Off-Road Madness vehicles at El Cajon’s Cajon Classic Cruise show on July 13 provided plenty of ideas for the perfect off road vehicle enthusiasts. Rock crawlers, desert buggies, and off road trucks looked ready for parades, the desert landscape or anywhere else they wanted to go.
Off-Road Madness vehicles at El Cajon’s Cajon Classic Cruise show on July 13 provided plenty of ideas for the perfect off road vehicle enthusiasts. Rock crawlers, desert buggies, and off road trucks looked ready for parades, the desert landscape or anywhere else they wanted to go.
After all, off road vehicles can go where other vehicles cannot to get you on your walking path. And the El Cajon Business Partners’ largest car show of the year was well worth the walk as it closed down Main Street for this yearly event as thousands gathered to see the best off-roaders in East County and beyond.
“This is our biggest car show of the season with an estimated attendance of over 10,000 people” said Alexis Frost, event coordinator for the Downtown El Cajon Business Partners. The Cajon Classic Cruise shows started in April and will continue until October 26 on El Cajon’s Main Street from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. every Wednesday.
“We have hundreds of hot rods, off road vehicles like trucks, motorcycles, quads, rock crawlers, jeeps, dune buggies, and cars,” said Frost. “It’ the longest running car show in Southern California. People come from Arizona, Las Vegas, and Tahoe.”
Vincent Davidson, from Spring Valley, said, “East County, as a community, has a desert culture.” Deserts, like Ocotillo Wells in San Diego County, are a perfect setting for off-roading. His friend, Kevin Mizicko, from La Mesa, described the Off-Road Madness show as “awesome.”
The blue colored grabber, over-the-top Jeep rock crawler owned by Jim Eckis was a labor of love he said and the object of his love had a crowd of admirers around his vehicle parked on El Cajon’s Prescott Promenade.
“I’ve owned it since 1995 and the only original part of the jeep is the body. This is my first show,” Eckis said. Ocotillo Wells is one of his favorite areas to off road at.
Off road vehicles with names like Jurassic Park, Border Riders 4 Wheelers, and sponsors like BF Goodrich and McNeil Racing Inc. emblazed the sides of these show cars.
Restaurants like Downtown Café, Nicolosi’s, and others like food booths and food trucks were dining and food choices for attendees.
Bob Wampler, staff with the Cajon Classic Cruise show, got the pleasure of notifying Gene Botticelli that he was going to get a trophy for his Ford F350-Super Duty Cab. According to his friend, Kirk Cabral, Botticelli rebuilt the vehicle doing all of his own work. The crowd gathered around his bumblebee colored vehicle even as he was driving it off Main Street to head to the stage to get his trophy.
On July 20 a Jimmie Johnson Tribute is scheduled and July 27 are Custom Creations. Visit www.downtownelcajon.com.
