Ponies In The Smokies 2024 Sn95 Mustang Recap

We love the Ponies in the Smokies car show. However, there have been negative comments in regards to this show. Let's talk about.
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[@ssdandp]

The show is judged on cleanliness, not modifications. The judges are to judge everything as it came from Ford that way. The idea is that a bone stock V6 SN95 can compete against a car like John's fairly in the car show. As for the judging time, we recommend each judge spends 3-5 minutes per car. We just do not have time for more. We judge all the cars on Friday. Its is meant to be a fun judged show, not an MCA event.

[@SN95Power]

Thanks for clarifying some things. I think it’s a double edge sword. Giving a stock V6 Mustang the ability to win against a build like Jonh's, Greg's or Johnathan's is good for some. However in the Sn95 community some would find this shocking. I'm not sure if you are being literal with that comparison but if those are the rules people should respect it. Ponies is by far the best Mustang/Ford show and I would love to see it continue to grow. Adding a modify class would definitely help moving forward. Ultimately you can't please everyone and if you don't agree, maybe it's not the show for you.

[@thefoxchamber]

You touched on a lot of sensitive things, but I agree.

[@bushmanj85]

I believe MCA allows you to take a class on how to judge. I have been part of a very large mustang club in WA since 1985 and I really stopped going to shows around 2006 because the shows became so toxic. We would put on a 3 day show every year that attracted well over 2000 cars a year. The show was a fucking blast. Steve saleen would show up ever year, we would have dinner cruises on the ocean, racing at pacific raceways, and pony trails which over 500 cars would cruise the scenic back roads to a different beautiful location each year. It was possibly one of the biggest on the west coast. Last I heard, the club couldn't even get 200 cars to our once massive show. Multiple reasons for the decline. 1) people who signed up for pony trails, would skip the trail and take the freeway straight to the ending point, all so they could be the very first person to be in the group pic EVERY YEAR, and not allowing anyone else the chance to be up front. It was all about being the first in a large picture of cars, all for ego and status. 2) people were cheating on the peoples choice category, and all of the same cars won every year, because club members would vote for each other. 3)people who tallied the votes, would add in votes for their cars just to win, that way they could promote their mustang businesses and ensured that people that had 10 times better cars didnt win. 3) They didn't adopt to the modern times of advertising like instagram, facebook, forums, etc. I did judged category a few times, and it was quite annoying. some judges go easy on some cars (their friends) and hard on cars they want to beat. People are obsessed with trophies, and its all that matters to them. People even hand out business cards with a pic of their car asking people to vote for them. its borderline psychotic. All for a stupid plastic trophy. I think I finally grew out of the scene, and just want to drive my car on the occasionally sunny day. its not worth it to go to shows anymore. The most toxic part is the modified category. modified is considered 3 or more modifications over factory. As a kid, I literally got Boo'd one show I took my car too, all because I didn't put it in the modified category. I have a 1969 Cougar. and technically, all modifications i have on my car are factory stock options. The only modification is the paint color, which IS factory for the year, but didn't come on my car because I had a vinyl roof top option. but my hood scoop, spoiler and rims were all factory options. so in my opinion, i really only have one modification. anyways, people got insanely mad and didn't want me to show up ever again because I won my category. I was 16 for Christ sake....I didn't even know all the rules at the time, I was just excited to show up. Another time, I showed up to a show, got excited that someone had the same color car, but it was TRUE 1969 BOSS 203 cougar eliminator. I was so excited to see it that I decided to park right next to the car, and guess what, as I am backing into the stall, the owner comes over and goes "get your fucking car away from mine!, you cant have two blue cars next to each other at a show! what are you thinking" I went from being happy to instantly having my day ruined. I am like " dude, your going to win, you have a true boss 203 car, mine is just a stock cougar, I was just excited to see your car and park next to it, calm the fuck down" So I had to move my car away from him. and guess the fuck what.... he won anyways! lol. so whatever, these car shows are toxic, and I'm over it. If I go to a show now, ill pay the registration fee, but ill refuse to display my car number for votes. I just want to have fun and look at other cars and enjoy the show. I now have a 1996 Saleen S281, and I am swapping a period correct 4.6 4v in it. I dont plan on showing it, becuase I am sure all the saleen purist will get mad i swapped the motor, but fuck them all. its my car, I am having fun and thats all that matter.

[@jewiechello]

Awesome that bright atlantic blue vert at the end is mine

[@SN95Power]

Beautiful ride

[@RinerAutomotive]

Thanks for the shout-outs! I did win a pits staff award, mainly due to my unique, one of a kind modifications. The car show was all about cleanliness. Hence why i came in last in the car show even though the car was cleanest it's ever been. But people were spending hours detailing their cars and taking off the wheels to get everywhere. But like you said my car is 30 years old competing with ones that are 2 years old. I agree modifications should be weighed heavier. Although that can be a slippery slope. Look at D&E at Optima Ultimate Street Car. I suspect the dyno operator did the same on my car although i didn't have a datalog to prove it. But 245hp on a HCI 306?!? No way that's right and the car pulls hard. But i would still had been bottom of dyno competition I'm sure.

[@SN95Power]

Really happy that you entered your Mustang to represent the community. Would you do it again?

[@ironasphaltcustoms9516]

Loved your car man. And had a blast competing with u throughout the week. Just watched your dayc1 video. Super cool

[@tylerp302]

John didn’t have his hood up, and he didn’t present the car because he was running around trying to deal with the dyno issues.

[@almtyscuzzy]

As a paid car show judge for ISCA (World of Wheels), every organization will have judging criteria. It's up to the participants to understand the requirements. At World of Wheels events, we have judges who clearly understand modifications for the class they are judging. Hence, we award higher points for changes and the degree of difficulty of that modification. At the end of the day, it's a car show and an event where people can share and appreciate others' ideas and changes.

[@therealcanuwoo]

That is why i like the MCA (Mustang Club of America) judging standard.

[@greenfox3637]

Modified should be a separate class. And for the dyno mishap the run should have been redone because the operator made the mistake. Even if I’m competing against him, I want a fair comparison. I think it should have been brought to the other competitors and voted on for 1 rerun 🤷‍♂️

[@RAHSVT]

Man i wish i could have attended this next year for sure had to work this year 😢lol need to experience this and the tail of the dragon for sure

[@SN95Power]

Only 3ish hours from you. Come up next year

[@RAHSVT]

@SN95Power for sure brother God willing I'll be there

[@SV6Mustang]

Carlisle is a popularity contest... Everyone gets a voting sheet and if you can get people to swap votes with you, you will win easily. I am over it now even after winning 1st place last year. I rather go and spend time with my friends/family and enjoy the show!

[@SN95Power]

I hate public voted shows. You're right, they're popularity contest.

[@frankmueller52]

I totally agree what you saying, and I was there and closely watched Johns car , what is one of my favorite all times sn95. You actually got my Mystic at the end of your video

[@SN95Power]

You have a beautiful car my man.

[@frankmueller52]

Thank you Sir

[@ericvonhellens8822]

I always thought modified cars were separate from factory style cars. Now, I don't enter into car shows but i do love looking at them and there is a huge difference between the 2 types. Just me though. I can appreciate the work that it takes to make a show car.

[@SN95Power]

Some shows do but not this one.

[@kimberliesimmons4577]

Hopefully next year they’ll have a better judging system. John definitely has one of the baddest mods in the game!

[@ironasphaltcustoms9516]

Tha k u so much I truly apreciate it.

[@UmmYeahOk]

I tend to go to participant judged events. It’s technically not fair, as you’ll vote for your friends, but if there are actual classes, you’ll tend to also vote for things you like, even though you know that there may be several things wrong with that specific vehicle. You might not even like the car, but it fits the class, and is still done up pretty nice for what it is. Since there are so many judges, you’re more likely to get a better representation than just what one single individual thought. I’ve gone to an indoor Yellow Rose Classic show a few times. It’s mostly mustangs with a few other classic fords. They actually have grading sheets, and multiple judges. So while one judge may hate your panel gaps, another might not even notice, and the grading averages out. But that’s just it, panel gaps. If you modified your car, you might not have perfect gaps. And if you’ve driven your car at all, you might not have perfect paint. Some are sticklers, and some arent. The grading sheets average. But you go, not to win, but to simply be there. You go knowing that you will be placed in the same class as someone who spent $80k on their car and never drives it. Although, last time I did win $150 for placing 2nd at best individual display (how you decorated your spot). That basically covered the cost for entry, and the special interior paint I had to buy. My daughter was super impressed with actually winning money, but then I told her how much it costs for me to register that car annually, which, with annual inspection, is essentially the exact same. I told her of the time the car once won $1000, from Duplicolor, but then explained to her much tires cost, how I was unemployed at the time, so tires, registration, inspection, basically anything the car needed for that year was essentially being gifted to me in a form of a single check, but that the prize money meant so much more to me BECAUSE of how much the money was needed. It’s great that she could see that there was potential for monetary gain, but in that type of hobby, the investment more than likely will break you. Breaking even is it’s own kind of reward.

[@shoveI]

I almost feel like unmodified/factory fresh cars should be the afterthought or exception. We all know what a stock Mustang looks like, how many times do you want to see the same thing?

[@SN95Power]

Right

[@eddierourk]

The lesson to be learned is car show people will always complain 😅

[@SN95Power]

True, you will never satisfy everyone

[@UmmYeahOk]

There used to be a show I went to for several years called Fun Ford Weekend. I stopped going because I didn’t like the judging. Basically, if you drove your car there, you weren’t going to win. The classes were extremely limited. Best Saleen, best roush, best cobra, best engine, best paints, etc. At the time, my mustang was just a v6, so pretty much the ONLY category my daily driven v6 had a chance in was one of the top ten mustangs. Problem was, you had people who’d win best saleen, best paint, best engine, AND best mustang. So I really didn’t have much of a chance at even placing in the one single category I could fit into. I mean, logically if you have best paint, best engine, and best saleen, it should be a given that you have a best mustang and therefore not need an award for it. What also ended up happening was people were entering brand new cars. Dealership stickers still on them, and winning. I would joke about people test driving or renting them simply for the event. That didn’t seem fair. They win because their car is brand new? I drove two hours just to look at what was essentially a dealership lot, or at the very least, something that looked like a parking lot that could have existed literally anywhere else. Didn’t even look like a car show. I think I won top 10 Best Mustang twice, in the 4 or so times I went. One time my husband brought a 1992 Mercury Capri, and at first they weren’t even going to let him enter because it wasn’t a ford (there were only 3 Mercury logos, grill, trunk lid, and airbag, everything else on the car said ford, and everywhere else in the world it was sold as a ford. Manufactured in Australia, LHD for the American market, no one knew what it was. People calling it a festiva convertible or fiesta (mid 2000s so what else could it be?), and Best Import, there seriously was a class, best import went to the Fox body Mustang parked next to it!!! The Capri was literally the ONLY import there. Thankfully, they did give my husband a special “class award,” which is pretty generic, and they don’t typically give those out, but it was clear that someone didn’t think the car was worthy of an award, while someone else believed it deserved something for at least showing up and trying to be different. Fun FORD Weekend, and the only award anything that wasn’t a mustang could receive was best import or class award? I remember one previous year, best import went to modern escort, so, yeah, to give it to a mustang makes it seem like the import class should have never existed in the first place. They stopped having it for several years, tried to bring it back, but then stopped again. Fun Ford Weekend, at least the car show aspect of it was dumb. One time it was judged by some random club, and I remember just pulling in, going to the bathroom, and then returning to find a sticker on my windshield letting me know that the car had already been judged. 2 hour drive! I didn’t even take all the bugs off yet!!! Judging wasn’t supposed to even begin until 10, and it wasn’t 10 yet. So no, I did not win that year. Then again, who brings a 10-15yo v6 mustang to a car show? The last final year I went, I had the v8 swap done. No longer was I going to see people approach the engine bay only to shake their head with disappointment. (Seriously, people did this!) It was overcast, so I picked a very clever spot to park. Top down, when it started to rain, I drove my car under the bleachers behind it. I’m sure no one was supposed to for safety reasons, but as soon as I did, everyone else followed, and cars were judged with whatever rain drops were still getting on them. This was the first time I actually got communication from a judge. He told me the car was nice, but he wasn’t a fan of my black vinyl racing seats (think APC style, with your red interior) and he didn’t like the speaker wire that I had running around in my engine bay. This was a quick fix my husband did so the car would run. When I had dual exhaust installed by a professional, the safety neutral switch or something, some wire was burned onto the exhaust, and the car would no longer start. The ghetto fix bypassed it, allowing the car to be started in any gear, even drive. So I was kinda bummed because I felt that I lost due to a failure of a professional mechanic, and due to a potential anti rice movement. You see, my interior, with the racing seats, sub woofer rear seat delete, and red interior, in the mid 2000s, it was very much the first Fast and the Furious type nonsense that younger enthusiasts were into, while the older generation was not.

[@SN95Power]

Those mods in the 2000's were definitely made fun of in the forums. My Mustang is a v8 swap like yours. So I'll never look down on my v6 brothers and sisters.

[@tevinjohnson9255]

Hey bro I’ve got a 1994 mustang gt with a AODE trans it’s slipping now can I put a 3 speed c4 transmission in with no hassle without cutting or fabricating the car is EFI if that’s a yes also can I use the stock auto shift that’s comes in the car

[@SN95Power]

Cross member will need modification or aftermarket and New shifter. You can drive with stock tune but it will not be optimize. CBAZA uses some feedback from aode. Can't remember exactly what off the top of my head. Would need tune.

[@tevinjohnson9255]

@@SN95Power thanks bro

[@Sinister6Hunded]

Hate that I missed it this yr I had some things come up causing us to miss and recently sold Silverback

[@SN95Power]

Are you going to replace it with something?

[@Sinister6Hunded]

@@SN95Power so far I've got my 24 GSX-R 600 been looking at a local fox I'm considering

[@jcnpresser]

Seems like some chicken footing going on.

[@joemyatt3253]

@SN95power was john the one operating the car on the dyno?

[@SN95Power]

No he wasn't

[@joemyatt3253]

@@SN95Power Ah, well that sucks, makes sense why it didn't make power like it does. Wonder if that was intentional, just stirring the pot 😁

[@ironasphaltcustoms9516]

​@joemyatt3253 I was asked by the dyno operator to turn my car down that it wasn't nessisary to make full power since non of the rest of tha cars would make the power I would. I was confronted about that on Tuesday night. I told an event organizer about it on Wednesday that i was told/asked to turn it down and then Friday u see what happened. I feel like I said I wouldnt turn it down so it was done for me. But maybe I'm reading into it to much idk what to think.

[@joemyatt3253]

@@ironasphaltcustoms9516 interesting, sounds somewhat intentional if you ask me, im sure there were some coyote cars there that put up 4 digit numbers.

[@ironasphaltcustoms9516]

​@joemyatt3253 the 1 new gt500 made 943/660 and the 2012 boss 302 made in the low 800s Atleast in our competition. I'm sure there was more at the entire show that make close to or more than 4 digits. 1 new gt500 twin turbo car put down 1100

[@redefinecycles]

You have to remember too if you bring the same car every year. You can't just win every year.. johns car been there for years already...

[@SN95Power]

Every year a new car that nobody expects shows up. That's the great thing about these big shows.

[@redefinecycles]

@SN95Power yea I go for meeting great people and loving my car. I don't need nothing to show how cool my car is to me. Lol. Everyone has there love car. When I judge, didn't they drive there car there or trailer it. To me a trailer queen is worthless.. why build a car you can't drive places and enjoy.. but that me lol 😆

[@SN95Power]

@@redefinecycles For me, I build my car to drive it. However, I respect people if they build a show car only. That's not my jam but to each his own.

[@ironasphaltcustoms9516]

. I was in king of the smokies, which was completely separate from all of the other cars. I don't see why my car being there before should have any basis as to if it was not run on dyno properly or that I should get a lesser show score because I have had car in there normal show. I 100% understand if I entered into the normal show to not recieve an award. I honestly wouldn't re enter the car into there normal car show because of that reason. That's why after I was in elite 5 I havnt had the car there in that capacity since. But King of the smokies is an entirely different event within ponies in the smokies. And having been given an award before should not be relevant. As it is a performance and driving based competition in wich the cars in king of smokies compete against eachother throughout the week and it has a show portion where we are only against eachother.

[@redefinecycles]

@ironasphaltcustoms9516 yes I saw your car few times and it's a sick car.. at the end I would think it's all about just being with friends and family and a awesome show. I never get why people get so upset about awards.. at the end of the day it's about your dream and love for the car and who cares what other think. And I'm basing info given in the video that people got upset at the judge part.