convened at Santa Anita Raceway the day prior to the show for what promised to be the ultimate cruise to the show. Minis, fullsizes, and SUVs cruised from Dealers Sport Truck Accessories to Boyd Coddington's shop to Gibson Exhaust' manufacturing facility to American Products Company (APC), finally landing at AIM Industries in Mesa, Arizona. Throughout the day-long, 450-mile rolling truck show, enthusiasts were treated to guided tours of the sponsors respective facilities, picking up poker cards along the way. At the end of the cruise, everyone gathered for dinner and a concert at AIM Industries' massive manufacturing facility, where the poker run was concluded and the prizes were awarded. The cruise provided an excellent alternative to the six-hour long, lonely drive to Phoenix for the show; a great time was had by all. If you would like to participate in the next State-2-State Cruise, keep an eye out for information in your favorite mag, as we look toward the North in 2003 and head for sin city.
The cruise began at Dealers,...
The cruise began at Dealers, and then everyone gathered at Santa Anita Racetrack to receive their first poker card, donuts, and group leaders.
Then it was onto Gibson and...
Then it was onto Gibson and APC where more poker cards were handed out and raffle prizes were awarded. The parking lots looked like car shows with all the custom rides laid out everywhere.
Inside of AIM's warehouse,...
Inside of AIM's warehouse, we took turns riding the air chair, a bucket seat that was suspended on four air cylinders. It was a blast!
From there, the caravan made...
From there, the caravan made its way to Boyd's new digs. While we were there, we got to wander through the showroom, the shop, and the wheel plant.
On the way to AIM Industries,...
On the way to AIM Industries, we all stopped for lunch at In-N-Out. Then, we all motored four hours east toward Joe Morrow's insane headquarter's for Chassis Tech and AIM. Joe provided an awesome dinner, concert, and a full tour of the manufacturing facility.
Jeremy Cook and Travis Noack...
Jeremy Cook and Travis Noack of Truckin' magazine doing what they do best: takin' pictures and lookin' cool.