For over 50 years, the Historic Denver Coliseum has provided Colorado with an extraordinary variety of entertainment and special events. Owned by the people of Denver, the Coliseum hosts comfortable seating that's close to the action. The furthest seat is only 28 rows from the floor and all seats have unobstructed views, so it's easy to enjoy the extraordinary hop competition.
One of the most anticipated shows in the Midwest housed over 30 hoppers and dancers that were ready to battle it out. With Denver being one of the last tour stops before the Vegas Super Show, the competitors tried to qualify for the event. When the competitors qualify, they are able to go head-to-head with some of the best switchmen in the industry at the finals.
As the seats filled with spectators, the show started off strong with the Street Hop class. The Street Hop is where locals from the hosting city and the surrounding area get to take their everyday drivers and put them to the test in the arena. With six competitors taking the stage, Adam Gallegos took home the crown by hitting 39 inches on the measuring stick.
In the Single Pump class, David Marquez took home First Place, hitting 72 inches with his '64 Impala. In Second Place was Shorty's Hydraulics, hitting 67 inches with his '65 Galaxie. In Third Place, Bernard Lopez hit 24 inches with his '78 Monte Carlo.
The Double Pump class was close in competition. Rogelio Loera got First Place by hitting 77 inches with his '87 Monte Carlo after a few hits of the switch. In Second Place, David Marquez hit 70 inches with his '87 cutlass. Third place went to Roy Moreno's '83 Regal, which hit 67 inches without any hesitation.
After clearing the floor, the Truck Hop started strong when Shorty's Hydraulics once again hit 92 inches with its '87 Mazda, and Ariel Avila took home Second with his '86 Mazda that hit 76 inches. In Third Place, Chris Hernandez hit 44 inches with his '84 Ranger.
With such a big show, eight competitors participated in the Radical Hop. At the end of the competition, Shorty's Hydraulics took home First Place with its radical '86 Mazda, hitting an outstanding 104 inches. Armando Nuez received Second Place with his '62 Impala, which hit 97 inches. Just a few inches short was Rob Robertson who took Third Place at 95 inches with his '91 Toyota.
With all the hopping that was going on in the arena the spectators were ready for the Street Dance competition. In the Street Dance class the favorite was again Shorty's Hydraulics. They took home First Place with a perfect score of 30 points. This was something huge because nobody had scored that high throughout the season. Following Shorty was Rob Robertson who scored a total of 26 points, and all the way from Arizona was Alex Fregoso, who took Third with a score of 23 points.
Last but not least was the Radical Dance competition that started off a little slow. Just a few minutes into the competition, it became interesting because the guys at Cool Cars and Rogelio Loera tied for First Place with a total of 25 points each. Clint Perkins took home Second with 22 points, ending the Radical Car Dance class. That First Place tie aced out any chance for a Third Place prize, leaving Ron Eggers and Rob Robertson to look at the competition from the sidelines.
At the end of the competition some of the contestants went home with fat pockets from all the cash prizes, while others just packed up and drove home. If you missed the Denver Hop and Dance Competition make sure you make it to the Vegas Super Show in October where all the cash prizes and bragging rights are on the line and many competitors are eager to take it all home.
Cool Cars' Mazda hit 62 inches. | 
Dave just killed the back bumper on his '64 Impala. |
Denver local, Bernard Lopez hopped his Blazer in the Street Class. | 
Adam Gallegos won over the competition because his '83 Cutlass hopped 39 inches. |
Shorty's Blazer scored the first 30 of the year in the Street Car Dance. | 
Trying to qualify his latest creation, Shorty's Galaxie made its debut in Denver. |
Rogelio's Monte Carlo took home a victory in the Double Pump class. | 
Rogelio's car worked well, scoring 25 points. |
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