Starbird-Devlin opens 2016 car show schedule
You know it’s going to be a good day when you pull into the parking lot of the first car show of the season and before you can even open your car door, one of your car buddies rolls up in his truck, tooting his horn and waving.
That’s what happened last week as I prepared to unload my camera gear from my vehicle outside Century II, about an hour before the 59th annual Starbird-Devlin Rod & Customs Charities Car Show officially opened for business. And it was a similar scene that would be repeated inside all day long: shoot a photo, walk a few feet and then gab with a car buddy; shoot another photo, walk a few feet, say howdy to another car guy or gal and swap a story or two, etc., etc.
I spent exactly twice as long as I had planned at the show, thanks to all the people I ran into. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. One without the other, cars or car guys, and it just wouldn’t be as much fun.
At one point, I found myself talking with one of my wife’s high school classmates, one of my daughter’s high school classmate’s dad, an older man with a great Mercury from Dodge City, where I had lived, and Scott Downey, the amazingly talented custom upholstery shop owner. It was kind of surreal, really.
As for the cars, as hard as it is to believe, each year they seem to get better and better, both those built by locals and the ones created by folks who drive in from hundreds of miles away to be part of this deal.
Each year, the organizers allow me to pick a favorite car to receive an award, and I then follow up with a full-blown feature on that car on the Wheels page a few weeks later.
This time, I was almost immediately stopped in my tracks by Sam Bidwell’s gorgeous 1953 Pontiac hardtop from Goddard. I shot a photo, jotted down his entry number and moved on. Several hours later, that first impression remained strong, so I passed the pick on to one of the show folks. I’m really looking forward to meeting Sam and learning all about his Pontiac.
The fact is, I get a lot of good leads for future Wheels stories from the car shows I attend, as well as from recommendations by car folks whose cars I have photographed and written about.
In the meantime, here’s a sampling of the vehicles that helped kick off the car show season at the Starbird-Devlin show.
Mike Berry: mberry@wichitaeagle.com
2016 Starbird-Devlin Rod & Customs Charities Car Show awards
Award Name | Car | Color | Year | Model | First Name | Last Name | City | State | Order |
Long Distance Award | 7512 | Black | 1969 | Mustang | Kelly | Puckett | Stockbridge | GA | 1 |
Motorcycle Late | 0229 | 1971 | Yamaha 60cc | Shane | Noel | Wichita | KS | 3 | |
Sportiest Foreign | 7704 | Silver Metallic | 2015 | Porsche 918 Spyder | Raymond | Cody | Telluride | CO | 5 |
Sportiest Domestic | 7171 | Blue | 1959 | Corvette | Dave | Barnett | Yukon | OK | 6 |
Truck - Early | 7267 | Maroon | 1934 | Ford PU | Ron | Webster | Tulsa | OK | 7 |
Truck - Late | 0156 | Creamsicle | 1986 | Chevy C-10 | Tom | Dempsey | Wichita | KS | 8 |
Truck Custom | 0189 | Blue | 1984 | Chevy PU | Brian | Baker | Wichita | KS | 9 |
Mopar | 7750 | Orange & Black | 1969 | Road Runner | Kirby | Drake | Avoca | NE | 10 |
Chevy | 0009 | Red | 1963 | Corvette | Troy | Pate | Wichita | KS | 11 |
Ford | 7512 | Black | 1969 | Mustang | Kelly | Puckett | Stockbridge | GA | 12 |
Street Machine | 0105 | Blue Metallic | 1963 | Chevy II | Mike | Dennett | Augusta | KS | 13 |
Muscle Machine | 0029 | Gray | 1969 | Mustang | Richard | Smith | Hutchinson | KS | 14 |
Pro Touring | 7724 | Silver | 1990 | Camaro | Rick | Villers | Independence | MO | 15 |
Cool Cruiser | 0208 | Red | 1952 | Mercury Monterey | Delwin & Virginia | Everhart | Dodge City | KS | 16 |
Street Rod | 7711 | Red | 1937 | Ford Roadster | Ted | Parrish | Bethany | OK | 17 |
Hot Rod | 7708 | Gray | 1932 | Ford Roadster | Joe & Claire | Thompson | Milan | KS | 18 |
Timeless Traditional | 7121 | Blue | 1950 | Mercury 2 door Sedan | Kenny & Cindy | White | Wichita | KS | 19 |
Custom | 0181 | Cobalt Blue | 1958 | Impala | Corey | Conyers | Wichita | KS | 20 |
Kustom | 0178 | Black | 1936 | Ford 3-window Coupe | Ken | White | Derby | KS | 21 |
Slick and Smooth | 0142 | Red | 1938 | Chevy Coupe | Jerry & Cheryl | Krob | Wichita | KS | 22 |
Best Bitchin' | 7726 | Blue | 1969 | Corvette | Wayne | Sanchez | Independence | MO | 23 |
Way Cool Wagon | 0146 | White | 1971 | Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser | Joe & Cindi | Montgomery | Wichita | KS | 24 |
A Little Off the Top | 0036 | Black | 1937 | Ford Coupe | Mac | Knighton | Wichita | KS | 25 |
Scrapin' | 0168 | Lavender | 1951 | Ford Kustom | Jack | Marinelli | Derby | KS | 26 |
Fat Fendered | 7635 | Black | 1935 | Hudson | Kevin | Smith | Manvel | TX | 27 |
Just 'Cause It's Neat | 0056 | Red | 1939 | American Bantam | Ken | Goering | El Dorado | KS | 28 |
Memory Lane | 0081 | Green | 1962 | Chevy BelAir | Kent & Brenda | Burk | El Dorado | KS | 29 |
Rising Star | 0139 | Green | 1968 | Mustange Coupe | Jeremy | Watson | Wichita | KS | 30 |
Way Cool | 7251 | Black | 1934 | Speedstar Spyder | Jack | Taylor | Knoxville | TN | 31 |
Right-On Resto | 0230 | Blue | 1940 | Ford Deluxe Coupe | Jim | Delzer | Wichita | KS | 32 |
Pure Class | 0032 | Red | 1967 | Jaguar XKE | Richard | Petre | Derby | KS | 33 |
D'Elegance | 7778 | Blue | 1933 | Auburn 8-105 Convertible | Robert | Hatje | Wichita | KS | 34 |
Kids Pick | 7706 | Black | 2010 | Camaro SS | Shawn | Gilgannon | Wakarusa | KS | 35 |
Car Club – 2nd Place | 9901 | 2016 | Corvette Car Club | 36 | |||||
Car Club – 1st Place | 9902 | 2016 | T-Birds | 37 | |||||
Mike Berry – Wichita On Wheels | 0233 | Laural Green | 1953 | Pontiac | Sam | Bidwell | Goddard | KS | 38 |
KKOA Favorite | 0031 | Almond | 1954 | Chevy BelAir | Gene & Karen | Weaver | Wichita | KS | 39 |
NSRA Favorite | 7700 | Red | 1940 | Ford Coupe Deluxe | Rex & Denise | Sageser | Wichita | KS | 40 |
Good Guys Favorite | 0190 | Silver | 1962 | Chevy Panel | Tracy | Black | Cheney | KS | 41 |
Volunteer of The Year | Ronnie | Wagoner | 101 | ||||||
Peoples Choice | 7201 | Cognac | 1957 | Buick Roadmaster 75 | Stephen & Michaele | Giles | Dallas | TX | 102 |
Jeff's Favorite | 0233 | Laural Green | 1953 | Pontiac | Sam | Bidwell | Goddard | KS | 103 |
Mike's Favorite | 0195 | Silver & White | 1955 | Chevy | Craig & Rebecca | Crawford | Wichita | KS | 104 |
Trey's Favorite | 7708 | Gray | 1932 | Ford Roadster | Joe & Claire | Thompson | Milan | KS | 105 |
Carl's Favorite | 7722 | Orange | 1969 | Roadrunner | Gary | Hagar | Rogers | AR | 106 |
John's Favorite | 7121 | Blue | 1950 | Mercury 2 door Sedan | Kenny & Cindy | White | Wichita | KS | 107 |
Dick's Favorite | 7512 | Black | 1969 | Mustang | Kelly | Puckett | Stockbridge | GA | 108 |
Tom's Favorite | 7703 | Black Cherry | 1940 | Chevy Convertible | Dave and Irene | Major | Benton | KS | 109 |
Tim's Favorite | 7069 | Red | 1963 | Falcon | Will & Jake | Keimig | Atchison | KS | 110 |
Magnificent 7 Favorite | 7730 | Red & Black | 1956 | BelAir Convertible | John | Provenzano | Wichita | KS | 111 |
Magnificent 7 Favorite | 7716 | "Bourbon n Ice" | 1967 | Chevelle | Jim | Meyer | Windsor | CO | 112 |
Magnificent 7 Favorite | 7667 | Blue | 1957 | Corvette | Mark | Eaton | Wichita | KS | 113 |
Magnificent 7 Favorite | 7639 | Red | 1956 | Ford PU | Jack | Sorich | Louisville | KY | 114 |
Magnificent 7 Favorite | 7234 | Quicksand | 1965 | Chevy C10 PU | Donny R | Johnson | Tahlequah | OK | 115 |
Magnificent 7 Favorite | 7201 | Cognac | 1957 | Buick Roadmaster 75 | Stephen & Michaele | Giles | Dallas | TX | 116 |
Magnificent 7 Winner | 7001 | Red | 1956 | Ford Victoria | Bruce | Ricks | Sapulpa | OK | 201 |
This story was originally published January 22, 2016 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Starbird-Devlin opens 2016 car show schedule."