Celebrating 73 Years of the Grand National Roadster Show

Definitely the Granddaddy

The gnrs is now in its 73rd year, was once known as the Oakland roadster show, and is now the longest running indoor car show in the world! It is produced by Rod Shows and held annually at the Fairplex in Pomona, California, now for the 19th consecutive year. Over 500 show vehicles compete for some of the custom automotive industry’s most prestigious awards inside the Fairplex buildings. Another 400-800 vehicles join the event each day for the 18th annual Granddaddy Drive-in, when vehicles are welcomed in and parked between buildings as part of the show.

More than 600 individual awards are presented during the Grand National Roadster Show (also known to many simply as GNRS), which has earned its reputation as “The Grand Daddy of Them All” by showcasing more than 1,000 world-class roadsters, hot rods, muscle cars, and customs while attracting tens of thousands of fans throughout the weekend.

This year’s event also featured something that drew us in for obvious reasons—a special “Keep on Truckin’: 50 Years of Classic Haulers from 1948-1998” indoor exhibit presented by LMC Truck. Some of the most recognizable builds included “Copperhead,” a 1967 Chevy C10 built by Stacey David on the television show “Trucks,” Chip Foose’s 1956 Ford F-100 built on the show “Overhaulin’” and trucks by famed builders such as Boyd Coddington, “Lil” John Buttera, “Fat Jack” Robinson, Art Chrisman, Tim Strange, and many others were on full display. There were also talks of building this into an annual “Americas Most Beautiful Truck” competition on this stage. Fingers crossed as there were plenty of gorgeous C10 builds throughout the fairgrounds.

Outside, the 18th Annual Granddaddy Drive-In welcomed hundreds of hot rods, muscle cars, classics, customs, and trucks each day. Other highlights included a lowrider exhibit, the vintage-themed Suede Palace, and over 15 custom flat-bottom, wood-deck, drag, and K-boats with supercharged engines and intricate paintjobs.

Also on site were industry-leading builds like the Ringbrothers’ “ENYO” and Kevin Hart’s “Hellraiser,” along with some of the most respected custom-car builders in the industry, such as Roy Brizio, Bobby Alloway, Chip Foose, Troy Ladd, Troy Trepanier, Steve Strope, and plenty more.

For more information about the 2023 O’Reilly Auto Parts Grand National Roadster Show and the complete list of 2023 award winners, please visit Rodshows.com/grand-national/.