By KEN BECK, Saff Writer

CMT DukesFest rolled into Nashville this weekend transforming the Tennessee state fairgrounds into a surreal Hazzard County.

The mutual love affair between fans and cast of "The Dukes of Hazzard" had star power and car power as an estimated 100,000 enthusiasts jumped at the two-day opportunity to meet actors John Schneider, Tom Wopat, Catherine Bach, James Best, Ben Jones, Sonny Shroyer and Rick Hurst, and oh, yes, that bright-orange 1969 Dodge Charger named the General Lee. In fact, there were more than 100 General Lee look-alikes hanging around the Music City Motorplex.

The grandstands filled both days for cast shows. Saturday night featured the stars singing songs and offering some in-character shtick, while Sunday afternoon they returned for a short appearance followed by car stunts performed by stuntmen who worked on the 1977-1985 TV series.

Schneider made a joke Saturday evening to the crowd, saying, "There is an orange '69 Dodge Charger, license plate CNH320, with its lights on in the parking lot." Cast members took turns at the mike, and the fans ate it up, many pressed as closely to the stage as they could get.

DukesFest organizer Ben Jones, who played Cooter in the series, said, "Let's just let Hazzard County keep on rolling."

Wopat and Schneider, who had hits on the country charts in the 1980s, sang songs for about 30 minutes with their castmates onstage, and the crowd stood the entire time. Cameras flashed every second, while dozens of sons and daughters watched the act from atop dads' shoulders.

A bit past 9 p.m. Saturday, more than 100 General Lees and two dozen Hazzard County police cars hit the track for 10 laps, while fireworks spilled across the June sky.

"Dukes" fanatic Jenny Frazier traveled from Cleveland, Ohio, with a mint condition "Dukes of Hazzard" lunch box, the one she got in kindergarten. She now has it autographed by Bach, Wopat, Schneider, Best, Shroyer and Hurst, and was just lacking Jones' name. From her purse she pulled out the tiny Dukes T-shirt she wore at age 5.

"This is my second DukesFest," she said. "Everybody wants to be like them. They're just good people."

Also in attendance Saturday night was 6-year-old Jacob Williamson from Ohio, who was dressed in white, a miniature Boss Hogg.

"The fans are telling me how much they are enjoying it — the whole family is here," said Bach, who was Daisy Duke on the show. "I've seen fans from 5 weeks old to 95 years old."

"This is the first time I've made a DukesFest. I kind of figured it would be a big deal but not as big as deal as this," said Wopat. "It's a real expression of affection for the show."

The actor's assistant, Sheri Rettew, said, "After 15 Fan Fairs working with 20 artists, seeing this many people come out for a cast of seven is just unspeakably phenomenal."

Woody and Tonya Smith of Ocean Springs, Miss., came to town a week early for the event. Their family was victimized by Hurricane Katrina as the storm took the life of Tonya's father.

"So this was a getaway, to try to get back to normalcy. It's kind of wild and crazy here, maybe not that normal, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world," said Woody.

"I've been a 'Dukes' fan and a General Lee fan since I was 5. General Lee has been my dream car since I was a boy. Last year we went to Bristol, and I told my wife that next year we would bring a General Lee, and we did. We bought the car and completely restored it. We drove it on the track last night. That was awesome.

"We've been here all week volunteering. I had Tom Wopat and John Schneider in my truck escorting them and also Catherine Bach. Dreams come true. I will be a part of this until they end it," Woody said.

Both days the exhibit halls were filled with lines hundreds of people deep as the fans waited patiently to get autographs and snap photos beside their favorite "Dukes" cast members. Business at vendor booths was hopping as lots of "Dukes" merchandise jumped off the tables into the arms of eager fans.

"We ran out of DukesFest T-shirts, and everybody wanted one," said vendor Max McKinley, noting they sold more than 1,000 at $30 each.

Orange caps and T-shirts adorned with the number 01 were the most abundant articles of clothing. Also seen everywhere were little boys with toy cars and big boys driving big cars. The finale on Sunday afternoon starred three stuntmen from the original series jumping and spinning cars on the track.

Russell Solberg, who doubled Schneider in the series, performed a pipe ramp as he flipped a police car and spun it through the air. He said the success of the TV show "was a 50-50 deal. Tom, John and Catherine were the stars, then we had the car. The stunt guys are almost as big as the stars at this event. It's neat to have a legacy like this," said Solberg.

Tom Sarmento, who worked on more than 100 episodes of the series as lead mechanic, also did a pipe ramp and remarked that on the show, they went through 317 Dodge Chargers, with only 19 of them surviving.

The grand finale of the airborne automobiles was Corey Eubanks, Wopat's driving double, getting behind the wheel of a General Lee and jumping it off a ramp at 70-75 miles per hour and flying 202 feet. The stunt sent the crowd into a frenzy of delight.

Just before the stunts, the stars made final appearances on stage and even took photos of the crowd to collect memories of a delightful weekend in "Hazzard."

Among the thousands absorbing it all was Corey Cornett, 11, of Bedford, Ky.

"I wanted to see the General Lee and meet the cast of 'The Dukes of Hazzard.' It's just like a good family show," said Cornell, who like his friend Dustin O'Neal, was now the proud owner of a DukesFest T-shirt and an orange 01 baseball cap.

"It was great," said O'Neal, 13, of English, Ky. "Meeting the cast, seeing all the General Lees and all the stuff. I met Bo and said hi to Rosco."

"To me this was a loud and clear call from the heartland of America about the kind of programming they want and also about as much fun as I have ever had in my life," said Jones. "Over two days, about 100,000 people were here. It was a huge success and a great celebration."