Most of us, at one time or another, have belonged to a car club or we considered joining one. To be an official car club, at least the way the state sees it, you must have officers, dues, events, and by-laws. To some, this may cause drama and destroy the club, but if you do it right you will end up with a club that can and will endure just about anything and still come out ahead of the game. For this new feature, exclusive to Street Legal TV, we bring you the Car Club of the Month.
Now in their tenth year, the Perfect Nemisis Car & Truck Club has been carrying a regular theme for their yearly car shows: “Rippin’ Gears”. At a glance, it might lead you to believe that this diverse group of enthusiasts are up to no good, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. They’ve been together since 2004, and currently have three chapters: North Mississippi, South Mississippi, and West Tennessee, making the Perfect Nemisis a club that covers a couple of states and a bit of real estate.
The Rippin’ Gears Car & Truck Show is put on yearly, with their next show coming up on August 9th, 2014, at the Memphis International Raceway. Billed as a car, truck, & bike show, Rippin’ Gears invites basically anyone who is an enthusiast to come out and participate for a great cause.
Operating as a volunteer-driven event sanctioned by the Perfect Nemisis Car and Truck Club, Rippin’ Gears raises money to help provide food and supplies for the Palmer Home for Children, an organization that has been dedicated to providing a home and family for children since 1895. The charity organization is privately funded and relies on the generous gifts from Rippin’ Gears and others to keep children together in a family environment.
The show itself is open to just about anyone – whether you’re into rat rods, trucks, musclecars, bikes, or classic cruisers, there’s something for everyone at the show with a family environment as a goal. The shows have a high-energy theme with over 20 top awards given out to the various entries, including the top 75 out of the 300-350 participants that they expect. They’ve had a great turnout in years past, and expect that tradition to continue for this year’s show.
The show is free for spectators, and just $25 for participants, and promises a full day of fun for the enthusiast and their family. This year, prior to the show, a memorial cruise sponsored by Hurst Hot Rods will take place. It’s an hour-and-a-half cruise from Jackson, Tennessee, to the show in Millington, Tennessese, with discounted registration for cruise participants.
When Perfect Nemisis isn’t out Rippin’ Gears, they’re hosting other events in the area. They also host two cruise-ins every month: a first Saturday cruise at the local Dairy Queen in Southaven, and a monthly Hot Rods on Beale Street Cruise Night, keeping this club of 40 members quite busy.
The Beale St. cruise is sponsored by COMP Cams, and brings people from all over the area for this fourth Tuesday night cruise – even as far away as Oklahoma at times. Like thier Rippin’ Gears show, Hot Rods on Beale is open to just about anyone with a passion for cars, trucks or bikes.
Perfect Nemisis meets up on a monthly basis to discuss upcoming shows and events, and to plan local and out of state events. North Mississippi Chapter President, Trent Goodwin, tells us, “We always change up our meeting locations. It may be at one of our club members’ homes one month, and a restaurant the next month. We sometimes hold meetings at car shows and cruise-ins.” We suspect the only reason they change up the meeting locations is so everyone gets a chance to do some additional cruising, it doesn’t seem like they’re getting enough with the monthly cruise-ins.
With three chapters spread out over a couple of states, it seems that this club simply likes cruises and just getting together with other gearheads. They’re currently planning a Garage Tour for later this year so they can cruise to several local hot spot garages, shops and hangouts for a day of cruising fun. Goodwin told us that they aren’t particular to what club members drive, and they have members with trucks, musclecars, cruisers, and even rat rods.
With a “no limitations” approach as to what club members drive, the cruises and regular events have to be a great sight to see. While some clubs are specific to make or model, having a diverse group brings about all sorts of ideas and friendships, and that makes the Perfect Nemisis Car Club one that will appeal to just about any enthusiast no matter what they bring.
As car clubs go, some hold a couple of events, others hold several, and Perfect Nemisis is one of those clubs that does so much more for the members than to meet once a month. If you follow them on Facebook, you’ll find that there’s almost always something going on.
If you’re interested in attending the upcoming Rippin’ Gears car show on Saturday, August 9th, you can check out the Rippin’ Gears Facebook page for more information, and if you’re in the area – be sure to check out one of the cruise-ins hosted by Perfect Nemisis, they’d love to see you show up! Check out the gallery of members’ cars and photos from cruise nights below.
If you belong to a Car Club and you want your club featured here, please get in touch with us and let us know about your club. There are going to be some rules to keep the CCotM officially positive, and the first rule is that you must be an official club, not just a bunch of guys and gals who meet for pizza and do burnouts. You must have at least one show per year that gives back to the community – money raised may go to a charity, to the military, children – something. And finally, you must be able to share some pictures of your favorite cars in the club and share the club’s officers’ names and titles. It’s pretty simple, but as we said – we don’t want the three derelicts who hang out at the school parking lot doing donuts to think that they qualify for CCotM.
You can reach us at [email protected] and tell us a little bit about your club, how long you’ve been a club, where and when your next show is, where you meet, who you donate to for charity or events, and be sure to include a contact name and phone number so we can call and speak to a club representative.