CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Start revving your engines. Hot Rod Magazine’s Power Tour will pull in to Charleston June 9. It’s just a one-day stop but it will bring in big money to the Capitol City.
“We expect that this one event will have an $850,000 economic impact on the city. That ain’t chump change folks,” said Charleston-Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau President Alisa Bailey.
Hot Rod Magazine Publisher Jeff Dahlin was in Charleston to make the announcement about the tour stop on Wednesday. He said the Power Tour organizers are anxious to bring the show to West Virginia.
“We have wanted to bring the Hot Rod Power Tour to Charleston for some time and this year we finally figured out how to schedule the route so we could come here,” he explained.
The tour, celebrating its 20th anniversary, starts June 7 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway and winds through Tennessee, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin. It was back in 1994 that Dahlin explains the tour got its start.
“Hey, let’s go on a road trip. Let’s invite our buddies and go to 7 cities in 7 days and see how it turns out,” said Dahlin. “Now we have about 80,000 people that attend throughout the week. It’s the world’s largest traveling car show.”
The event will take place downtown on Kanawha Boulevard. Admission is free and car lovers will get a chance to check out 3,500 hot rod and performance vehicles, from across the U.S., Canada, Australia and South Africa. Fifty performance manufacturers and aftermarket specialists will offer spectators a chance to view their latest innovations and get expert advice on their own vehicles. Plus, there will be motor sport celebrities on hand to sign autographs.
Charleston Mayor Danny Jones, a “gear head” himself, said this is a big boost for the city.
“This is going to be a huge, mammoth event to introduce Charleston to a lot of people. We hope that they will come back!”
To find out more about the tour, log on to www.hotrod.com.