When the fast paced action of the inaugural Barrett-Jackson Auction came to a close here at Hot August Nights, little did we know that the excitement was just beginning. A police escort and much fanfare greeted the packed crowd at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center as the top five contenders for the newly created Barrett-Jackson Cup™ drove up onto the auction stage. Tension among contestants was high as each was introduced to the crowd by SPEED TV’s Bob Varsha. Then the announcement came … the winner “is the 1969 Torino Talladega Custom by Rad Rides by Troy.” Ridler Award winner and noted custom builder Troy Trepanier’s Rad Rides by Troy had won the first ever Barrett-Jackson Cup™. The Barrett-Jackson Cup is awarded to the best custom car at the Hot August Nights car festival here in Reno-Sparks, Nevada.
Cars On Line.com newsletter readers are familiar with the NASCAR inspired 1969 Ford Torino Talladega Custom. We reported on this car when it was at the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, California early this year. It is the car that won the inaugural edition of the Barrett-Jackson Cup™, the trophy for the car judged to be the best show car at Hot August Nights. This car has been featured twice on our website. (Click here to see our coverage of the Grand National Roadster Show this year where this car was displayed.) It was built by Rad Rides by Troy, an elite custom car shop owned by builder Troy Trepanier. Trepanier built the car for owner George Poteet.
Participants in the Reno and Sparks area Show-n-Shines were in heavy competition this week at various casinos in the area. The winners of each daily Show-N-Shine were invited to show their cars Saturday at the Grand Sierra hotel ballroom to contend for the Barrett-Jackson Cup™. The top fifteen “Best of Show” finalists received a ribbon each day and a spot to compete in the finals on Saturday, August 10th. The forty-five finalists were staged in the Downtown Reno Ballroom from the hours of 9am to 4pm where the top five were being selected. Those finalists then had the opportunity to drive their vehicle up on the auction stage at the Barrett-Jackson Auction at the Convention Center. The winner was announced during the televised last minutes of the Auction Show on SPEED TV.
A Chevrolet Performance LS3 crate engine with 430 horsepower went to the winner of the inaugural Barrett-Jackson Cup™. In addition, Rad Rides by Troy won a cash prize of $20,000 from the Barrett-Jackson company.
Leave a Reply