Dalhart Car Cruzers hosts 23rd Annual car show
BY BILL KELLY
Dalhart Texan
The Dalhart Car Cruzers hosted its 23rd Annual car show on Denrock Avenue in downtown Dalhart on Saturday June 6. Car, truck and motorcycle owners, along with owners of a few unique vehicles, traveled from hundreds of miles and other states in some instances to be part of the car show. There were also various vendors and food trucks at the event.
At the end of the show, the top two vehicles in a number of different categories were announced, with trophies being given out, and then the overall best in a few different categories were also announced. The winners of these awards are listed below (spelling of names may be incorrect, which we apologize for.)
In the 1939 and older car category Henry Perez of Dumas won first place for a 1936 Ford roadster and Bill Filly of Perryton placed second for a 1934 four-door Chevy. Roger Northcutt of Pampa won first place in the 1940-59 category for a 1955 Chevy Nomad and Greg Duggan placed second for a 1957 Chevy hardtop. In the 1960-79 category Marie Sims of Amarillo won first place with a 1978 Chevrolet Corvette and Chris Lusk of Dumas placed second with a 1976 Datsun with a V8 engine.
In the 1980-99 category, Robert Malone of Boise City, Oklahoma won first place with a 1983 Monte Carlo and James Vandiver placed second with a 1983 Camaro. In the 2000- 2009 category, Daniel Hammond of Beaver, Oklahoma won first place with a 2007 Mustang. In the 2010 and younger category, Randi Long of Dumas won first place with a 2021 Dodge Challenger.
The pickup categories were next. In the 1930 and older category, Lane Sneller of Dumas won first place with a 1933 Chevy and he also placed second with a 1930 Model T Ford truck. In the 1940-59 category, Brenda Copeland of Santa Rosa, New Mexico won first place with a 1951 Chevy Pickup and Dale and Tomesa Rodriguez placed second with a 1955 Chevy C-10. In the 1960-79 category, Gary McFarland of Colorado won first place with a 1972 Ford Bronco and Chris Hensley of Dumas placed second with a 1972 Chevy K10. In the 1980-99 category, the late Curtis Brown won first place with a 1983 Jeep Wrangler and Ty Hancock placed second with a 1996 GMC Sierra.
In the 2000-09 category, Austin Schaffner won first place with a 2004 Dodge Ram 250. In the 2010 and younger category, Victor Perez won first place with a 2026 Silverado 2500 and James Vandiver placed second with a 2021 Jeep Gladiator.
In the overall categories, Chris Garcia won the Motorcycle category with a 2000 Harley-Davidson Sportster, and the Rat Rod category was won by Fidel Heyhers of Dumas for a 1952 GMC tow truck. Roger Northcutt won the Best Chevy award for his 1955 Nomad. Gary McFarland won the Ford category with his Brondo. Doug Groove of Turpin, Oklahoma won the Military category with a 1952 Dodge M57 weapons carrier. David Adcock of Dumas won Best MOPAR for his 1973 Barracuda. Brian Briscoe won in the Semi category for his 1989 Peterbilt 379. Roger Northcutt won “Best in Show” for his 1955 Chevy Nomad. Tim McMillan of Hart Chevy also received a trophy as one of the group’s top sponsors, and there was also a trophy for the owners of Mission Auto Supply, who were unable to attend.
After the show, a dinner and dance was held at the Rita Blanca Coliseum.
A group of high school students formed a new group, Texas Panhandle Motors, a few months ago. That group focuses more on trucks than cars, but do include cars. They have already become a force in the community, gathering a huge amount of supplies a few weeks ago for the Dalhart Volunteer Fire Department during the period when they were fighting one grass fire after another after another. They helped the Cruzers put on the show, helping with blocking off the streets and serving at the dinner that evening.
Texas Panhandle Motors will host its own car show on Saturday June 20 at the Rita Blanca Coliseum. It will be in the afternoon and evening, from 4-10 p.m. All proceeds from the event will be donated to CASA, 69, and they will also have a canned food drive for the Lincoln Street Baptist Church pantry. Cars and trucks are welcome to be entered, and there will be several trophies presented.
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