Paul Robinson, the primary organizer behind the Texas Outlaw Challenge coming up next month (June 20-23), has one rule for everyone coming to the Houston area for the sixth annual event: Bring the horsepower—all of it.
The Texas Outlaw Challenge kicks off on June 20 with the Stampede Street Party at Kemah Boardwalk.Once again, Robinson and company are adding a new feature to the event, which already includes the two-day Gunslinger Poker Run with a $20,000 first prize, the GPS Outlaw Shootout, the Stampede Street Party, the Miss Outlaw Bikini Contest and last year’s new addition—the Outlaw Corral, a boat buying and selling stockyard that had more than $1 million in deals in 2012. Joining the listing of activities this year is the new Steel Horse Stampede, a custom bike show contest at Endeavour Marina in Seabrook on Saturday afternoon.
“The custom bikes have taken off and half the guys who come to our event have those toys already so we figured why not make them part of the show,” said Robinson, adding that the event is way ahead of last year’s registration numbers, which saw a jump from 80 to 125 registered teams. “On Saturday, when we’re on the water with the boats, the vendor village is usually unpopulated. So this year we’re encouraging people to show off their motorcycles and compete for the $5,000 prize for the finest ‘Outlaw HP.’ ”
The Gunslinger Poker Run will begin on Friday afternoon with a single stop at Kenny’s Casa for a Texas-sized pool party.Robinson also confirmed that Friday’s first premier stop at “Kenny’s Casa”—the home of Kenny Armstrong who owns the 48-foot Marine Technology Inc. catamaran Phantom and sponsors the event through his company DeHumidification Technologies, LP—is on the schedule for the third straight year.
“Kenny’s place is our first and only stop on Friday after the GPS Outlaw Shootout top-speed runs where participants are given a GPS and get to run their boats in protected water with a full-on safety crew,” Robinson said. “Each year our 100-mph gets bigger and bigger. I wouldn’t be surprise if someone breaks our 169-mph event record set a couple of years ago by Howard Davis.”
Based on past participation and the expected turnout next month, the event’s Houston location is proving to be the perfect “East meets West” demographic. In fact, Robinson said Mercury Racing is planning to attend the event with its all-new promotional trailer.
“I could never have predicted the growth of this event,” Robinson said. “I have a good job at NASA so I don’t do this to get rich—I do this for the community. Each year we add a new charity so now we have six recipients. We’re expecting to raise even more money this year.”
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