Big NSRA Street Rod Nationals Louisville

Thunder in the Ohio River Valley

It was the finale of an action packed weekend here at the big NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Tennessee. Sunday is reserved for honoring the cars of the thousands of NSRA car show participants. During the weekend, NSRA sponsors pick their favorites among the cars that show up here on the grounds of the Kentucky Expo Center to participate and have some fun. The top cars are honored in the Circle of Winners for the final day of the show. Here are some of the Circle of Winners cars and trucks that we liked.

The Cars-On-Line Car Show team is here at the big NSRA Street Rod Nationals, August 4-7, 2022, to capture some of the excitement of one of the top car shows in the country.  It is the 53rd Annual NSRA Nationals held in Louisville, Kentucky. The parade of hot rods and customs is never ending.. They expect to draw close to 10,000 vehicles in all, including hot rods, classic cars, classic trucks and modified customs, all to celebrate the American custom car culture. 

On Saturday at the Nationals there was one classic pickup truck that wowed the sponsors. A 1958 Ford F100 Custom Pickup owned by Dan Bouchard of East Lyme, Connecticut won the Pros’ Pick Award. The award was sponsored by Classic Instruments, the famous aftermarket street rod equipment company. They pick top street rods and customs from the NSRA regional events during the year and invite them to compete at the Nationals for the Pros’ Pick Award called Pros’ Pick of the Year. Here is a look at the Pros’ Pick of the Year winner and some of the Pros’ Pick customs in the competition.

One of the top awards given here at the big NSRA Street Rod Nationals was announced over the weekend. The Builder of the Year award went to Roger Burman of Lakeside Rods & Rides in Rockwell City, Iowa. His work on the totally custom 1935 Ford Roadster was judged as the best by his peers in the Builder’s Showcase as they vote on which car will win the Builder of the Year Award. He built the car for owner Joe Faso. Much of the work was done at his Iowa hot rod shop. 

Click through the slider below to see the 1935 Ford Roadster which won Burman the top award here among builders. You will also see some of the top cars in the Builder’s Showcase. There are 36 beautiful street rods and customs in the Builders Showcase for this year’s big NSRA Street Rod Nationals. Through the lens of our photo-jounalist, Bob Boberg of eClassicAutos.com, you can see what is state-of-the-art among custom builders gathered here.

Our photo-journalist caught up with a stunned Roger Burman after he won the Builder of the Year award. Here is the video interview where Burman tells us about the build.

NSRA Giveaway car winner Jeff Whelan of Fisherville, Kentucky fairly ran to the podium at Freedom Hall in the Kentucky Expo Center on Saturday afternoon. His ticket had just been pulled from the raffle bin making him the new owner of a 1934 Ford Hi-Boy Coupe. There is always a lot of excitement in the main hall when they announce the winner of the Giveaway Car at the big NSRA Street Rod Nationals. Every car owner gets a ticket when they register here at the NSRA Street Rod Nationals. That makes them eligible to win the NSRA Giveaway Car. This year’s Giveaway Car is the 1934 Ford Hi-Boy built by Nichols Paint & Fab in Watseka, Illinois. Jeff was given the keys to his new Giveaway ride by the builder, Justin Nichols. Jeff and his wife were so excited they revved the engine and drove the car away all smiles and thumbs up. 

Cars-On-Line’s car show team is in place to bring you all the action and give you a taste of what it is like to experience the National Street Rod Association’s biggest event. Our photo-jounalist Bob Boberg of eClassicAutos.com caught some of the action here at the big NSRA Street Rod Nationals for you. Click the slider below to find out what it looks like here at the Kentucky Expo Center today.

Charlie Swanson of Charlies Custom Creations out of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, showed us his sinister looking 1968 Plymouth Road Runner Pro Touring with a Star Wars theme. It was the idea of Jamey and Melody Hyder, the owners of the car. Charlie describes the build in the video. Click the video window below to review: 

We caught up with Brian Limberg of Tin Man’s Garage out of Sycamore, Illinois. His 1936 Willys Coupe was an over-the-top build that we knew we needed to feature here. It has a 241 ci Red Ram Hemi topped by an Offenhauser intake with three modern deuces. The car keeps much of the original look, but they completely re-fabricated it. They reshaped the entire roof and cut the tops of the doors for a more sophisticated look. Click the video window to hear the interview.

Dave Snodgrass brought a 1955 Chevrolet Custom Convertible to the NSRA Nats this year. His shop, Snodgrass Restorations in Melbourne, Florida specializes in restomods. He says this one is a good representation of the work they do. Of special note is how the LS3 looks nested under the hhttps://www.classicarnews.com/big-nsra-street-rod-nationals/ood, the lusciuos leather interior and the perfect fitting convertible top. Here is what he showed us in the video.

As you can see, our Cars-On-Line Car Show team is here and getting some great photos and videos at the Kentucky Expo Center in Louisville, home of the NSRA Street Rod Nationals 2022. Outside on the grounds of the Expo Center there are thousands more custom built street rods, classic cars, old school hot rods, classic customs and custom muscle cars all on display in a giant car show. 

This show is where street rodders get to swap stories and pick up on the latest tech in the hobby. Over 350 aftermarket manufacturers will have displays set up here. 

Cars On Line’s Car Show team is reporting on the NSRA Street Rod Nationals for our readers. Keep this page bookmarked all weekend as we will be adding photos and videos in real time. The NSRA is one of the oldest and largest street rod clubs in the U.S. They really know how to put on a car show here. Watch for our posts on Facebook and Twitter.  If you love the American hot rod, you’ll want to see the NSRA Street Rod Nationals 2022 through our camera lens.