Cars and Stars revving up for car show, burnout this week

The smell of burning rubber and the shine of cars both new and old will be around Graham this week at the 12th annual Cars and Stars car show and burnout competition. The show had a call for all bandit cars this year to be a part of the Smokey and the Bandit theme.

The Cars and Stars Burnout Competition will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 5 and the car show will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 6. Brandon Cornelius and Jay Hawkins started the show 12 years ago and for the last three years the show has been run by Cornelius and Danny Sinyard along with a committee and other volunteers.

Cornelius said they try to shake things up for the show each year to make it fresh, which is why they are incorporating the theme of Smokey and the Bandit this year.

"(...) we try to make it different every year (and) bring in somebody different every year (and) do something different. This year, for entertainment purposes, we’re bringing (...) a company called Eastbound and Down. It’s Smokey the Bandit is who it is," he said. "We’re bringing in the bandit car with the Burt Reynolds look alike. We’re bringing in Sheriff Buford T. Justice with his son Junior (Justice) and the sheriff’s car. Also (we are bringing in) a deputy’s car with the Georgia deputy and then the beer truck. They’re all coming (...) Friday and (...) that’s going to be our entertainment this year."

For the full story, see the Wednesday, Aug. 3 edition of The Graham Leader.