The Grand National Roadster Show (otherwise known as GNRS, or unofficially as the ''Oakland Roadster Show''), is a showcase of

custom car A custom car is a passenger automobile, vehicle that has been altered to engine tuning, improve its performance, change its aesthetics, or combine both. Some automotive enthusiasts in the United States want to push "styling and performance a st ...

s and

hot rod Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimized for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and ma ...

s held each year at the

Fairplex The Fairplex has been the home of the L.A. County Fair since 1922. Known prior to 1984 as the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds, it is located in the city of Pomona, California. The L.A. County Fair is held during the month of May since 2022, but th ...

Pomona, California Pomona ( ) is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was ...

, in either late January or early February. Established in 1950 by Al Slonaker, the GNRS is one of the oldest and longest continuously operating exhibitions of custom vehicles in the United States, featuring an estimated 1,500 vehicles annually. The GNRS is best known as home to the ''

America's Most Beautiful Roadster "America’s Most Beautiful Roadster" or (AMBR) is an award presented annually at the Grand National Roadster Show. It was created by promoter Al Slonaker to recognize the best roadster in-show. The winner's name is engraved on a 9-foot "mega-troph ...

(AMBR) Award.'' The AMBR is presented to the best pre-1937 vehicle in show, and has been won by many well-known car designers and builders, such as Blackie Gejeian, Carl Casper,

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, and

Chip Foose Douglas Sam "Chip" Foose (born October 13, 1963) is an American automobile designer, artist, and star designer of the car-customization reality television series ''Overhaulin. Life and career Foose began working on automobiles at age seve ...

. Together, the Grand National Roadster Show and AMBR Award are considered among the two "Crown Jewel" competitions and awards for professional show car builders in North America, alongside the

Detroit Autorama The Detroit Autorama, also known as America's Greatest Hot Rod Show, is a showcase of custom cars and hot rods held each year at Huntington Place in Detroit, Michigan, in either late February or early March. It is promoted by Championship Auto S ...

and its Don Ridler Memorial Award. In addition to the AMBR, the GNRS created the Al Slonaker Memorial Award in 1974 to recognize the best "Non-Roadster" in show. The Slonaker Award has too been won by well-known car builders and owners, including rockers

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

and

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History

In 1949, while Al Slonaker was preparing for his first automobile show at the Oakland Exposition, an

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

area

club convinced him to exhibit ten of their cars . The Inaugural show was a massive success, attracting over 100 cars and 27,674 attendees. The next year, Slonaker decided to focus solely on hot rods, but concerned for potential bad press, he promoted it as the "National Roadster Show." In 1962, "Grand" was added to the title, contributing to the show's long-time moniker as "The Grand-Daddy of them All". In 1967, the show moved to the

Oakland Coliseum Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, often shortened to the Oakland Coliseum, is a multi-purpose stadium in Oakland, California, United States. It serves as part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, located next to Oakland Arena. In 2 ...

Between 1998 and 2003, the show was held at a variety of other San Francisco-Bay Area venues before relocating to Southern California's Fairplex in 2004. According to the show promoter, ''Rod Shows Inc.'', the GNRS features more than 600 vehicles over seven indoor pavilions, with somewhere between 800 and 1,200 additional vehicles filling the remaining 487-acre Fairplex property. Over seven decades, the GNRS has been covered extensively in national automotive publications, including ''

Hot Rod Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimized for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and ma ...

'', ''Street Rodder'', and ''Rod & Custom'', with several AMBR Award winners gracing their covers. 2014 AMBR Award Winner

Awards

Since the show's inception in 1950, the grand prize has been the "America's Most Beautiful Roadster" or AMBR award. It is a 9-foot "megatrophy" with the names of past winners engraved on its base. From 1957 until 1971, there was also a separate "America's Best Competition Car Award" presented at the show. In 1974, the GNRS created an additional award to recognize the best non-roadster entry: the Al Slonaker Memorial Award. The award is open to all types of vehicles, Rods, Customs, Street Machines, Lowriders, VW's, and Trucks. In addition to the AMBR and Slonaker Award finalist, the show gives out place awards for more than 100 classes, plus 50 "Special" awards for clubs and outstanding displays.

List of AMBR Award Winners

See "America's Most Beautiful Roadster" (AMBR) Award

List of Al Slonaker Memorial Award Winners

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.rodshows.com/
List of Al Slonaker Memorial Award Recipients
1949 establishments in the United States Auto shows in the United States 1949 establishments in California