By NICK YAMASHITA
The Progress
Classic cars and hot rods rolled through the streets of Moapa Valley early on Saturday morning, and the sounds of reving engines could be clearly heard. It was the first annual Dan Bailey Memorial Car Show held on Saturday, June 12 at the Old Logandale School pavilion.
The show was put together by a local group of friends of Bailey, a former Overton resident who passed away last December due to complications caused by COVID. The entire event last week was organized as a fundraiser to help the family pay for a headstone monument to mark Bailey’s grave.
The show had a huge turnout from the community as well as further afield. Hundreds of auto collection enthusiasts and fans showed up as about 40 car entries from all across the region attended the show. It was only a $5 fee per entry.
“The show was put together in just about one and a half months,” said Tom Galbreath, one of the organizers. “It turned out to be a success and we will for sure be doing it again next year.”
Locals, as well as visitors, entered the show displaying their collectibles. Among some of the favorites were a ‘67 Ford GT Mustang, a Gasser, a Ford Bronco, a kit car from 1983, and much more.
There were cars of all kinds from trucks to classics, shiny to beaters, motorcycles to a tractor. There was even one show car that had a fountain with a koi pond in the trunk.
However, the real showstoppers turned out to be the personal collection of cars which had belonged to former Overton resident Dan Bailey himself.
Popular Social Media sensation “Matt’s Roadside Recovery” out of Hurricane, Utah was present and selling merchandise on site. All profits from those sales were also donated to the cause of the show.
Another attraction at the event, was a group of mini-dwarf cars, flatkarts, and mini-racers on display. These racing vehicles were being shown to promote upcoming racing events which will be starting at the
Clark County Fairgrounds in the fall. The racing is being coordinated and run by Jeff Hobbs and Jesse Sunter. They will be under the Southern Nevada Racing Association and done by club competition starting in September. For more information on this visit www.lvqm.webs.com.
After a few hours of the car show, including plenty of socializing and a BBQ lunch for $5 per plate, the organizers of the event got together and began to announce the car winners and the raffle winners.
Anne Gaball and Bob Wendig seemed to win quite a few of the raffle prizes. They even donated a few of the won items back as they had won already.
The big prize was a Smith & Wesson M&P AR22-style firearm, which went to Pat Carter.
The Overall Best in Show went down to a close matchup between two classic Fords. The winner was chosen by a vote from the judges: the Dan Bailey family.
The Runner-up was Rhett Richins with a ‘47 Ford.
The winner by a slim margin was Bret Gale with a ‘51 Ford with flames exterior design. Gale won the top prize of $100. But he straight-way donated the winnings right back to the cause of the event.
“It is great winning this show, especially since it is named after someone who really helped out the community,” said Gale.
Galbreath, Dick O’Dell, and Joe Cooper worked together in coordinating the event and were present to give out the awards. “We have to thank, so much, everyone who helped put this car show on and sponsored it,” Galbreath said.
As sponsors, he specifically expressed appreciation to Overton Ace Hardware, NAPA Overton Auto Parts. He also expressed gratitude to all of those who donated to the raffle.
“We also have to thank everyone who donated to the cause and gave back to the man who helped so many in this community,” said Galbreath. “And we appreciate the volunteers and the family of Dan Bailey for their help and support.”
The final result of the event and the fundraising was a total of more than $5,000 raised for the cause.
“It just is amazing how much the community and people support such a good cause and help bring success to events like this one,” said Galbreath.
The Bailey Family also expressed how wonderful the event was and how thankful they were to everyone involved.
The 2nd Annual Dan Bailey Memorial Car Show is already in the works for next year. This time, the proceeds will benefit another local family in need. The social media sites for the show will remain active to keep people posted on the details which will be announced later.
