Car enthusiasts from near and far will put their hotrods to the test at the 40th annual Sulphur Creek Car Cruise on Saturday. The event at W.M. Brook Park will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Advanced Window Tint owner Mike White has hosted the car cruise for the last 12 years. The muscle car connoisseur said he is glad to see the event still going strong.
“It is a great event,” White said. “We love doing it every year and get a lot of the same people that say, ‘I’ve been coming since 1986.’ It’s really cool.”
The year before White took the hosting duties from the Lampasas County Chamber of Commerce in 2014, only 34 vehicles were present for the car cruise, he said. Since then, the event has averaged more than 110 vehicles. But that growth didn’t come without a little hard work and $7,000 from White’s account to get the event moving at full throttle once again.
“The first year to get the numbers up, I went to every car show,” White said. “I drove my Chevelle around and passed out fliers and went to car clubs. That first year, we hit 168 which I think was our most.”
Registration for this year’s Sulphur Creek Car Cruise will begin at 9 a.m., with the burnout competition to follow at noon. Awards are to be announced at 1 p.m., and a cruise parade will conclude the event at 2:30 p.m.
The cost to register a vehicle for the show is $25 and includes a T-shirt.
White said the event features several judging awards such as Best of Show, Best Paint, Best Interior, Best Wheels, Best Sound System, Best Diesel, Best Motorcycle and more. Those who enter a vehicle in the show have the opportunity to select their top five cars on display, which will create a “Top 25” listing after results are tallied.
White said in recent years, the show has included two judges’ recognition awards to highlight vehicles that go unnoticed by their peers.
Although there are no special plans to recognize the 40th edition of the event, award winners can expect some unique hardware.
“We are doing some bigger trophies, some bigger plaques for the 40th, but that is pretty much it,” White said. “We didn’t do anything too crazy.”
The entry fee for the burnout competition is $20. Typically, White said, eight to 10 cars participate in the smoke show. Funds from the burnout competition are donated to the Lampasas Fire Department, which is on site during the event to ensure the safety of participants.
After rubber is burned, participants have the opportunity to join in a cruise around town with an escort by the Lampasas Police Department. The “parade lap” will include stops at several nursing homes in town.
White hopes to have funds left over from this year’s event to begin a scholarship program for high school students eyeing a future around automobiles.
“I want to find that kid that was like me that saved his gas money to go drag racing and was working on stereos in the senior parking lot,” he said. “That kid that didn’t necessarily have the money but wants to go to UTI Tech, TSTC, automotive program, race car school or whatever – the kid that wants to work with his hands.”
For those who wish to attend the event but not register a car, the cost is free. To learn more, visit the Sulphur Creek Car Cruise Facebook page.
