Nostalgia Highway

Covering Car Shows all over SoCal and so much more.

[nostalgiahighway]

Nosed & Decked - Chopped & Dropped 2026

[nostalgiahighway]

Aces Hot Rod Resurrection

[nostalgiahighway]

Antique Nationals 2026

[nostalgiahighway]

RPM Nationals Barona 2026

[nostalgiahighway]

Outdoors at Grand National Roadster Show 2026

Friday and Sunday typically only have a few hot rods that hang outside the buildings but Saturday, Saturday is crazy. There is so many cool rides that show up for the Grand Cruise-In. This year’s was huge. There were cars & trucks everywhere.

[nostalgiahighway]

In the Buildings at Grand National Roadster Show 2026

It’s always a blast to check out the buildings at the Grand National Roadster Show and there are a lot of buildings filled with so much automotive goodness.

[nostalgiahighway]

The Suede Palace at Grand National Roadster Show 2026

Always one of my favorite buildings at the Grand National Roadster Show is the Suede Palace. A room filled with cool traditional hot rods and customs. It’s the cars that speak to my soul.

[nostalgiahighway]

Al Slonaker Memorial Award at Grand National Roadster Show 2026

Sometimes they surprise me. I didn’t expect a VW to win this year but it was very well deserved. This year’s winner of the Al Slonaker Memorial Award was a 1955 VW Karmann Ghia built by Type One Restoration for Dennis Troggio. This piece of rolling art was amazing and the pictures don’t do it justice. There are just so many fantastic details that are apart of this build.

This Year’s Winner

Dennis Troggio’s 1955 VW Karmann Ghia from Type One Restoration

The other entrants.

[nostalgiahighway]

America’s Most Beautiful Roadster at Grand National Roadster Show 2026

Every year at the Grand National Roadster Show, there is the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster award. Now I don’t agree with who wins every year as we each have our own styles that speak to us but this year’s winner was one of my favorites and to be honest not one I was expecting to win.

This Year’s Winner

Nicole Baird’s 1932 Ford Roadster, built by Squeeg’s Kustoms

Another Favorite

Stanley Chavik’s 1932 Ford Roadster, built by Hot-rod Chavik

The other entrants.

[nostalgiahighway]

Mooneyes Christmas Party 2025

Last Saturday, I headed over to the Fairplex in Pomona, California, for the annual Mooneyes Christmas Party. Now the show has been held at a few different locations over the years, and the last one was Irwindale Drag Strip but sadly, that track is no more. So, a move to the In-N-Out dragstrip at the Fairplex which makes for a much bigger show. There was so much going on from drag racing, car show, bands and more. It was such a great show!

Drag Racing

Car Show & More

[nostalgiahighway]

RPM Nationals 2025 - The Show

Now of course, the RPM Nationals is drag racing, but it’s so much more. There is a car show, a swap meet, vendors, and more. It’s just an all-around great time.

[nostalgiahighway]

RPM Nationals 2025 - Racing

The reason we are all at the RPM Nationals, Saturday, race day. It’s such an epic event every year, just a bunch of friends hangin’ out, talking cars, running fast, and having a great time.

It all kicks off with the driver’s meeting. Got to make sure everyone is safe and understands the rules.

After the driver’s meeting, the morning is dedicated to test and tune and running against your friends. It also gives the organizers a good overview of what the eliminations will look like.

A lunch break and let the eliminations begin.

The winners of this year’s RPM Nationals.

After the winners are announced, the grudge matches begin. Friends call out friends for some good old-fashioned bragging rights.

[nostalgiahighway]

RPM Nationals 2025 - Tech Days

I do so love the RPM Nationals. I look forward to it every year. It all starts Friday for racecar tech and continues into Saturday morning before the drag racing begins. It’s so cool to see all the different types of cars that roll into the show. All with just two things in common: they either have a flathead or a 4-banger in between the frame rails.

[nostalgiahighway]

Ventura Nationals 2025

[nostalgiahighway]

Ventura Nationals 2025

Every Labor Day Weekend is one of my favorite shows, the Ventura Nationals. A friend of mine called it a social gathering that happens to have cool hot rods there, which is a great way to describe it. I started the morning at 4:30 am to get the roll in and hung out until the end. It’s always a great time and I look forward to it every year.

[nostalgiahighway]

Sloatman Open House 2025

The Ventura Nationals weekend started Friday evening at Sloatman Vintage Automotive’s Open House. Nick Sloatman always puts together an awesome party at his shop. The shop is filled with their current projects, which are always amazing in their fit and finish. Hangin’ with friends and seeing all the cool rides roll in is a great way to start the weekend.

[nostalgiahighway]

Street Spot: Square Bird in Red

A regular feature here on Nostalgia Highway is the “Street Spot.” We love seeing vintage cars as daily drivers on the streets where they belong. When we see a vintage car worth sharing, we’ll post it as a Street Spot. Sometimes it will be a beauty, sometimes a beater, but then again, even the beater cars are beautiful to us!

My buddy Darr sent me this very cool Square Bird convertible he spotted the other day. I do so dig this generation of Thunderbirds, and this one gets your attention with its attention-grabbing red.