The Kern County Fairgrounds was brightened both by the appearance of over 1,000 hot rods and by the weather which changed from a rainy Friday to a Sunny Sunday.
In addition to trying to see 1,041 cars, A lot of activities went on throughout the week-end; i.e. The Safety Team was busy inspecting cars; Women’s World offered a lot of hand-made items, a Swap Meet offered many needed parts as did numerous vendors.
More photos of cars that were at the show are below.
Sunday was the final day of the show and the day of the awards ceremony. The ceremonies started at 1:00 pm but in the morning all of the winners were gathered in the Winners’ Circle. The Winners’ Circle gives everyone a chance to see the cars up close and to talk with the owners.
The first award, was not to a car, but to Dave Cahill (on the right in the photo below). After 37 years, Dave retired this year from his position as the NSRA Division Director. Those of us who have been used to seeing Dave every year at the Western Nats, will miss him. We wish him well and hope he’ll return to the Western Nats as a spectator.
This year the timingtower.com award went to David Fleeman and his 1932 Ford Coupe. This Coupe brings back memories of the Coupe driven by John Milner in the movie American Graffiti. David’s Coupe only improves on the American Graffiti Coupe. There will be more photos of this car as well as a feature article posted soon.
Here are the award winners in the order of presentation:
Once the awards were given, it was time for the prizes to be handed out. Nick Donovan, who provided the music for the week-end, was on hand to give out the prizes; and as always, a willing, young volunteer was recruited to draw the numbers.
In addition to merchandise prices, three cash prizes of $2,000 each were given away. Mitchell Guillen, Chuck Perdue and Jimmy Shannon, II, all of Bakersfield were the winners of the cash prizes. The three winners along with event director, Mike Adams are shown below.
Once the prizes were all given away, the show was over and we waved goodbye to another great week-end.
Next Year the Western Nats will be held April 25-27, 2025 in the Kern County Fairgrounds.
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SATURDAY – UPDATE
Like Friday, Saturday was a great day for looking at cars and trucks at the Western Street Rod Nationals in the Kern County Fairgrounds and there were a lot of beautiful and unique cars and trucks in the fairgrounds to look at – like this Ford truck and those in the slideshow below.
Car enthusiasts of all ages enjoyed the day. Below is Levi who said this Ford truck was his favorite. Levi has very good taste.
One unique car we saw was this Chevrolet demonstrating it’s hydraulics.
This Chevy truck came with a matching camper trailer.
This 1932 Ford coupe was reminiscent of the coupe driven by Milner in American Graffiti.
This Willys coupe was a drag racer back in the day.
Below are a few more of the nice cars at the show today.
Tomorrow is the last day of the show and will include the award ceremonies and prize give-aways. We saw some of the cars that will take home an NSRA award and they are spectacular. Monday evening we’ll post photos of all the award winners as well as a wrap-up of the show.
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FRIDAY – UPDATE
The 47th Annual Western Street Rod Nationals opened on Friday, April 26, 2024 in the Kern County Fairgrounds. And the weather forecasters were wrong – predictions of rain and wind did not materialize in Bakersfield. The day was sunny, with a few clouds, and the temperature was around 70° Couldn’t ask for anything better. The event registration on Friday was about the same as it was last year on Friday – about 1,000 cars. Saturday is, however, the big day and, no doubt, tomorrow the fairgrounds will be full again. Below are a few of the cars we saw today:
The entertainment started around 6:00 pm with Orphan Jon and the Abandoned performing live.
Although the band was excellent – the main attraction was the cars and trucks.
The cars will keep on coming tomorrow.
We’ll be back at the fairgrounds tomorrow and will post again tomorrow night. Take a look again to see more of the fine cars and trucks that will be at the show.
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The 47th Annual Western Street Rod Nationals will be held in the Kern County Fairgrounds, Bakersfield, CA on April 26-28, 2024.
Registration for the show will take place at the Doubletree Hotel, 3100 Camino Del Rio Court, Bakersfield beginning on Thursday, April 25 from 12 noon to 6:00 pm, Friday the 26th from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday the 27th from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Throughout the week-end there will be comercial exhibitors, a swap meet, Women’s World, kids games, live entertainment and cruising on Friday and Saturday, The Streets of Rods will be held on Saturday and on Sunday there will be an all denomination Church Service. Also on Sunday the award winners will gather in the Circle of Winners on Sunday before the awards ceremony. Nick Donovan’s Rockin Road Show will provide music all week-end as well as drawing numbers for prize giveaway..
Timingtower.com will be there for the week-end and will post on Friday and Saturday evenings with a full article and photos posted on Monday evening.
