Saturday, March 10, 2012

CARB Race-On Car Show is a Snake Saturday tradition in North Kansas City

The CARB Race-On Car Show during the annual Snake Saturday Parade is a North Kansas City tradition. What is not a tradition is the beautiful weather with which this year's installment was blessed. Normally, people are wrapped in blankets and parkas, and drinking coffee and cocoa. This year it was shirt sleeves and soft drinks. It has been a mild winter, indeed.

Looking at the shiny, new race cars always puts folks in the mood for the race season to start. And even as tracks come and go in our area, it is encouraging that there are still guys out there spending the time and money to keep short track racing alive.

As a guy who likes old cars, my favorites at this show were the vintage racers. I've seen these guys run at Valley Speedway, and they look great running around the track. And don't let the classic sheet metal fool you--they are competitive.

Jim Clevenger has been bringing his '57 Ford to the Race-On Car Show for years, but this year it was joined by his son Damon's '56 Ford sedan. I loved looking at that car. It's so cool that they left the stock dashboard and the old dealer badge and everything on it. By the way, Damon was a frequent winner in the Pony Stock and Super Truck classes before I-70 Speedway closed down.

It was nice to see representatives from I-35 Speedway and Lakeside Speedway present at this show. It is especially great to see Lakeside back in business this year after a disastrous 2011 season. A few of the shows were rained-out at the beginning of the year, and then the track was flooded after the Missouri River levee mess. You've got to really hope that owner Marc Olson and crew have the breaks go their way in 2012.

They'll certainly have some nice cars there. Some of those Modifieds are absolutely gorgeous. The paint and graphics are as nice as any show car, and you could turn them over and eat off the chassis. They're all set and ready to go beat the pudding out of on a bumpy, tight dirt track.  I could never bring myself to do it, but I'm sure glad some guys can.

We always renew our CARB memberships at this car show. CARB stands for Central Auto Racing Boosters, and they have supported Kansas City racing for more than 50 years. Plus, for a $10.00 membership, you get a free race ticket to Lakeside Speedway, I-35 Speedway, Valley Speedway, and Central Missouri Speedway. That's a $40 value! CARB also conducts an annual blood drive and has other worthwhile activities. You'll notice that I've always had a link to CARB to the right of this webpage. They don't pay for that; I just think they're a good organization. Visit http://www.kccarb.com/ to learn how you can join.

Of course, in addition to the race car show, there's a carnival and a big parade. Several car clubs participate in the Snake Saturday Parade, and you can see big groups of Mustangs, Miatas, Jeeps, Dune Buggies, and more. And if you like old fire trucks, this is a particularly interesting event.

The slideshow has pictures from the CARB Race-On Car Show and cars from the Snake Saturday Parade. And I may actually be starting to get the hang of my new camera, because I think some of these pictures aren't too bad. Check 'em out below and see what you think.


2 comments:

  1. Great photos, Craig, and great reporting! Thanks for your interest in Snake Saturday!
    Debbie Van Pelt
    Snake Saturday Publicist

    ReplyDelete
  2. I appreciate the comments! Thanks for visiting.

    ReplyDelete