[1]From ’32 Fords to pink Corvettes and vintage trucks, there was something for everyone at the NSRA Western Nationals at Bakersfield on April 28 through April 30, 2017.
[2]Chris Brooks’ upscale rat rod was one of our personal favorites. Brooks hails from Bakersfield, and has many project cars that are either being worked on, or have been completed. Each year he brings two or three new ones to the event.
[3]Cody Bilson’s 1930 Pontiac Six was another one of our favorites from the event. Cody drives this car often, and has even run it out of gas twice on his travels. He admits that it’s time to get the gas gauge fixed.
[4]It did not escape our attention that the Bakersfield car scene is filled with women that love to cruise their cars. Here’s three hotties that kept cruising the fairgrounds all weekend long. Yes, those are realistic looking flames on that paint job.
[5]Something for everyone including a red DMC.
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Doug Edward's 1932 Ford Isky tribute car. We loved to see this throwback racer cruise around the fairground route.
[8]There are never enough Dodge’s with blowers sticking out of the hoods anymore!
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Annie Bailey, the owner of this pink corvette, started the Corvettes of Bakersfield car club with longtime Bakersfield car enthusiast Lynn Hubbard. Annie continues to represent the club and attends all of the local shows, helping to organize and host many of them.
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Kevin Randell's 1923 Ford T-Bucket was a crowd pleaser. It was a rare moment to catch the car without a crowd around it.
[13]Jake Linton’s 1948 Chevy coupe had its top chopped less than a week prior to the show. We love to see these in-progress projects at the shows. This father/son car project began after the loss of a loved one. As the Linton’s described it, this Chevy is a therapy car.
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John Leland's 1937 Plymouth coupe had many customized touches that made it stand out. We loved how the headlights that once sat above the fenders in headlight buckets were now molded into the front fenders. The paint scheme helped add to the overall appeal of the car.
[16]This 1948 Chevy is another one of Chris Brooks’ builds.
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We spotted more women car enthusiasts cruising the fairground's route than any other event we can remember. The Bakersfield area has a thriving hot rod community which shows no signs of slowing down. There were more baby strollers at the event than old man electric scooters, which indicates that a whole new generation of car enthusiasts are growing up in the hobby.
[19]The Bakersfield automotive enthusiasts are an automotive educated crowd that knows what style and what type of build is rolling by. It’s fun to watch the old timers eyeball the cars cruising on the streets. When they get excited and start pointing, you really need to pay attention to what is coming down the road. It is bound to be special.
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The cruise route around the fairgrounds was always active with T-buckets, vintage trucks, pre-war sedans, and customs of all kind taking lap after lap.
[22]The show was attended by some of the friendliest hot rodders we’ve had the pleasure of meeting.
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[25]Open engine bays with Flatheads are sure to attract a lot of attention.
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[29]Car club areas were marked off with signage. The Bakersfield area has a long list of car clubs that support the area’s car scene.
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Farm trucks are all the rage now, but you can't be a real farm truck unless there is straw on the flatbed, and a farm implement hazard sign on the back. Often called "Slow Moving Vehicle" signs, the reflective bright orange triangle trimmed in red on the rear of farm vehicles warns motorists of a vehicle that is moving at slower than normal speeds. Most states require these signs on vehicles with a maximum roadway speed of 25 mph. Now that is a true farm truck.
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Normally we don't pay much attention to jewelry but when it comes to car parts and the Bakersfield crowd, the accessories match the show. We found chain and piston bracelets, a wrench ring, a piston necklace, and header earrings.
[36]It ain’t a car show unless the hoods are up. We were lucky enough to get to the show early and catch this line of cars without many enthusiasts around. This is a pretty rare shot however. Most of the day the isles were full of car fanatics getting ideas for their own builds.
[37]The Bakersfield car shows tend to bring in plenty of visitors during the three day show, yet it never gets overcrowded. There are enough people to give it the car show feeling, without being too crowded. This is a passionate crowd too. They know what they are looking at.
[38]No trip to the Western Nationals is complete without seeing Laurie Wheat’s Pontiac sitting on Hubbard’s corner.