Ever since the incredible turnout at the Jump meet in February earlier this year, Trace Carson (aka TrackSharkPhotography) has been working hard on ways to make the meet more accommodating and exciting for all the attendees. Trace began doing small meetups and occasional drives about a year ago with only a handful of cars attending. These meets/drives began to catch traction as more people began to notice the caliber of vehicles that were attending along with the fact that they were very well organized. Not only has Trace made it a point to have fun at these gatherings but to also have a plan that he sticks to with backup spots to park or designated routes on drives.
With the explosion of "meets" in the area there has been an extremely saturated line up. Having 5 meets a week just to see the same 10 cars can be very tiring and start to dissolve the hype around that next time you can bring your car out and show it off. The surplus of meets can accommodate specific people that have differing schedules etc but to truly make a meet great you can't have one every couple of days. Trace has made a point to only have this meet at the JUMP building every few months. One large downside to it's popularity however is the venue along with volume that the meet is held at requires some sort of monetary investment to keep running.
This brings up a very important point. When you have a meet that has vendors, a rented venue just for the meet, and a fee to get in with your vehicle, you have a car show. This isn't to devalue the fact that this "meet" was the best one the Treasure Valley has seen (yes even better than Formfest) but in most peoples minds a car meet is somewhere anyone can show off their car, at no cost, and hangout with their friends. After talking with Trace it's label is most likely going to change just as the meets have changed and evolved over time. This is something that Trace does best with the increasing popularity of these events is that he is constantly gathering opinions, ideas, and extra help to make each one better than the last.
Something about this show that makes it so popular is the variety of vehicles that show up. At this one there were even quite a few vehicles from Utah who drove four plus hours just to attend. Not only were there stance, muscle, and super cars but there were lots of cars that rarely see the light of day or have been in build mode for the winter/past few years. This sort of mix allows everyone to see some of their favorite vehicles and to see some that would become their new favorite. All the vendors brought out their best to show off and converse about with everyone but the most walked section has to be BK industries/Garage Slick. The cars in their area ranged from high level super cars to some of the most modified stance and racing vehicles in the valley. This variety shows the level of reach that Trace has gained in such a small amount of time and is big testament to the amount of passion he puts into his work.
One major thing that Trace had constant input for was the introduction of reserved spots and areas for vendors to show up and sell/promote their stuff. This being the first time it was implemented it went extremely well with the organization and accommodation from the venue to even be parked outside of the regular stalls. Not only was the vendor aspect a big improvement but also the entrance/exit strategy for the parking garage was drastically improved as the last meet was a cluster of traffic. Those two things combined with more security, bathrooms, and opening up the entire garage/adjacent parking lot to fit nearly double the turn out of the last meet brought the level of meet/show up another notch in the area.
That's not to say things can't be improved upon however, as they always can be. There were still issues with the line getting into the meet, people trying to enter the venue early, and ultimately the venue filled up entirely within the first 45 minutes of the meet itself. But these things are inevitable and were expected of Trace and all his staff/volunteers that did their best to route people to overflow areas and apologize for the inconvenience. For the next show that Trace is putting on he's already considering doing it at a much larger venue with possible awards and adding more to the event to accommodate the increase of attendees. I can't wait to see how Trace and his team continues to evolve and grow with the show.
Thanks for reading!
-Josh Brown
@luckyclub.us
Don't miss the next show! Be sure to follow Trace @tracksharkphotography on all social media!
Lots of extras below, Enjoy!
