CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The annual Charleston Boulevard Rod Run and Doo Wop began Wednesday not with a bang, but rather the roars of hundreds of car engines.
The event, now in its 14th years, started with a parade through downtown Charleston and a cruise-in at the Southridge Shopping Center.
One of the more distinct roars heard Wednesday was that of a top fuel dragster; a Charleston-based team recreated the vehicle first of Hundley and Boggs in the 1960s. The dragster ran the sixth-quickest time for such vehicle in 1969 with a speed of 210 mph.
Ritchie Boggs led the team; his father, Joe Boggs, was among the men who built the original dragster.
“These cars did something. It would be different if they didn’t do anything,” he said.
“My dad’s dead and Jim Hundley’s deceased. We do it just to wake them up.”
Roger Childers, of Nitro, brought a much quieter vehicle: a 1974Chevrolet Nova. Childers, who grew up around cars, said he spent around 200 hours of the last year recreating the vehicle.
“It’s something to do,” he joked.
Sports cars will be lined down Kanawha Boulevard beginning tomorrow. The festival continues through Sunday.