C.A.R.B. Clyde Ellis Race-On Car Show highlights the Snake Saturday Parade in North Kansas City

The Central Auto Racing Boosters (C.A.R.B.) Clyde Ellis Race-On Car Show has been a tradition during the Snake Saturday Parade in North Kansas City for a long as I can remember.  This event is often cold, miserable, riddled with rain and sleet, and oftentimes snow.  But somehow, they avoided all that this weekend.  The weather couldn’t have been nicer for this event , and there were some interesting things to look at both in the car show and in the parade.

C.A.R.B. Race-On Car Show and Snake Saturday Parade bring lots of great cars to North Kansas City

Since 1977, the Central Auto Racing Boosters (C.A.R.B.) has hosted a racecar show in conjunction with the Snake Saturday parade in North Kansas City, and as usual, there was a decent turnout in spite of the cold, cloudy weather.

C.A.R.B. is one of the most dedicated, hardest-working clubs you'll ever encounter.  They've been around for more than 60 years in the Kansas City area, and during that time they have done an outstanding job of promoting local drivers and tracks.  Currently, C.A.R.B. supports four area tracks, including Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., I-35 Speedway in Winston, Mo., and Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Mo.  C.A.R.B. members get free admission to these tracks on C.A.R.B. nights, a membership roster, and other perks, all for only $15.00/year.

Went to the Kansas City St. Patrick's Day Parade and a car show broke out

Did you know that Kansas City, Mo., hosts one of the largest St. Patrick's Day parades in the United States? Nearly a half-million people turn out downtown to watch all the floats, marching bands, and giant balloons.

Normally, I would sit in one place, snap a photo of all the neat cars as they drove by, then present it to you in a slideshow. But this year BHo's second grade class was chosen to march in the 40th running of this Kansas City tradition, so I was on the move.

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.

The cars at the CARB Race On Car Show at the Snake Saturday Festival and Parade were nice. Maybe too nice.

Like clockwork, the CARB Race-On Car Show at the Snake Saturday Parade in North Kansas City is the first glimpse of the new season's race cars, all on display in once place. Rows of shiny, straight, clean, perfect Modifieds and Late Models sit quietly in neat little rows, while families with kids and strollers admire them in their St. Patrick's Day green.

And as someone who parks at the back of the lot to avoid door dings, it always gets me that these guys are willing to take these beautifully constructed and painted machines and tear the hell out of them driving around a mud bowl. How do they do it? It would drive me absolutely crazy. I'd make a horrible racer, and not because I would worry about getting hurt. I just couldn't stand beating up my car!