Update: 07.05.06

Scion VIP Slam Jam
Scion owners celebrate Fourth of July weekend with a drag and car show bang

Perfect summer weather greeted hundreds of Scion owners and their guests at the Scion VIP Slam Jam event this past July 2. As part of the 10th annual Summer Sport Compact Slam presented by Scion, that also meant the sights and sounds of a Raceway Park summer - the glistening paint of over 1,000 show and race cars and Reggaeton beats from the Scion stage. Almost 140 polished and prepped Scions were a part of that car show tally in a special Scion VIP display area, but the Scion VIP car show was just one part of a long list of activities and features for the VIP Slam Jam.

One of the most memorable feature for dozens of owners was the first ever Scion VIP Drag Challenge, were Scion owners were given exclusive use of Raceway Park’s 1/8-mile track for two hours of rubber-burning, smile-inducing fun. Turbocharged Scion tC owner Darnell Simpkins from Brentwood, NY might have had the biggest grin though, after walking away with three trophies from the Drag Challenge – including the Quickest Scion award for his 9.27-second@81.96-mph best lap (which also earned him first place in the Scion tC category) and sharing Best Reaction Time honors with Scion xB owner Jim Sanders - after both recorded a .001 RT during the event. Viet Tu made the trip up from Ashburn, VA to pick up first place Scion xB honors with a supercharged 10.32/70.22 best effort while another Virginian, Justin Crenshaw of Fairfax, took home the quickest Scion xA trophy with his own supercharged 9.67/75.89 pass. All first place winners took home trophies as well as a Scion-edition Sparco journey bag.

The competition was no less intense once all the cars were off the drag strip and on the car show field though; no less than 23 trophies were on the line. Nevertheless, when the judging was complete, a group of deserving individuals distinguished themselves among a tough field of customized Scion xAs, xBs, and tCs that represented 10 states. In the Scion Wild category, Jose Diaz of Glen Cove, NY won Scion xA honors, Manassas, VA’s Tango Ordonez Cordero took home first place in the Scion xB category, and Chris Krivenki won the top honors in the Scion tC competition. In the Scion Mild competition, Carlos Vasquez of Glen Cove, NY topped the xA category, Bronx, NY resident Rene A. Valle took first in xB judging, and Alex Cordner of Laurelton, NY won in the tC tally. In addition, Cordero also took home the Best In Car Entertainment trophy for the incredible setup in her Scion xB. Krivenki also doubled by earning the Scion Dedication award, in no small part because of his overnight drive from Concord, Ohio to make the event. Judges awarded the Best Release Series trophy to Chris Simons, of Brick, NJ while Philadelphia, PA resident Adam Walker took home both Best Paint/Exterior and the Best of Show Scion trophy.

The biggest trophy though was awarded not to an individual, but to a team. The five foot tall Scion Project Vehicle Challenge trophy was awarded to Team Scion Evolution for their Project Scion tC following a voting process that included participation from Summer Sport Compact Slam attendees. After a nearly two-month build-off, Team Scion Evolution’s tC and Team ScioNRG’s Scion xA, the two cars were revealed in a ceremony on the main Raceway Park drag strip, in front of thousands in the grandstands. The ScionNRG xA featured an exotic resume, including an ultra-rare widebody kit, an electric paint scheme, and a custom fiberglassed rear compartment full of In-Car Entertainment. The Scion Evolution tC was also redressed from bumper to bumper in a similar way - with a bodykit, a standout two-tone paint job, and a complement of audio upgrades. In the end, the voting between Scion officials, spectators, and Scion VIPs gave the Scion Evolution Project Scion tC the nod and the oversized hardware.

In addition, Scion VIPs and their guest enjoyed watching some of the fastest import drag racing in the country – including special 6-second match races between the Titan Motorsports Scion tC and Vinny Budano’s Ford Mustang, checking out hundreds of show cars, watching Reggaeton sensations Plan B and Noztra perform live, enjoyed the Scion hospitality tower, and much more. By the time the VIP Slam Jam concluded late Sunday afternoon, there was plenty of sunburn stories exchanged, but not nearly as many smiles and memories of a special Fourth of July weekend.

For more information about Scion VIP events, please visit www.scionvip.com.

Scion VIP Slam Jam 1/8 Mile Drag Challenge results:

Scion xA

Scion VIP Slam Jam Car Show results:

Mild
Scion xA
First Place – Carlos Vasquez
Second Place – Edwin Higgins
Third Place – Andrew Deitzle

Scion xB
First Place - Rene A. Valle
Second Place – Lorenzo Hicks
Third Place - David Hersch

Scion tC
First Place - Alex Cordner
Second Place – Alex Swenson
Third Place – Stephen Sherwood

Wild
Scion xA
First Place – Jose Diaz
Second Place – Brian Samuels
Third Place – Justin Crenshaw

Scion xB
First Place – Tango Ordonez Cordero
Second Place – Lester Bracero
Third Place – Mike Rossi

Scion tC
First Place – Chris Krivenki
Second Place – Darnell Simpkins
Third Place – Jay Cee

Special Categories
Best In Car Entertainment - Tango Ordonez Cordero
Best Paint/Exterior – Adam Walker
Best Release Series – Chris Simons
Scion Dedication Award – Chris Krivenki
Best of Show – Adam Walker

Hoped everybody had a great 4th of July. Here are the VIP winners.

Update: 06.15.06