GNRS Celebrates 75 Years of Hot Rodding History

The 75th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Grand National Roadster Show presented by Meguiar’s will celebrate more than seven decades as “The Grand Daddy of Them All” with hundreds of the country’s best hot rods, customs, muscle cars, trucks and motorcycles.

Set for Jan. 31-Feb. 2, 2025, at the Fairplex in Pomona, California, the anniversary celebration will include a collection of more than 50 America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) and Al Slonaker Memorial Award winners in the Feature Building, presented by the Petersen Automotive Museum—marking the largest collection of past winners ever assembled under one roof.

The curated display will also feature tributes to GNRS Hall of Fame inductees and historical memorabilia.

“This is an incredibly important milestone for the Grand National Roadster Show, and this year’s event will be the biggest and best one in 75 years,” said John Buck, producer of the Grand National Roadster Show. “In addition to dozens of brand-new custom builds, we’re bringing together some of the most significant and memorable hot rods ever built. It’s a can’t-miss event for anyone who loves hot rods and custom cars.”

Overall, more than 500 hot rods will fill the Fairplex buildings, while another 500-800 vehicles will join the outdoor portion of the event each day for the 19th annual Grand Daddy Drive-In. The show will also host the debut of dozens of custom cars competing for the 75th America’s Most Beautiful Roadster and Al Slonaker Memorial awards, two of the industry’s most coveted and competitive honors.

Since its debut in 1950, the AMBR award has been presented to a vehicle featuring exceptional originality, style, design, craftsmanship, engineering and functionality, and is open to all 1937-older U.S. production-based roadsters, roadster pickups, phaetons and touring cars. The winner will receive a $12,500 prize, their name on the 9-foot-tall perpetual trophy provided by ARP Fasteners and a smaller version of the trophy to take home.

Created in 1974 by GNRS founder Al Slonaker, the Al Slonaker Memorial Award recognizes the best non-roadster vehicle at the show chosen by a panel of industry experts. The winner’s name will be engraved on a custom billet perpetual trophy and they will receive a $12,500 prize and a smaller take-home trophy, all presented by ARP Fasteners.

Attendees can visit the vintage-themed Suede Palace, which celebrates more traditional hot rods, customs and drag cars from the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s. The weekend will also feature historic cars like Dyno Don’s bright yellow 1976 NHRA Pro-Stock Ford Mustang II and Bill Niekamp’s modified 1927 Ford roadster that set records on the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Also, pinstripers from around the world will showcase their skills as they create automotive art to be auctioned off each day, with 100% of the proceeds benefiting the Gavin R. Stevens Foundation.

More information about the 75th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Grand National Roadster Show presented by Meguiar’s can be found here.