Grand National Roadster Show – Timing Tower

THE 75TH GRAND NATIONAL ROADSTER SHOW, FAIRPLEX IN POMONA

admin — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 00:58:53 +0000

The 75th Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS) opened on Friday January 31, 2025 at the Fairplex in Pomona and ran through Sunday night February 2, 2025. AMERICA’S MOST BEAUTIFUL ROADSTER The winner of the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster 2025 is this 1936 Ford Roadster owned by Ross Myers. THE AL SLONAKER MEMORIAL AWARD WINNER This 1933 Pontiac sedan is the winner of the Al Slonaker Memorial Award and is owned by Bill Barbato. This was the 75th Anniversary of the Grand National Roadster Show. In addition to the 11 AMBR contenders and 11 Slonaker contenders there were about 650 cars in 9 buildings and over the three days of the Drive-In there were a total of 1,000 cars parked outside around the buildings. Below are some of the great cars parked outside at the show. This young car lover is Kent. He found a very nice 1956 Chevrolet to admire. Since this was the 75th anniversary of the Grand National Roadster Show, one building was devoted to former America’s Most Beautiful Roadster winners and former winners of the Al Slonaker Memorial winners. FORMER AMBR WINNERS: Bill Neikamp’s 1929 Ford Roadster was the first AMBR winner named at the show held January 19-20, 1950 in the Oakland Exposition Building. The current owner is the Petersen Automotive Museum. The pair of 1927 Roadsters shown below have a story. The yellow roadster “Shishkabob” and the black roadster “Inky Black” tied for the AMBR title in 1955. Shishkabob was owned by Ray Anderegg and Inky Black was owned by Blackie Gejeian. This was the only tie in the AMBR history. Inky Black is still owned by the Gejeian family. Over the years Shishkabob had been modified until it was unrecognizable. Luis Anderegg, Ray’s nephew, set out to reproduce Shiskhabob and was advised by his uncle. Unfornaturely, Ray passed away before the build was complete and Ray finished it on his own. Shishkabob proudly sits in the show honorably taking the place of the original winner. “Ala Kart” a 1929 Ford Roadster Pickup, shown below, is an iconic show car. It was built by George Barris for Richard Peters and won the AMBR trophy in 1958 and 1959. It has won more than 200 trophies, has had numerous appearances in movies and been featured in dozens of magazine articles. It was reproduced as a 1/25 scale model kit by AMT in 1961 and became one of the best selling kits in history. It was also released as a Hot Wheels car. Ala Kart is now part of the Petersen Automotive Museum’s collection. FORMER AL SLONAKER MEMORIAL AWARD WINNERS: This 1961 Corvette Roadster was the Slonaker Award winner in 2003. The original and current owner is Rich Stadelhofer. Building 9 also had a collection of George Barris built cars. One of his more notable was the Dragula Coffin dragster. The ever popular Suede Palace had many great cars on display. This year the pinestripers auction gathered nearly 50 pinstripers together to create some anazing works which were auctioned off during the show with the proceeds going to benefit the GRS Foundation for childhood blindness. The Grand National Roadster Show of 2025 was another great event. We are looking forward to next year. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ This year there are 11 contenders for America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR)- all of them Fords and all of them worthy of being the winner. 1932 Ford Roadster – owner John Mumford 1936 Ford Pheaton – owner Mike Curtis 1932 Ford Roadster – owner Scott Lorenzini 1932 Ford Roadster – owner Tony Jurardo 1936 Ford Roadster – Owner Ross Myers 1923 Ford T Roadster – Owner Chuck Stanfill 1931 Ford Roadster – Owner Ken Green 1931 Ford Roadster – Owner Peter Grant 1932 Ford Roadster Pickup – Owner Mike DeVriendt 1936 Ford Pheaton – Owner Glen See 1932 Ford Roadster – Owner Mark Bentley There are 11 contenders for the Al Slonaker Memorial Award. 1932 Ford Coupe – Owner Beth Myers 1971 Volkswagen Thing – Owner Roger Weihel 1963 Ford Fairlane – Owner Dean Nesbit 1935 International Pickup – Owner Bruce Charles 1932 Ford Coupe – Owner Amadeo Angelo 1933 Pontiac Sedan – Owner Bill Barbato 1955 Ford F100 Pickup – Owner Patrick Kelly 1938 Chevrolet Canopy Express – Owner Oscar Munoz 1932 Ford Coupe – Owner Cody Walls 1973 DeTomaso Pantera – Ower Greg Paboojian 1935 Chevrolet Coupe – Owner Greg Heinrich The GNRS continues tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. In addition to the 650 cars in the buildings there will be 1,000+ cars outside between the buildings and around the show gathering for the 19th Annual Grand Daddy Drive In. This is the 75th Anniversary of the GNRS and Building 9 holds 50 past AMBR winners and several past Slonaker winners along with historical memorabilia and displays honoring the GNRS Hall of Fame members. We’ll continue to post and will have the AMBR and Slonaker winners posted Sunday night as well as a complete article with photos posted on Monday night. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The 75th Grand National Roadster Show will be held in the Fairplex in Pomona on January 31-February 2, 2025. Above is America’s Most Beautiful Roadster 2024. The iconic show will also host the debut of dozens of incredible custom cars competing for the 75th America’s Most Beautiful Roadster and Al Slonaker Memorial Award, two of the industry’s most coveted and competitive awards. Above is the 2024 Slonaker Memorial Award. More than 50 AMBR and Al Slonaker Memorial Award winners will come together in the Feature Building, presented by the Petersen Automotive Museum, marking the largest collection of past […]

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THE 74th GRAND NATIONAL ROADSTER SHOW, FAIRPLEX IN POMONA, FEB. 2-4, 2024

admin — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 04:43:12 +0000

The 74th Grand National Roadster (GNRS) Show opened at noon Friday, Feb. 2, 2024 and the winners were announced on Sunday night. AMERICA’S MOST BEAUTIFUL ROADSTER Beth Meyers’ 1932 Ford Phaeton took home the trophy for America’s Most Beautiful Roadster 2024. The winning roadster was built by Roy Brizio Street Rods. THE AL SLONAKER MEMORIAL AWARD WINNER David Rush’s 1959 Chevrolet Impala “Bespoke” is the winner of the Al Slonaker Memorial Award for 2024. “Bespoke” was built by Steve Cook Creations and has a 518 ci LS3 engine built by Don Hardy. Below are the contenders for America’s Most Beautiful Roadster and the Slonaker Memorial Award. Following the photos of the contenders is compete coverage of the show. This year there were nine contenders for the title of America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) – 8 Fords, 1 Chevrolet; 8 ’32’s and 1 ’34. DUECES RULED THIS YEAR! Four of this year’s contenders were owner-built – James Butler’s 1932 Ford; Bob Mansonen’s 1932 Ford; Ken Thurm’s 1932 Ford; and, Ramin Younessi’s 1934 Ford. This 1932 Ford Phaeton belongs to Ken Reister of Littleton, CO. A 1932 Ford Phaeton belonging to Beth Meyers from Skippak, PA. Mekenzie Murphy of Loveland, OH owns this 1932 Ford Roadster. This 1932 Ford Roadster belongs to Bob Mansonen of Auburn, CA. A 1934 Ford Roadster owned by Ramin Younessi from Fort Collins, CO. A 1932 Ford Roadster owned by Ken Thurm of Orange, CA. A 1932 Ford Roadster Pickup owned by Gary Holyoak of Cedar City, UT. James Butler of Prescott, AZ owns this 1932 Ford Roadster. Dale Short of Henderson, CO owns this 1932 Chevrolet Roadster. The eleven contenders for the Al Slonaker Memorial Award are shown below. Clifford Mattis from Vacaville, CA owns this 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible. This 1961 Ford Unibody Pickup is owned by John Lamb from Seneca, IL. Ed Ganzinotti owns this 1956 Ford F-100 pickup. Ryan Vicklund of Anderson, CA owns this 1967 Chevrolet C10 pickup. Rod Pearce of Granite Bay, CA owns this 1957 Chevrolet convertible. This 1972 Chevrolet C10 pickup is owned by Mark DeAtley from Phoenix, AZ. Arno Aldhoch of Chatsworth, CA owns this 1968 Dodge Charger. David Rush from Oklahoma City, OK owns this 1959 Chevrolet Impala. This 1934 Pickup built by Pete and Jakes is owned by Bill Paul of Bucyrus, KS. Ed Ganzinotti owns this 1969 Dodge Charger. Steve Rajcic of LaHabra, CA owns this 1931 Ford Victoria. It was partly sunny throughout the week-end and a number of cars showed up for the drive-in. As usual there were some very interesting cars in The Suede Palace. The GNRS was host to some long lost cars such as the Cop Shop Coupe, a 1934 Ford built by Tom Prufer, unseen for 15 years. The Uncertain T disappeared in the mid-70’s and stayed under cover for nearly 50 years. It was originally built by Steve Scott and is now owned by Galpin’s Beau Boeckmann. This car was displayed in it’s barn-find state before it is restored. These two vehicles represent 50’s and 60’s style hot rods that graced the pages of magazines such as Rod and Custom. Pete and Jake’s Hot Rod Parts brought the original California Kid ’34 Ford coupe built by Pete Chapouris and Jake’s original ’34 Ford Coupe built by Jim Jacobs. Both cars were built in the early ’70’s and were featured in Rod and Custom magazine. This year Pete and Jake’s celebrated it’s 50th year in business. The theme of the GNRS this year was Street Machines Then and Now. There were several buildings featuring a variety of unique cars and motorcycles such as the Renteria Bros. Pro-Mod dragster. There were 20 Lincoln Zephyrs and they varied from completely stock to radically customised. The red Zephyr below was brought to the GNRS by the Peterson Automotive Museum. As in past years, over 30 artists participated in the Pinstripers’ Gathering. A Pinstripers’ Auction was held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday where the art created by these talented individuals went up for auction. The proceeds from their work generated $56,000 for the charity Teen Challenge of Southern California. Even though the forecasters threatened rain for the week-end, many people came to the Fairplex and were rewarded with a great show. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS) will be held February 2-4, 2024 at the Fairplex in Pomona, CA. The GNRS has announced the inductees into the Hall of Fame. The photo below shows the 2023 Slonaker Award winner. HERE’S THE LATEST INFO ON THE UPCOMING GRAND NATIONAL ROADSTER SHOW. timingtower.com WILL BE AT THE GNRS THROUGHOUT THE WEEK-END AND WILL HAVE FREQUENT UPDATES, INCLUDING PHOTOS OF AMERICA’S MOST BEAUTIFUL ROADSTER ON SUNDAY NIGHT. WHAT: Hundreds of the country’s finest hot rods, customs, lowriders, muscle cars, trucks and motorcycles will take center stage at the 74th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Grand National Roadster Show, presented by Meguiar’s. More than 500 hot rods will fill the Fairplex buildings, while another 500-800 vehicles will join the event each day for the annual Grand Daddy Drive-In. The legendary show will be highlighted by the debut of dozens of incredible custom cars competing for two of the industry’s most coveted and competitive awards: America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) and the Al Slonaker Memorial Award. And you don’t want to miss the high-horsepower salute to “Street Machines: Then & Now” in the feature building. WHEN: Feb. 2-4. The Grand National Roadster Show opens to the public Friday, Feb. 2, from noon-8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 3, from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 4, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. WHERE: Pomona Fairplex, 1101 W McKinley Ave. Pomona, CA 91768 WHAT TO EXPECT: America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) Award Contenders: Nine roadsters will compete for one of the most coveted awards in hot-rodding history, […]

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THE 72nd GRAND NATIONAL ROADSTER SHOW, Jan.28-30, 2022, Fairplex at Pomona — SUNDAY NIGHT – JUST IN – AMBR AND SLONAKER WINNERS

admin — Sat, 29 Jan 2022 23:20:36 +0000

Suppose you dropped a book but when you picked it up it fell open to your place. The Grand National Roadster Show did just that by coming back to normal after losing a year to the lockdown. The buildings at the Fairplex this year were again filled with cars, vendors and spectators as they were in 2020. The 72nd show, January 28-30 featured 11 contenders for America’s Most Beautiful Roadster and 12 contenders for the Slonaker Award. The Grand Daddy Cruise-in was expanded to three days and a large gathering of ’32 Fords was held outside to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the popular hot rod. Look below in the Friday posting for the contenders and winners of the AMBR and Slonaker awards. Also below are photos from the gathering of the ’32 Fords. Again, one entire building was devoted to a feature vehicle, this time “A gathering of Hot VW’s” and there were a lot of amazing VW’s. Below is the BIGGEST VW we’ve ever seen. The guy standing next to it for scale is about 6′. But the license plate says it all “HUGE BUG”. This Bug bus went the other way – it started as a 23 window VW bus and it’s been shortened There were a lot of amazing VW’s on display. There were a lot of nice cars at the drive-in . One interesting car at the drive-in was a tribute to the Paradise Fire. The top photo shows a 1973 VW Thing sitting abandoned after the Paradise Fire. The car was burned November 8, 2018. Jon Winters got a hold the burned out Thing and rebuilt the running gear, electric, etc. The Thing now sits on a fully restored Ghia chassis. The exterior of the car was straightened a bit and sprayed with a clear coat. The car is now driveable and makes the rounds. The rectangular hunk of metal sitting on the folded down window is the original license plate – post fire. Another popular stop was the Suede Palace. This building houses customs and rat rods. SUNDAY; posted last day of show 2022 AMERICA’S MOST BEAUTIFUL ROADSTER – JEFF BREAULT’S 1934 CHEVROLET ROADSTER Congratulations to Jeff Breault and the team at Devlin Rod & Customs on winning America’s Most Beautiful Roadster. Pat Gauntt’s 1932 Ford Coupe is the Al Slonaker Memorial Award winner. Hollywood Hot Rods is the builder. All the contenders for America’s Most Beautiful Roadster and the Slonaker Award can be seen below. As always the competition is fierce for these awards. The culmination of the Grand National Roadster Show is the presentation of the awards and selection of America’s Most Beautiful Roadster, but the rest of the week-end had plenty to offer. As shown below, this year marks the 90th anniversary of the 1932 Ford – the Deuce – and the Grand National Roadster Show held a gathering. FRIDAY; posted first day of show The 72nd Grand National Roadster Show roared back to life after it’s forced shut-down in 2021. When the show opened Friday morning the buildings were full of cars and vendors and by noon it was obvious that even a virus can’t dampen the spirit of car enthusiasts. There are 11 cars contending for the coveted title of America’s Most Beautiful Roadster and, as always, the winner is not obvious because each roadster is spectacular. Below are the contenders. This 1932 Ford roadster belongs to Henry Verbeck of The Villages, Florida. This 1929 Dodge roadster came from Surrey, BC Canada and is owned by Ewald Penner. Joe Dooling brought this 1932 Ford roadster from Freeport, Texas. This 1927 Ford roadster is owned by Edward McSweeney of Newhall, California. Joe Faso of Stockton, California owns this 1935 Ford roadster. John Mumford of Portola Valley, California owns this 1933 Ford roadster. This 1928 Model A Ford roadster is owned by Ryan Root of Wyandotte, Michigan. A 1932 Ford roadster from Wellington, Texas owned by Robert Owens, Jr. Kevin Williams from Long Beach, California owns this 1932 Ford roadster. This 1934 Edsel 40 Speedster roadster is owned by Bruce Wanta of Bellevue, Washington. This 1934 Chevrolet roadster came from Wichita, Kansas with Jeff Breault. The announcement of America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) occurs Sunday night. The AMBR award is open for all United States built roadsters, roadster pick-ups and touring vehicles 1937 and older. The winner’s name is added to the perpetual 9 foot trophy. The above ’32 Ford roadster was the 2020 AMBR winner and is owned by Monte Belsham of Houston, BC. Above is the newly restored 1953 AMBR winner originally owned by Dick Willams. The Al Slonaker Memorial Award is given each year in addition to the AMBR award. This year, twelve hot rods, trucks, customs, street machines and VW’s are competing for the Slonaker Award. This award is given in memory of Al Slonaker the founder of the Grand National Roadster Show. Below are the Slonaker Award contenders. This 1936 Ford Cabriolet is owned by Tim Frey of Lodi, California. This 1932 Ford Coupe came from Nipomo, California with Jim Forteiny. A 1961 Chevrolet Impala from Marietta, Georgia and is owned by Dan Duffy. This 1969 Chevrolet Camaro is owned by Jesse Lindberg of Anderson, California. This 1956 Chevrolet truck is owned by Ken Fontes from Arroyo Grande, California. This 1932 Ford 3 Window Coupe came from Lafayette, Louisiana and is owned by Sonny Freeman. This 1955 Volkswagen convertible is owned by Art Shapiro of Claremont, California. This 1958 Chevrolet Corvette is owned by John Bollier of Molalla, Oregon. A 1940 Chevrolet Suburban owned by Amadeo Angelo of Gold Creek, Montana. This 1952 Volkswagen sedan is owned by Gary Stell, Jr. of Corona, Calfiornia. A 1932 […]

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THE GRAND NATIONAL ROADSTER SHOW, Pomona, CA

admin — Fri, 24 Jan 2020 04:37:15 +0000

THE GRAND NATIONAL ROADSTER SHOW, Pomona, CA AMERICA’S MOST BEAUTIFUL ROADSTER 2020 A 1932 Ford Roadster owned by Monte Belsham! There were 10 contenders for the title of America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR). All of the contenders can be seen on Friday’s post (below). THE SLONAKER AWARD 2020 As we explained below, this year, the Slonaker Award became a competition judged by a panel for best overall engineering, craftmanship and originality. Ten cars vied to take home the Slonaker Award along with a check for $12,500. All of the contenders for the Slonaker Award can be seen on Friday’s post (below). A 1936 Willys Model 77 owned Ron and Vicki Ernsberger! The 71st Grand National Roadster Show, January 24-26 at the Fairplex in Pomona was full of cars, trucks, dragsters, vendors and spectators. The Model T above is known as the Kookie Car. It was originally built by Norm Grabowski and driven by Ed Burns in the early 1960’s TV show 77 Sunset Strip. The feature building contained over 100 vintage drag racing vehicles, from the 50’s era to current cars. This included short wheelbase “bare bones” rails to current 200 mph, nitro-burning funny cars and included many historic and iconic cars. Drag racing protective gear has come a long way as evidenced by the difference between the 60’s era aluminized coat and pants and the modern fire suit. Note the modern full-face helmet. Drag Racing Then and Now was the theme for this year’s feature building. The photos above show Rich Guasco’s AA/FA Pure Hell sitting next to Ron Hope’s AA/FA Rat Trap. Seeing these two Fuel Altereds side-by-side again brings back memories of the days these two altereds sat together at the start line. Fireups of nostalgia nitro dragsters occurred during the three days of the show. The fireups were in memory of long time drag racer John Ewald. Big Red, the world’s fastest 1969 Camaro was on display. The car owned by Dan Gottlieb and driven by RJ Gottlieb has been setting records and winning races ever since it won the La Carrera road race in 1988. The legendary Camaro has recorded a top speed of over 266 mph on a 1 1/2 mile course…incredible. Big Red will continue to scorch the asphalt at a meet in New Mexico this February and continue competing in Vintage Road Races. The 15th Annual Grand Daddy Drive –in was held on Saturday and Sunday. More than 700 cars were seen between the buildings and around the show. Drive-in cars are shown below. There were a lot of interesting and unique cars in the various buildings. Below are just a few. This Model T, known as Uncertain T, traveled to the show from New Zealand. The LAPD Racing Team A/Gas Camaro, Tony Foti driver. This 1958 Chevrolet Impala was brought to the show by Mackey’s Hot Rods of Huntington Beach, CA. Hemi Under glass, now owned and driven by Mike Mantel. “The Suede Palace” was filled with traditional Rods and Customs. The cars varied from rusty patina to shiny new paint. This building also featured some 50’s and 60’s race cars. Rockabilly bands played all weekend. Over 30 artists came together for the Pinstriper’s Gathering. Their creations were auctioned during the three-day course of the show to benefit Teen Challenge. They set a goal of $100,000 to help those struggling with problems of addiction and self—destructive behaviors. Plans for future Grand National Roadster Shows are underway. Next year the feature building will invite VWs and other air-cooled cars. For the 2022 show the featured cars will be 1932 Fords. The year 2024 will be the 75th anniversary of the Grand National Roadster Show and will feature a building filled with past Americas Most Beautiful Roadster award winners. Friday 1/24/20 Grand National Roadster Show AMERICA’S MOST BEAUTIFUL ROADSTER CONTENDERS 2020 This is the 71st year of the Grand National Roadster Show. The winner of the coveted title of America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) not only takes home a trophy but also a check for $12,500. The 10 contenders to be the 2020 AMBR are shown below. Tom Fifth’s 1932 Roadster Gary DeVine’s 1932 Ford Roadster Pick Up Ken Katashino’s 1932 Ford Roadster Walter Sigsby’s 1915 Ford Roadster Brandi Laird’s 1934 Ford Roadster Gary Mower’s 1932 Ford Roadster Dustin Smith’s 1927 Ford Roadster Monte Belsham’s 1932 Ford Roadster Mike Dwight’s 1932 Ford Roadster John Ivy’s 1927 Ford Roadster AL SLONAKER MEMORIAL AWARD 2020 CONTENDERS Al Slonaker founded the Grand National Roadster Show. In past years one car or truck was selected to receive the Slonaker Award. The criteria for the winning car or truck, was that it not be an AMBR contender. This year, the Slonaker Award will become a competition judged by a panel for best overall engineering, craftmanship and originality. Ten cars are vying to take home the Slonaker Award along with a check for $12,500. The Slonaker Award is one of the most coveted trophies for non-roadsters. The 10 contenders are pictured below. Will Sanders’ 1968 Camaro Lane Folliott’s 1956 Chevrolet 210 Wes Dokter’s 1956 Chevrolet Pick Up Bill Strunk’s 1950 Jaguar Mark V Richard Hammer’s 1965 Pontiac Acadian Joe Scheck’s 1957 Lincoln Mark II Bob Cummings’ 1955 Ford 2 Door Wagon Kent Matranga’s 1971 Plymouth Baracuda Ron Ernsberger’s 1936 Willys Pick Up Ralph Holguin’s 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air Check back here throughout the week-end to see some of the other fine cars at the show. Sunday evening we’ll post the winner of the AMBR 2020 and the Slonaker Award 2020 winner. Monday evening we’ll post a complete article with photos of the show. Below is the 2019 AMBR winner.

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