Motor Mania weekend is on in Mesquite; STGnews Photo Gallery

Written by John Teas
January 17, 2014
Motor Mania, CasaBlanca Resort & Casino, Mesquite, Nev., Jan 17, 2014 | Photo by John Teas, St. George News

MESQUITE, Nev. – By 5 p.m. Friday, 786 show cars, truck and motorcycles had registered for Mesquite Motor Mania 2014, sponsored by the Mesquite Resort Association and held at the Casablanca Resort & Casino, 950 West Mesquite Boulevard.

Motor Mania, CasaBlanca Resort & Casino, Mesquite, Nev., Jan 17, 2014 | Photo by John Teas, St. George News
Motor Mania, CasaBlanca Resort & Casino, Mesquite, Nev., Jan 17, 2014 | Photo by John Teas, St. George News

The weekend event continues Saturday and Sunday, from 8 a.m., open to all years, makes and models of classic cars, including vintage, classic, hot rods, street rods and custom vehicles. The car show is free to the public and opens at 8 a.m. PST both days.

Mesquite Resort Association will be drawing for and awarding $15,000 in cash to car show entrants. Saturday, $3,500 dollars will be given away by drawing. Sunday $8,000 total will be awarded for People’s Choice, $1,000, Participants’ pick, $2,000, and Best of Show $3,000, plus an additional $2,000 in cash for a variety of other car fan favorites.

Art and Rita Kam from Las Vegas have been the head of Mesquite Motor Mania for six years.

“More than I can count,” Art Kam said of his years in the show. “We do this for the love of cars and car people. Car people love to show off all their hard work and see the public enjoy them.”

The show is staffed by volunteers, Art Kam said. “If it weren’t for all the volunteers this could never happen,” he said, “I want to thank each and every one of them.”

Entrants will compete for trophies in the Roaring Engines, Burnout Contest and the Slow Drags. These are fan-involved events.

Spectators will find bleachers to sit on next to the “Track” behind the white canvas event center at the CasaBlanca, starting at 11 a.m. Saturday. The competitions continue on the southeast side of Eureka Casino Resort beginning at 6 p.m.

“It has its old 292 CID engine in it but it has been bored and stroked out to 331 CID,” Dan Sneidmiller said. “ It has 330hp and 330pound feet of torque. I added a 5-speed transmission to make her go down the road.” Motor Mania, CasaBlanca Resort & Casino, Mesquite, Nev., Jan 17, 2014 | Photo by John Teas, St. George News
“It has its old 292 CID engine in it but it has been bored and stroked out to 331 CID,” Dan Sneidmiller said. “ It has 330hp and 330pound feet of torque. I added a 5-speed transmission to make her go down the road.” Motor Mania, CasaBlanca Resort & Casino, Mesquite, Nev., Jan 17, 2014 | Photo by John Teas, St. George News

Every room in Mesquite is sold out and some people are staying in St. George for the wekend, Art Kam said. Interstate 15 southbound is open with no restrictions this weekend. However, northbound I-15 is narrowed to one lane at Arizona mile post 22 with no significant slowdowns.

Dan and Ilona Sneidmiller from St. George drove their 1955 Thunderbird to the show.

“Dan  has owned ‘The Baby Bird’ for 55 years,” Ilona Sneidmiller said of their Thunderbird. “It has been restored three times. The last time was about 10 years ago,” Ilona Sneidmiller said. “We drive it. We don’t trailer it.”

There will be music and entertainment at both CasaBlanca and Eureka on Saturday. The awards presentations start a 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery. 

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Email: jteas@stgnews.com

Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2014, all rights reserved.

Motor Mania, CasaBlanca Resort & Casino, Mesquite, Nev., Jan 17, 2014 | Photo by John Teas, St. George News
Motor Mania, CasaBlanca Resort & Casino, Mesquite, Nev., Jan 17, 2014 | Photo by John Teas, St. George News

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Originally from Iowa, John Teas transplanted to Saint George in 2012 from New Mexico. John is a photojournalist and feature writer for several automotive publications, educational media and corporate public relations as as St. George News. “I have a degree in life experiences and a love of all that is outdoors,” he said.

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