Quite the variety at the Sam's Club Car Show in KCK

Last weekend while I was taking pictures at the Tonganoxie Days Car Show, someone handed me a flyer for the “first annual” Sam’s Club Car Show, which took place at the Sam’s Club in Kansas City, Kan.  I thought that sounded interesting, so this weekend I grabbed the camera and headed out to The Legends.  It was a pretty hot and muggy day, but they still got a nice turnout for their first-ever event.

Nebraska Furniture Mart Friends and Family Car Show has grown from humble beginnings

Six years ago, the Nebraska Furniture Mart in Kansas City, Kan., had a small car show, mostly for employees, out behind the loading dock.  Today, the car show is much bigger.  It isn’t just for employees anymore, and a nice variety of cars and trucks makes it out to this charity event for Camp Quality.  This was a great weekend for it, because comfortable temperatures (along with 427-mph winds) made this a nice place to spend an afternoon.

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.

2012 Goodguys Mid-Western Nationals Sunday: Here comes the sun

The Goodguys Mid-Western Nationals is typically the biggest car show in Kansas City, and Saturday is usually the biggest day.  In 2012, this was still the biggest show in town, but rains on Saturday kept most of the cars away until Sunday.  Bright sunshine ensured that the car count was more like what people have come to expect on the final day of the show.  They also open up this day to allow later-model vehicles, which obviously adds to the festivities.

2012 Goodguys Mid-Western Nationals Saturday: Here comes the rain again

Every year about this time, the car show world descends on the infield of Kansas Speedway for the Saturday installment of the Goodguys Mid-Western Nationals.  This is the biggest car show of the year in this area, and Saturday is the biggest day.

But not this year.

Hamlin wins the STP 400 at Kansas Speedway

The NASCAR weekends at Kansas Speedway are among, if not the biggest events in the area.  I'm not just talking about car-related.  I mean biggest period.  The sheer number of people in attendance is staggering, and the number of people who are watching it via TV or Internet, or listening to it on the radio, is several times bigger than that yet.

Since the focus here is Kansas City car events, I would be remiss if I didn't talk about this weekend's STP 400 for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and of course the SPF 250 for the NASCAR Camping World Trucks.

Johnson, Keselowski, and Bowman conquer Kansas Speedway while the crowd takes a siesta

My wife tries to tell me all the time that the races at Kansas Speedway are boring. I always defend them, telling her they were a little dull when the track opened, but now that the track has some age on it, they've become really exciting.

But then, they have a weekend like this one. And suddenly, Craig is proven wrong ... once again.

2011 Goodguys Midwestern Nationals pictures and coverage. More than 780 photos mean there will be something you love

When it comes to car shows in Kansas City, Labor Day weekend is one of my favorites of the year. And there are no bigger shows in this area than the Goodguys Rod and Custom show, held in the infield of Kansas Speedway.

The attendance seemed to be down a little compared to previous years, but even at that, it was a hell of a lot of cars. We were talking about this at lunch today, and came to the conclusion that the flooding along I-29 had to hurt participation. I know that there were guys in Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, etc., that didn't want to take that long detour with all kinds of semi trucks on two-lane roads to get to this event. It'll be nice when the river finally gets all back where it goes, and travel gets back to normal around here.

Chillaxin' during the Friday NASCAR Sprint Cup practice at Kansas Speedway

I used to really love race cars. I loved the way they sounded. I loved the way they smelled. I loved the way their bright paint schemes gleamed in the sun. I just loved watching them.

And then somewhere along the way, I kind of lost track of what I actually loved about them. Once I quit working at the local race tracks, had a son, and found other things to occupy my time, I stopped going to the races nearly as often. 

An epic event for an epic movie. The 2011 Bandit Run passes through Kansas Speedway

I have been within three feet of the guy who played Mini-Me. I have watched stock car football at the county fair. I have been to Comicon, and seen grown men dressed up like Storm Troopers. Needless to say, I have seen my share of awesome stuff.

But today, I attended an event that topped them all. I am certain that all will agree that Smokey and the Bandit is the greatest movie of all time. This fact is un-debatable. So when something like the Bandit Run passes through the Kansas City area, you can bet that I will be there to cover such an epic event.

Unprofessional, regular, family-style coverage of the racing at Kansas Speedway

In case you didn't know, Greg Biffle won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Price Chopper 400 at Kansas Speedway. But Biffle wasn't the only winner in Kansas City, Kan.

Beautiful weather meant that everyone who went to the races was a winner, too. And my family and I were among the hordes of fans that spent some time watching the sensible consumption of high-octane fuel this weekend.

Overall, we had an incredible busy weekend, so getting to Kansas Speedway wasn't really in the cards. But as luck would have it, BHo's school was closed on Friday, so we were able to take in a day of practice and qualifying at Kansas City's racing showplace.

9th Annual Goodguys Mid-Western Nationals at Kansas Speedway was danged-near the perfect car show

Labor Day weekend is one of the biggest car show weekends of the year in Kansas City. Period. There were several events going on all over town, but the biggest was the 9th Annual Goodguys Mid-Western Nationals, held in the infield of Kansas Speedway.

The 2010 event was blessed from above with perhaps the most perfect weather ever bestowed on a car show. Mid-70s, bright sun, light breezes. It was a car show lover's dream.

And as usual, the cars were plenty dream-worthy as well. Honestly, the number of cars seemed a bit down to me compared to year's past, but that doesn't mean we didn't see some 1,500-2,000 cars out there.