Cookie Cutter Magazine

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TABLE OF CONTENTS SHOW COVERAGE: Lone Star Throwdown 2013 pg 4 March Madness pg 7 Gator Drag pg 13 Spring Break Jam pg 16 Third Coast Nationals pg 18

FEATURES: Stacy League: Life on the Track pg 10 PANCHO V: REDEMPTION pg 23

Heavy Hitters: Women of the Car Show Rugged Saints Charity Car Show PG 21 Scene pg 32 Small Town Takeover pg 27 Back to Graffiti pg 29

Club of Month: Import Sweethearts pg 40 Readers Ride’s pg 47

The Gathering pg 35 Southeast MiniTruckin Nationals pg 38 CUPCAKE MEET 16 pg 42 Hotrods and Hatters pg 45

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WELCOME

We decided to do this issue a bit different in format, than the previous ones. The reason was plain and simple, not only did we want to do something that hadn’t really been done before, but we mainly just wanted to dedicate at-least one Issue to the many Women that have made and are making an impact in our show scene. And while we are only able to cover a few of them we hope that this will not be the last issue of its kind, as we really hope that by featuring these Ladies, “People” not just other Women will be inspired by them.

It is amazing when you think of all of the things that these

Women are doing in the car show scene. Everyone of them is making an impact on how we see them in what is perceived as an all male driven industry. They not only prove that no matter what age you are, you can still go speeding down the strip in access of 100mph, or that your small stature doesn’t determine the size of your strength... Its far and few that a person comes and leaves such deep imprints in your life like the Ladies in this magazine have left on us, as we put together this issue, but as well on our culture. They have inspired us for they are not only mothers raising children either on their own or as a part of a unit, but also career oriented Women that like most on the weekend choose the show scene as their little home away from home. So hopefully as you read their stories and get to know them a bit, you too can take a new appreciation for what all they have done behind the scenes and the impact that they make.

Also, in this issue we start the 2014 show year by bringing you the same great coverage your used to from us, as well as officially welcoming the South East Team of professional photographers to our pages. They will be bringing you new coverage from the East Coast Region (Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and north part of Florida.) As well as our new photographer that will be covering areas of California as well. We are really excited for this move as it’s just the first step in our long term plans to expand our Magazine out little by little. Of course though we could not do it with out our faithful readership who constantly supports us on this journey of ours Also guys we do ask that you share not only this pubication, but the many other features that we offer like our Youtube Channel, our Instagram feed and of course our Facebook Page... Thank You All

THE CREW EDITORS DAVID F. MENDEZ JENNIFER MENDEZ

CENTRAL TEAM PEDRO LEON

RUSSELL WALLER

ELIAS “MONITO LOCO”

CARLOS RODRIGUEZ

JOE “THE REV”

ARMANDO SALCIDO

SOUTH EAST TEAM TIMOTHY JOHNSON

JAMIE JOHNSON

JESSICA MALER

WEST COAST REP YESHI WISNIEWSKI

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS JORGE HERNANDEZ SR. 20 © 13 PHOTOGRAPHY isjorgeok@me.com JORGE HERNANDEZ JR. Mercury Skies Photography mercuryskiesphotos@gmail.com KRISTI BURKS KRISTI BURKS PHOTOGRAPHY kristi@photographybykjb.com MAKE UP ARTIST KIAH SHANTEL KINARD TOKYO LAKAI ARTISTRY

COVER LAYOUT/ARTWORK HENDRY CANTU

COOKIECUTTER Magazine, March 2014 Vol. 1, No.4 Copyright © 2014 by COOKIECUTTER Magazine all rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission. This book is purchased with the understanding that the information presented is from various sources for which there can be no warranty or responsibility by the Publisher as to accuracy or completeness. Please address any questions or concerns to: COOKIECUTTER Magazine, P.O. Box 11145, Killeen, TX 76547 or cookiecuttermagazine@yahoo.com Issue4l.indd 3

URBAN CITY ART DEPARTMENT PHOTOGRAPHERS “CEEZ” BEJARANO ASH TURNER

2/20/2014 6:00:04 PM

conroe, texas

LONE STAR T PHOTOS BY PEDRO LEON AND RUSSEL WALLER

This young show as we had predicted in the Best of’s 2012 from our last issue continues to grow with attendance and with the diversity of rides. We still saw its pro-dominance as a mini-trucker show per say, but that did not distract the other types of cars from participating nor was there any real separation between them. As a matter of fact we saw more integration of all types throughout the show grounds all just hanging out.

The only thing we did see was, towards the end of the first day many

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show att definitel Park offi deter ev predictio for next coverag

R THROWDOWN

MODELS: ANDREA LEON, ELI BERRUQUIN AND NANCY BERRUQUIN

show attendees didn’t really want to leave, and while this can be taken as definitely a good sign for any show you go to, it became a bit of an issue.

Park officials began to get a bit pushy towards everyone, but that alone didn’t deter everyone from coming back for day two. We pretty much stand with our prediction and we only see bigger and better things coming out of this show for next year. Till then check out the many YouTube vids and the continued coverage of this show.

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MARCH M CUSTOM C

Houston, TX

ADNESS

AR SHOW

The Houston Region Tour (HRT) kicked off their tour with a big bang as we saw their initial show bring in a lot of everything from Lowriders, mini-trucks, bikes, Old Schools and even model cars. We were very excited to go to this one as it was our first time to attend one of their shows. The car hop brought in some pretty big competition as well as a little challenge on our behalf. We decided to attach our GoPro camera to one of the hoppers with a challenge to buck it off the car... Well the camera held on much to the audiences disappointment, but the challenge still sits. For more coverage of this show go visit our YouTube channel and catch some of the highlights.

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e u g a e L y c a t S k c a r T e h t n o e f Li

The first time we ran into Stacy was back in Baytown at the Royal Purple Raceway during the Import Face-off show last year and to be quite honest it wasn’t her that initially attracted us, but her Candy Red ‘67 Camaro with a 350 Small Block (which she had received for her 50th birthday as a present from her husband) that caught our attention, rumbling through the sea of Imports. As we had arrived and began shooting for that day, our Editor saw it and said without hesitation, man I bet that car is going to be something out there on the track I need that one on footage, so there we went. As usual we tapped on the passenger’s side window to ask the driver if it was ok to take some footage and to our surprise it was a “female,” which made it even more of a find.... Well long story short we had to sit down with her over a stretch and really get to know Stacy, as she put it she’s not your “Typical Grandma”.

Stacy explained to us that her whole life has been revolved around a racetrack. As a kid her Mom and Dad, as well as her Brother used to race and would have the whole family at the track. A lot of the time you would find Stacy under the cars on a creeper helping fix the cars.

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“Th said her bit o as ( High

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“The first time I raced, it was with my brother’s dirt track car and I was 15 at that time,” she said. So naturally it wouldn’t take long before the smell of burnt tires and race fuel would attract her to the starting line “I guess it’s just a part of you, well at least for us it was.” Stacy took a bit of time off racing and pursued other interest, but was quickly drawn back into the lifestyle as (Eddie League) now her husband of 20+ years was a racer. “It was funny cause we had met in High-school and he thought I was a bit stuck up back then.”

When they got married they did it in true style at the racetrack. “We were all sitting around the dinner table a few days after Eddie had asked me to marry him deciding where to get married and stuff when my dad out of nowhere says, heck y’all are always at the track why not get married there.” What started as a simple joke quickly ended up a reality as they got married at the starting line of what used to be known as the Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, TX. She also told us that in reality all she wanted to do was get married in Vegas and she would have been perfectly fine with that.

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Years had past when her father passed away and they honored his wishes of being cremated, but did not spread his ashes over the track as he had asked for, because of her Mother’s request. When she passed about a year ago her Family suggested that this would be a good way to finally honor not only her Dad’s wishes, but the family’s tradition of always having been in and around the track. Again after talking to the Royal Purple Raceway personnel they where granted permission to release the ashes of both her parents during a pass down the strip at the same time. “My dad always joked about having his ashes spread all over the track going 180mph,” Stacy said. It was a touching moment as Pastor Ted Jones, who presided over the ceremony and family gathered the summer of 2012 at the raceway for their final farewell.

Following the family’s tire tracks is her sister and their youngest son, John Winn, along with her grandson. We asked her if she was going to continue to race for many years to come, she told us that most likely not, she wasn’t like her husband who quickly answers that he would race till the very end. “When I went this last time to get checked out so I could be allowed to continue to race, my Doctor looked at me and just said that I must be crazy

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for wanting to keep doing this at my age...”

She is truly a very remarkable lady who not only I look up to , but aspire to be one day...

That no matter what age or gender you can always pursue your dreams and goals. Thank You Stacy for the opportunity to share your story.

-Jen

2/20/2014 6:01:01 PM

Rayne, Louisiana

Photos by: Jorge Hernandez Sr. and Jorge Hernandez Jr.

This was our first show of the season for Louisiana and man did they make such a great impression of whats to come out of this state. The show not only had some of the nicest looking minis from around the state, but it also hosted many other types of rides from all over. The weather was still a bit chill since it was still early in the year, but that did not stop any show goer from attending. It was fun and entertaining to say the least some of the memorable games included the pickled eating contest which left a few bad taste in competitors mouths, but smiles and laughs in the rest of ours. The biggest surprise was a marriage proposal during the show. We wish two the best, man its awesome to find that special someone to share a passion not only for each other but also the scene. Well until next year keep checking out the pics and we will be looking out for Gator Drag 2014!!

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In car show tradition we headed out to South Padre for the season opener, as Spring Break Jam always sets the mood for whats to come for the rest of the year. This year as they have done many times before was no different... They knocked it out of the water and man if you didn’t get a chance to go you missed it. If you follow our Youtube channel you can check out more footage of this show and others there. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtR7_W5VIq8

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Houston, TX

What do you get when you put together a bunch of Mini-Truckers from all over the states, put them in a campground area and tell them have fun for two days, oh and by the way you can camp out if you want... We’ll tell you! Its called one hell of a show. As Third Coast Nationals made its debut in the show scene it more than sure made a statement. They wanted to bring in the quality of show that you could not only enjoy the scene, but be able to have fun. There was a bit to do for everyone from the bass heads to the average show attendee. See you next year.

Photos by Jorge Hernadez Sr.

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them to ra hono gath scho race They meri

Killeen, TX

ty i r a h C s t n i a S d e Ru g g ow h S e k i B d n a r a C

Photos by Arielle Koester and Darren Woodson

When we were asked by the Rugged Saints to help them out on this little venture to host a charity car show to raise funds for their worthy cause we felt more than honored to. What the Rugged Saints aimed to do was to gather enough money to benefit school aged kids with scholarships throughout the CENTEX area, regardless of race, age, and gender, amongst other typical dis-qualifiers.

They believe that a child should earn the scholarship on merit alone.

We do have to thank everyone that come out that

Models: Eli Berruquin, Nancy Berruquinn, Sarah Dixon and Emily Stevens day as we were projected to go up against other shows in the surrounding areas, but benefiting a good cause won out that day. Attendees were able to enjoy the many entertaining events by the DJ crew, and models passing out many give aways to competitors. Kids where also thought of as an inside bouncy house and kids corner was supplied. This made the event more fun for the whole family. Again thank you to all of the local business, car clubs, solo riders and supporters for making this event a success.

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As a “Car Magazine” we normally don’t have the privilege of getting to know a lot of performers as we have Pancho V. To be quite honest it wasn’t until we sat down with him and really got to know him, that not only the respect level for what he does went up, but also a new sense for his music... So join us for a few Q&A’s and get to know the man Pancho V himself.

CCMag -When you were a kid did you always aspire to be a performer or did you dream of doing something else?

Pancho V - Since I was a kid my mom would tell me that I would write poems and words down on toilet paper, besides I was always into break-dancing and dance growing up.

CCMag - What or who inspired you to pick the type of genre you perform?

Pancho V - I was inspired to do gangsta rap because it was a life I was living. I was at the time, one of the most notorious drug dealers and gangsta’s to come out of the Galveston, TX county and Houston TX was my second home. My rap sheet is so fucking long and I was to real to the point were it cost me 10 yrs of my life to be locked away in a cage. So all the houses, cars, boats and toys was something I was doing, before Trapping music came out .... That was really my life, that’s why the streets relate to me and love me.

PANCHO V

REDEMPTION

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2008 CHEVY SILVERADO W/2011 PLATINUMM CADILLAC ESCALADE FRONT CLIP ON 28’S SPECIAL THANKS TO: OWNER - JERRY SANCHEZ (SWIFT C.C. HOUSTON, TX) SHOP - THE SET UP, 101East Little York, Suite D Houston, TX 77076

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CCMag - Not too sure if everyone knows that you were locked up, but did you think that you were going to continue your music career when you got out and what was your motivation for it?

Pancho V - I was on the run from the authorities for about a year; I did 9 years on an 11 year sentence for a Drug Case. During that decade away, I never did music because my spirit was not into it. I was well known everywhere and even in different yards I hit, people would always ask me to perform.... but I never did. I wanted to separate my life out here from in there. .. I just wanted to focus on bettering myself and getting out.

T

CCMag - Since getting out you have released “Redemption”, what was the main goal you wanted to achieve with this album?

Pancho V - The main and only goal of my first mix-tape was just.... TO CONNECT WITH ALL MY OLD FANS. So that’s why the campaign for the first year was for all of Texas to be screaming “PANCHO V IS BACK!!!”, and I did that with 4000 downloads and over 30,000 views of my mix-tape. Then the first day home I started my Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channel and in a year ....we maxed out my Facebook with 5000 friends, then added another 2500 followers.

Twitter went to 2500 and my YouTube channel got over 150,000 views on just 3 videos!! I’ve been blessed beyond belief!

CCMag - What can we expect from you in the near future?

Pancho V - I did it once, got on the radio with these songs “Nasty Girl” and “One in a Million”, and my goal is to do it again with my new shit. My goal is to get on BET, MTV and just become a National Artist.

CCMag - I know it’s a dumb question but gotta ask, What’s on your IPod/MP3 player?

Pancho V - Lots of beats, Instrumentals, 2 Pac, Future, Slim Thug, Gucci Mane, Waka Flocka, Z-Ro, Bun B, Wiz Khalifa, UGK, 50 Cent, R Kelly, TI, Kelly Rowland & myself of course, lol

CCMag - Any shout-outs?

Pancho V - Shout-out to everyone that has believed in me since day 1 when I came home and I didn’t even have a pair of draws to myself, and not a dolla to my name.

Twitter & Instagram: PANCHO_V_ Youtube channel : PANCHOVSWORLD Facebook : Pancho V Salty Water Records Issue4l.indd 26

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Worthham, TX

N W O T L SMAL

R E V O E K A

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sti Burk

by Kri photos

On March 9 th and 10th literally tak a little slee py town wa en over by s mini-trucke The city gre rs from all ove eted them r. w ith sheer e they closed xcitement a all of down s town for th custom min is gathering is. The only o f threat was th the gloomin at of rain, b ess did not ut stop show g a great time oers from ha and enjoyin v in g g the day’s a limbo conte ctivities like st. Plans ha the ve already b little town h een set and as made it’s th is mark on the you next yea show scene r! , see COOKIECUTTER MAGAZINE 27 Issue4l.indd 27

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Modesto, California

i t fi f a r G Back to 2013

The guys and gals from the Ford F100 Elite were at it again June 14 &15 for their Annual Photos by Yeshi Wesniewski Back To Graffiti Car Show.

With beautiful weather, great people and awesome rides this show did not disappoint!

The festivities started Friday night June 14th with a V.I.P Dinner for the first 150 Classic Car Show pre-entries, with live music from local band The River Rising. Saturday June 15th the 20th Annual Classic Car Show with 50/50 Raffle, Music & Vendors kicked off with some off the most beautiful rides that the area had to offer. There was also live entertainment from Elvis impersonator Rob Ely. If you are in the area this time next year you might want to stop by for an awesome time!

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The reason we chose to dedicate this one Issue to the many women in the car show industry is simply because while yes it is a male driven scene there are a lot of individual women and groups who have stood above the crowd and showed, that they too can be a force to be reckoned with. They are not only competitors, but innovators and entertainers. Each one has made an impact on our lives in one way or another. They have each struggled in their own way to achieve this against all odds.

HARD HITTERS: Code Name: Linzi Najera Rides: 2008 Honda Civic LX & 1993 Honda Civic EX

Linzi Najera is not only the Founder of one of the most influential All Girl Car Crews, “IMPORT SWEETHEARTS”, but she is also a truly hands on girl when it comes to her cars. We know personally maybe three guys that have been allowed to help with her builds, one was a water boy the other held a flash light and the third has yet to be found since he thought it was ok to tighten a bolt on her car..lol Linzi - I grew up with a dad who owned a body shop, my mom wrote estimates, my sister did book keeping for the shop and my brother in law painted.

Being around cars was comforting and it still is. I went through a rough time after I lost my father in an accident. I found comfort again in the car scene after buying my Civic and starting to mod it with encouragement from my sister. It felt great to have a sister who backed me up and encouraged me; she was my inspiration for my build. The more I got in to cars the more I felt like I was finally getting back in to life after losing my dad. I finally decided to take the next step and get my project civic, something I could build and still have my daily.

I’ve been so blessed to find the most amazing people through Import Sweethearts, I feel happier than I have in 3yrs because of my crew.

I am sponsored by Trackstar Distributors, and Jon at Trackstar has been a huge part of making my project car build a reality.

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Code Name: Naomi Uresti Ride: 2002 Dodge Ram & 1992 Chevy RegularW Cab

How did you get into the car show scene? I grew up with a motor-head dad. I worked at our family owned truck accessory store since 10th grade and then ran one of our stores for the next 10 years. My dad and I built my first lowered truck in 1995, when I was 15. I had the coolest ride in high school! I bought my second truck in 2002 and began showing the Dodge more intensively the next few years. It went through a couple transformations...

Lowered, then bagged with a ghost flame job for awhile, then a new two-tone paint job with candy flames.

Have you always been a truck kinda girl? Truck kinda girl? Yep! I got caught racing my truck at the local drag strip in high school and instead of my dad tearing into me like I thought he would.... He told me he would teach me how to get off the line faster. lol How did MAD GEAR come about? I met Matt Spence a few years after showing the dodge & we started a family with our son Jayce. We decided to bring back an apparel company he had started 10 years back & really dove into it hard. It has received such a great response in the 2+ years we have been on the scene.

What are your future goals? My dodge is currently in paint getting a makeover. It will be hitting the scene with our MAD GEAR booth. I’m glad to have it be a part of our good looking setup, but most importantly I’m proud to have it back on display again. It’s important to me to show what I’ve owned & worked on for so many years.

The OG’s remember it and still ask for it and well the newbies will learn that I’m not just a salesgirl behind the booth, I’ve been doing this before it “was cool”.

There is not many females in this scene, what would you say to encourage them to get out of their comfort zone?

I am very impressed to see how many more girls have got into the scene in the last few years. I encourage any girl to show and work on what they love, especially if it’s something a little unique as a custom ride!

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into them Ente on a

While we would love to dedicate more space to these few lovely women to really go in-depth into their lives we wanted to kind of just highlight and introduce them to you. We picked just a few of them from different walks of the car show scene from Lowriders, Imports and trucks to Clothing and Entertainment. Each and every single one has a very unique and different story to tell so let’s read on and get to know these ladies...

WOMEN OF THE CAR SHOW SCENE Code Name: Reyna Trevino Ride: 1950 Chevy Fleetline

with truck f our first olest 2002 next ns... while,

How long have you been in the show scene? I have been in the car show scene my entire life, (straight out of the womb) my family has always been involved in the car scene. I grew up in the shop with my dad and uncles as well as at shows every weekend. I guess you can say I’m just following in my families footsteps. It has always been a lifestyle I have been involved in and something I am very passionate about.

kinda drag to me h me

What got you into the show scene? I have always been involved even as a child, and now I’m more involved than ever.

nce a amily parel e into he 2+

Do you consider yourself as a role model for other females?

A role model, I guess I’ve never considered myself a role model, I’m just a regular girl living her dream. But if what I do is motivation for other girls to join this lifestyle, more power to them. If what I do can capture the hearts of little girls or other females to follow my footsteps then please do, I’d consider it an honor if someone were to look up to me.

tly in scene part proud me to ears. l the d the

d you zone? e got e any f it’s

Any future goals? My future goals, to do exactly what I’m doing now continue to live my dream out. I’d like to build a couple more cars; I’m still young and have more than a couple more builds in mind. I’d like to hit some more out of state shows, one of my favorite things to do is travel to shows and meet all these great people who share a common interest with me.

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Code Name: Terrieann Torres aka “Kueen of Krunk” M.C. Radio personality at Chop Shop Radio

Before I interviewed Kueen, I like most people only saw this larger thank life, cheerful, loud, crazy woman that was the life of any event that she hosted, but as we talked and got to know each other I discovered Terriann...

This single mother of two regardless of all of her trials and tribulations throughout her life she has withstood strong and aims to promote a positive and hopeful outlook for others to follow. As a roll model for her children and others in the community she recently went back to school to get her G.E.D. After having been forced to drop out of high school due to her brothers passing.

She admitted to her greatest victory being able to battle wanting to kill herself at a very early age and how the one thing that saved her was music, “Music is like my life, I breath it, I live it, if I could eat it, I’d eat it. Its always been a passion.”

But it wasn’t until her pink Navigator was stolen and with it her dream, “what I was trying to do was compete against men who think us women can not make it or be on their level, I had “Ladies rolling harder then guys on the back bumper” that passion was re-focused on the persona that we now know as Kueen of Krunk. She professes that if she could touch every single one of her audience members with the idea that is she made it they can too, her new goal is to get a bracelet that says “what would kueen do” so that people can connect with her and see that they too can make it.

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Code Name:Jessica Grubb Ride: 2011 F150 FX4 ‘“Pink1”

Code Name: Jennifer Mendez Ride:2009 Pontiac Vibe GT “Harley”

How long have you been in the show scene? 8ish months

Even though she is fairly new to the show scene having entered into it a few years ago as a competitor, she quickly made an impact on the scene. But that didn’t stop or start there.

She is the current editor of this magazine, which she has set on a path to make a difference on the scene by supporting everyone, “you know I know what it feels like being on the other side, going to car shows every weekend hoping that someone would at least say hey great job, or take a quick pic, but many times being dismissed cause i was that girly car with a giant sticker on the side of it” She wants to make others realize that just because it may not be “your cup of tea” we all still put blood, sweat and tears into “OUR” rides, and that’s what makes us unique in this show scene.

How did Pink1 come about? CTM Customs was looking for a late model truck for advertisement and decided to build Pink1, and we also decided to raise awareness for breast cancer with it.

Any encouragement for other girls? Yes, I would hope to show other females that chicks can do it too, better then guys!

Did you reach any goals? Yes, SEMA 2013!

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Photos by Timothy Johnson and Jessica Maler

The Gathering Williamston, SC 3rd Annual

All we have to say is that when we opened up the folder for this show not only were we very impressed with the many different rides we had never seen before, but where in almost tears as we had to only pick a few to go to print. We are looking forward to more great coverage from our East guys, way to represent!

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19th Annual Southeast

Mini Truckin Nationals

We could go into this long drawn out paragraph so you could read, but who really needs all that when you have all that eye candy on the pages to see. We will say this much great looking trucks with the rain dripping off of them, yeah PURE TRUCK PORN!!!!!

Photos By: Jessica Maler McCarthy

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COKIECUTTER MAGAZINE 39

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When I g it wasn yes, Ms

People often ask why I started “Import Sweethearts”, and my normal answer is because I couldn’t find another import all girl car crew and I thought there needed to be one. After going through some personal hardship I found “family” in the car scene, but finding other car girls was an amazing thing. Guys rarely understood what car girls actually deal with in the automotive industry. Just discovering another girl who knew what it was like to be discouraged, disregarded and often down right insulted was so comforting. It was also encouraging to see strong female role models that had made a name for themselves in the scene.

I found my Honda sisters early on but I knew there had to be more girls like us out there, and so I did the only thing I knew that worked to bring car people together, I started a crew. On April 26, 2012 Import Sweethearts page was launched. Over the last year we have gained more 20,000 likes on our Facebook page, but more importantly Import Sweethearts has become a safe community for girls from all over the world to come and talk to other car girls, and to be able to ask questions that in their local male dominated car scene might be intimidating to ask for fear of judgment.

Import Sweethearts is an all girl car crew whose goal is to bring together female car enthusiasts to create a supportive community internationally. We have members from Texas to Australia and back, girls who drive full out drag cars, drift cars, show cars and even some still stock cars. We have no requirements for membership other than a love for imports and a promise to stay classy when representing the crew. Our members are from all walks of life, including nurses, teachers, soldiers, models, and mechanics. Our members’ cars include everything from Supra’s and Subaru’s to Odyssey minivans and some pretty bad ass bikes. What brings us all together is a passion for cars, working on them and making them our own. We are NOT man haters, our guy supporters are the best and there is no doubt that without them we wouldn’t have grown as much as we have over the last year. -Linzi Najera

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A

When the “Club of the Month” question came up for this issue, there was no doubt that I wanted “Import Sweethearts”. Although I know many will say that its not an actual club but crew, I figured aren’t all clubs part of a crew? I mean the whole concept of being part of a “club, crew or group”, is to help each other out, give advice, encourage one another, have the feeling of a second family, (heck sometimes its your first) and just plain flat out have the baddest ride out there. Well I believe that’s exactly what the founder Linzi Najera of “Import Sweetheats”, an All Girl Car Crew has done, except for all girls! Besides who doesn’t love a girl who can wrench!

Don’t forget to check out her page at Facebook.com/ImportSweethearts Of course we just had to ask her the most infomous question that she gets asked all the time, “Why?” -Jen

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When I gave Linzi the difficult task of picking out 6 girls that truly represent what an “IMPORT SWEETHEARTS” means, these are the girls that she picked. Although I know it wasn’t a easy task for her, after hearing about them, I knew exactly why she hand picked them. I know what you are saying 6 girls, but there is only 5 here? Well yes, Ms. Maribeth Kennington was the 6th girl, but she made such a impact on me that I think she deserved her own little feature, but that’s on the next issue, lol. -Jen going to a show when my car was still mid work and had bondo marks all down the side but none of the Sweethearts cared. They were just happy to have found another member.

Linzi has created a great thing and I am stoked to be a part of it.”

Samantha Florek, ‘06 Scion TC

”I’ve always had an interest in cars, but it wasn’t until the purchase of my TC, the very first new car that I had bought on my own. Since then my interest in modifying my car continues to grow. And with the support from Import Sweethearts I’m proud to shine in this male dominated world”.

With a houndstooth headliner and custom painted dash, (that she knows every detail about it), she is a mother who works fulltime and enjoys wrenching on her car on the side. “

Alexandria Gantz, ‘94 Honda Del Sol Si

“I’ve lived in Oklahoma all my life and have always been interested in learning about cars. I never had any one to teach me, so when I was 19 I made my mind up. I’m not gonna wait for anyone to teach me, I’ll just woman up and do it myself. I sold my automatic SUV and bought two standards, a 1995 Integra and a 1994 EJ1. By god if I was gonna leave my house I was gonna have to drive one... and bills don’t pay themselves. I ended up selling the Integra and buying my Del Sol. It was the car I officially learned to drive on. As soon as I figured out how to drive it, I wanted to mod it. I had some amazing friends that stepped up and seen how serious I was about learning and things just sky rocketed. It’s only been a year and a half since I bought my Sol and I am where I am now. Honestly I wouldn’t be into cars like I am now if it wasn’t for the support and encouragement of my friends and mostly the patience of my boyfriend. He has been there when I have thrown wrenches and swore I was gonna push the car in the pond. But thank god he talks me down, because I would immediately regret it. My Del Sol and I have a love hate relationship but, I don’t wanna drive any other car. Meeting Import Sweethearts has also encouraged me to keep up what I’m doing, because there are more supporters than haters of car girls. It’s an amazing feeling

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D2 Racing Coilovers and I also have custom stitching on my steering wheel and shift boot, matching my Flossy Elton Heavyweight shift knob.

In my interior I have a black suede headliner and A-pillars along with custom headlights with CCFL Halos from Diode Dynamics. I haven’t begun any performance upgrades yet, but they are soon coming. Just like me, my car is ever changing. I don’t let other enthusiasts sway what I do to my car, because at the end of the day it’s my car and I don’t build it for anyone else’s approval.”

Julie Jackson, ‘89 Honda CRX & ‘95 Civic EX

“I feel I’m a rare breed as my love for cars must be encoded into my D.N.A., because I don’t remember a time in my life I didn’t like cars. I never had anyone to look up to or influence me as far as car mentors.

I just somehow found my own way over the years and eventually started working as a mechanic, so I could really learn as much as I could. I’ve never liked having to ask for help as I hate feeling helpless, plus I just love learning how things work. My stubborn ways are mostly responsible for me wanting to learn all I could once I started driving and had my very own car to finally drive and learn to customize, which happened to be a y49 1988 CRX Si. It had the infamous y49 curse and loads of issues, but it was the car that set the tone for my style and I love of Honda, well I love most custom cars in general though.

I’ve been an artist my entire life and have always been into expressing myself creatively, seeing at an early age how wild and custom people could make a car just hooked me from there. For me, my cars are the perfect medium to express myself as an artist and a speed loving Gearhead!”

Stephanie Ridener, ‘12 Hyundai Genisis

“I just happened upon the love of cars, I didn’t have a dad or older brother into cars, so I am self taught.

Any repairs need done, I tend to research on whatever I need to do, then attempt it. I’m also going to school for automotive collision and repair.

I have done a lot of minor things to my car, but in doing so I believe I put more of my personality into my car and it has become an extension of me. My car is sitting on

Vickie Rivera, ‘95 Nissan 240 SX

“I was born and raised around good ole American Made cars. My first car was a 1967 Chevy Camaro.

My dad Ray Sewell Jr., built race car motors for Stockton 99 Speedway in California and my grandfather Jerry Weaver, held the track record in Merced Up until recently. So it is safe to say racing is in my blood. My first car I got to play with was my 2005 SRT 4acr. I loved that car, but do to unfavorable circumstances I had to get rid of her. My husband joined the Army in 2008 and we have been through a couple DSMs. Then in January of 2010 before he deployed he bought me a 1990 240sx Coupe with an SR that came with it, that we had to put together. When he was deployed I got lots of awesome little presents…Turbo Kit for Valentines, fully built bottom end for Mothers Day and a Silvia front end for my birthday. When he got back we took a little break from my car and built him a 96 Eclipse GSX. Then January of 2012 we just happen to have a friend selling an s14. I fell in love instantly, so we bought that car and I have been working on it ever since.

I started drifting it and fell in love with the sport. The being in control of something out of control is such an adrenaline rush. I am in no way good yet, but I am sure practicing to get better. One day a friend showed me Import Sweethearts on Facebook and I have never felt more at home with girls who love cars as much as I do.

They are truly an amazing group of girls. When I spun my rod bearing on New Year’s Day of 2013 they were all very supportive of my new build and where I am at today. I hope to be an amazing drifter and role model for my daughter. It is hard with my husband being in the military and trying to fit events around the schedule, but I am sure we will find a way, we always do!”

2/20/2014 6:07:46 PM

Photos by Pedro Leon On March 16, 2013 San Antonio saw one of the largest gathering of car enthusiast from all over Texas and its neighboring states coming together for one cause, the local 100 club.

In its efforts Cupcake Meet was able to raise over $10,000 for this great charity. Enthusiast enjoyed the day as many give-a-ways and events to include a drift ride a-long was part of the meet.

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at Ho little Brou beau last o

Lockhar t , TX

Photos by Monito Loco and Carlos Rodriguez Models: Terry Burkheart, Gabriela Canales, Elyce Delossantos, and Ariana Claussell

While much can be said about this show we would first like to thank Joel Aaron Gammage for having us out there at Hot Rods and Hatters. We were over whelmed by the amount of classic cars, Hot Rods and Rat Rods under such a little space and still with so much room to enjoy every bit of the show itself. The stage was hopping with artist like Rick Brousards Two Hoots and Holler, Patricia Vonne, and Ruby Dee and The Snake Handlers. Of course we can’t forget the beautiful models everywhere you turned. We look forward to next years show it should be as good if not better than this last one...

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“Some women are just born with the desire to be unique and rise above the stereotype...”

Abbie Strouse, 19 1979 Datsun Fairlady 280zx

Becky Lee Carranza ,26 96 Honda Ci vic Hatchback

Chelsey Hennig,22 Chevrolet Sil verado 2500HD

Andrea Leon,28 2010 Ford Expedition

Chrystal Dimas,25 2007 Chrysler 300

Denise Farrar,20 2000 Ford Focus ZX3

Janne Maloney, 20 1998 Nissan 240sx

94 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham

Laura Lou , 18 2006 Mazda 6

Megz Shroomz, 25 1997 Toyota Tacoma

Phylicia Palmer, 25 2000 Subaru Impreza RS 2.5

Renee Wolff, 27 2010 Ford Mustang GT

Vicky Ireta , 29 1965 Ford F100

Christina Renee Castillo, 24 1985 Chevrolet Dually

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Jennifer Celaya ,32

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