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Anytime you attend a first year show there is a lot of uncertainty. People always wonder how many rides will show up? Is it worth the trip? How well is the event planned? This show was no exception. With the $40 entry fee a lot of people were wondering how well the show was going to do and if it was really worth the money. But being that there aren't many quality shows around the Houston area I was betting that all the people from H-Town would be out to display their rides. When I first heard about Texas Showdown almost a year ago I was really excited. Finally, a big show in Houston! No ten-hour drives across country, any hotel rooms, just waking up, jumping in my truck, and cruising to the show. Showdown started for me on Friday. I got to the show about 3:00 pm to start getting my truck ready to display in Chaotic Customs booth. From the looks of the show grounds you could tell this was going to be one hell of an event. Around 5:00 Mike and the crew from Chaotic rolled in and we began setting up their tent. If you've never participated in setting up a 36x25 tent this can be quite a project, but luckily we had plenty of help. Getting this task out of the way I went back to finishing up my truck. After several hours of polishing and waxing I finally got my truck looking good. (Thanks for the help Jenn!) Its then that Mother Nature decided to play the cruelest joke ever. About the time everyone decided to leave it began to pour down rain. Saturday picked up right where Friday left off. I woke up early to go and get donuts for all of my club members who were supposed to be there at 7:45, needless to say they didn't roll in till 9:00. You know how it goes. After making a quick stop at the gas station for some show supplies we were on our way. Even after the bad weather and leaving late, I was still looking forward to the show. Since we had gotten such a late start I was really pressed for time. Mother Nature didn't help matters any by raining the night before. I knew I would have to re-detail my truck, I had show coverage to shoot, a club meeting to have, along with just taking time to hang out with people I haven't seen in a long time. We finally got to the show about 11:00. Driving through the gates you could already see the show grounds filled with hundreds of badass rides. I was happy to finally be at the show but knew I had my work cut out for me. Fortunately for me I have friends who look out for me. I just want take this opportunity to say thanks to Ray-Ray from Severed Ties and Abel from Lesser Degree. These guys got there early and dried off everyone's rides before it got hot and spotted them. Thanks again guys.
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After setting everything up I decided to set out and shoot some show coverage. The over 525 vehicles in attendance made this quite a task. Walking around I was very impressed with not only the quality of the rides but the variety as well. How could you not love a show were in one row you could see a tricked out import laying kit on 19's, next to a Hummer H2 on 44's, next to a body dropped truck on 22's. This show had a little something for everyone. The guys from B&C Off road brought out some of the sickest lifted trucks you'll see. Not to be outdone Allout Performance displayed their lifted Cadillac EXT fresh from the paint booth sporting a new 2-tone look. The import guys were also out in full force, showing everyone that they know how to trick out a ride with the best of them. But it was obvious that slammed trucks took over the show grounds. Clubs such as Severed Ties, Relaxed Atmosphere, Koastal Kreationz, Lesser Degree, Kontradictions, Xtreem Rydes and numerous others were all very well represented. Having spent the better part of the day walking around and checking out badass rides. I decided to make my way over to the vendor's section of the show and see what they had to offer. The vendor section was a show in itself there were tons of places displaying anything from billet grilles to air bag suspensions, to custom sound systems. I was glad to see Bill and the guys from Ekstensive. They had their two-story display set up, complete with fan to help cool off the show goers. Mike Jones and the crew from Chaotic Customs also brought out some nice rides for their booth. They were crowded all day long as people were stopping by to buy tickets for a chance at the $4000 paint job they raffled off. I also ran into Louie from Bullet Customs who was showing off his hand made billet grilles and his freshly redone Ford Super Crew. After checking out all the rides and all the cool stuff the vendors were selling it was time for my favorite part of the show, just hanging out. I took the opportunity to catch up with old friends. It seemed like everywhere I went I saw someone who I hadn't talked to in quite awhile. It was great to be able to see everyone and get caught up on how they were doing and how their rides were coming along. Just about everyone on SSM from the Houston area was there and even a few from Dallas.Continued ----->
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