Event Wrap-up By: Scott Sierkowski
No one had any idea what to expect this year, but we knew it was going to be big – and big it was! There were well over 400 cars registered and 25 plus vendors confirmed. A 80 foot tent was added for the vendors to setup under as well as the whole service department. Ira Audi even supplied Dunkin’ Donuts for everyone, it was going to be a day to remember!
Before any of that could happen there was a drag racing pre-event. Friday night at 5:00 was the time and New England Dragway in Epping, NH was the place. Entering the parking lot I was greeted with the sight of Audis filling up with race gas. After that it was off to the tech inspection and finally the races! New England Dragway even setup a seperate staging lanes for the Audis so we could run against each other. By the end of the night there were about 40-50 Audis dragging, which is definitely a sight you don¹t see every day. I think it was worth it just to see the reaction from the crowd since we were, afterall, in big block country. Sadly the track closes at 10:00 sharp, but on the positive side no one had any serious malfunctions. Everyone then headed back to prepare for the event Saturday morning.
For the 4th year, the Audi Gods were smiling on the Northeast Aftermarket Event. The weather was perfect for the Friday night drag races at the New England Dragway and the main event at Ira Audi was even better! I don¹t think we could have bought better weather.
Even though the show started at 10:00 am on Saturday morning there were people showing up at 9:00! So many people showed up that by 11:00 we were running out of parking. People were lined up the entrance road to the dealership as well as the neighboring dealerships. It was amazing to see that many enthusiasts in one spot and there was even a nice turnout of classic Audis. It was especially nice to see a couple of UR-q’s in the lot since they are a big part of our roots.
There were also a slew of vendors from all around the country, some were chipping, others selling turbos, suspension and all the latest eye candy and go-fast parts. The vendors included Achtuning, APR, AWE, Adrenalin Motor Sports, AudiWorld, Autospeed, Avalon Motor Sports, Audi Car Club of America (quattro Club), Autofanatics, Bentley Publishers, Boston Audi Tuning/MTM, Dent Wizard, Eurotuner Magazine, GGBaily.com, Innovative Turbo Systems, Neuspeed, PES, Ross-Tech, Shine Racing Service, Stratmosphere, European Car and GermanCarFans.com. Sorry if I missed anyone. There was definitely energy in the air!
The show went on until 3:00 when we raffled off a bunch of prizes donated by the vendors. After the raffle things cleared up a
little and people were off getting ready for the cruise to Hampton Beach.
We had expected the turnout to be about 50-60 cars, but we were way off. One person lost count after 125 cars and there were rumors of over 200 cars! All I can say as there were A LOT of Audis on the cruise. We kept getting the same questions, “Are you a gang?” or “Is this a convention?” or “WOW! I¹ve never seen this many Audis!” Everyone on the strip was dunbfounded, it was a great thing to see and almost gave me goosebumps. After waiting in a bunch of traffic (no doubt caused by us) we made it to our destination. Cruisers socialized in the parking lot ’til it started getting dark, then everyone split into smaller groups and made their way to the strip for dinner.
Overall it was a fantastic event and next year will only be better.