Here's my video of NSRA Tampa. We stopped by Hercules Motor Car on Thursday, then the Fairgrounds the rest of the weekend.
Haha, I took my headers up to the ceramic coater in Tampa on Friday and while there he mentioned the Street Rod Nats were right down the road. So, I drove over and went in to see what I could score at the swap meet. Not many people were set up or there yet , it was before noon on Friday, so I only bought some tools from a vendor inside the one building and then drove home. It is a big show, and the people working the show were a lot friendlier this year than in previous years. Even the parking lot guys said "Thanks for coming", and the rest of the staff were just as friendly. Don
When I was there I thought it was a great show. Hell you didn't even have to go get beer. They delivered it in a cart, ice cold!
That was one of my favorites, as you could tell by how much video I took of it. The trick and one off stuff on it was unbelievable. The quality was outstanding.
Thx for video. It captured the event nicely. I never heard a car count announced although I suppose I may have missed it. I asked an NSRA blue shirt and he didn't know. He said he'd seen numbers in the 1100s on Saturday. I'd say there were significantly fewer cars than last year and would attribute this to the weather forecast. But I think attendance has been declining gradually for some time so this, too, may have been a factor. Saturday weather was crazy. Heavy rain and driving winds. Wrecked my canopy. But Friday and Sunday were great. And I'm already looking forward to next year.
Don, we always try to be nice (I'm a host club member, Tampa Knights). As for the registration numbers, it's just that - a count of those registered. No telling how many actually show up and for what reasons they don't, be it the weather or what. The car count on the grounds was certainly low this year but I think if the weather had been fair it would have been really good. The rain did it in on Saturday, fer sure, and many out of towner's leave early on Sunday anyway to get a head start on their trips, so the Sunday count always gets lower. Better chances for the rest of us to win a prize, anyway! I think the April show date is a good one, versus in hurricane season / October and the impact of other shows in the Gulf or Lakeland. Come up again next year, please! Gary
Gary, glad to see you are involved with the show. The reason I mentioned that the people this year were friendlier than previous years was based on one bad experience I had some years ago, and it left a bad taste in my mouth. My Wife and I were going through the turnstiles after paying, and a security guy looked at my Wife and said "Hey, you can't bring that cup of coffee in here, toss it in the garbage can over there !" He wasn't pleasant about it at all, so I got in his face and told him I really didn't like the tone of his voice, he could have asked in a nicer way. She had to toss out a brand new cup of coffee and I bought her one when we got inside (and that was somehow ok to possess!) I mentioned that story to Tony DiCosta, who owned Hot Rod and Custom Supply, and he told me he stopped setting up his booth at that show for exactly that reason, that the people who ran it were difficult to deal with. I got the impression it was the management of the venue as opposed to the host club running the show. But, like I said, this year was totally different, as was my experience about 5 years ago when I took my 23 up there and sold it at the swap meet. Everyone was nice that time too. But this year, everyone was exceptionally nice and friendly. Don
Don, A lot of the grief comes from the fairgrounds staff (who knows what their rules are) and (you didn't hear me say it) NSRA as they have expectations / rules that they want our club members to enforce for them if they don't do it themselves. For example, swap meet items can't be new merchandise. The venders know that when they sign up, but then some go right ahead and display it anyway. So... someone has to tell them to box it up or hit the road. Sunglass salesman are the biggest culprits. And naturally, the club hates to be the bad guys. We rarely bother with "cruisers" but some do it all weekend long and they know it's not allowed. Some even cruise the swap meet - like it's no big deal to look at parts, drive, and not run over people! Go figure. A lot less of that happens now. None of us know all the rules, and even car counts for example. I hear it word of mouth. It's even tougher when the schedule changes or the weather delays or cancels things. Club members may be the last to find that stuff out. Yet, I've been helping at the show since 1996 (the club was formed in 1983) and this year was the Knight's 29th year helping out, that's every single show since the very first one. Gary
I've had the same experience at NSRA Burlington but I believe it's the ground staff the causes most problems. Few yrs ago a line of cars were leaving and for some reason they closed the exit gate that has been used for 18 yrs I've been going there. What a fuster cluck trying to get all the cars turned around! I sent a complaint to the club and NSRA. Some of the "security" can be dicks.
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