Members of the High Plains Cruisers, car lovers, are getting ready for the Twentieth annual “Burnin’ the Bricks” Car Show and Cruise to be held on June 10, 2023, in Downtown Pampa on Cuyler Street and the old Pampa “Drag”. Car collectors from Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and all over Texas, especially the Panhandle, are expected to attend, some for their 20th time!
Everyone is invited to bring their favorite car or truck for the public to admire as they park on Cuyler in the morning from 10:00 am - 3:00 pm or drive around the “Drag” in the evening from 7:00 - 9:00 pm.
Registration for the car show is $25.00 and for the cruise is $10.00. Contact Brady Brogdin at (806)-664-4993.
Proceeds from the event sponsor a scholarship to High School seniors planning further education in the automotive or trade field. The 2023 scholarships have been awarded to Austin Bruce and Brek Daniels.
Trophies (Sponsored by O’Reilly’s Auto Parts Store), door prizes, and cash drawings will be awarded to participants. Admission is free to spectators. Other events taking place throughout the day include food vendors on Kingsmill Street, specials at the merchants on Cuyler, and live music remote broadcast from Classic County Radio LEGENDS 101.3 on your radio dial.
Burnout Contest at Recreation Park sponsored by Soldiers for Christ motorcycle group (Spectators $5.00) at noon, Contact Christina Cook, 806-207-0428, and the Kooper Zane Preston Memorial Bull Riding competition at 3 pm in the Rodeo Arena. Contact Tommy Preston at (806)-662-7081.
The Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a two-day Golf Tournament on Saturday and Sunday at both Golf courses and a Concert Saturday Night after the Cruise at 200 E. Kingsmill Street. Live music, dance, cash bar, and food 9:00 - 12:00 Admission $35.00. For more information, call (806)-669-3241.
There is a lot to do in Pampa, come and spend the weekend with us.
The burnout competition, which went on a five-year hiatus, is back for its second year under the direction of Soldiers for Christ. Christina Cook, who is a member of the Soldiers for Christ gave insight into how they took over the event.
“The Pampa Police Department was over the burnout for many years,” Cook said. “There were a couple of years where it didn’t happen. We asked them for permission to bring it back last year and they were happy to let us do it.”
The competition will start at noon on the burnout pad out at the recreation park, with viewing admission being $5, and 12, and under are free.
“The proceeds from this will go to a local volunteer fire department,” Cook said. “We decided that we didn’t need the money, and it was a good idea to give it to someone that needed it. This year the proceeds will go to the Skellytown Volunteer Fire Department. Each year we will draw a name of which volunteer FD to give to, after their name is drawn, we take their name out of the drawing until we get through all of them, so it’s fair and one place doesn’t win multiple years in a row. Once all names have been drawn, we’ll start over fresh.”
The burnout starts on the pad, with a panel of judges who are looking for who can make the most smoke, get the best crowd response and who can get the crowd roweled up the most.
“It doesn’t matter what the car looks like,” Cook said. “It can be an old clunker. The car that won last year wasn’t the best looking but it got the crowds all involved. The panel of judges will be from our sponsors.”
The competition has multiple categories, trucks, cars, and motorcycles that will be awarded prizes. The only prize that can be named at this time is a cash prize from an anonymous donor. Registration for the event will begin at 11:30 the day of and will get people registered to compete.
“Last year we had around 10 trucks with five or six cars,” Cook said. “We didn’t have motorcycles last year, but we did have a four-wheeler that entered and won. If you have a vehicle that can enter into all three divisions, then come on.”
After it went away for a few years, Soldiers for Christ wanted to bring it back after five years as another outreach program they do.
“My brothers and sisters in Christ loved the event, and the community loved it,” Cook said. “So we wanted to bring it back. This year we have a new sound system so we can speak over the loudspeakers for everyone to hear. We’ll also have Roll the Dice out there for folks to eat.”
The spectator price for burnout is $5. The Pampa High School has donated portable bleachers for the event to allow for some better seating. There is no set time for when the event will end, it begins at noon and will run until all burnouts are complete.
The car show and cruise are in their 20th year, started back at the rodeo grounds, 10 years ago the group felt it would be better downtown. Over the years there has been a lot of admissions to the car show.
“We’ve had up to 130 cars, but in the Covid era we got down to around 65,” Brady Brogdin said. “We’re hopeful to get around 100 or more, we’ve gotten a lot of response on Facebook. We send out flyers to everyone that’s been in it before to remind them that the event is happening again.”
The car show is from 10 till three, with judging on each car with awards to follow. When the car show ends, is when the bull riding memorial starts at the rodeo grounds but the car cruise is from seven to nine.
“Originally this was started by Denver Bruner, he had an idea for something like this. It started as just some of us getting together,” Brogdin said. “We had a small car show one year, and then we came up with the idea for what it is now. We started at the rodeo ground. My father and I and a couple of others from the beginning are still in it every year. Just car enthusiasts getting together.”
Car entries are $25 per entry, but spectators are free. Making the spectators free was an important part, the group wanted to give people something to do. There will be vendors downtown, with live remote music throughout the day. The car show and cruise don’t have pre-registration, it’s the day of. Sign-ups are from eight to 10 am at the Pampa Chamber of Commerce, and then everyone lines their cars downtown.
“Years ago we had cars lined up in classes,” Brogdin said. “No, we just have all the cars mixed. You have to go look at the cars. We give out awards for the top 20, people’s choice, cruisers’ choice, and a couple of special awards that are donated by O’Reillys.”
The cruiser’s choice award comes from the group that put on the event. Brogdins daughter is the trophy girl, a job she’s had for years.
“Since Joelee could walk, that was her job,” Brogdin said. “She knows what her job is every year, and she never misses it. We give out cash prizes for some awards as well.”
