CleanTools is proud to announce that Gene and Earlene Elpers of Evansville, IN were crowned the winners of the 2009 CleanTools Legend Cup award with their 1946 Chevy Pickup Truck "Ballistic". They were onsite to accept the $5,000 cash prize along with a stunning perennial trophy that stands over five feet tall and honors the best of the best.
Constructed over a period of 7 years, Ballistic features hundreds of body modifications ranging from a 1937 Ford-inspired grill to a one-piece molded cab and bed combination. The truck is powered by a fuel-injected 6.1 Chrysler Hemi V8 and backed by a Chrysler transmission. Gene described the honor of winning the CleanTools Legend Cup as "Super Good!" and that the key to the truck's success has been the attention to detail. "Everything had to be right and had to look just right," Gene added.
"Weve built our business with only the best of the best," CleanTools Founder Bill Stuart said. "Its always an honor each year to present the CleanTools Legend Cup award to one of the Select Six cars chosen from a field of hundreds of entries. Vehicles like Ballistic epitomize our best of the best standard and will be remembered for years to come.
Over the course of the three-day event, the CleanTools Legend Cup elite advisory board (consisting of eight of the custom car building industry's most prominent leaders) slowly narrowed the competition to find the best of the best. The Top 20 entries were announced on Friday, Jan. 23. Then on Saturday, Jan. 24 these were pared down to a select group of six finalists. Ballistic was chosen as the winner from these six finalists on Sunday, Jan. 25.