As soon as the contest ended, Ford Performance gathered up the Hurty family and shepherded them to the front of the Parade of Fords (courtesy of Carlisle Events PR Manager Mike Garland) that was set to roll from the Fairgrounds into downtown Carlisle. Patch got to ride along the parade route while standing and waving from the bed of our custom Ford Performance SEMA-build 2019 Ford Ranger. It was quite the day.

Saying that the Hurty family is now a Ford family may be quite the understatement. After experiencing the Ford Performance Ranger pickup, Patch’s father, Blaine Hurty, was set on owning a Ford truck of his own. Just a few weeks after their amazing adventure at the Carlisle Ford Nationals, we received an ecstatic phone call from the Hurty family exclaiming they had just purchased a 2017 Ford Performance Raptor in Oxford White. With three energetic kids and a passion for adventure, the Hurtys felt the Ford F-150 Raptor was the perfect family vehicle.

Thanks to Ford’s ongoing support for enthusiasts, what started out as simply finding a broken-off Ford emblem along the side of the road had turned into a full immersion into the Ford ownership lifestyle for young Patch and is family. Although Patch already received his first Mustang from none other than Henry Ford III, we have no doubt his future will likely see a full-scale Mustang and many other Ford products over the course of this young man’s lifetime.