First & Foremost

For most of us, it's the first big event of the season, and for 56 years, the Grand National Roadster Show has been drawing the selected few of the elite show cars, along with a healthy portion of non-elite but genuinely excellent street rods and custom cars, to wherever it has been held. For the last two years, it has been held at the Los Angeles County Fairplex in Pomona, California.

Unlike the other three big events in the Dan Cyr Enterprises lineup (the Sacramento Autorama, Portland Rod & Custom Show, and Seattle Roadster Show), the GNRS isn't officially identified with a specific city, and the move to Pomona last year seemed to be successful. The 2005 event expanded from three Fairplex buildings into five, packed with more than 100 vendors and exhibitors in addition to approximately 500 cars and motorcycles.

The bikes were a new addition this year, and these two-wheeled rods were eligible to compete for the America's Most Beautiful Motorcycle award. For car builders of course, the greatest prize at the Roadster Show is to win the title of America's Most Beautiful Roadster, along with the 9-foot trophy that accompanies the honor. As the world already knows, Paul and Erik Hansen's Deuce, built by Tom Walsh and Steve Moal, won the award for 2005.

SO-CAL Speed Shop, headquartered in Pomona, just a few miles from the Fairplex, was distinguished with the Builder of the Year award. The GNRS featured a special section dedicated to some of the significant hot rods to come out of SO-CAL since the shop was established by Alex Xydias in 1946.

Here's an eyeful of some of our favorites from the first and foremost show of the year. For more information about attending or participating in next year's Grand National Roadster Show, contact Dan Cyr Enterprises at www.hotrodshows.com. And to see more of our coverage on the Grand National Roadster show, go online to www.rodandcustommagazine.com.