33rd-Annual Oktoberfest Classic Car Show at Wilson Bank & Trust ends the Mid-Tenn AACA 2021 car show season

The Mid-Tenn Region AACA finished off the 2021 car show season with the 33rd-Annual Wilson Bank & Trust Oktoberfest Antique Car Show on the Wilson Bank main campus. This is always one of the biggest car shows of the year in the Nashville area, and the car count and quality didn’t disappoint. With 553 vehicles entered, it was the largest turnout in the history of this show. Perfect weather and strong participation meant that there was something for everybody at this long-running event.

Inaugural C-10 Nationals finds home at Nashville Superspeedway

If you’re a Chevy truck lover, the Nashville Superspeedway was the place to be last weekend. Hundreds of trucks filled the infield for the C-10 Nationals, and there was a little something for everybody. First of all, it is nice to see the track getting used for racing and other fun events like this. It didn’t have much of a draw when it was being used as a Nissan storage facility. The swap meet, truck show, and autocross competitions were definitely more appealing. Now it would be nice if there were a tree or two down there for a little shade, but that’s what pop-up tents are for. All-in-all, it was a great turnout for a first-time event.

11th-Annual Southeastern Chevy/GMC All-Truck Nationals brings 1,300 trucks to Lebanon, TN in 2021

2021 marked the 11th year for the Southeastern Chevy/GMC Truck Nationals, and Brian Ashley and his team have made this one of the biggest truck events in the country. Held July 9-10 at the Wilson County Fairgrounds in Lebanon, Tenn., some 1,300 trucks found their way to the enormous show field. It really is an impressive turnout, as are the 27 specialty trophies that are given out at the end of the day. Bullock’s Bodywerk’s hand makes each award by artfully welding gears, timing chains, and other car parts together into one-of-a-kind keepsakes. Incredibly, the Hover Motor Company ’63 Chevy took home the hardware for “Best Survivor,” an award that I will be proud to display in my garage.

Light Up the Pike and Hendersonville Cruise-In offered choices last Friday night

Hendersonville was a busy place last Friday night if you were an old car geek. Did you want to go to the Light Up the Pike (LITP) Car Show at Long Hollow Church, or did you want to go to the always popular Friday night Hendersonville Cruise-In? Either choice was a good one. I popped-in at both of them to see what was what. The Long Hollow Church show probably got the most attention. In addition to the car show, they had all kinds of family games set up, and they set off a huge fireworks show at the end of the night. The weekly Cruise-In was a little light on attendance, but there were still plenty of good cars there to check out.

Huge turnout for the 25th-Annual AACA Wilson Bank Spring Meet in Mt. Juliet

I haven’t been to enough car shows lately, but I’m sure glad I didn’t miss the 25th-Annual AACA Wilson Bank Spring Meet in Mt. Juliet over the weekend. This is always a good show, and this year’s edition didn’t disappoint. There were cars crammed in every little crevice of that place. It has been quite a while since there was a local AACA show, and I think everyone decided to get out of the house. This was in spite of it being a cloudy, somewhat rainy day.

 

15th-Annual Fall Redneck Rumble

When you schedule a car show on a day as nice as it was Saturday, you are going to have a huge turnout. That was the case over the weekend for the 15th-Annual Fall Redneck Rumble, which roared into the Wilson County Fairgrounds with the always-popular car show and swap meet. If you could survive not getting run down by an ATV or golf cart, which seem to multiply every time they have this event, you will enjoy one of the more unique automotive events in the Nashville area. I was there for quite a while and took a lot of pictures, so if you read all the way to the end you may check out the album.

You can't lose with the Hendersonville Cruise

It has been awhile since I did a story about the Hendersonville Cruise, but it is still one of the best around. Last Friday, a nice group of classics rolled into the Glenbrook shopping center as the sun set. Perfect weather, a live D.J., and free ice cream sandwiches probably didn’t hurt the large turnout. This is the best time of the year to go to these events. It is the rare point in the season where it isn’t too hot or cold. Many car show have been cancelled this year, so you probably aren’t burned out on these types of events yet. Plus, the season will end before you know it, so it’s a good idea to get out while you can.

Won't you take me to ... Watertown!

Watertown doesn’t seem like a big destination location, but we seem to end up there a bunch.  Whether it’s attending a basketball tournament at the high school, or shopping at the flea market, we often find ourselves headed in the direction of Watertown.   Last Saturday, the big draw was the Watertown Car Show.  Hosted by the Good Wheel Cruisers Car Club, this one attracted an impressive array of old cars to the grassy field behind the Watertown Volunteer Fire Department.   Many car shows have obviously been cancelled this year, so it was nice to be able to get outside on a nice day and see what has been hiding in everyone’s garages.

10th-Annual Southeastern Chevy/GMC Truck Nationals was the biggest ever

2020 has been hard on big car shows. The big pandemic has shut down some of the biggest and best events in the country, often ending decades of annual streaks. That wasn’t the case last Saturday in Lebanon, Tenn., however. The Southeastern Chevy/GMC Truck Nationals went ahead with their 10th- Annual event, this year moving to the sprawling Wilson County Fairgrounds. And bucking trends, this was by far the largest SETN yet. 1,023 GM trucks registered for this show, drawing entries from all over the United States and Canada. Bryan Ashley, his family, and friends have really built this into a “must-attend” event for truck enthusiasts. 

6th-Annual Spring Redneck Rumble brings the cars out of quarantine

It has been a tough summer so far for car shows. Of course, it has been a tough summer for pretty much everything thanks to the big pandemic. Many events won’t happen at all this year, but the 6th-Annual Spring Redneck Rumble did finally take place, albeit a few weeks late. The turnout was a little lighter than what I’ve noticed in the past. I was actually OK with that, because it meant that people could stay away from each other and not pass along their cooties, and also there were fewer damn golf carts and scooters out there trying to run people over. It turned out to be a nice day—almost perfect conditions to enjoy this eclectic car show and swap meet.

New digs for the 29th-Annual Nashville Auto Fest in 2020

The Nashville Auto Fest celebrated its 29th anniversary in the brand-new exhibit buildings at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. The all-in-one layout ensured that I was able to go through the whole thing and not wonder if I missed a building somewhere. As usual, a nice selection of show cars turned out, as well as a modest swap meet. We aren’t quite in the heart of car show season yet, but at least this show gives us a taste of what’s to come this summer. It’s nice to see some old favorites come out of moth balls, and fun to see some of the new cars on the local scene for 2020.

9th-Annual Tennessee Motorama brings cars out for the first time in 2020

The Tennessee Motorama is usually the first real car show of the year around Nashville, and it’s always nice to get off the couch and check out what’s happening in the real world. There was a threat of bad weather that didn’t really materialize, but that doesn’t matter because the show takes place inside the building at the Wilson County Fairgrounds. The show consisted of several Volkswagen Beetles, a few hot rods, some rat rods, a handful of motorcycles, and a few outliers. There were also swap meet vendors doing business around the perimeter of the show. All told, it wasn’t a bad way to spend a Saturday morning.

32nd-Annual Wilson Bank Oktoberfest Car Show brings the best of the AACA to Lebanon

For 32 years, Wilson County Bank has hosted the big Oktoberfest event at their main branch in Lebanon, Tenn. That tradition continued last weekend, including the big AACA car show on Sunday. The car show season tends to wind down quite a bit after this weekend, but not before 451 entries converged on about four different parking lots to make up this last-ditch blowout. I’ve been to this show before, but this was the first time I entered a car. Not only did my car take home a class award, but I got to spend the day hanging out with my teenaged son, and we were able to take our time studying all the nice cars and trucks on display.

Park Place Cruise-In

When I was at the Hendersonville Cruise the other night, someone handed me a flyer for a Thursday afternoon cruise-in at the Park Place Retirement Home in Hendersonville. This event was mostly for the residents of Park Place, and they had a nice set-up with root beer floats and popcorn. Truth be told, it was too hot out for most of the residents to come out from under the awning to look at the cars, but a few of them did venture out of the shade. Late-model Corvettes dominated the show field thanks to a strong club participation, but there were a few other interesting things out there as well. This wasn’t a very action-packed car show, but it was a nice little thing to do for the people that live there.

Who do the Voodoo Hoodoo? I do!

The Voodoo Hoodoo is a fun, punk rod lifestyle-type event that draws in a wide variety of hot rods and customs. They had been holding it in Bowling Green, but this year brought it down to Tennessee Speed Sport in Goodlettsville. The show was originally meant for cars 1972 and older, but a last-minute rules addendum opened it up to just about anything. I like this location. Tennessee Speed Sport is a cool, old-school speed shop, and it fits this type of event. Also, the backdrop under the highway bridge gives the whole thing kind of a gritty city vibe that fits in with the cars and music they draw to this thing. You see some things you don’t normally see at this show. Here are a few of them.

Unusually beautiful weather at the Fall Redneck Rumble

Twice a year, the Wilson County Fairgrounds becomes the site of one of the most unusual car events in town. The Redneck Rumble combines elements of a car show, swap meet, motorcycle racing, camping, and a big, crazy party. Usually it seems to rain, making everything that much grittier. But this time, sunny skies and mild temperatures ruled the day. I’ve never seen so many people lined up to buy tickets for this. There were a ton of vendors, there were a ton of cars, and there were a ton of motorized vehicles, scooters, bikes, and ATVs recklessly bombing through every conceivable road and path. This is not your normal parking lot cruise-in. It’s a manic spectacle that crackles with life from every direction.

Nashville Corvette Club hosts the Touch of Gold Car Show

Last Saturday I thought it would be fun to go on down to Brentwood, Tenn., for the Touch of Gold Car Show, which was held at the Tennessee Baptist Children’s Home. I figured if I went to the other side of town, I might see some cars that normally don’t hang out in my neighborhood. Also, since this show is hosted by the Nashville Corvette Club, it seemed like a good place to take my old ’93 Corvette. As you might expect, there were a lot of Corvettes there. That’s not all there was, though. Probably half the entries were other kinds of cars, so there was a little something for everyone. I actually attended the Tough of Gold Show a few years ago at a different location, and then as now I was impressed with the quality of entries that make it to this event.

Red Boiling Springs Fall Meet celebrates 63rd-Anniversary

Last weekend, the Middle Tennessee Region AACA recognized the 63rd-Anniversary of their Fall Meet, which was held on the picturesque grounds Thomas House Hotel in Red Boiling Springs, Tenn. According to my calculator, that means the first one was in 1956. That’s even older than this Chevy Viking 60 Howe-bodied fire truck, which was bought new by Red Boiling Springs Volunteer Fire Department in 1959. Tradition runs deep here. Many of the club members have been attending this event for decades. Even the hotel has been here since 1927. All of this history is great news for show-goers. Organizers have been doing this long enough now that there aren’t too many hitches in the operation. This year, 328 vehicles showed up. That’s a successful effort in anybody’s book.

38th-Annual Bowen Campbell Auto Expo returns to Moss-Wright Park in Goodlettsville

When a car show has been happening in the same place for 38 years, someone must be doing something right. In this case, that someone is the AACA Sumner County Vintage Vehicle Club, and that something is the Bowen Campbell Auto Expo, which happened last Saturday in its traditional location, Moss-Wright Park in Goodlettsville, Tenn. They always have a big turnout at this show, and it seems to draw some of the nicer cars from around the Nashville area. I hung out there all day with my ’63 Chevy truck, which would not be considered one of those nicer vehicles, but I was surrounded by good stuff. It was a hot day out there for sure, but that didn’t seem to keep people from enjoying this Labor Day weekend tradition.

6th National Corvette Caravan and 25th-Anniversary of the National Corvette Museum - Now that's a lot of Corvettes!

If you were anywhere near Bowling Green over the weekend, you know there was something big happening with Corvettes. You could not pass a gas station, restaurant, parking lot, or hotel without seeing dozens of them. That’s because the National Corvette Museum was hosting the National Corvette Caravan for the 6th time. Corvette enthusiasts from all over the United States, and some from other countries even, traveled in huge groups to meet-up at this event. Some reports estimated that as many as 10,000 Corvettes made the trip. When they got there, the museum was celebrating its 25th anniversary, so there were lots of cool displays and activities to keep everyone well entertained. I was able to drive my ’93 Corvette up there on Friday. I’m sure that wasn’t the biggest day of the weekend, but I walked a million miles, and I think I saw more Corvettes in one place than I’ve ever seen in my life.