The Inagural Grand National Truck Show was held at The Fairplex in Pomona, CA on September 16-17, 2023. Although the week-end was gray and overcast, it didn’t prevent hundreds of trucks and vans from turning out for the the first ever Grand National Truck Show. Two exhibition halls were filled with trucks as were as the streets and alleys between and around the buildings. There were 18 contenders to be the first World’s Most Beautiful Truck and all 18 could easily have been that truck.
WORLD’S MOST BEAUTIFUL TRUCK OF 2023
Greg Tidwell’s 1940 Ford Pickup was named the World’s Most Beautiful Truck at the awards ceremony on Sunday night.
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The 17 other contenders are shown below.
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Below is a sampling of the more than 200 trucks, vans and SUVs that showed up for the drive-in on Saturday and Sunday.
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For an inagural event, this was an awesome show and we’re glad to report there will be a 2nd Annual Grand National Truck Show (GNTS). This event was put on by Rod Shows, the organization responsible for the Grand National Roadster Show, and it was a well done event.
There were more than 400 cars, vans and trucks on display indoors, in two different exhibition buildings, as well as outside around and between the buildings. As expected, all the vehicles demonstrated creativity and workmanship. This truck below, a survivor of the 2018 Paradise Fire, has a story to tell as can be seen by the signage which follows this photo.
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The drive-in on Saturday and Sunday offered many unique vehicles.
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There were some future truckers on hand as well. Clearly, Kyree and Zion liked the 60s Chevrolets.
While Bars and Lucien were partial to the 40’s Chevrolets.
Many vehicles were adorned with great graphics and artwork.
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Another activity found in one of the buildings was the pinstriper auction. Numerous stripers were on hand striping everything from skateboards to wood panels.
All of these creations were auctioned off on Sunday afternoon with the proceeds going to the Volunteers for Veterans Foundation (VFVF).
At the end of the auction, Betty Volk, a founder of VFVF, was presented with a plaque from the GNTS honoring her commitment to the Nation’s veterans. A total of $25,000 was donated to VFVF.
After the auction, the Honor Guard from the Riverside National Cemetery presented the colors during the singing of the National Anthem.
And then the awards were given out. There were 65 judged classes in addition to the coveted World’s Most Beautiful Truck. One of the classes was for the longest distance travelled to the show. The winner came from New Zealand and travelled 12,000 miles.
A thunderstuck Greg Tidwell is the owner of the 1940 Ford named the World’s Most Beautiful Truck.
Greg took home this trophy —
And this $12,500 check.
We are looking forward to the 2nd Annual Grand National Truck Show. The date has not been released.
