Sunday, August 29, 2010

The BlackTop Nationals car show has wrapped up in Wichita this weekend. The first event of its kind in Wichita featured lots of events for car lovers and drew car enthusiasts from across the country. Thousands of people streamed into downtown Wichita over the weekend for the BlackTop Nationals and event organizers say it's been a huge success.

"It was a lot better than I expected it to be," said Ron Kuhel, who was exhibiting a car Sunday. "Next year will be better."

The Blacktop Nationals has been much more than just a car show. With events like an autocross challenge, drag races near Maize, and a car cruise through Park City, people enjoyed America's fascination with automobiles.

"It has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic," said volunteer Manny Balale. "We had cars all the way from McLean to Main Street here on Douglas and the actual walkway area for people was absolutely full of people."

Organizers had hoped to dram more than 100,000 people to downtown Wichita over the course of the event. Although official numbers aren't yet known, they say they'll likely be close to that.

"I think the city should be proud of it," Kuhel said. "The mayor did a good job promoting it. It's about time it came to Wichita."

"We do a lot of shows. We have the Shelby owners national convention out in Great Bend," explained Brock McPherson. "So we've put on a lot of shows and we know that things go wrong on every show, but it's all minor. It's about having a good time."

In fact, McPherson said there was so much to do at the BlackTop Nationals that he couldn't fit it all in.

"I wish I had more time to do all the things they have to do," he said. "They have so many things, you can't get them all in."

The four day event ends Sunday night in Wichita. Organizers are hoping to make the BlackTop Nationals an annual event.