This Saturday is the 6th Annual Master’s Miata Club Bug Splat Rally. We meet at a local restaurant, drive around for about an hour and then end up at an ice cream place for dessert and awards.
Awards are usually, but not limited to, Biggest Bug, Most Bugs, Fewest Bugs and the fan favorite, Closest to the Dot. I give everyone one of those Avery Dots of about 1/2″ in diameter and tell the drivers to put them any where on the front of their car that they want. The one that splats a bug the closest to that dot wins a prize. One year I gave a tube of Close-up toothpaste as a prize for this one. I have used a bottle of Bullseye BBQ sauce too. Other prizes have been a bottle of Mr. Clean to the Fewest Bugs winner and a lot of Dollar Store plastic insects.
When I started running this rally back in 1999, I needed a cool trophy for the Biggest Bug award. I wanted something like the America’s or Stanley Cups that would go home with the winner, but return every year to be given to the next winner. I asked my golfing cubicle mate if he had any old trophies collecting dust in his attic I could have. He said he had the perfect example for me. Tim supplied me with a 3′ tall trophy. I pulled the brass golfer off the top and stuck on a giant rubber bug. I also replaced the year display on the bottom with a Hot Wheels Miata. Beautiful, something any Miata owner would be proud to display on his mantle for a year.
Here is a picture of the 2001 winners and their prizes:
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/05: 273