Grand National Roadster Show 22

Feb 2

February 2022

Normally, I wouldn’t cross town for an indoor car show but the Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS), ‘The Grand Daddy of Them All’ is not your usual car show.

Celebrating its 72nd edition, the O’Reilly Auto Parts GNRS presented by Meguiar’s is so much more than a car show. Housed in seven huge buildings at the Pomona Fairplex, you can typically find more than 500 show cars inside as well as hundreds more during the Saturday drive-in.

The pinnacle of the GNRS has since its inception in 1950 been the award for America’s Most Beautiful Roadster sponsored by ARP Automotive Racing Products. This year, 11 cars vied for the 9-foot trophy and the win went to Jeff Breault and his ’34 Chevy Roadster ‘Lucille’ designed by Eric Black and built by Tim Devlin’s Devlin Rod & Customs of Wichita, KS. It was a worthy winner.

Also sponsored by ARP Automotive Racing Products is the Al Slonaker Award named after the founder of the GNRS. Getting to be a very toughly contested competition, the Slonaker Award goes to none roadsters and this year attracted 12 entries. They ranged from Gary Stell’s stunning ’52 VW coupe to Dan Duffy’s ’61 Chevy Impala. The winner was Pat Gauntt’s radical ’32 3-window coupe built by Troy Ladd’s Hollywood Hot Rods with body and paint by Mick’s Paint.

Talking of VWs, the annual special exhibit in Building 9 featured Hot VWs and it was a stunning display of every type of air-coolness.

This year’s drive-in celebrated 90 years of the 1932 Ford with 90 ’32 Fords sponsored by SO-CAL Speed Shop. It was a moving display as many of the cars were touched by the late Pete Chapouris who was involved all his life with the car hobby and hot rods in particular.