Painted 'Trophy Blue' - Hover Olds 442 wins event

CRESCO - Sometimes a name will take you places!  For Mark Hover, painting his 1969 Olds 442 “Trophy Blue” was all he needed in taking home the top hardware at the Oldsmobile Club of America National Car Show.  

Sporting his recently built 1969 Olds 442 sports coupe, Mark and his wife, Jean, ventured to Bowling Green, Kentucky where they took part in the Oldsmobile Club of America Car Show, featuring “only the best” Oldsmobiles in the country and possibly the world. 

Following weeks of preparation in finding the right parts, getting the perfect paint job, washing, waxing, buffing and so much more, Mark and Jean Hover of rural Cresco, ventured to the prestigious show where only the best, the most original vehicles will show. 

Granted the paint job was important, but there was plenty more in making this vehicle top notch!

Entering the 1968-69 Closed Hard Top Class, the couple walked away with the #1 plaque in getting first place and then netting Best of Show, earning another visit in 2026 where they will move from “junior winners” to the “senior winners” class.  

“Anyone that goes to that show for the first time, they will start out in the junior class,” said Mark, who is an enthusiast in taking part in Car Shows throughout the midwest and nationally. “We had only five in our class, but you have to consider the quality of those five vehicles––they were all pristine.”

Hover stated that it all came down to points offered by the “very selective” judges involved.  Any blemish, any miss-marked number on an original window, any chip, would earn a negative mark by those judges.  There were a few little concerns by the Hover’s, noting a little chip inside one of the doors, plus a small cleaning stain they had missed ahead of judging. 

“It gets to be that critical with these judges,” noted Hoven, who is the Chief Operating Officer at Reicksview Farm.  “I’m not sure if they saw that little chip, but I believe they did see the stain, and I knew I would get knocked down for that.”

He stated they look over everything on the vehicle to see if all is original for that time frame on this 442 model.  The engine, the paint, the steering wheel, the interior to even the bolts, all need to be correct. 

The Hover’s had purchased the vehicle from Randy Banks of Cresco, who specializes in Oldsmobiles, which is what he does for a living.  

“Randy is one of those guys that has connections on getting all the right parts,” added Hover. “We took only six months to build this car (working past 2 a.m. many nights), which is really pretty quick in making something like this happen.  We did pretty much everything on the car, except paint it, where Rob Anderson, of Rob’s Body Shop in Ridgeway, showed his expertise.”