Photography by Krookid Photography, Phil Cholette
2017 marked the 6th Anniversary for (LST), a show that started with humble beginnings by the two creators, and in 2012.
Presented by (PSE) and taking place in the city of Conroe, not only does this show draw a huge amount of vehicles from the state of Texas where it鈥檚 held, but from all over the United States, Mexico and even Canada. Most attendees post pictures and videos of their 鈥�LST Crunch鈥� getting their trucks or cars ready, and then of the actual journey. Not too many shows out there have the following like this one does, considering it's only in it鈥檚 6th year. This year the club that Lonnie and Radar are also members of, Negative Camber, celebrated their 25th Anniversary with a party on Saturday night, drawing members from all across the globe, including some from as far away as Australia. Their club even took home the 鈥淐lub Participation鈥� award for having the most members showing vehicles at the show, and in fact the trophy was taken back to Australia where I鈥檓 sure it was greeted with a warm reception by those who couldn鈥檛 make it.
For this year鈥檚 show, Lonnie and Radar chose to limit spaces to 2000 vehicles and make the show pre-registration only. A bold move to say the least as no other show to my knowledge has done pre-reg only, but in true typical LST fashion, all 2000 spots sold out about a month before the show date! There were even jokes about people selling their spots as if it was a sold-out sporting event. Quite the accomplishment considering the previous year they had roughly 2500 between pre-reg and day-of registration. A true testament to creating a show often compared to the outdoor, Texas-ran, version of SEMA. If you can鈥檛 make it to , and you love trucks, odds are most of the ones that were debuted in Las Vegas, will be at LST for all to see, up close and barrier-free. A combination of quantity and quality that can鈥檛 be beat, and the buzz behind the show proves it. One other astounding fact was that by noon on Saturday, they had completely sold out of show shirts and hats. And they started with a full 20-foot trailer!
I first became involved with LST in January 2014 when Radar contacted me about making awards for the show. I was just starting off my company, , but he had heard of a couple jobs I had done and decided to give me a chance. The timeline was tight, and I had never taken on a job of this scope. I gave them my word, made it happen, flew down to , and I鈥檝e been hooked since. We鈥檝e stepped up the award size, quantity and design from 2014 up until this latest round for 2017, which even brought out the 鈥渢rophy hunter鈥� mentality in guys who said they never had it before. This year involved shipping a 4-foot by 4-foot by 2-foot wood crate, with nearly 700lbs of billet trophies. It鈥檚 a great feeling when something you make can get so many people excited about their hobby, hanging out with friends, and a show. I trailered my personal project, a bagged and supercharged 2002 S10, to the show in 2016 to claim the personal goal of being the 鈥淔irst Canadian鈥�. An unforgettable 7700km (4800mi) trip, to a show that has become so much more than a weekend truck show to me, as the two guys who put it on have welcomed me into the 鈥淟ST Family鈥� and have become incredible friends.
This year, much like SEMA, the common trend at LST was lifted trucks. Most of which sporting powder-coated suspension, custom paint and wraps, custom lighting, and wheels over 12鈥� wide and 24鈥� diameter. had a large display in the 鈥渂ull arena鈥� which was new for this year and featured DJ Get Low spinning his tunes. brought their display from SEMA and a variety of trucks. had their trailer complete with a whole sound experience you could walk through to see and hear all their products. brought out some of their complete chassis鈥� to showcase. brought a couple trucks and parts displays to show both their lift and lower product lines. The list can truly go on! As always, there were also clothing vendors such as , , , and a handful of others, out selling hats and shirts to help get you looking good for show season.
Although the lifted trucks seemed to tower over the show grounds, there was still a very large presence of 鈥渕initrucks鈥� and customs. These consist of the bagged, the body dropped, the shaved, the suicided, the graphics covered and the earth scraping (my kind of ride). At any given area, you could go from seeing a twin-turbo鈥檇 LS-powered Tahoe, to a crew cab F250 Super Duty making ants duck, to a stretched frame big rig inspired 鈥�46 Chevrolet truck, to a sinister mid 60鈥檚 Continental, to a patina鈥檇 50鈥檚 F100 sporting a brand new drivetrain. Well, you get my point. If you want variety, this is the show! At the end of the weekend, took home the 鈥淏est of Show鈥� award, with his 2000 Ford Ranger, dubbed the 鈥淪tranger鈥�. This truck was built by the , and could be best described as a truck built to Ridler quality. No detail over looked, flawlessly executed, and built to a hot rod quality. Since the show, Pascal has posted several pictures of what he鈥檚 called his 鈥�Trophy Wife鈥� in various location and scenarios. As the guy who designed and manufactured the award, it means a great deal to me seeing someone who genuinely is excited to have won it, and appreciate the work that went into it, much like his truck.
With 2017 in the books, I can honestly say it will be hard to top for Lonnie and Radar. They鈥檝e built a show that鈥檚 talked about the moment it鈥檚 over. I鈥檓 anxious to see what they have in store for 2018, but in all honesty, as long as they keep doing what they鈥檙e doing, promote the way they do, get people excited about the show, I can see this show sticking around for years and years. These two are pure enthusiasts of the hobby, and put on this show for all the right reasons. They give tens of thousands of spectators, and thousands of exhibitors a place to hang out, meet new people, and check out rides some of us thought we鈥檇 only ever get to see in magazines. Not much more you can ask for than that.
Contributors: Phil Cholette (), Will McDougle ()
