The History of Harrisburg – Tuner Evolution 2023

We recently debuted our first show in Harrisburg, PA, Pennsylvania’s Capital, and many might ask why we picked the city as one of our new locations, but the story behind the automotive community in this area tells it all. We could not begin to describe the importance of Harrisburg and Central Pennsylvania’s car scene without mentioning Shawn Baker. Although he suddenly passed away in 2019, he was one of those legendary pioneers, influencing everyone around him to love cars, and the culture, throwing epic shows in Harrisburg and the surrounding areas, attending bigger shows outside the area to make a name for his city, and carrying his Team (WR Team) with him everywhere he went. He was a Scion Tuner Challenge Champion, helped build so many award winning, Magazine Cover cars, and Tuner Evolution’s beginnings were deeply intertwined with the influence of Shawn Baker, his team, and his community. He was even TE’s official graphic designer from 2009-2014.

It was only appropriate that Baker came up during our Q&A with Dave Lightner and his immaculate R33 Skyline, and the whole crowd could feel Shawn’s presence on this community (I don’t think any of us could fight back the tears). We were so honored to bring back the light to Harrisburg and remember Shawn Baker’s legacy.

The collection of cars that came out to this show brought a quality with it that we do not see too often. There were countless Magazine Cover cars that had been featured in printed magazines over the last two decades and it was such a unique opportunity to see numerous builds of this stature in one place. The central PA area really had a reputation for producing these type of cars, and so many were because of Baker. After his passing, there was a void that could honestly not be filled, but Tuner Evolution could not go any longer without trying to bring back some of the spotlight that Baker had once provided. Although nobody could ever fill his shoes, his community deserved this show, and many more to come. We thank everyone who came out to the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center for this event. The sentimental nature of this show reminded us why we appreciate these builds, not because of the superficial attention, but because of the people behind them, their hearts, and our love for the automotive community.

Photos: Alex Trench