Today I attended the Central NY Mopar Association Show. Had about 250 cars or so, nice show with some nice Mopars ot a lot of HAMB material. So they give away class trophies and they have about 50 vehicle classes like 60 through 63 "A" bodies, 60 through 63 A bodies Radio delete. but thay also give out Special awards one of which is longest distance. So they give an award today to a guy who says he came 300 miles to the show. So right away I look at the car and its got NY plate on it and there really ain't a place in ny that's 300 miles from Syracuse except for the eastern end of Log Island. As it happes I am behind the car as its leaving. It makes a sharp left into the off field parking lot and pulls up behind a trailer. So even if the dude lives in Eastern Long Island, he drve his award winning car about 2/10's of a mile to get his trophy. Was it Reagan who said Trust but Verify???? Guess that applies to car shows.
Don't sweat it,,some people will do anything for a dust catcher,,including lying about where they are from! HRP
If that guy needs that trophy bad enough to stroke his ego then who cares? I dont need a trophy to like my cars.
Not sweating it just feel sorry for the fellow that actually drove his car to the show from a hundred miles away. I only got some pic of a nice 47 Dodge Sedan I hadn't seen before. Camera is still in the car.
If it means enough to him that he "cheated" to get it, more power to him. Used to be a guy who would pull the hood of his 62 Falcon before every car show so he could enter the unfinished class. Same deal. I've been going to car and bike shows for a lot of years and have maybe 5 trophies that mean something to me. The rest of them are in boxes somewhere. I did find one box and gave them to my 3 and 4 year old grandkids 'cuz they like the shiney cars and bikes on the top of 'em. I don't go to many shows anymore, but when I do I pay them the entry money to support the show and ask them if they have a display only area. If they don't, I don't put the display card on. It's a lot more fun just walking around looking at cars and talking to folks than it is worrying about who's gonna win what class and if so and so is gonna get mad if you place higher than he does, because you beat him at the last show and he KNOWS his ride is better than yours.
Yep, HRP nailed it. I had a guy throw a fit one year when we took the truck back to Texas and made four runs in three weekend. We were at a run in Fort Worth and I got long distance and some guy threw a fit because he had seen my truck at the event in Waco the weekend before where I got long distance there (pre registered for that) Then the guy handing out the trophies explained that I driven further that morning from my friend's house than the whiner lived from the show. About 20 years ago I saw a Fancy and prissy T bucket get a long distance award and it had all of six miles on it and was 1200 miles from home. The next year the club that put that event on made "driven" a requirement for the long distance award. It would be only honest if a guy had to drive is rig to be able to get long distance awards though. Larry T reminded me of When I lived in Texas in the 70's and went to 20+ rod runs a year there were a few guys who would call around to see where certain cars were going the next weekend so they could go somewhere else so they had a better chance at a trophy.
Don't feel bad, I was on a run that advertised a trophy for the oldest car to complete the run. I drove my '32 3 window the whole distance of the run. When it came time for the awards, a '39 Chevy won. When I asked why I didn't get the trophy,they told my because my car wasn't stock. Now, this was in 1959 and I was running a built flathead with three strombergs, not always the most reliable of engines. The '39 had a later model engine in it but it was a six. I never have tried to win any of the trophies ever since then.
so, where are pics from show? a guy I know drove his '33 Chevy sedan from Northern California to a show in Orlando, Florida. A guy that lived 3 miles further than him won the long distance award. winner loaded his '32 Ford on his trailer and put trophy in late model truck and drove off.
Like I mentioned I'm not into muscle cars or Pity Cruisers so I only snapped a couple of the new car on the block
a trophy for driving your old car further than anybody else is almost a trophy worth winning. it would be kind of shitty to lose out by 20 miles to a 2013 Ford superdutydieselwhatsit while driving something vintage.
I quit chasing trophies a long time ago, but I would still like to win a legit "Long Distance" award. I've been to nearby shows and have run into guys from quite a ways away and I can see I've got more bugs than they do, and they still claim they drove. Blue
I've never gone to that show and I could just about walk to it. Well, it would be a five or six mile walk, but still. Actually there is a reason for that, they used to have three shows at that same park and I'd set up and sell and would do good at the first one, the second one (an all-Ford show) was hit or miss and some years I'd hardly sell anything, and the Mopar show being last and with the most expensive price of any for a swap spot I figured the odds were good I'd lose money setting up there. So I've never gone. So how was their swap? Any of the usual guys? I know the model car guy didn't go, he was at the flea market - he sells more there he says.
I am not familiar with vendors, as I have never had any luck at swap meets, and no one seems to have anything worthwhile for 40's to 50's mopars. But they seemed to have 10 or 12 and about the same for car corral. Most of the stuff was aimed at 63 and newer. When the show was at the race track in Weedsport the used to be about 25 to 30 vendors.
I drove over 7 hours to a show with my daughter. We had a blast! A real bonding weekend. I had heard it was an awesome show and it was weel worth the drive. I was kind of thinking I might qualify for the longest distance. They annouced the winner and said he was from over 1,000 miles away. First thing I thought was cool! Then I asked someone what he drove, "Oh he didn't drive. He was in town visiting and came by the show." I heard that the promoter just like to brag on how far people came to be at his show." Really? This wasn't for just a cheap plastic trophy. He got a flamed mailbox, money and something else. Oh well, I still had a good time regardless.
I win an award every time I drive one of my old cars. It's called the "I get to drive this thing" award. It gives itself. Long distance awards....sheesh.
some people will do anything for a dust collector. i go to support the event and have a good time i set behind my truck and listen to what people say. you can learn a lot about your truck if you pay attention
I never understand why some body would spend all that money to get a cheap plastic,I build cars for me and I hope others like them. But I put a sign in mine that says do not judge.
I was told once that I had to open my hood to be judged, I said I checked the oil before I left home. The guy says "what the hell did you come for" I replied " the Ice Cream Parlor down the street I ain't here for the trophies, I am here for the Ride"!
I took my 8 year old granddaughter to a show and we came across a car that was surrounded by at least 40 trophies, she asked "if he won all those trophies today"I replied "no but he won them at other shows". She asked "he takes them to every show, why"? I said "I guess he is proud of his car". Well the real reason is that he is telling the judges that his car always wins trophies and if he dosen't win one today the judges don't know what they are doing. My wife and I drove our 1946 Ford Woodie from Long Island, NY to Encinetas CA. and back, almost 8000 miles and it was all about the trip and I can't wait to do it again. I go to the NSRA Nationals in Louisville and they give out a top 25, what a joke, they could give out a top 250 and still piss trophy hounds off! The bottom line is ENJOY DRIVING your car!
I know a guy who had his car picked for one of the awards at a NSRA show. He spent the time leading up to the show and all of the time at the show hobnobbing with the "pickers". More about who you knew than about the car. 'Course how do you pick one car out of a sea of nice cars to display?
I recently attended a car show at the behest of a friend. He and I met at a certain coffee shop at 0700. Had a cup of Joe and paraded to the show. We went down to register, $20, proceeds to a charity. We had a choice: 1. Mustang 2. Corvette 3. Truck 4. Muscle car 5. Street Rod Well, we chose street rod, crossed it out and wrote hot rod. Did we give a crap that there was not a hot rod category? Not one bit. We didn't go for the trophy, we went for the cruise, sat around bored to tears for a few hours, and then paraded back to town. We had a great time driving, waving, thumbs up, etc. We didn't win crap, we didn't care. I drove 8 miles, furthest I had ever driven the rod since completing, (is it ever done)? For the most part car shows suck. I attend a few that honor the disabled or the vets. Other than that, why waste your time. Go for a drive, get a Pepsi or whatever and enjoy the smiles, and frowns, of those on the road around you. P.S. The grand champion ended up being a gasser that wins every event around here. It is a super nice traditional Willys and I hope he keeps winning!
You don't have to go to a show to enjoy a ride. Awards suck. Shows suck. but if you go, don't forget your lawn chair....
Greg, it was great to finally meet you. I used to be quite heavily involved with that club and that show. I burnt out some years ago, but still have a lot of friends in the club. My business also sponsored one of the classes this year and will continue to in the future. The show chairman is a good friend and I have dropped him an email about this. Chances are, knowing just about all involved in the show, the intent would be for a driven car and not a trailered car. It may just be a matter of asking the right question at the gate. Everyone that works at the show is a volunteer and may not be even thinking about if the car was trailered or not. It's a great show. I know it's more about OT cars than the traditional cars here, but they try hard so everyone has a good time. The proceeds stay in the area, going to a local hospital burn unit.
I have to say I'd never enter a car in a show for trophies, but you do get a lot better parking if you pay the entry fee. The point of the car is for me to enjoy, and if other people happen to like it too, great, but I'm not going to lose sleep if they don't.
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