Cruise control: Classic cars roll in for Stockton Cruise Nights at new location

The cars begin arriving before the heat has left the pavement.

They roll into Waterloo Gun & Bocce Club one by one: polished classics, lowriders, hot rods, modern builds — their paint and chrome catching the summer light.

At Stockton Cruise Nights, the vehicles tell a story. They are first cars, long-delayed dreams, retirement projects, family connections and years of work made visible.

A 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger. A 1988 IROC-Z Camaro. A hot rod shipped from New York. Each has a different owner, a different history but the same purpose.

For Craig Townsend, his Dodge Dart is part of his life story. He’s been driving the car since 1986. His father bought the Dart, but Townsend quickly claimed it as his own.

“I’ve never been in a relationship,” Townsend said. “This is my relationship. I take care of it, and it takes care of me.”

He brought the Dart to the grounds of the Waterloo Gun & Bocce Club on north Ashley Lane on Opening Night of Stockton Cruise Nights in May. The free, family-friendly event runs the fourth Friday of every month through October. It was born after an earlier iteration that populated the Miracle Mile shut down last year.

According to event organizers, the move to Waterloo was intended to create a safer and more organized experience as Stockton Cruise Night continues to grow. The private venue offers more space, better parking and a more controlled environment, organizers said, while allowing the event to add more vendors, VIP parking and family-friendly activities. Organizers said the Miracle Mile could no longer sustain the size of the crowds and number of cars, with traffic congestion and safety becoming major concerns.

The 56-year-old has restored the Dart at least twice. Keeping it running has taken money, patience and a willingness to invest in something that is never really finished.

“I just throw money into the wind,” he said. “It gets worse every year, but I do spend everything I have on it.”

The summertime Cruise Nights bring together car owners, automobile aficionados, vendors and families looking for a place to spend the evening. Some attendees stopped for photos. Others leaned over engines or asked about paint, parts and restoration work. Many owners stayed close to their vehicles at a recent event, ready to answer questions.

Townsend loves that the car culture is such a community.

“We all have something in common, even though we all (are) a little different from each other,” he said. “If you notice, there’s not one kind of car, and everybody’s background is from somewhere else. That’s what I really, really like about it.”

That diversity is what sets Cruise Nights apart from more formal car shows. The event is not limited to one make, era or style. Guests can stop by a restored classic car, then walk a few spaces over to a lowrider or newer customized vehicle.

Henry Gallo had been pining for an IROC-Z Camaro since high school. His enthusiasm for classic cars has grown through the years; he liked sports cars when he was younger, and that interest stayed with him.

About two years ago, Gallo bought a 1988 convertible IROC that he’s been tinkering with ever since. He was especially proud to show off the car at this year’s first Cruise Nights event.

“It makes you feel good when people acknowledge it and say, ‘Hey, that’s a nice car,'” said Gallo, 32. “It just says all that work you’ve done, all the hard work, it pays off at the end.”

For some owners, though, that attention hasn’t always been welcome.

Cruising and lowriders have long had a complicated history in California. For years, state law allowed local governments to regulate cruising. Assembly Bill 436 removed local restrictions around cruising and repealed a state rule related to certain low-clearance modified vehicles. The law took effect Jan. 1, 2024.

For people outside the lowrider culture, born among Chicano communities in Southern California, the change may not seem like a big deal. But for some car owners, it transformed how they felt about being on the road.

Townsend remembers being pulled over repeatedly in the 1980s and early 1990s in experiences he described as racial profiling. He said being able to cruise now without that same fear “feels really good.”

Even with the change in the law, though, stereotypes remain.

Townsend said too often, people associate car culture — especially the lowrider scene — with gangs or other forms of trouble.

“A lot of people think it’s gang-related. It really (has) nothing to do with that. It’s just the style. It’s a whole different vibe,” he said.

“It’s more of a hobby, and it is a family thing.”

James Brice agreed that Cruise Nights aren’t about making trouble — or getting into any — and instead offer “clean entertainment.”

“(It’s) just something to do, enjoying cars and people and that kind of stuff,” said Brice, 66.

Then he added what many residents often lament: “Stockton doesn’t have a lot of things to do.”

Brice is still breaking in his 1968 Chevrolet Corvette (C3) “Shark.”

He’s only driven the car a few times after buying it online and shipping it to Stockton from New York. Brice remembers cruising as part of growing up. People washed their cars, went to the park and drove around on Friday and Saturday nights, he said. It was social and tied to youth in the same way certain songs or places can be.

“I’m just happy that it’s changing back,” he said. “When I was growing up, that’s what we did.”