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JSK Auto Fun Run Year Nine – Wiser and More Responsible

To mathematicians, the number 9 is the last of the root or cardinal numbers with the highest vibrational frequency of any number other than the master numbers (11, 22, 33), which gives it some unique and amazing characteristics. The special property of the number 9 is its ability to retain its vibrational energy regardless of multiplication.
2 x 9 = 18; 1+8 = 9
3 x 9 = 27; 2+7 = 9
4 x 9 = 36; 3+6 = 9
5 x 9 = 45; 4+5 = 9

JSK Auto Fun Run Grand Marshal and JSK Custom Paint and Auto Works proprietor “Uncle” Johnson Tan

To numerologists, the number 9 represents wisdom and responsibility. And this analogy is quite apt for the JSK Auto Fun Run Year Nine that was held on November 16, 2019. Originally scheduled to be held at another venue, last-minute changes created monumental challenges for Johnson Tan, the proprietor of JSK Custom Paint and Auto Works and the brains behind the annual auto fun run and car club gathering. Fortunately, there’s plenty of wisdom and responsibility among the members of the JSK Auto Fun Run team.

At the SM North Edsa parking building, the Early Bird registrants are welcomed by the JSK ladies…

… while the JSK Custom guys prepare the sports cars.

JSK Custom shop foreman Miguel puts on the 001 sticker on Johnson Tan’s Nissan GT-R.

The atmosphere at the car park is kept lively by participants’ cars with killer audio systems.

Instant Car Show

During the planning and promotion of this year’s auto fun run, the JSK team limited the number of participants to 700 vehicles to fit the smaller space offered by the new venue. But with the last-minute changes, the event moved back to its original home – the Fontana Leisure Park in Clark Pampanga. As was the now-customary practice, the participants gathered at parking lot building of SM City North Edsa mall in Quezon City and by 9:00 AM rolled out into the Saturday morning traffic on EDSA.

Four gorgeous German performance cars prepare to take flight…

… to be joined by a flock of winged Honda Civics (and those without wings).

A large contingent of Mitsubishi Mirage models line up to join the convoy…

… including this highly customized model with a see-thru flexiglass hood.

The 700-vehicle convoy snaked through Balintawak and entered the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), where there were two toll lanes opened exclusively for the JSK Auto Fun Run participants. The convoy then drove on the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), exited at the Clark North tollgate in Pampanga, and drove towards the Fontana Leisure Park, where the parking space in front of the Club House was transformed into a virtual mobile car show festooned with a lot of banners from major sponsor Bridgestone tires.

Grand Marshal Johnson Tan’s red Nissan GT-R is followed into the Fontana gates by a MINI Cooper…

… while Bumblebee, a modern Chevrolet Camaro, follows closely.

Shaira Tan led the way with the JSK Auto Fun Run 2020 Toyota Supra…

… while her brother Kim followed in his Subaru BRZ sports car.

Trying to Limit the “Auto”…

A mobile car show may not have been Johnson’s initial idea when he held the very first auto fun run in 2011 with a 70-vehicle convoy driving from Valenzuela City to Subic. But the line grew to a 180-vehicle convoy in 2012, 300 vehicles in 2013, 510 vehicles in 2014, 1,059-vehicle convoy in 2015, 1,182 vehicles in 2016; 1,052 vehicles in 2017, and 1,016 vehicles in 2018. “We purposely limited the number of vehicles to 700 this year because of the venue constraints”, announced Johnson. “But next year, we will prepare early and try to make a world record with a 2,000-car convoy.”

The road to Fontana was occupied by a large number of Mitsubishi Adventure AUVs…

… a long line of Mitsubishi Mirage subcompacts…

… and Mitsubishi Montero Sport SUVs.

The Kia Picanto club is ably represented by a group of creative members.

From SM North Edsa to Clark, car lovers along the route were treated to a long convoy of custom cars, led by a 2020 Toyota Supra driven by Johnson’s daughter Shaira Tan and a 2018 Subaru BRZ driven by his son, Kim Tan, while Johnson marshaled the route in his 2017 Nissan GT-R R35. The 700-car convoy included a couple of modern Chevrolet Camaros – a supercharged ZL1 and an wrapped RS/SS, a Porsche 718 Cayman, several BMWs, MINIs, a heavily-modified Jeep Wrangler, a trio of sinister-looking black Ford Expeditions, a fleet of Mitsubishi Mirages, Kia Picantos, Mitsubishi Adventures, Montero Sports, Honda Citys, and a lot more.

When our “sweeper” media car arrived at Clark, there was still a long, long line of cars queuing to enter the Fontana grounds.

Vehicles of the participants include a 2019 MG RX5 mid-sized SUV…

… 2019 Kia Stinger luxury sedan (driven by Monch Henares of Monchster Chronicles)…

… as well as a heavily customized Jeep Wrangler.

… While Adding More “Fun” to the Run

Upon arriving at the Fontana Club House, participants found JSK Custom’s award-winning 1964 ½ Ford Mustang show car displayed at the center of the reception area. The fun part of JSK Auto Fun Run Year Nine was held at the Fontana Ballroom and began with a few fun games and raffles before the lunch buffet was opened. To reward the early registrants, Johnson held a special “Early Bird” raffle where the top prize was a brand new Yamaha Mio Sporty, which was partly sponsored by Wheeltek and was won by Lowell P. Ruiz. The raffle stubs of Lowell and the other Early Bird raffle winners and registrants were placed back in the tambiolo so they have another chance of winning the prizes in the major raffle draw.

The grand raffle prize, a brand-new 2019 Toyota Wigo, was displayed at the entrance of the Fontana Club House…

… while the JSK Custom 1964 1/2 Ford Mustang show car was displayed at the lobby.

MINI cars lined the entrance of the Fontana Club House.

Wheeltek’s Suzuki Pampanga displayed the 2019 Suzuki GSX sports bike.

Like in every year, there were the traditional fun games like the hamburger-eating contest for the men; the hotdog-eating contest for the women; and the longest line for the car clubs. The award for the car clubs with the most number of auto fun run participants was captured this year by Team Mitsubishi Adventure Philippines (MAP), while the East Crew came in 2nd and Mirage Philippines (MPH) came in 3rd. Johnson raffled off hundreds of prizes including flat-screen TVs, overnight stays at Midori Hotel, car accessories, wheels, tires, car care products, gift certificates, and many more. A photo contest, sponsored by Zhiyun Philippines, saw members of the Kia Picanto Club walk away with the P10,000 cash prize and the Zhiyun Smooth 4 3-axis smart phone stabilizer.

The parking area became an instant car show with a supercharged Camaro ZL-1…

… and a sinister trio of big bad black Ford Expeditions.

Inside, host Johnson Tan and emcees Glen D. Bayan and Mika Umali start the ball rolling with raffles.

Lowell P. Ruiz smiles as he sits on the 2019 Yamaha Mio Sporty that he won in the Early Bird raffle.

The Winning Box

As was done in the previous year, 14 lucky men and women from the participating car clubs were called on stage after their names were drawn from the raffle tambiolo and each participant picked one of the 14 pretty female models who were each holding a white box with letters that spelled out “J-S-K-A-U-T-O-F-U-N-R-U-N-9”. Most of the boxes contained attractive major prizes like tires, wheels, car care kits, gift certificates and the like, but only one box holds the key to the top prize – a brand new grey 2019 Toyota Wigo, which was partly sponsored by Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) and the Toyota Fairview dealership.

The Golden Pavilion of the Fontana Club House was filled with auto fun run participants.

Johnson Tan and the emcees pose with the lovely JSK Auto Fun Run Year Nine ladies.

Male participants gobble up their pieces in the Hamburger Eating Contest…

… while the women are a bit more demure in the Hotdog Eating Contest.

And like last year, Johnson would try to bid for the contents of each participant’s box using car accessories and additional cash. Playing “Piyesa O Kahon”, which is now a JSK Auto Fun Run staple and spin of the old popular game show, “Kwarta O Kahon”, Johnson would reveal the contents of the box after the participant has made his final choice whether to stick to the box or succumb to Johnson’s offer. The winning box with the key to the brand new Toyota Wigo was with Ariel Sevilla, who was overjoyed to win the grand prize.

The Mr. and Ms. JSK Auto Fun Run winners pose for a souvenir photo.

Participants get to choose from 14 boxes held by 14 lovely ladies…

… while Johnson bids for the contents – “Piyesa o Kahon?”

The grand prize 2019 Toyota Wigo was won by Ariel Sevilla who resisted Johnson’s bids.

Already Looking Forward to Year 10

“The JSK Auto Fun Run has grown beyond my wildest dreams”, declared Johnson. “It has become an annual fun gathering of car enthusiasts. We look forward to seeing 2,000 vehicles in the convoy to celebrate the 10th year of the JSK Auto Fun Run!” Proceeds from the JSK Auto Fun Run Year Nine will go to the late actor Paul Walker’s Reach Out World Wide (ROWW) Foundation and Bahay Kalinga of Valenzuela City. Immediately after the event, sponsors like Bridgestone tires expressed their interest to participate in next year’s auto fun run, especially with the world record attempt at having a 2,000-car convoy.

Fontana Casino and Leisure Resorts big bosses enjoyed the fun activities.

JSK’s constant sponsor Meguiar’s showcased their car car products….

[/highlight] … as did Zhiyun and their electronic and digital products…

… and GAT German Technology engine performance enhancers and restoration products.

For his part, Bridgestone Philippines Marketing Head Allan Santos sees the event as the appropriate venue to promote road safety, driving courtesy, and having right mental attitude for each and every drive. “Bridgestone tires would like to contribute to the safety of all motorists and we see the participants of the JSK Auto Fun Run series as the ambassadors of safety and car club camaraderie. We encourage them to promote road safety by being examples on the road and we’re thankful that a portion of the event allowed our mental awareness guru, Ms. Olivia Yao, to talk about the right attitude while driving”, said Allan.

Bridgestone Marketing Manager Allan Santos with Ms. Olivia Yao talking about Road Courtesy and Mental Health Awareness for road users.

Johnson Tan poses with some of the participants of the JSK Auto Fun Run Year Nine.

The JSK Auto Fun Run Year Nine was presented by Bridgestone Tires, SM City North Edsa, Fontana Leisure Resorts and sponsored by Toyota Motors Philippines, KIA Philippines,10-Inch Lights and Sounds, Mad Films, S5S Autohub, Decal Republic, Amaron automotive batteries, Slimmers World, Zhiyun Philippines, X1R, Holiday Spa, Manila North Tollways Corporation and SCTEX, Green Cross Incorporated, GTechniq, Monster Energy Drinks, Clark Development Corporation, Pioneer Mighty Gasket, Aikka Color Mixing Specialist, Karl Wash carwash services, Keon Sondra,Stage Line, Scarecrow House of DJ, Diamond, Auto Transporter race and show car carriers, Top 1 Synthetic Oil, X-1R Performance Products; Sea Oil fuels, RAW Performance, Back Stage Events, Hap Chan SM Manila, Jeff Abalos, Gas To Diesel Conversions, K92 Automotive Finishes, Meguiar’s, Auto Domain car accessories, SM supermalls, A-Toy Bodykits, Ben’s O.K. wheels and tires, Salon 360 International, A-Toy Body Kits, Jet Car, Icarus shirts, Team Loft 21Lights, the Zen Institute, Venteny Lifestyle Card, and Toyota Fairview.

Special thanks to ace photographer Roy Eusebio for the photos used in this story.

One comment

  1. Good morning,

    Nice article.m sir/mam. Love to read it.
    But if you dont mund, I just want to correct the name of our club. Its Picanto Pilipinas not Kia Picanto Club.

    Thank you and more power!