Tim & Mike Rogers
Off-Road Expo 2012
by Tim & Mike Rogers
While vending at the King of the Hammers event in early February of 2012, one thing was made clear to us while speaking to other vendors – the Lucas Oil Off-Road Expo in Pomona California was a ‘Can’t Miss Event’. Upon returning home from California we wasted no time and immediately booked our booth space, flights and hotel. October finally rolled around and we were off.
When we arrived in Pomona, California it didn’t take long to realize why Off-Road Expo is the can’t-miss-event of the year. With over 60 000 attendees, hundreds of vendors, and every top race team in attendance, the event slogan, “Where the off-road nation comes together” couldn’t be more accurate. As the only Canadian manufacturer and vendor in attendance we had a great appreciation for the overwhelming size of the event.
We toured the event halls to see what the event was all about. Everyone who is anyone in the Off-Road World was in attendance with their newest products on display in their booths. The majority had new products under wraps, waiting for the public to arrive before they debuted their latest and greatest. Many fellow vendors said they consider Expo bigger than SEMA for the Off-Road world, which is the reason they choose to debut new products at Expo. The product we chose to debut at Expo was our new TMR Customs 3 Piece Dimple Die Sets. They were featured on the Off-Road Expo Facebook Page the week prior to the event, so there was some buzz about them in advance of their debut.
Another exciting feature of Off-Road Expo is the chance to see the worlds’ best off-road racecars in person. Hot off their win at the 2012 American Rocksports Challenge, Campbell Enterprises had their brand new IFS car on display in the Currie Enterprises outdoor booth. There were also a number of new cars featured that were still in the middle of the build process so you could see them stripped down and really have an appreciation for the level of fabrication involved. Other featured vehicles included Jeep JK’s with machine guns mounted to them (only in America), and vintage off-road race trucks. For gear heads that are into more than just off-road racing the NHRA Motorsports Museum is located in the same fairgrounds.
Aside from the endless supply of new products, racecars and killer deals, one of the main draws is the attendance and accessibility of the worlds’ top off-road drivers and TV Celebrities. You could find all these big names signing autographs at their respective booths, but also walking the show where you could speak with them one on one. Some of the big names in attendance were Walker Evans, BJ Baldwin, Robby Gordon, Brian Deegan, Shannon Campbell, Ian Johnson and Jessie Combs, just to name a few.
If you are passionate about Off-Road the Lucas Oil Off-Road Expo should be at the top of your list for 2013. As the worlds’ largest off-road consumer tradeshow, Off-Road Expo offers something for everyone – from die-hard race fans to casual weekend wheelers. We know where we’ll be next year on October 6th and 7th. Can’t wait to see you there!