PLANT CITY, Florida — Seeking respite from the afternoon Florida sun, Joe Petty clambered inside his 2017 Ford F-350, turned on the air conditioning and took stock of his creation.
He bought the truck in 2019 and has since poured in thousands of dollars and untold hours. It is glossy black with trim in “Blue Lives Matter blue,” he said. The same shade as his T-shirt. Color-changing lights line the wheels. His last full tank of gas cost $180.
Beyond his windshield stretched hundreds of other souped-up cars (lights flashing, speakers blaring) and spectators who had flocked to Plant City for the second annual Lifted Florida, a truck show celebrating the unapologetically big and bold. Add beautiful to that roll call, some say. Others prefer brash.
