Page 28 - Issue 35

PHOTOS BY CHARLIE PACHECO AND PATRICK WILSON
WRITTEN BY STEVE THAEMERT
he SEMA Show represents SEMA Show cuts a swath straight through
more than just the country’s the heart of the automotive aftermarket,
largest automotive trade and everything, no matter how obscure or
T show. It’s more than just parts, seemingly insignifi cant, can share a moment
under the lights with the kings of the industry.
vehicles, vendors… much more than Enter RRM Head Builder Bryan Dagel,
just the bright lights of Las Vegas. a patina’d Chevy, and four-thousand miles
travelled across this great country to be a part
It represents the collective enthusiasm and of something bigger than all of us.
passion for the automotive industry as a whole Last issue, we set the stage for the trip
– from rock crawlers to super cars, to hot rods, that would cap off our driving season up here
customs, and literally everything in between. in Minnesota. With unpredictable November
And somewhere in there, among all the newest weather and just enough cash in hand to cover
and the fastest and the most extreme, is rat rod the trip, we didn’t know what to expect – other
culture. The blue-collar, the Average Joe… the than, somehow Bryan was going to roll
home builder. The artist. The outcast. The driver. into SEMA with a bug-covered
They’re all represented - because the windshield and a story to tell.

The American
backroads are full of
hidden treasures.

28 RAT ROD MAGAZINE ISSUE THIRTY-FIVE

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