For our family, Battle In Bama has become more than just another car show on the calendar.
Somewhere along the way, it became part of our story.
This year will mark our fourth consecutive year attending Battle In Bama, starting back in 2023 and continuing through 2024, 2025, and now heading into 2026. What’s wild is when we first decided to go, we truly had no idea how much this event would eventually mean to us or to the journey of The Customized Ride.
Back in 2023, we were still picking shows partly around family adventures. Since Panama City Beach was only a few hours away, we decided to combine a small family trip with our first experience at Battle In Bama. Honestly, I wasn’t even fully sold on going at first. But my friend Allen White kept telling me I needed to experience the event for myself. He kept saying, “Trust me… you need to go.”
He was right.
That first trip quietly changed everything for us.
On the way home, we stopped at a Cracker Barrel in Jacksonville, Florida, and while sitting there eating, I casually uploaded a clip we filmed during the night meet. It featured a Smokey and Bandit cosplay moment with the black Trans Am being chased through the crowd by the sheriff’s car.
At the time, I thought it was just a cool clip.
I had no idea it would become the video that changed our entire trajectory.
That video exploded to 4.9 million views and became our first truly viral moment. We went from roughly 10-15 thousand followers to nearly 30 thousand almost overnight. Not long after that, we crossed 50 thousand followers and honestly never really looked back after that point.
Looking back now, Battle In Bama became the first event where The Customized Ride stopped feeling like “just a social media page” and started becoming something much bigger.
What makes the event special isn’t just the vehicles either.
Yes, the builds are incredible. Lifted trucks, bagged trucks, classics, hot rods, OBS builds, custom fabrication, paint, audio setups, and some of the wildest custom vehicles in the country all come together in one place. The event has continued growing into one of the South’s premier custom automotive gatherings and now takes place at the legendary Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. The 2026 event is scheduled for May 28-30 at Talladega Superspeedway and continues to bring together Battle In Bama and OBS Nationals into one massive weekend experience. ()
But for us, what makes Battle In Bama truly special is the atmosphere surrounding it.
It’s the people sitting in lawn chairs beside vehicles they’ve spent years building.
It’s fathers and sons walking rows together.
It’s couples sharing a passion project.
It’s friendships reconnecting in parking lots.
It’s the night meet energy.
The conversations.
The memories.
The culture.
Over the last few years, we’ve realized automotive culture was never really just about cars at all.
It’s about connection.
And honestly, Battle In Bama helped us realize that.
This year feels different too because it will be the first Battle In Bama where we fully arrive understanding what The Customized Ride is actually becoming.
Not just a page that posts car videos.
But a brand built around automotive culture, storytelling, family, memories, and community.
Cars may bring people in.
But stories are what make people stay.
And for our family, Battle In Bama will always be part of the story that helped build us while we were trying to build a brand.
The Customized Ride covers car shows, car meets, car events etc..