The Ford Econoline had always been put to righteous use.
Brad Sharp of Lincoln bought a rolled church van, cut off the top and windshield and converted it into the winning entry in the Chop Top Challenge. This year's event required entrants to remove the top from a vehicle that was never offered from the manufacturer as a convertible and drive it some 2,000 miles between Chicago and New Orleans, gathering points for wacky challenges and side trips along the way.
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Brad Sharp of Lincoln installed a working hotdog cooker and a Jagermeister chiller/dispenser in the back of the winning Team Van-Tastic entry into this year's Chop Top Challenge. The features were a big hit when contestants met at the contest's halfway point in Tullahoma Tenn. on March 26.
Brad Sharp drives his Chop Top Challenge-winning E350 van near Beatrice recently. This year's contest required entrants to remove the top (windshield included) from a vehicle that was never offered from the manufacturer as a convertible and drive it some 2,000 miles between Chicago and New Orleans, gathering points for wacky contests and side trips along the way.
Wearing a full-face helmet to counter the lack of windshield, Brad Sharp drives his Chop Top Challenge-winning 2000 Ford E350 van near Beatrice recently. He and teammates Austin Fricke and Tony Corbin drove the Team Van-Tastic entry to victory in a wacky contest that took them on a 2,000 miles odyssey from Chicago to New Orleans.
For extra giggles, Brad Sharp incorporated a working time clock so he and his co-drivers could punch in and out for their driving stints on the 2,000-mile odyssey of the 2026 Chop Top Challenge between Chicago and New Orleans, in which the Nebraska-based Team Van-Tastic claimed top honors.
Exhaust tubing welded over the abbreviated body panels on Brad Sharp's winning 2026 Chop Top Challenge entry protected passengers from cuts while the Team Van-Tastic logo was inspired by Elton John's "Captain Fantastic" album cover. A purple stripe was added during their 2,000-mile odyssey from Chicago to New Orleans as a challenge that netted the team extra points for painting their vehicle en route.
Among the many gags incorporated into the 2000 Ford E350 Team Van-Tastic Chop Top Challenge entry of Lincoln's Brad Sharp, was a permanently attached fuel pump nozzle that attracted a lot of bystander reaction and the attention of two law enforcement officials in Arkansas. Sharp cut out the fuel door panel from another van of the same color in a salvage yard and riveted it in place, with the nozzle also bolted in place so that it couldn't fall out. The investigating officers were more amused than irritated after confirming there was no safety issue and allowed the team to continue.
Part of a heavy-duty, metal bedframe - purportedly from a mental institution - was converted to a cattle guard and welded to the front of the 2000 Ford E350 that Carried Nebraskans Brad Sharp and teammates Austin Fricke and Tony Corbin to victory in the 2026 Chicago to New Orleans Chop Top Challenge.
While Brad Sharp's Team Van-Tastic Ford E350 offered little in the way of creature comforts for this year's Chop Top Challenge, a rollcage, built by Joel Wilgers, stiffened up the chassis after the top half was removed and provided a measure of safety. The disco ball was for smiles.
