Early Rod Run

Hot rods of all types were on display at Atwood's Early Rod Run. (McCook Daily Gazette).

ATWOOD -- Rich Hamilton's '41 Willys coupe caught everyone's eye -- the flawless dusty-red paint ... the depth of the smokey flames. "And that blower motor is pretty nice, too," chuckled Cody Cooper of Akron, Colo., one of the thousands of car buffs who jammed downtown Atwood Saturday and Sunday for the 23rd annual Early Rod Run.

Eighteen-year-old Cooper called the Willys' paint "absolutely awesome."

"It's the small details," Cooper said. "The flames are so deep. And they extend to the hood jams."

Cooper was taking notes: He's rebuilding a 1955 Chevy -- with a 350 Chevy motor, a turbo 400 transmission, candy-apple red paint -- that he plans to enter in the rod run next year.

Cooper wasn't the only spectator impressed with the little Willys from Westminster, Colo. Atwood's Ambassadors, who hosted the popular early-season car show, picked it as the "Ambassadors' Choice." That was no easy task -- at last count, organizer Dave Brown said, there were 315 cars entered in the show.

"The weekend was great," Brown said this morning. Downtown was packed all weekend, he said, and there were 3,000 spectators at the afternoon drag races.

The weather was warm and the sun was shining, Brown said. "One of the nicest shows we've ever had."

The "Top Ten" car and pickup entries and the top motorcycle entries were:

1. 1937 Oldsmobile two-door sedan, owned by Desi Apodaca, Denver.

2. 1937 Ford pickup, owned by Francis Ryan, Salina, Kan.

3. 1936 Ford Cabriolet, owned by Bill and Teresa Storrer, Huntington Beach, Calif.

4. 1936 Plymouth coupe, owned by Carl and Bonnie Thompson, Hugo, Colo.

5. 1935 Chevy two-door, Bob and Vicki Adams, Trenton.

6. 1961 Chevy Corvette, owned by Keith and Debi Stanberry, Centennial, Colo.

7. 1967 Chevy Chevelle, owned by Eric Hutto, Trenton.

8. 1957 Chevy Bel Air, owned by Gene and Deb Sullivan, Black Forest, Colo.

9. 1968 Chevy Camaro, owned by John Mares, Longmont, Colo.

10. 1962 Chevy Impala SS, owned by Wayne Noltensmeier, Arapahoe.

Motorcycle: "Big Dog Mastiff," owned by Edward Waite, Hugo, Colo.