Is Bob a Fanatic - YET?
'Car guy' Bob Dierken will have two entries in Mesquite Motor Mania
‘Car guy’ Bob Dierken will have two entries in Mesquite Motor Mania | thespectrum.com | The Spectrum
Sixty-two year-old
Southern Nevada businessman Bob Dierken has been a car enthusiast all his life. However, it’s been in the past five years that the 35-year resident of Las Vegas has really become a fan of hot rods.
A native of Phoenix, Dierken has four classic cars including a ’30 Chevy, ’40 Ford, ’47 Ford and ’87 Chevy El Camino. Add in his “ground pounders”
which include an ’05 Chevy SSR, an ’07 Corvette pace car and a ’05 Dodge Hemi quad cab.
Dierken will be among an estimated 800 participants in the annual
Mesquite Motor Mania Jan. 15-18 presented on the grounds of four hotel-casinos including the CasaBlanca, Virgin River, Eureka and Oasis. To say he’s the traditional car guy is an understatement.
“I have always loved classic cars dating back to when I was 16 years old,” said Dierken, who worked as a car salesman with Fairway Chevrolet in Southern Nevada from 1974-83. “It’s one of those fascinations that never seem to leave us, no matter how old we are. “
Dierken referred to the Mesquite Motor Mania as a unique event because it’s the first car show of the season.
“In the past, the car craze went dormant before Thanksgiving,” he explained. “The last big one was the Goodguys in November in Scottsdale, Ariz. Up until the Mesquite Motor Mania, there was a huge hole until another Goodguys show in mid-February.
“There was a 2 ½-3 month void and it would drive car guys nuts. The addition of the Mesquite Motor Mania was an awesome fit.”
Dierken said he would enter two cars in the show including the ’40 and ’47 Fords.
“I bought my first car from Jim Tenney four years ago,” Dierken explained. “I bought my ’47 Ford because it represented the year I was born. Like any car, it needed a little work but it’s been worth the money I spent for it.”
Since then, Dierken purchased a ’62 Corvette roadster out of barn in Susanville, Calif. three years ago. The car was a fascinating story especially considering that it had been kept in a bubble for 18 years and had only 36,000 miles.
“I had a client of mine who told me about this car he had,” explained Dierken. “He said the car needed to go away because he had eight kids all of whom were professional people. However, everyone in the family wanted the car and he didn’t want to deal with the issues as it relates to the family.”
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They key was that Dierken recovered from the shock, purchased the little-used Corvette for a very affordable price and sold it to another car enthusiast in Arizona for triple the money.
“It was at that point that I learned you can make really good money with classic cars working them as a hobby,” Dierken laughs now. “I drive every car I own. I can’t imagine a better hobby than classic cars.”
The Mesquite Motor Mania event, presented in conjunction by the Las Vegas Cruisin’ Association along with the Mesquite Resort Association, is expected to attract entrants from multiple states including California, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho and Utah.
Among the key elements of the event will be a $15,000 guaranteed purse to the top show cars, along with slow drags, a burnout contest, roaring engine competition; a poker run; a poker trivia walk-through; street drags; special cruise night activities; and a show and shine with the peoples choice awards judged by spectators.
In addition, a car corral swap meet will also be presented all weekend.
Further information can be found at
www.mesquitecarsshows.com or by calling Art Kamm at 702-643-0000.
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