You could hear a collective sigh of relief as Mother Nature provided a break from the rain in time for the 25th Annual Northwest Bug Run. The week prior to the Bug Run is typically spent getting project cars finished up, swap parts loaded, and travel plans made. However this year most of the Pacific Northwest VW community was looking anxiously at the weather and wondering if the 10% chance of sunshine the weathermen were guessing could possibly become a 100% chance of sun. By Friday afternoon - it became obvious that the weather was going to give us a break. The Woodburn Dragstrip crew spent most of the day and night pumping inches of water out of the fields and track. The hard work paid off as almost every VW owner in Oregon and Washington had cabin fever and started lining up by 6am.
At 6:30 - the gates were opened and a flood of a different sort resulted. Hundreds of swap meet sellers, show and shine participants, racers, and enthusiasts filled the facility. There were plenty of great deals to be obtained in the swap meet (one of the largest in the Northwest) and racing started shortly after opening. An outstanding assortment of VWs made their way to the show and shine area - from immaculate restorations to full-blown customs to the down-right bizarre.
Volunteers from the Children's Cancer Association provided valuable assistance with the show by manning the blow-up motor boards, assisting with registration, and parking cars. The CCA were the beneficiaries of the proceeds from the blow-up motor and the 50/50 raffle. In addition, the Rose City Volksters made a matching donation to this worthy cause.
This year the NW Bug Run had a burn-out contest. There were three cars that entered this year with "Ricky Racer" in his '56 Beetle claiming the cash prize.
Full show results are available on the NW Bug Run website:
http://www.nwbugrun.com
