For the third consecutive year, Bulldog Motorsports Club hosts the spring car show, giving students and community members opportunities to showcase their vehicles.
About 50 vehicles were showcased at the event, which included bikes, cars and trucks. The show was on Saturday, April 12, and held in lot 10H. The show also featured activities involving cars and motorcycles as well as live music, a food truck and awards.
The event has steadily grown in popularity, attracting both local enthusiasts and curious newcomers alike. With each passing year, the Bulldog Motorsports Club aims to make the show larger, more inclusive and more exciting for attendees of all ages.
Mechanical engineering technology junior and Bulldog Motorsports Club President Corey VanOchten spoke of a different plan the club has in terms of donations. Usually, the Bulldog Motorsports Club donates to Angels of Action, a non-profit organization in Big Rapids. But for this year, the plans have changed to help the club prepare for future events.
In terms of community, VanOchten finds these shows important for Big Rapids members and Ferris students alike.
“It builds community,” VanOchten said. “You get to go out and meet people and see what the community has in terms of cars. It gets [Ferris students] going outside and making these social connections.
I know that’s very hard for a lot of newcomers and freshmen to the school, but events like these are a great way to go out and meet people.”
VanOchten confirmed that the amount they made from the car show was about $700.
One activity put together for the event was car limbo. There was a limbo bar that contestants had to drive under. Each time everyone successfully made it under, the bar would be brought down a little bit. Anyone with a car or a motorcycle was able to participate.
Automotive engineering technology senior Jacob Davis was the car limbo champion. To get his victory, Davis used a unique method to give him a good chance.
“My strategy started out I was just riding the bike normally and I just ducking my head down,” Davis said. “But once it got too low to where I couldn’t bend like I wanted to, I had to just Superman on the bike, get some speed and duck and pray. I just used the Superman method and it ended up working out.”
The bike Davis drove was a Honda CRF110, which he named “Ronda the Honda.”
To conclude the car show, six awards were given to those who showcased their vehicles. The awards given included the best classic, best domestic, best import, best off-road, best bike and best in show.
New York state native Effie Cowell had won the Best Classic Award with her husband, Chris, and found it an honor to win the award having traveled from out of state.
“It means a lot,” Cowell said. “I wanted this car since I was twelve years old, and I just bought the car three months ago. It’s our first car show ever. And we traveled all the way from Buffalo, N.Y. to be here. We’re gonna remember forever that we were here for our son who’s a Ferris State welding student. We’ll definitely remember that we got first in the running for best classic.”
Cowell stated the winning car was a 1970 3.0 Red Mustang.
The main food truck involved with the event was Sober Eats. Owner of Sober Eats Kevin McLaughlin enjoyed being associated with events like the car show.
“We notice that this event is a bunch of kids, students and car enthusiasts. It doesn’t matter if they’re in their waxed 1994 Chevy truck, drifter or hot rod, it’s a good event,” McLaughlin said. “We like to support colleges. Our mission is to help create a world where recovery can flourish. And we promote safe drinking and safe usage, and these are events that we really like to associate with.”
The Bulldog Motorsports Club will continue to host car and coffee events at Bernie’s Place every Sunday at 11 a.m. for the remainder of the semester.