Cars trickle in at the Fritz's Car Cruise

When BHo and I showed up for the Fritz’s Shawnee cruise Sunday afternoon, I wasn’t surprised that we were one of only three cars in the lot. It was a little cool out. The Chiefs were sort of playing football. The NASCAR race was underway. It just wasn’t the idea situation to have a huge turnout.

So after we parked, we went in and enjoyed a little ice cream while people had their burgers delivered via model train. Fritz’s is a good place to go for a car show, because even if there aren’t any cars to look at, you are still entertained.

Preserving Kansas City's rich racing history with the CARB Hall of Fame Swap Meet and Auction

You never hear about it on the news, and the people at your office aren’t aware of it, but there is a very strong auto racing underworld here in Kansas City. The fact is, there are people that live and die by local, short track racing, and there have been for the better part of the last century.

Of course, that means there is a rich racing history here too. And for some people, preserving that history is a privilege and a duty. It would be a shame to wake up one day and have no recollection of the people, the cars, and the tracks that played such an important part in so many peoples’ lives. It would also be unfortunate if no one realized the role Kansas City played in the careers of some of the greatest racing personalities in the history of the sport.

Kansas City racing bonanza; Sprint Cup, Nationwide, ARCA at Kansas Speedway, Late Models at Lakeside

For car folks, this is a depressing time of year in Kansas City.  Yes, there are some really cool season-ending events, but it also reminds you that soon there will be nothing left until next spring.  And there is no better example of that than the huge racing weekend that just came to an end in Kansas City, Kan., which was punctuated by the Hollywood Casino 400 for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.  Let’s review some of the action that took place in Wyandotte County.

If you click on the headlines, they’ll take you to the complete race results.

Mighty white. Looking at the most popular car color of 2012

As I sat quietly, battling a severe case of writer’s block, I called upon my wife to give me an idea on something to write about. “They just announced that white is the most popular car color for 2012,” she said. “You should write something about that.”

And you know, she was definitely on to something. PPG Industries, the folks who manufacture the paint that goes on most of the new cars out there, announced that for the second year in-a-row, white was the most popular choice. That’s not a big surprise. For a daily driver, white is a pretty good pick. It’s easy to take care of, doesn’t show many scratches, and looks pretty clean, even when it’s not. I’ve had a few white cars along the way, and they were always a pleasure to maintain.

Kansas City car races, car shows, and car cruises for October 17 18, 19, 20, 21, 2012

Well, one of the biggest events in Kansas City, car event or not, is the two-day NASCAR show at Kansas Speedway. You’ll see Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart—all the big names of the sport (except Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who is still recovering from a concussion). And as usual, there will also be a dirt late model show at nearby Lakeside Speedway, which usually turns out to be the best race of the weekend.

Oh, and there are still a few car shows and cruises hanging on until the end of the month. Hit them while you still can, because winter seems like an eternity once the car stuff is over.

The entire Kansas City car show, car cruise, and car racing schedule, including local and television information for Kansas Speedway, is listed below.

Time travel to the 1980s at the Olathe Bass Pro Shop PINK cruise

The PINK Cruise, sponsored by the Mustang Club of Greater Kansas City, got off to a rough start. It was scheduled for Saturday afternoon, but rain forced them to reschedule it for Sunday. And of course, when you have to change the date at the last second, it usually doesn’t help your turnout. The fact that the Chiefs were sort of playing on Sunday didn’t help either.

The beginning of the end at the Turner Days Car Show

The annual Turner Days Car Show in the Turner High School parking lot is always sort of a bittersweet event.  It’s great, of course, because there are always lots of nice cars in attendance.  But it is one of the last significant car shows in the Kansas City area each year, so it always makes me a little bit sad.

AACA Antique Car Show at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Lawrence is a nice change from the typical car show

For four decades, the Lawrence chapter of the Antique Automobile Club of America has been hosting one of the better car shows in the area at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Lawrence. No, it might not get the most cars. But it gets some very good cars. I really enjoy it because it has sort of a flavor that you can’t get at the typical hot rod/muscle car-packed extravaganza.

This is more of an original old car show. Heck, this is an original old car guy’s show. It represents one of the best facets of the old car hobby, and a group of people that unfortunately seems to be fading away as time goes on.

Nice little gathering at the Cars in the Park Show at Shawnee Mission Park

The Cars in the Park show at Shawnee Mission Park is a pretty nice place to go if you want to spend a relaxing day with a few nice cars. This is a fund raiser for Special Olympics, and the parking area near the boat docks is a nice place to spend some time.

This is the fourth year for this show, and it has the potential to be relatively big. But the Basehor High School show is held at the same time 15 miles away, and that’s where most of the old cars seem to want to go. If they were to schedule this a little differently, I think it could really take off.