Article By: Michael Lewis – www.violentchoppers.com
Photos By: Benji Laney – www.benjilaney.com
Originally Published In The July 2012 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine
The Bama Swap and Drags was held March 31st at the Sand Mountain Dragway in Section, AL. The event was hosted by Violent Choppers and Rick’s Cycle Parts. The inspiration to host a true swap meet came to me as I was clicking miles away on my trusty Shovel, coming home from a vintage meet south of here. I was thinking of how swap meets were when I was a kid. They were full of cool, old parts with cool people that actually rode motorcycles and understood the true meaning of a swap. Nowadays, it seems that everywhere you go the promoters want you to shell out some good coin to vend, and also hit the attendees with a good chunk just to come in the gate! Now, if a guy is paying 20 bucks to get in, 8 bucks for a burger and 3 bucks for a soda, he probably isn’t going to spend much on parts that day because the promoter has already shook out his last nickel. We had our first swap and drag in November of last year. With short time promotions and chilly weather, we were proud to see the 750 people come through the gate as well as having fiftysome vendors.
Our second annual truly amazed me; vendors started rolling in on Friday from South Alabama, Illinois, Louisiana, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. On Saturday, the masses rolled in on bikes and in hot rods from all over. Parts were spread out over 80 vendor spots, with a little something for everybody. We had great weather all day, and some great heads-up drag racing on one of Alabama’s best historical 1/8 mile tracks. At $5 admission and $40 for a 15×20 vending spot, this is an event you can’t afford to miss! Special thanks to Jeff and Suzanne Rucks and their staff at Sand Mountain Dragway, all of our great friends for helping spread the word and lending a hand the day of, and of course everyone that came out!!
