SEVIERVILLE, TN – Ready or not, the 2025 car show season has officially begun – even if you don’t think spring has yet sprung in your neck of the woods. For many Mustang fans, the first signal of the year that it’s time to get out and drive your Mustang to an event is the annual Ponies In The Smokies (PITS) show that happens at the very tail of March down in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. (Yes, the place that enthusiasts associate with the Tail Of The Dragon mountain road experience.) Well, technically PITS happens just a stone’s throw down road in Sevierville, centered at the quite nice Sevierville Convention Center.
It was long past time that the Ford Performance Club Connect program attended the increasingly popular Ponies In The Smokes show this spring after so many Mustang fans have been singing its praises while the event has been growing exponentially since its debut in 2017. The Ford Special Vehicle Registry team has been there for a few years in a row now and decided to make it three, so this year there were two Ford displays set up side-by-side inside the convention center for both the big Friday and partial Saturday show days.
PITS is actually a six-day event that started off with a Driving Experience on Monday March 24th at the nearby Newport (TN) Speedway. This BFGoodrich Driving School was managed by our friends at Gateway Classic Mustang in both morning and afternoon sessions. There was also a Shine Run that day, ending with a “Light the Still” Cruise-In at the local Quaker Steak & Lube. Tuesday was Autocross day at the speedway that included Ride-a-Longs with the Gateway crew and yet another Shine Run (as there are lots of scenic drives at the foot of the Smokies that many participants say is one of the best parts of attending PITS).
That Wednesday the 26th you could again choose the Driving Experience with Gateway at the Newport Speedway but this time with Fun Runs on the oval and more Ride-a-Longs, or even opt to check out the dyno pulls on-site. This is also the first day of the “King of The Smokies” (KOTS) competition where those who sign up have to compete in all six disciplines of the PITS event – Car Show, Shine Run, Drag Racing, Autocross, Dyno and Shotgun Alley. Gateway Classic Mustang also managed the KOTS Dyno, Autocross and Shotgun Alley segments.
Other activities took place well into that evening. Along with Day 3 of the Shine Run, there were Drifting Exhibitions with Ride-a-Longs and even a Burnout Competition. Thursday was equally as busy, starting off with a “Coffee and Camshafts” gathering at the Quaker Steak & Lube in Sevierville, as well as the big Drag Racing day over the Knoxville Dragway in Maynardville, Tennessee. The track hosted an open Test ‘n’ Tune, plus ran the #PITS List and runs for the Fastest Ford (even non-Ford) and the KOTS drag racing segment. Day 4 of the Shine Run ended up with a party at the Hard Rock Café in Pigeon Forge that packed the parking lot.
Of course, Club Connect was there primarily for the big car show on Friday that was staged at the Sevierville Convention Center from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. With so many people stopping by to get a free Mustang poster and Ford Performance wristband (this year’s color is Brittany Blue!), we barely found time to check out all of the specialty displays inside, not to mention the hundreds upon hundreds of Mustangs that filled both paved lots flanking the convention center as the KOTS Show-and-Shine judging was taking place. Friday was a partly sunny day with the temp pushing 80 – perfect for a season opener! The nice thing about closing the show at 4 o’clock was that it gave everyone plenty of time to head back to the variety of hotels in town to freshen up before venturing out to dinner at any of the myriad of restaurants that this tourist area has to offer.
We returned to our Club Connect Meet & Greet display inside the convention center for Day 2 of the Car Show on Saturday, and actually began to lose our voice a bit after talking to literally hundreds of owners and fans over this crowded weekend. With the PITS Awards Program kicking off at 2 p.m. and us running out of the 800 Mustang S197 Design Heritage color posters we’d brought as giveaways (after all, 2025 marks the 20th anniversary of the S197!), we began packing everything up for the ride back to Detroit.
There were so many spectacular one-off and specialty cars here (we especially loved the 61 Years of Mustang generational display as well as all the 93 SVT Cobras) that it’d be hard to pick the top highlight of the show. Most told us that it was all the driving roads in the area that they can explore on their own that keeps them coming back to PITS every year. We’d say it’s a combination of the venue, the cars, the people and the thoughtful work being done by show organizers that make Ponies In The Smokies a must on your car show bucket list. It proved the perfect tune-up for National Mustang Day activities planned all over the world on April 17th – as well as on the weekends before and after. We’d recommend both to jump start your fun-filled year of Mustang ownership. Get out and enjoy!
FORD PERFORMANCE PHOTOS / COURTESY JOHN M. CLOR
