2022 Wheels of Freedom Motor Show Report
RB Spirit of the Fourth Committee, Inc (SOTF)
The 2022 edition of the Wheels of Freedom Motor Show went on as scheduled and was an overall success.
Participants were already in line to join the party at 6:00 AM, and all participants were parked before 9:00
AM, The show opened to the public as planned at 9:00 AM, along with all the other activities of the RB
Spirit of the Fourth Celebration. Everyone enjoyed the celebration, including a sampling of the 5 food
venders that where setup adjacent to the show. Participants voted for their favorite vehicles, and the
awards presentations took place as planned at 1:15PM. The event was over shortly before 2:00 PM. The
parking lot was empty before 2:45 PM.
The planning and marketing efforts began in earnest in late March 2022. A show flier was created and
started being distributed at area car shows around San Diego County. Between March 15th and June 19th
approximately 1000 fliers were manually distributed at more than 10 car oriented events. In addition,
personalized email invitations were sent to over 350 individuals that had participated in the event in the
past.
By June 23rd, 139 cars where pre-registered, and In the week preceding the show, another 8-10 additional
participants were turned away due to the 130 parking spot limit. The final outcome for participation was:
30 “no shows” or cancellations, and 6 day of event registrations bringing the total attending to 115
vehicles. If everyone had attended we would have had 153 vehicles. Interesting statistic: of the 153
registrations processed, 48 were new or had not participated in the last 4-5 years.
While almost all of the pre-show effort was provided by George and Joyce Cowman, the day of the event
could not have happened without the help and effort of the 20 Poway Cruiser volunteers, many of which
did double duty: Here’s a summary of their contribution to the success of the show:
• Joyce Cowman and several others: Set-up, organized, and decorated the registration, awards, and
merchandise sale area.
• Ray Kusmer, Mike Petermann, and Jerry Reed: Counted People’s Choice ballots, determined winners
of all 30 awards
• Dick Nicholas, Chris Cowman, and Brian Burns: setup and maintained the PA system.
• Jenny Bush, Chuck Bush, Shawn Hodgetts, Ron Shedd, Bill Bryan, John McDowell, Steve Bauman,
Jerry Badders, Sam Grinceri, Chris Cowman, and others: Helped everyone with setup, tear down, and
whatever came up.
• Walter Borra, Steve Bauman, Dick Nicholas, Sam Grinceri, Fred Kokaska; Handled the pre-check in
and directed parking, making sure everyone parked safe and legal.
• Brenda Grinceri, Brian Burns, and Joyce Cowman: handled registration.
• Norma Niedens, Jenny Bush, Linda Bryan, Jerry Badders: handled all T-Shirt sales and donations, and
50/50 OD Ticket sales. They took in $1,182.00 for the Spirit of the Fourth Committee.
As an incentive to participate, the Spirit of the Fourth Committee provided 26 awards, including 23
People’s Award of Excellence, Best Decorated, Favorite Poway Cruiser, and Best of Show. In addition, State
Farm Insurance agent Bruce Hofbauer donated 2 “Piston” trophies and picked his favorites, and Goodguys
R&C Association Rep Dago D’Agosta picked his Favorite of the show. A special “Award of Excellence”
trophy was also donated by Sam Murao of S&S Trophies & Mike Miller of Pal Joey’s Bar & Grill to be
awarded at the coordinators discretion.
A list of winners is as follows:
1 94 Jim Escarega 65 Buick Riviera
2 1 David Lewis 49 Buick Sedanette
3 97 Oscar Villafranco 36 Ford Slant Back Sedan
4 21 John & Linda Wilkinson 65 Pontiac GTO Conv
5 25 Mark Goodacher 31 Chevrolet Independence
6 33 Jim & Denise Payne 31 Ford Model A Coupe
7 40 Bill & Alisa Bolen 68 Pontiac Firebird
8 14 Mark Pilch 57 Chevrolet Bel Air
9 22 Dennis & Lida Lutz 56 Chevrolet Nomad
10 28 Rick Bobick 65 Dodge Coronet 440
11 37 Bud & Barb Fosdick 56 Chevrolet Bel Air Conv
12 50 Marv Reiser 68 Plymouth Baracuda
13 71 Steve Witte 65 Shelby Cobra
14 75 Ron & Kathy Lewis 65 Chevroet Covette Rdstr
15 58 Wayne Hartwig 55 Chevrolet Bel Air Conv
16 77 Dana Stevens 56 Chevrolet Nomad
17 81 Dave Olmstead 29 Ford Model A Rdstr
18 104 Bob Sanchez 35 Ford 3 Window Coupe
19 7 Larry Mullins 66 Plymouth Belvedere
20 51 Jim Ramsey 46 GMC Pickup (RR)
21 91 Larry Candelaria 49 Mercury Coupe
22 32 Jay Chrisstopher 39 Ford Roadster
23 24 Robert Currier 57 Chevrolet Bel Air
State Farm Pick #1 P215 Patrick Burns 68 Chevrolet Camaro
State Farm Pick #2 44 Franck Leamy 47 Chrysler Woodie Conv
Pal Joey’s Pick P204 Doug Gates 21 Rolls Royce Ghost
Goodguys Rep Pick 100 Pete Hale 32 Ford Phaeton
Best Decorated 2 Jim Wayman 32 Ford Tow Truck
Favorite Poway Cruisers P208 Chuck Kramer 32 Chevrolet 4 Dr Sedan
Best of Show 115 Greg Roberts 54 Hudson Hornet Holly.
Once again, this event proves that “The Poway Cruisers bring the fun!”
George Cowman
Coordinator, 2022 Wheels of Freedom Motor Show
Poway Cruiser Car Club
Rancho Bernardo Spirit of the Fourth Committee, Inc.
A few photos and video of the Motor Show participants and crew:
Bob Jacoby’s Video recording of the show!