3rd Annual Jeep Nationals makes a splash

Keegan Harris, Commonwealth Journal, Somerset, Ky.
·3 min read

Oct. 3—The Somernites Cruise Jeep Nationals presented by Don Franklin Family of Jeep Dealerships took place in the parking lot of the SomerSplash Waterpark and made a splash among "Jeepers" from across the Commonwealth, who souped up their rides and cut loose to close out the Somernites Cruise season.

Jimmy "Brew" Bruin, who describes himself as an outgoing "Jeeper" and someone who likes to have a good time, brought his '09 Jeep Wrangler and was happy to show his baby off to everyone.

"Got a lot of work done over the last two days by Jamie Hall over at Lexington Lifted," said Bruin. "I'm an administrator in the KY Hillbilly Jeep Krew, and I try to come to events like this every chance I get."

Bruin describes how the Hillbilly Jeep Krew does food drives and charity events for the people of Somerset and beyond to help the community.

The event itself saw hundreds of Jeeps parked in the SomerSplash parking lot—a chance for "Jeepers" to find community and rendezvous with other enthusiasts.

Executive Director of Somernites Cruise Keith Floyd called the event a big success and described how he felt lead to start a Jeep show following an explosion in the Jeep's popularity.

"We decided three years ago to do a Jeep show," said Floyd. "2020 was not a good year to start a show, considering COVID, but we still had about 375 Jeeps on a beautiful day."

Floyd said that despite Hurricane Ian threatening the entire Southeast of the U.S.A., they still had an excellent turnout. Floyd boasted that the Somernites Cruise Jeep Nationals had become the biggest Jeep event in all of the Bluegrass.

Floyd also took the time to mention the Somerset Tourism Commission and Jeff Kidd of the KY Hillbilly Jeep Krew who had helped sponsor the event and "get the word out" for "Jeepers" of all stripes to cruise loud and proud.

Floyd also mentioned the Sunday morning "caravan" which met at the former K-Mart parking and saw "Jeepers" pack their Jeeps with supplies to help flood victims in Eastern Kentucky.

"They've given us a list of things that they need," said Floyd. "We're working with the Love Thy Neighbor distribution center over there."

The caravan headed to Isom, KY and gave out cleaning supples, extension cords, wheelbarrows, and other items to help those affected by the Easter Kentucky flooding to clean and repair their flooded homes and businesses.

"We're trying to make it a good cause," Floyd said.

Floyd also mentioned that a key aspect the Jeep Nationals is the age of the participants.

"It's a younger crowd," Floyd said. "The hotrodding crowd tends to skew a little older, and we saw the change in the automotive world. The older guys are aging out, so we wanted to reach out to the younger demographics."

Added Floyd, "That's one reason we love to push our Mustang show. We want to remain relevant with the automotive taste."

Floyd additionally spoke about the flex competition which challenged Jeeps to drive up a steep ramp to test the Jeeps' power and the "Rattlesnake Run" event.

Thunder Stryke performed country and rock live for the crowd.

Ultimately, Floyd thanked the working people of Somerset-Pulaski County for making the event possible.