Who put the bake in Bakersfield? Bakersfield had unusually hot temperatures all week-end – in the 90s every day of the Western Street Rod Nationals at the Kern County Fairgrounds. This year attendance was down a little with 1539 vehicles registered; and maybe the temperature had something to do with it. However, there were still more cars there than you had time and energy to look at. This year there were way more rat rods than usual. These cars are always unique and exhibit some interesting features.
As always the Safety Inspectors were hard at work on Friday and Saturday. This year 119 cars were inspected, 91 passed and 71 earned the 23 point inspection sticker. Everyone owes these folks a big ‘thank you’ for their efforts year-after-year to keep this hobby safe for the rest of us.
Below are photos of some of the cars in the fairgrounds:
Embossed soft drink logos were cleverly added to panels of this truck.
The timingtower.com pick this year was a 1939 Ford crew cab. Below are a couple photos of this exceptional vehicle owned by Jennifer Brazil. We will post a separate feature article about this truck.
The awards ceremony and super prize giveaway started about 1:30 Sunday — after the award ceremony. At the end of this season NSRA will have given away $28 million worth of prizes at it’s events since the start of the program. Amelia drew the tickets to give the prizes to the lucky winners and she made several folks happy.
In addition to products, this year four $2,000 prizes were given away. The lucky and happy winners were James Chambers, Kyle Shannon, Victor Hager and Ron Hudson.
At the ceremony it was announced that Mike Chrispyn, the event director of the Western Nats for the past 15 years was retiring. While Mike’s successor, Mike Adams, has been selected and we know he will do a good job, we will miss seeing Mike Chrispyn at the event. Below Mike A. on the left is getting a tour of the fairgrounds from Mike C.
Recognition for the great job he did over the years, Mike C. was presented a plaque by Dave Cahal.
Another retirement was announced on Sunday – after 40 years of keeping the music playing at all of the NSRA events, Wings Callahan is retiring. He will be replaced by Nick Donovan, a DJ from Pueblo, Colorado. Dave Cahal also presented Wings with a thank you plaque. We have been at the Western Nats every year since 1989 – and Wings filled the fairgrounds with great music for all of them.
Thirty-seven cars were chosen as award winners. At 10:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, the winners put their cars on display in the Circle of Winners. This gave everyone a chance to take a look before the award ceremony started at 1:00 p.m. Below is the timingtower.com pick sitting in the Circle of Winners. Photos of all the winners in the Circle of Winners can be found on our SmugMug site.
The long distance award went to this ’41 Ford which came 750 miles from Bend, Oregon.
All photos of the photos shown here, and more, can be seen our SmugMug site and are available for purchase. Click on the SmugMug icon:
Photos of all of the winners at the awards ceremony are below. Additional photos can be seen on our SmugMug site.
The photos above, as well as additional photos of the award winners, can be seen our SmugMug site and are available for purchase. Click on the SmugMug icon:
SATURDAY – April 27, 2019:
Saturday is always the busiest day at the Western Nats and today was no exception. Once the gates opened cars and spectators poured in. Temperatures were in the mid-90’s today, but that didn’t seem to deter either spectators or vehicle owners. This year there were a fair number of rat rods in attendance which always provide a unique perspective. Tomorrow is the last day of the 43rd Western Street Rod Nationals. We’ll have a complete article with photos, including the award winners, posted Monday evening.
FRIDAY – April 26, 2019:
Cars started filling the Kern County Fairgrounds today. Since most of the spectators will come on Saturday, today was a perfect day to walk around and see the cars. So far about 1,500 cars are registered and there will be more tomorrow.
There are a lot of commercial vendors here including Mooneyes, Classic Instruments, Sanderson Headers selling new parts, and a there is a swap meet selling used parts is going on. As always there is a lot to do and see at the Western Nats.
Below are a few of the cars we saw today:
Check back again tomorrow night when more photos will be posted.
By tomorrow evening all the award winners will have been selected and the awards ceremony will take place on Sunday. We’ll have a full article with photos, including the award winners, on Monday evening.
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COMING – WESTERN STREET ROD NATIONALS – APRIL 26-28, 2019.
This event typically draws about 1,800 cars – and not just hot rods. You’ll see classics, tri-five Chevys, muscle cars, customs, rat rods – pretty much everything. In addition there will be many commercial vendors, women’s world, and the swap meet.
Gates open at 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Event Registration Hours:
Thursday, April 25th-‐noon to 6 p.m.; Friday April 26th 9:a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; Saturday April 27, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
The weather is forecast to be sunny and warm – a perfect week-end for a car show. We’ll be there and will update this site every evening with a full article and photos to be posted on Monday evening.
