Street Machine Nationals coming to Du Quoin June 23-25

DU QUOIN, Ill. (KBSI) – From June 23 through 25, thousands of horsepower will come roaring into the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds fo a car show unlike any other in southern Illinois. 

It’s almost time for Street Machine Nationals, and organizer Tony Veneziano said the show draws people from all across the country and is a great boost to the local economy. 

“A lot of people [will be] staying in hotels, going to local restaurants, visiting the local shops, so definitely a great thing for the economy and the community bringing people from all around in, and then they can kind of see this southern Illinois area and what’s around there if they are from out of town,” Veneziano said.

Veneziano said the location at the Du Quoin Stat Fairgrounds is one of the reasons why this show has been coming to southern Illinois for decades.  

“Du Quoin is a great place to have it, a beautiful fairgrounds,” he said. “It has the rolling hills, the ponds. People like driving around there and showing off their cars.” 

He said one of the most impressive things about this show in particular is the creativity and ingenuity the participants put on display. 

“It shows the true passion they have for their vehicle, and they want to really make it unique. I think that’s a lot of the things they do to the car that make it unique,” he said. “You could go buy a car, but until you really do some stuff to it, then it becomes your car once you modify it and kind of make it personal to you.” 

And one of the participants, Donald Lowe, otherwise known as “Booger”, from Pinckneyville, describes what he enjoys most about this particular show. 

“One, it’s close to home. We get to see a lot of different equipment come in that we don’t see at the normal weekly shows. A lot of out-of-towners come. It’s a good camaraderie,” he said.

And Veneziano said the planning for the next show begins as soon as the previous year’s ends, but they have to rely on Mother Nature providing a nice weekend to be a successful show. 

“It takes months and months of preparation, and the biggest variable is Mother Nature,” he said. “You always hope that Mother Nature cooperates, you get a sunny warm weekend, and as long as you get good weather, everything else usually falls into place.”