Car, Truck and Motorcycle Show held at McMichael High

By Steve Lawson

Published: June 25, 2008

Scott Benfield’s entry at Saturday’s annual Knollhurst Community Car, Truck and Motorcycle Show might have been the smallest on hand, but it required as much love and attention as the largest.

“It may not sound like the rest when it cranks up, but it could beat a lot of them on the track,” Benfield said.

The Stoneville youth’s entry was dwarfed by the entries on either side — probably because it was a lawnmower between two cars.

“I just thought I’d bring it over and promote lawnmower racing,” he said. “It doesn’t have a big engine, but it’s come out on top of a lot of races against mowers with four times the horsepower.”

Sitting to the left of Benfield’s racing mower was a sleek, new Pontiac Solstice. On the other side sat a vintage, 1960s Ford.

The diversity in that small section of the more than 70 entries at the show demonstrated the wide range of interests shared by people who build, drive and show the vehicles on display.

One of the first cars visible when entering the parking lot full of vehicles was a gleaming 1968 Corvette owned by Ray Crittenden of Cornelius. Crittenden bought the roadster eight years ago, when he was living in Ohio.

“The car started out in Tennessee,” Crittenden said. “I got it from a guy in Ohio who got it from someone in Alabama.”

The little red Corvette might have taken quite a journey to get to Crittenden, but it received a lot of love and attention after arriving in his garage. The car was almost completely rebuilt, and he has the photos to prove it.

“I keep this photo album with the car, especially at shows, just to show the kind of work it takes to get a car to this level,” Crittenden said. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s definitely a labor of love.”

The Corvette might have a lot of special detailing and a paint job that would be difficult to duplicate, but Crittenden said the machine is not just a show car.

“It’s pretty close to being a daily drive,” he said.

Crittenden’s not the only member of his family to “love” the car.

“I think it looks great to have survived the wife and two daughters, as well as myself,” he said. “They know they can request it for special things, but only during the week. On the weekends, everyone knows it’s reserved for dad.”

Saturday, Crittenden was already in the area visiting friends and fellow members of the Triad Corvette Club. On Friday evening, they decided to bring some of their rides to Mayodan for the annual car show.

“I’ve been to this show before, but it’s been a couple years,” Crittenden said. “We all just love getting out to visit with each other and talk with other car lovers. It doesn’t matter so much about the make or year of the car, we still have a lot in common.”

News editor Steve Lawson can be reached at or at 548-6047.