Hot times and hot wheels
enjoyed at annual show
By sue m. morgan
Staff Writer
PHOTOS BY VERONICA YANKOWSKI Fans line up to check out hip hop artist P. Diddy’s vehicles (above) at the Funkmaster Flex Celebrity Car Show, held at Old Bridge Raceway Park Saturday. At left, Funkmaster Flex, a disc jockey from New York’s Hot 97FM radio station, greets fans who attended the car show.
OLD BRIDGE — As the temperatures and humidity rose, so did the excitement when hip-hop fans gazed at the hot rods and other wheels belonging to some of today’s hottest music stars at a very modern type of car show.
Approximately 25,000 enthusiastic spectators converged upon Old Bridge Township Raceway Park to gasp and gander at the cars, trucks and other vehicles displayed during the second annual Funkmaster Flex Celebrity Car Show and Drag Race, sponsored by New York radio station Hot 97-FM. Flashy, well-oiled and artistically decorated vehicles owned by hip-hop artists including Wyclef Jean, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Busta Rhymes, Cam’ron, Foxy Brown and Flip Mode Squad captured the attention and imagination of their visibly enthralled fans.
Jean himself, formerly of the New Jersey-based Fugees, even made a personal appearance as he proudly let fans look over his vehicle collection including two sports cars, a pink Cadillac and a moped.
Popular radio personality and hip-hop guru Funkmaster Flex greeted delighted fans entering the show. Two other radio station disc jockeys spun compact discs, and set the mood for fans choosing to dance around the displays.
Township police and Raceway Park management reported few problems other than the grueling heat and traffic jams.
Mike Napp, the owner and president of Raceway Park, was pleased with the turnout and praised the mostly youthful crowd’s endurance in spite of record-breaking temperatures.
"It was wonderful," Napp said. "It was hot, but basically it was wonderful."
"There was an enormous amount of star power," Napp said of the celebrities who graced the venue.
VERONICA YANKOWSKI A 1980 Chevrolet pickup truck was converted into this intimidating vehicle in memory of Sept. 11. It was on display at the Funkmaster Flex Celebrity Car Show, held at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park on Saturday.
Police, who had set up a command post at the racetrack for the day-long event, reported only minor incidents.
"It was really quiet [and] well-run," said Lt. Jack Sweeney of the Old Bridge Police Department. "The main thing was the traffic."
Bumper-to-bumper traffic stretched from the park’s exit to Englishtown Road and to Route 18 for about five hours in the latter part of the night, Sweeney noted. The show ended at midnight.
Altogether, 30 officers manned the command post, and four special officers directed traffic, Sweeney said. After 6 p.m., more officers came on to assist the day shift with crowd and traffic control, he added.
Many of the officers assigned to the day shift continued to work past the car show’s closing time, having been on duty since 6:30 a.m., Sweeney noted.
During the event, a show patron from Somerset reported the theft of his 1995 Honda Prelude, valued at $21,000, from one of the racetrack’s parking lots between 2:30 and 7:40 p.m. Another patron, reportedly a Massapequa, N.Y., resident reported that his 2002 BMW M-3, valued at $55,000, was removed from another lot between 3 and 7 p.m. There are no known suspects in either theft, police reports indicate.
Another patron from Walden, N.Y., reported the theft of his wallet and its contents from his front pants pocket between 3 and 3:45 p.m.
Ticketmaster handled ticket sales for the show, which the radio station advertised as sold out, Napp said. Only about 100 tickets that were not picked up from the racetrack’s will-call booth were sold at the gate, he added.
"It was extremely peaceful," Napp said.