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.

8th-Annual 2019 KCCA Vettes on the Plains Show draws rare Corvettes to Bass Pro in Independence

When I was five years-old, my dad bought this ’61 Corvette. This unrestored, original car has been a part of our family for more than 40-years now, but lately, it was feeling neglected. Dad hadn’t been able to drive it for more than a year, so I thought it would be fun to drive up to Kansas City from Nashville to get it ready for the 8th-Annual Vettes on the Plains show, which was held this year at the Bass Pro Shops in Independence. Not only did we have a great day hanging out together, but dad’s Corvette earned a trophy—the first one he’s ever gotten for it! This wasn’t a huge show; maybe 90 cars total. The lower car-count probably had a lot to do with a last-minute change in venue. But it was still enough to raise some healthy donations for St. Jude and Camp Quality. And if you like looking at nice Corvettes, this was definitely the place to be.

Hot Rods on Beale Street still singin' the Blues in 2018

There are lots of good car shows and cruises around the country, but few take place at a more famous location than the monthly Hot Rods on Beale Street Cruise in Memphis. The Home of the Blues is completely lined with beautiful cars and trucks that are there by invitation only. There’s no D.J. or food trucks at this cruise, because the air is filled with wall-to-wall live Blues music and soul food. It’s like nothing else I’ve ever been to. I’m in Memphis fairly regularly, but my schedule only meshed with the June and July editions of this event, so I’m combining them together for this story.

2017 Vette City Classic Car Auction

OK, so it’s not exactly Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale, but the annual Vette City Classic Car Auction is still a nice place to watch old cars offered for sale to the highest bidder. Auctioneers Phillip Traylor and Russell Mills do a nice job putting this event together at the ABC Auto Auction in Bowling Green, Ky. The selection consists of cruise-in-quality rides, with a few standouts along the way. It looked like there were quite a few no-sales this go-round, but it seemed to be more an issue with unrealistic floor prices than lack of buyers. At any rate, it was fun to take a look at everything that crossed the block last weekend.

Daytona preserves NASCAR history

Well, the 2017 Daytona 500 is over. Kurt Busch earned his spot in NASCAR history and will be enshrined on the Harley J. Earl trophy. From the early days of racing on the beach, to the iconic two-and-a-half mile tri-oval, Daytona has had its fair share of historic moments. Luckily, there is an effort to preserve some of that history, and you can see quite a bit of it with a Daytona VIP Tour. We were there a few months ago to see this exhibit firsthand, and as usual, I brought back a few pictures to share.

The new Kansas City Automotive Museum puts KC on the classic car map

If you’re a regular here, you know that I’ve taken you to major automotive museums from California to Michigan. But in 28 years of living in Kansas City, I was never able to show you a public car museum that wasn’t in business to sell cars. That changes right now, with the opening of the Kansas City Automotive Museum in Olathe. This isn’t a huge museum, but it has some high-quality cars and interesting Kansas City automotive history. And as nice as this place is, it’s just a start. They’ll continue to refine and improve this location until they move into a larger facility sometime in the near future.

Nine-year-old surprises dad with coverage of the Mid-Summer Corvette Show at Zona Rosa

You know I love Corvettes.  And this weekend the Corvette Club of Kansas City hosted the Mid-Summer Corvette Show near my house at the Zona Rosa shopping center.  Any other weekend, I’d be there in a heartbeat.  But I went to the Leadsled Spectacular in Salina this weekend, so I missed the Corvette show.  Still, this story has a happy ending after all.  To my complete surprise, my wife and son went to this great event without me.  And as a bonus, my nine-year-old son BHo took more than 170 pictures of all the cars there.  He was excited to share them with me when I got home, and I am equally as excited to share them with you.  The kid did a great job!

2014 Corvette Stingray paces the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500. Our annual look at Chevrolet Indy pace car history

When you tune into the 97th-Annual Indianapolis 500 this weekend, there will be one car out there that nobody can pass. I’m talking, of course, about the pace car. And for the 12th year in a row, and the 12th time in history, a Chevrolet Corvette is getting that distinctive honor.

This time, it’s the 2014 Corvette Stingray. This is an all-new Corvette from the ground-up, and this will be the first time most people have ever seen one on the move. It will be painted in Laguna Blue Tintcoat, with all the requisite graphics and safety lights. Mechanically, it won’t differ from the production model, which is scheduled to arrive in showrooms this fall. The 6.2-liter, 450-hp LT1 V8 should have no trouble staying ahead of the field.

Corvette ZR1 is the most powerful production car ever to pace the Indy 500. A look back at Chevy Indy pace car history

The Indianapolis 500 is this weekend, and since a Corvette ZR1 was chosen as the official pace car this year, we're taking a look back at Chevrolet Indy pace car history. Of course, Indy is the oldest running race in the U.S., and among the most respected in the world. More than any other, Chevrolet has been the car chosen to pace this historic event, including the past eleven years consecutively. And even before that, brothers Louis and Arthur Chevrolet, competed in the very first Indianapolis 500 on May 30, 1911.

It may seem like the first Chevy Indy pace car was the 1967 Camaro, because that’s the one you seem to hear about the most. But actually, bowties took the helm twice before that. Way back in 1948, a Chevy Stylemaster convertible was used as the Indy pace car. This stately Stovebolt was appropriately decorated with colorful pace car graphics that encased the entire side of the car. Then in 1955, the first year of the popular small-block Chevy V8, a red and white Bel Air convertible led the field.

Chevrolet and the Indy 500 both turn 100, and the Chevy Camaro is once again the pace car

The Indianapolis 500 is held over Memorial Day weekend, so I figured it was time to do a little Indy 500 pace car trivia. Of course, Indy is the oldest running race in the U.S., and among the most respected in the world. More than any other, Chevrolet has been the car chosen to pace this historic event, including the past ten years consecutively. And even before that, brothers Louis and Arthur Chevrolet, competed in the very first Indianapolis 500 on May 30, 1911.

It may seem like the first Chevy Indy pace car was the 1967 Camaro, because that’s the one you seem to hear about the most. But actually, bowties took the helm twice before that. Way back in 1948, a Chevy Stylemaster convertible was used as the Indy pace car. This stately Stovebolt was appropriately decorated with colorful pace car graphics that encased the entire side of the car. Then in 1955, the first year of the popular small-block Chevy V8, a red and white Bel Air convertible led the field.

Pace car promos lead the way in 1/25th-scale racing collectables. Includes photos of rare and unusual models

Since the Daytona 500 is this weekend, and I'm feeling kind of racy, it seemed like a good time to take a look at some pace car promotional models. Plus, I Photoshopped all these picture montages, and they were sort of going to waste on the tiny format, popup-riddled Examiner page, so let's revisit them here.

If you're a scale model collector, pace car models may be a good place to direct your attention. Pace cars are interesting in-and-of themselves. They also fit in if you collect racecars or other racing memorabilia. And in the case of the examples shown here, they can be right at home in a promotional model collection.