Gallery • 4 Photos

photo or infographic by Blaine Eckert

LOW AND SLOW. At Lone Star Throwdown 2023 there were many different cool cars and trucks, but this custom mid-90s Ford F-150 caught many people's attention.

Full size trucks, mini trucks, lifted trucks, lowered trucks. Each vehicle is different and unique in its own special way. Several thousand custom cars, trucks, side-by-sides and SUVs fill I-45 and the streets of Montgomery County on the last weekend of February every year for one of the nation’s largest automotive showcases.

Kicking off the show season as spring approaches soon is the Lone Star Throwdown, the largest truck show in Texas. The show is located in Willis’s back yard every year at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Conroe. Enthusiasts come from all corners of the United States to witness some of the amazing fabrication work on display and get together with people who share a common interest or passion with them. I finally had the opportunity to see for myself what it is like to participate in a weekend full of cool cars and trucks, big aftermarket brands and people who share the same interests as me.

Since I could not attend the show on Friday, my dad and I woke up early Saturday morning so we could beat the traffic coming in. We had some difficulty with registration and entry since it was our first year, but we eventually got it figured out. We have been to this show before, but just as spectators, and I have to say, it is very nice to drive around the fairgrounds as opposed to walking all of it.  After driving around for a little bit, we parked the truck in the grass and talked to a couple of people who showed some interest in our hard work. We then met up with my mom and sister and, since I brought a camera, my dad drove us around some more and I got some pictures while on the move. My mom said it was the most people she has ever seen at the fairgrounds, even more than the county fair and cookoff. After that, while we were roaming around, we noticed a guy from Tulsa, Oklahoma doing freehand pinstripe work on some trucks. We decided to get in on some of the action and get some work done to our truck. If you have never seen freehand pinstriping, search it up on Youtube, it is awesome to watch. Sunday was a lot like Saturday, but there were fewer people and some of the big aftermarket outlets were packing up to hit the highway for their long drive home.

Every year, the experience is always worth the spectator entry fee, but when we got to see what it was like to actually register a vehicle, it brought a whole new perspective that we have never experienced before. This year’s Lone Star Throwdown was definitely one to remember, and we can’t wait to go back next year. We met some of the coolest people and saw some amazing works of art in the form of sheet metal.