Former UFC Champ Rich 'Ace' Franklin to appear at 'Town Fair Tire World of Wheels' on March 14

Feb 25, 2010 - Ultimate Fighting Championship superstar Rich Franklin will make a personal appearance at the thirty-sixth annual Town Fair Tire World of Wheels (www.worldofwheels.com) custom car show.

The show rolls into Boston's Bayside Expo Center Mar. 12-14 with its now familiar mix of custom cars and special attractions, and Franklin will make his personal appearance from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Mar. 14.

Ultimate Fighting Championship is an international mixed martial arts sports association formed in 2001. With a UFC Middleweight Champion title and an overall record of 27-5-0, Franklin has made a name for himself in the mixed martial arts world. A black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, he also has trained in karate, boxing and Muay Thai.

He won his UFC Middleweight Championship title when he defeated Evan Tanner on June 05, 2005. As a result of his fighting prowess, Franklin was tapped to coach competitors on the second season of television's "The Ultimate Fighter," and he made his acting debut in the film "Cyborg Soldier."

Although Franklin is known for his brawn, he holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics and a master's degree in education and was a high-school mathematics teacher prior to his mixed martial arts career.

The Town Fair Tire World of Wheels, holder of Bayside's weekend attendance record, each year attracts local creators of custom vehicles of all types, representing millions of dollars worth of one-of-a-kind hot rods, customs, street rods, collectibles, race cars, antiques, restorations, tuners and more.

The show also always offers spectators the chance to meet and get free autographs from celebrities, to see specialty vehicle exhibits and to be entertained by many other attractions for the whole family.

In addition to Franklin, television and movie star and director Henry "Fonzie" Winkler, who became famous originally as The Fonz on TV's "Happy Days," Debby Ryan, who plays Bailey Pickett on the Disney Channel's "Suite Life on Deck," and WWE diva Melina will make personal appearances at the show. Appearance times are available at www.worldofwheels.com.

Special automotive exhibits will include Drag City USA and Motorama. Drag City USA will feature Kalitta's '67 Bounty Hunter, Prudhomme's '70 Wynns Winder and Garlits' '60 Swamp Rat III, '62 Swamp Rat IV and '66 Swamp Rat VIII. Motorama will show off traditional rods, customs and bobbers not seen at other Boston-area car shows. Spectators also will be able to shop an automotive memorabilia and toy show

The 7-foot-tall Comic Bot singing and dancing robots will perform in the Town Fair Tire booth during the weekend, and East Coast Championship Wrestling and Boston Derby Dames roller derby demonstrations will be staged in the show's Action Arena all weekend.

Thirty-sixth annual Town Fair Tire World of Wheels show hours are Friday, March 12, 5-10:30 p.m., Saturday, March 13, 10 a.m.-10:30 p.m., and Sunday, March 14, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults, $5 for children 6-12, free for children 5 and under.

Discount coupons for $2 off adult and children's tickets will be available at participating Town Fair Tire stores. Boston's Bayside Expo Center is located off I-93 at Columbia Road and a short walk from the MBTA Red Line's JFK/UMass stop. Free shuttles will run to and from the T stop during show hours.

Up-to-date show information and appearance and demonstration times can be seen at the show's Web site, www.worldofwheels.com, where enthusiasts can click the Facebook link to become fans.