Man, that was weird…. was what I was thinking as I left the first ever Nurotag show at the Pomona Fairplex this past weekend. You may be asking yourself what Nurotag is exactly and you’re probably not the only one. Chalk it up to bad promotion or bad timing, but the venue at the event that day was pretty empty. I remember hearing about the show in passing maybe a month before but wasn’t sure what it was all about. I knew that they were from Florida and had been successful out there but quickly turning the event into a nationwide tour might not have been the best idea. No one out here knew about it. The name had floated around but you couldn’t really find a whole lot of information on the event and when you saw promotion on social media outlets, it was so vague to the point where you probably wouldn’t have even known that it was a car show…

The format of the show was different from the norm and I think that was what really detracted people from attending. There was the issue of bad promotion first of all, and then there was no model lounge of any sort (which is apparently a big deal out here in Cali), and the headlining model was someone that people within the car community weren’t very familiar with. She’s a huge name out East and is spectacular but just wasn’t relate-able to most enthusiasts. Did it have potential to be a good show? Well, yeah. The car quality was definitely on point but any time you throw a big show out here, you’re gonna get a pretty good turnout of car show competitors. It is pretty competitive out here so guys who are seeking that almighty win aren’t likely to pass up the opportunity and give one up to a fellow enthusiast. An interesting development at this event was the introduction of a 3-on-3 basketball tournament that was set to take place within the show. If anything, that would be cool to check out because it is something outside of the norm and who doesn’t like basketball? Unfortunately, when it came time for the show to start, for whatever reason (maybe due to liability issues), the tournament never even took place. There was an area where the tournament was set to take place and it was at a pretty prominent part of the show, which was right smack dab in the middle of it, and there was no longer a tournament. Guys were still playing basketball but it was done sparingly, as people just aren’t accustomed to playing basketball at a car show. Still some made use of it and had a game going on, but by then, it all just seemed a little out of place because there was literally no one at the show other than the people who had cars there, and there was a pick-up basketball game going on…

I don’t know, it just didn’t go the way you would expect an event to go. I think it was a little ambitious to take a new event on a nationwide tour so soon, but I guess that goes with the whole “No Risk, No Reward” mentality. Sadly, there was little reward to be had at this show. Someone who attended the Norcal Nurotag event told that that the Norcal event was even worse, as it was completely baron. I didn’t even know how to process that because this show was about as dead as I had ever seen in all my years in the import automotive community. You know how you go to a car show to set-up and you have that couple of hours before the show starts where you can just roam around as you please without running into anyone? Well imagine that went on for the ENTIRE DAY. People who were there were having a good time, but it seemed like the show never even started because everyone was just sleeping in their chairs or chatting within their group of friends. It was the craziest thing. The show seemed as if it was frozen in time almost. That and towards the end of the event, all the lights just turned off for no reason, came back on 30 minutes later, and the show then went on for an extra hour before people could take their cars home. In reality, it is just really hard to get a new show going out here in the West Coast because we already have so many events to go to and look forward to. I don’t know how much longer this series will last but it definitely is different and has the potential to be a lot better. It just needs some help. I had a good time because I usually have a good time at shows just hanging out with friends anyway, but if I was running the event, I’d be a little weary with the lack of foot traffic that day. I think my first indication that it would be a ghost town was when I pulled into the parking lot and, not only was there no line, the parking lot was empty…

In any case, I took full advantage of my free time at the show to just practice my photography. There was so much free space that I could have shot whatever I wanted without the possibility of anyone walking into my shot. There were some great cars there so it made it worth going. I didn’t cover the entire show in detail because it was pretty much the same field of cars that you saw at Wekfest Los Angeles, just parked at different angles. I took some photos of Mikey’s car as well as the other homies, and then just walked around and captured whatever else I thought looked good or would produce a good photo. They aren’t in any specific order. I just shot some pics, hung out, and watched some half-court basketball being played by friends. Enjoy…

Phaze2 trio with Mikey’s Integra, Noel’s Varis FR-S, and Mark aka Mizzark’s BMW M5…

Nurotag marks the first time that Mikey’s Integra has been out since Wekfest LA. The car literally came back to the Phaze2 HQ and sat until the day of this show. Not a whole lot has changed since then but we’re slowly working on it for Wekfest San Jose in August…

Though the Integra has been sitting, Mikey has taken the Phaze2 Ruckus out a couple times and sometimes he’ll even just ride it around the complex while we hang out. He loves this fucking thing…

Nothing like having a Ruckus to match the Integra. If only we can convince CCW to make a custom one-off D11L wheel to match the DC…

Credit goes out to DROW Sports for putting the Ruckus together for Mikey….

We plan to do some more minor things to it but overall, Mikey seems pretty happy with it…

Noel Barnum’s Varis Arising widebody Scion FR-S on Work VS-KF wheels and Airrex suspension…

Mark’s E60 BMW M5 also bagged on Airrex suspension and seated on 19-inch Leon Hardiritt Ordens. Front lip is an Enlaes GTS60 carbon piece…

Mikey’s Integra front end features a molded and color-matched JDM Integra SI-VTEC front lip. People always ask him why he never swapped over to a JDM ITR front end but Mikey wanted to keep his Integra original so he opted to keep the 94-97 bug-eye front. He even bought new headlights and a new front bumper just to refresh the front. You can also see in this photo how much higher his shock towers are compared to stock…

Still a couple things that need to be done to complete the engine bay but it is right where it needs to be aesthetically. Mikey wants to eventually ditch the turbo set-up for individual throttle bodies but there’s no time table for when that will happen…

Original HKS cam gears and Garrett turbocharger…

Shout-out to our boy Takeshi from Japan. Hopefully he does approve of this Integra build…

All you need in life to be successful….

Phaze2 Ken Kojima’s Vortech supercharged Z33 equipped with Airrex suspension and custom Work Equip wheels….

Tjin Edition custom 2013 Ford F-150 laying frame on Rotiform wheels…

Turbocharged DC5 RSX that we just recently saw at the Norm Reeves Honda Show a couple weeks back…

Vollkommen Design widebody WRX taking a lot of design cues from Rocket Bunny/Liberty Walk aero kit….

Floss Design’s custom BMW E91 wagon with various pieces from an E92 M3 grafted into the OEM body for a one-off look. Love how this thing came out and how much work was put into it. It almost looks as if the E91 came this way from the factory. There are so many subtle touches that you really need to see in person to really appreciate it. Wheels are custom Floss Design BBS E88…

LB*Performance/Liberty Walk widebody R35 GTR, assembled by LTMotorwerks….

Liberty Walk E92 BMW M3 coupe…

Vortech supercharged AP1 S2000 on Black Edition Volk Racing TE37SL. Notice the rear add-on flares…

Flared matte orange SW20 MR-2 on white Enkei NT03….

One of the coolest builds at Nurotag LA was this Audi S5 from Allroad Outfitters Inc….

One of the first Scion FR-S’ in the U.S. to rock a Aimgain widebody aero kit. I fell in love with this kit after I first saw it at Tokyo Auto Salon this year but I honestly wish the fit and finish on this particular build was a little better because it just doesn’t do the kit justice. I really like the wheel color and everything on the black paint as well but man, there are so many little things on this car that need to be addressed….

Vollkomen Design WTCC widebody BMW 335i sedan….

BMW M3 sedan on custom BBS LM…

Sarto Racing widebody E36 BMW M3 coupe….

Rocket Bunny Version II-kitted Subaru BR-Z from LTMotorwerks….

Jaime Cano-Carter’s GF8 Subaru Wagon looking great on Volk TE37V. I love this thing, simple as that. You rarely see them ever and this one is just executed so well. I don’t know if they even noticed but as they were driving out of the venue, we all stood clapping as they drove away, haha. So good….

Jessica Weaver modeling on behalf of LTMotorwerks….

As mentioned, there was some actual basketball being played in the middle of the show floor at Nurotag LA…

One more of the Liberty Walk GTR…

Phaze2 Christina’s UCF30 LS on Rotiform wheels at the F2 Autolife booth….

UCF20 LS400 hammered on WED’s Kranze Cerberus….

Encore Collective’s Lotus Exige S40 on copper BBS mesh….

Bryant Nguyen’s Acura TSX from Encore Collective on concave Volk Racing TE37. If he ever decides to sell these wheels I hope he hits me up first, haha….

If there was anyone who probably regretted going to Nurotag LA the most, it was probably Kerwin, the owner of this RHD supercharged H22A-swapped EG Civic. On the way to the event, he actually cracked his First Molding carbon front lip. I didn’t think it was too bad when he was describing it to me but after getting a closer look at it, seeing the giant stress cracks kinda made me cringe….

Absolutely loving the refinished/rebarreled Blitz Technospeed Z1 wheels on this BMW sedan. Z1 wheels are one of my favorites of all-time and it’s great to see someone finally redo a set. They are also one of the heaviest wheels of all-time as well, but damn, they look great, haha….

One of my favorite West Coast Euro builds is this Audi on gold VIP Modular wheels…

Jose Jaimes’ Super Street magazine-featured CR-X on Mugen MF10L…

And one more of the Phaze2 Ruckus….

After the show ended, I decided to get some more shots of the cars outside while we waited for the Phaze2 Integra to be transported back to the shop…

The Integra sitting outside as the sun began to set…

The chrome was shining bright against the golden glow of the sun…

Not sure if or when the hood will ever go back on this thing….

Tina’s LS430 looking good…

I even grabbed a photo of my daily RA3 Odyssey on WED’s TC05 while we hung out after the show…

The sunlight was peeking in through the trees perfectly so I decided to get some better shots of Mark’s M5….

That’s a wrap. Again, this isn’t the typical, in-depth coverage that you guys are probably used to but it was one of those instances where I didn’t feel it was necessary to cover the event in detail since it was mostly the same cars that you’re already used to seeing. Thanks for looking!