The Joker’s Wild
Competition Car Show!

Interested in showing your vehicle

but you don’t have a 20 x 20 display? 

 

The Joker’s Wild is the show for you! 

 

The Joker’s Wild Competition Car Show will feature vehicles of all makes and models. 

 

This competition is limited to 50 vehicles and will be lead by our Competition Director, Ed Denkenberger.

 
The event will be held at the Atlantic City Convention Center as part of the Atlantic City Auction & Car Show.

 

Participants will receive:


~Admission for 2 into both events ($150 value)
~Invitation for 2 for Opening Night Gala ($100 value)
~Complimentary off site trailer parking ($50 value)
~Discount Hotel rates ($129 per night – 2 night minimum)

$500 Cash Prize Awards for:

Best Custom

Best Truck

Best Restored

Best Street Rod

Best Pro Street.

Trophy awards for “Top 25” Vehicles

Competition Director - Ed Denkenberger II

 Ed Denkenberger, II, owner and operator of Superior Auto Works, Frederica, Delaware is an artist/builder in the automobile custom and restoration community with few equals. Although he is a self-proclaimed cornfield restorer, for his clients he creates golden harvests that achieve recognition and awards at the highest levels of the industry.

Ed did not begin with an established mentor: he started his business from scratch, studied, worked hard, and has essentially become a thirty-year “overnight success”: building his reputation one vehicle at a time. Ed has, long-since his formative days as a welder and fabricator, captured his dream and mastered his trade of creating top-tier custom vehicles, and recreating concours classics to their original or better-than original state. Ed’s shop is most frequently staffed solely by himself, although he has been fortunate from time-to-time to have had the able assistance of quality people. Those of us who know him call it a one-man shop.

Ed is a broad-spectrum artist. Not limited to body production, he also designs and creates custom chassis and performs award-winning fiberglass fabrication and reconstruction. As remarkable as are these skills, his “deep” custom and restorative paint is a continual show-stopper.

Ed has a motto:

“If you can imagine it, you can achieve it.

If you can dream it, you can be it.”

To that end, possibly Ed’s greatest attribute is his ability to work with his clients. He involves them in the build far beyond just the design phase. If you want to participate and have minimal or considerable skills and lots of energy, he’ll involve you. Want homework? Ed will happily instruct and guide you to positive ends. Your level of involvement depends on you – to a point of course. Then enter Ed and his unique skill sets. Your ideas about your vehicle, blended with Ed’s will result in something far more than you had anticipated.

Beginning his career forty years ago, he and wife Lori, established Superior Auto Works in 1996. Since that time Ed has utilized his exceptional conceptual abilities to guide his clients to and through their builds. Ed “visualizes” what others cannot see in the future of their build, and how it should present when completed, including the color choice. When the artist in him takes over, the palette that is his shop is used by him to create for his clients what they want, and more, in a vehicle. His custom-one-off and detailed restoration work includes products from Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler Corporation, to commercial media such as American-LaFrance, Mack, and Reo Speedwagon. Ed is “hands on” and is responsible for more than thirty complete turn-key builds, many of which have successfully competed locally and nationally. The results of his artistry are often “feature vehicles” at national events.

Ed’s work has been recognized by multiple leading publications in the automotive industry that promote automobile and truck customization and restoration. Just to mention a few of these periodicals: cover stories in Hemmings Muscle Machine, and features in such as NSRA Street Scene, Street Rodder, Hot Rod and Custom Chronicle, Corvette, Super Chevy, Classic Truck, and Trucking. Many others have imparted their readership with Ed’s work.

As important as these publications are in publicizing what the builders are producing, without the industry awards, outstanding builders such as Ed would not be recognized. Among the many honors Ed has achieved are a few as follows: 2012 and 2018 Ridler finalists, multiple ISCA, AACA, NCCC, and Goodguy awards, 2012 AACA Junior and Senior National Champion awards, and Street Rodder 2017 Top 100. 2015 saw him achieve the ISCA overall Custom Championship, and being published with two vehicles pictured in the 2015 Axalta paint calendar, for the creation of amazing custom colors and vehicles. The commercial trucks have garnered Ed six championships in the Delaware Fire Convention competition. In 2018 he was runner-up in the Hot August Nights Gold Cup. Arguably the most prestigious recognition received by any builder was at SEMA 2018, where he was conferred the Mother’s Shine Award.

Ed’s work speaks for itself, as a visit to his web site or immaculate shop will attest. Or better yet, attend a show where one or more of his client’s cars, or his personal cars are on display. You might also find Ed at a show providing a restoration seminar or serving as a judge. If so, stop and say hello. Ed loves to talk cars!

Judging Supervisor - Reggie Tibbetts

Reggie Tibbetts has owned and built over 150 vehiclas over the years to include Street Rods, Trucks, Corvettes, Chevelles, Novas and VWs. Being a tradesman in his early days, Reggie was trained in welding, woodworking and millwright work which gave him the skills to fabricate and use almost any type of equipment and materials on the cars he built.

In the early 1970’s he built and showed a Tubular Sand Buggy with his wife Margaret, named “Good Vibrations” winning 89 Best in Shows in 15 years before retiring the vehicle. Reggie stayed heavily involved in building classic and custom cars, builind classic cars for Casino giveaways and judged or managed over 33 events each years and has been judging events for over 40 years all over the Nation. He is co-owner of a nationally recognized event thesupernationals.com Custom Auto Show in Albuquerque, New Mexico celebrating its 29th Anniversary. He has officiated for Hot August Nights “Reno Cup”, Daryl Starbird Run for the Gold Custom Auto Show in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Super Chevy Magazine: 13 Shows a year nationwide, the International Show Car Association (ISCA) and the National Rod and Custom Association (NRCA) as well as many independent promoters. 

Event Judge - Steve Mank

Just a brief history…

Steve has been working on cars since he was 15/16 years of age. He came upon it honestly & must have inherited it from his Father. He built his first complete vehicle at age 19/20. It was a 1947 Ford Pickup. The ’47 Ford pickup was pretty basic build with a 302 Ford small block, 9″ Ford rear axle , a C-4 Automatic trans and no luxury items. Just a great old truck which he would love to have back!!!

He then started working with friends Fred & Denny at Lloyd Bros. Off Road Center in Waterville, Ohio.  Fred Lloyd is probably the MOST knowledgeable mechanic he has ever known. Mank worked at their shop all through the ’80’s doing everything from sweeping the floor to working on special projects.  In the mid ’80’s, Steve wanted to become a show car judge in the ISCA, Super Chevy & several other associations. Chris Dixon from Wounded Knee Motors in Toledo, Ohio helped Steve get started judging. He judged ISCA & Super Chevy shows up until the early 2000’s.  Steve also worked with Chris at his shop during this time, as well as other projects involving custom car builder & show producer, Carl Casper.

In 1989, what Steve called his “dream job” came along!  He was asked to be one of the builders on the team to build the cars for the “Batman” & “Batman Returns” movies with Chris Dixon at Wounded Knee Motors.  That opportunity lasted for many years & has turned into many other opportunities because of the exposure & travel involved with these projects.  His boss at Show Cars inc., Harold (Chub) Lorah was one of Mank’s closest friends & mentors because of all the opportunities he had trusted Steve with in the industry.

Steve is very lucky to call guys like Chip Foose, Troy Ladd, Gene Winfield, Darryl Starbird, Carl Casper and so many others as friends!

Now a days Steve is content to work at home in his shop & travel when he wants because of the great friendships he has in the custom automotive world!

One of the great opportunities that came along a few years ago was to volunteer on a tv show on SpikeTV called “Search & Restore”. This brought the next “dream job” to Mank as he became the co-host on “Musclecar”!  Owned by RTM Productions the Powerblock is home to many great automotive shows.

Thank you to Everyone who has been a part of our life in the custom car world!!! We can’t wait for the NEXT GREAT adventure!!!!!