Every year the Grand National Roadster Show coordinators celebrate the profound contributions of builders and designers by inducting a few notables into the halls of immortality. This year’s GNRS hall of fame inductees are household names whose work has pervaded the show circuit and publications for years; Bobby Alloway, Ken Smith, and Troy T. Trepanier. Read further as we pull a few excerpts from this year’s official GNRS souvenir program which paid homage to these three influential men.

Bobby Alloway

Along with being inducted into the hall of fame, Alloway also garnered recognition for the creation of this year’s AMBR award winner. GNRS did a nice job capturing an Alloway build.

“There’s a distinctive look to an Alloway car. Bold, powerful, and engines that almost seem untamed. His cars can most certainly be picked out of a lineup. Many often note Alloway’s builds for their big n’ little tire and wheel combinations. But, perhaps the greatest uniqueness about an Alloway hot rod is his tireless use of black. The only other color that will be seen on one of his builds are that of flames.”

Photo: www.allowaysrodshop.com

Ken Smith

The judge of judges, and all around car enthusiast, Ken Smith, was also honored this year. From an early infatuation with hanging at the drag strips to being apprenticed by the industry’s best show circuit judges, Smith has made a name for himself and helped set the standard for quality over the years.

GNRS stated, “Ken’s attention to detail and his extreme honesty and fairness were the hallmarks of his judging tenure. His organizational skills enabled him to gather a crew of like-minded people for judging who got the job done with the same integrity.”

According to GNRS, “These days Ken Smith drives his ’32 5-window and also enjoys his early Arlen Ness digger style custom bike.” Photo: Ken Smith

Troy T. Trepanier

The youngest inductee of this year’s group goes to the esteemed Troy Trepanier who has been responsible for several high profile creations.

An excerpt from the folks at GNRS lists some of Trepanier’s accolades, “The cars the Rad Rides team has built have held multiple Bonneville land speed records, are AMBR, Ridler, and Barrett Cup winners, have won multiple Goodguys Street Machine of the Year awards…In addition to receiving top honors in the racing and show car world, Troy has participated in countless road tours with both the Hot Rod and Goodguys associations, proving that his vehicles can without a doubt, perform as well as they look.”

Troy’s standard of quality when building can be traced back to words that were spoken by his grandfather, “There’s only one way to do things: the right way.” Rad Rides, originally a father-son operation, has brought together some of the industry’s brightest builders, fabricators, and artists under the brand and it is both his collaborative creations and standard of excellence that have propelled Troy into the halls of immortality.

What are your predictions for next year’s Grand National Roadster Show? Who has been exhibiting what it takes over the years and deserves to be recognized for their monumental efforts? Let us know in the comments section below and be sure to check out Rod Authority’s extensive coverage: from our GNRS event recap and AMBR contender spotlights to Rick Dore’s Aquarius build and Hollywood Hot Rod’s trifecta unveiling.