Symco shakedown drags 2015

#45
Does anyone want the big question answered? Where will the Shakedown be in 2016? We have months into this day and still months of work ahead of us! However, today we spring the news!

Symco Shakedown is moving to the EAA Facility in Oshkosh, WI!!! EAA | Experimental Aircraft Association | Oshkosh, Wisconsin

What does this mean for us:

Same great vintage feel…..
Those of you who have been to all seven Symco Shakedowns know you can expect a quality, safe, fun atmosphere. Nothing will change by moving venues, same great people, same great atmosphere for a fun show! Bringing Symco to a new location is all about the people, and those people are committed to creating an event that will top all we have done in the past.
The setting of The Shakedown is now in a vintage airport, surrounded by a park setting. The Pioneer Airport consists of a bunch of cool old hangers, filled with dozens of vintage planes and tons of aviation memorabilia. We will be surrounding these hangers with all the BEST traditional hot rods and period customs. If you have a car that is 100% pre-64 build, you will get the opportunity to park by the hangers and planes. The rest of the show will be in the Nature Center immediately to the east of the hangers. We are going to bridge the small area between with period correct customs. We will also provide a vintage plane or two for photos somewhere on the facility for all car participants to take their photo with.
Pioneer Airport is home to a Ford Tri-Motor plane. Built in 1929, this plane will be flying and giving rides, unless it happens to be out on tour at the time. If it is, we will make sure we have another vintage plane for affordable rides during the show.
https://www.eaa.org/…/fly-the-ford-e…/ford-tri-motor-history
The airport will be functional during the Shakedown. We are expanding our event to not only the automotive enthusiast but also aviation nuts! We welcome anyone to fly in to the event as a spectator. We will offer FREE weekend admission to anyone flying in with their 1964 or older plane.

Don’t forget the EAA Airventure Museum is just across the runway from the airport! How cool is it? Well, they have an exhibit going on right now with REAL WWII airplane nose art! Not reproductions or pictures, the actual panels removed from combat aircraft that protected our father’s and grandfathers. It is well worth the $12.50 admission. Yes, they have family rates and discounts. EAA Museum | Oshkosh, Wisconsin

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Lots of shade in a park like setting for show cars and expanded VIP car show! We actually have room to park “Other” show cars now. It will be organized and not an afterthought like parking on the end of the swap meet was in the past. Those of you who don’t have a car that fits our criteria won’t feel like an outcast!

Camping with real toilets and showers?
YES!!! This is a REAL campground. Not a field we mark off and park in. No more makeshift showers, real ones!! Flush toilets if you want to use them, otherwise we will have portables around for convenience as well. Need something else? Shopping is five minutes away. We hope to have the EAA camper store open as well for your convenience.

Vintage camping area is as nice as what we have done in the past. To be honest, the sites are larger, more flat, less wet and the trees are more mature and offer tons of shade. The areas in the campground we are using offer tons of shade and are very nice. Those that camped out in overflow camping will find it is a very nice upgrade moving to the new facility!

POWER! POWER! POWER!
No more days of seven powered sites…we have HUNDREDS! Most have power AND water hookups. We also have some sites that have sewer connections as well…PLUS a sewage dump station that is FREE!!!! Uncharge for power sites will probably be $20/night

Daily camping now available!!!
We plan to open camping to spectators on MONDAY of show week, offering daily camping until Sunday. If you want to show up early to see the local sights, go through the EAA museum before it gets busy with show goers, or if you just want to come and relax, camping rates will be very reasonable Mon-Weds for you to set up early. We also will allow Sat only camping at a rate lower than we have done in the past. As of right now, campsites are $25/night with Mon-Weds at a lower rate than that. As we build our new registration system(same system as last year, just updated for 2016), we will set pricing and get you into great spots! With the trams moving people around, getting a close spot to the show is no longer a problem!
You will have an assigned space, those who had these in the past will get first crack at the new sites. Those camping Thursday, Friday and Saturday will be able to keep their same site year to year!
We will be opening registration SOON! We are working on revising our new system for 2016, soon as that is done, we will open camping and vendor registration! Those who used the system last year will see the previous year’s info. If you have not used our online system, go to WELCOME and create an account. When we open registration, you’ll have the first step done! Registration on the site also gets you access to our message board for questions about the show.


Golf Carts, Minibikes & Bicycles!!!!!!!!!
Remember me yelling at you for riding your bike around the grounds in the past? Or for you trying to sneak your golf cart into the main show area! No longer!! Long as you provide us with your liability policy for use of your cart(many home owners policies will cover this), we will let you drive around the show! We will be VERY strict on where you park it in the show and if it takes away from photographs of show cars or if you park in non-designated spots, you WILL lose your cart privileges! We have the space for you to ride them now, we hope you bring them….We may even have a vintage golf cart show area? Who knows!!
We have TONS of room to ride bicycles around and will have organized rides all weekend. Bring your VINTAGE bike and pedal away!

Hotels close by!!!!!
Hotels are literally a two minute ride away. There are over a dozen to pick from. There are FIVE hotels on the exit that the facility is on. One more on the exit to the south and more than six more hotels in town! Plus Neenah, Fond Du Lac and Appleton have DOZENS of hotels to choose from, all within a 20 minute drive. If you want a $50 hotel room, you will be able to get one or you can have your pick of a lot of really nice rated rooms!
We will be offering hotel deals at one or two of the hotels, but if you want to book a room now and not worry about it, here are the hotels you can pick from that are the closest!!
Make sure you tell them what event you are attending to get the word out we are coming to town!!
Hotels:
Cobblestone Inn - South on Hwy26 exit. The easiest drive to the show, little to no traffic coming from the south. But not much other than a truck stop for amenities by it. It is outside of town. (920)230-7400
Hawthorn Suites - (888)293-5571 across the highway by the Outlet Mall, close to Johnny Rockets
Closest hotels to the facility, on the same exit:
Super 8 - (800)536-9326
Hilton Garden Inn - (920)966-1300
AmericInn - (920)232-0300
Fairfield Inn - (920)233-8504
Others that are really close:
Motel 6 - (920)233-4300
Comfort Suites - (920)230-7378
Holiday Inn Express - (920)303-1300
LaQuinta Inn - (920)233-4190
If you want to be downtown, right directly on the river:
Best Western - (920)230-1900. There are dozens of bars within walking distance of this, and a ground round inside the hotel. You can literally eat and drink outside along the river walk. Freshly renovated. Easy drive of less than ten minutes to the show.
If you can’t find a Hotel that fits your needs from this list, check Neenah, Appleton or Fond Du Lac.

UBER in town!!!
Those who use the ride share service UBER can get a ride just about anywhere in town for $10 or less from the facility. Ride from the hotels to the grounds will cost you about $6! So those who do not want to drive under the influence don’t have to!!! We will be partnering with Uber with designated pickup/drop off points!

Oshkosh has numerous museums, parks and attractions to see. We even have a ZOO!!! Want a bite to eat? We have TWO old school drive-ins! Turn on our headlights and the gals come right to you and take your order! We also have a Johnny Rockets directly across the highway from the facility. There is a new Veterans Museum on the same exit EAA is on to the south!


New fun stuff:
This airport will be in operation during the show! Watch planes take off and land all weekend, or even catch a flight in one! Yes, plane rides!!
Trams carrying people around during the show. No more walking if you don’t want to!

No space issues.
We have near unlimited and nice facilities at our disposal. We actually aren’t even using the EAA show grounds, we are using their nature center, the Pioneer Airport and the best parts of their campground! The room for growth is unlimited!
This facility is HIGH AND DRY! Lots of improved surfaces and it can handle rain much better than our past shows. We will not be turning people away ever again because of space or weather issues!

Vendors:
More room for swap meet, and shaded! We plan to have the swap meet right in the campground, right next to spectator parking. It is basically campsites turned into swap spaces and many of them are shaded with mature trees!! There is a small chance we may use this area for VIP show car parking and put the swap meet in a different area, but for right now, this is the plan and we think it will work well!
We now have a 5000 square foot building for commercial vendors!!! This building opens on all four sides so you can vend inside or facing outside!! No more dirt floor! Better security after hours and it is right next to our food vendors and entertainment!
With added room, we will be bringing in new vendors who have not been able to come to Unionville due to lack of space, power and nicer amenities. Watch our Facebook and website for news on some great new business additions to our show!!! Baileigh Industrial will be on hand showing off their awesome metalworking equipment!

Entertainment!
Don’t think will will skimp there! We may not have a band shell….well actually we do! We may use it in years to come, but for right now, you will find we will have the stages set so we will have daytime and nighttime entertainment as we always have. Plus, you will still find the fun little acts performing in random spots same as always.
Krank Daddies, Twistin’ Tarantulas, One Night Standards and some more of our favorites will be returning…and wait until you hear about the new talent coming in! As always, you are GUARANTEED a great show. You don’t even have to watch for our lineup as you know we do not cut corners when it comes to great musicians and good people that we bring in!

Mini Bike Races - YUP. We have a good spot for it. I brought mini bike races here from the Rust Revival in 2009, I have no plans to stop letting adults compete in a kids sport just because we are moving! ha ha ha. Same goes for Flame Throwing! Our venue has a great spot to do this as well and they are excited to see what that entails.

Did I mention we are giving away another car! The Beja Shriners are working hard on making this happen again!

Expanded Motorcycle show. We now have a nice area to park vintage bikes!


What does the future hold?
Whitman Field has two runways. This is not a commercially operated airport, just mainly business charters and private flights. The opportunity to host REAL drag race one one of the runways, like the Meltdown drags, or the Hunnert Heads Up, is in the cards for the future. The airport is receptive to this and we will explore this opportunity for 2017…let’s show them our best this year and grow this into much much more than just a car show!

From all of the Shakedown Staff, we are VERY excited for this move and we hope you are too! This facility not only has some really cool features, it gives us the tools to continue to put on a very professional show, plus add some really unique things to it. It is the people that put on a great show, not the venue and that wonderful feeling you got in Unionville will easily be repeated in 2016 at the Experimental Aircraft Association facility.

Thanks for your support and we can’t wait to see you Aug 12&13, 2016
 

delray

Well-Known Member
#46
my big question is. are they still running the bikes on clay 125ft. most if not all the minibikes that ran at symco where setup for clay 125ft.
 
#47
Hi Everyone with a Mini Bike or knows someone who wants to Drag race a mini bike in the Midwest of USA. My name is Chris Nelson i have a facebook site Called Midwest 608 mini bike..i have MB Drag raced in the upper WI (Symco drags) to MO (Wayland) to race Justin & Andy and there Group of mini bike "Nuts" because that's what i'am. I will try to help clear up some questions, Midwest 608 mini bike will be hosting the 125ft clay drag races at Symco Grounds Aug 13 2016," New this year" 5 Classes (more equal for all racers) for the mini bikes, Larger pit area for bikes that are staging too race. A cover for the track if there is too much rain before the races, There was a big cover in the saw mill barn, i will confirm that for this year. Midwest 608 MB will be making trophies to the 5 class winners this year that you can show your family and friends that this not just a kids sport. Please follow me on Facebook for the Rules and Classes and more MB drags this year. i will post on OldMiniBikes event page of all racing that i'am going too this year. Please contact me if you have more questions about all MB events in the Midwest. thank You Chris Nelson 608-345-8281. chris73nelson@yahoo.com and like me on FB ,Midwest 608 mini bike.
 
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#48
Symco drags at Symco WI

They are about to announce their new location. I would assume once they do that there will be information on if they are doing the mini bike drags.
Midwest608 mini bike will host Symco drags at Symco grounds. The best 125ft clay track in the Midwest, thanks Chris nelson
 
#49
Midwest 608mini bike rules

Does anyone have any drag racing rules? I am trying organize a mini bike drag racing in Memphis area but don't have any rules.
hi .If you go to OldMiniBikes profile then to my galleries ,photos . There is medi post there with the Classes and Rules take a look. Like me on FB Midwest 608 mini bike, there is photos and videos of drag MB. Keep me posted about you race contact me if you have any more ???? Keep the wheels burning,,,,, Chris Nelson..
 
#50
Please go to the new Midwest 608 mini bike post on OldMiniBikes , This is my page on the up to date news about the best Mini Bike Drags in the Midwest. Symco WI 125 ft Drags on the Symco grounds Clay track!! Thanks Chris Nelson
 
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