Sacramento Autorama Celebrates 73rd Annual Event

The O’Reilly Auto Parts Sacramento Autorama closed out its 73rd annual event on Sunday, May 5, at Cal Expo by recognizing some of the country’s finest custom cars with trophies and prizes. Overall, the show hosted over 500 custom vehicles and handed out more than 400 individual awards during its closing ceremony.

The show’s prestigious Custom d’Elegance award was presented to Cliff Mattis for his 1957 Chevrolet convertible. Built by Lucky 7 Customs, the spectacular custom has been channeled by 2 inches and the frame was moved up to allow the car to sit as low as possible. The Roadster Shop chassis houses a vintage-look LS motor and the elegant leather interior was completed by Gabe Lopez. Mattis received $5,000 in prize money courtesy of ARP Fasteners.

New for 2024, the show crowned the World’s Most Beautiful Lowrider. The inaugural award went to Carlos Martinez’s jaw-dropping 1964 Chevrolet Impala convertible. The lilac-painted ‘Indigenous Angel’ features fabrication and assembly by American Muscle Cars, wheels and intricate engraving by Chavez Engraving, hydraulics by “Big Rob” Barajas and spectacular murals by Tim Lowery. Martinez bested five other lowriders for the first-ever award.

For the second consecutive year, the West Coast Challenge Car Show Series presented by ARP Fasteners crowned its Grand Champion during the Sacramento Autorama. Brent Schieder was presented with the Best of the West award for his 1937 Ford Cabriolet, beating out eight other vehicles that competed in at least three of four select car shows in California, Oregon and Washington.

The King of Kustoms award sponsored by Celebrity Kustoms returned in 2024, honoring the best custom-styled car or truck manufactured from 1936 to today. Mike McAuliffe’s winning 1953 Ford Victoria showcased the crucial elements of this award, including overall design, flow, quality and workmanship of bodywork, paint and interior.

“We brought together all the best parts of the Sacramento Autorama with a few new elements for 2024, and we are delighted with how Northern California’s incredible car community responded,” said John Buck, owner of Rod Shows and producer of the Sacramento Autorama. “This year, we celebrated hundreds of custom hot rods and muscle cars alongside lowriders, trucks, bicycles and more, and it wouldn’t be possible without the car owners and builders who bring their incredible entries to the show.”

Other significant awards included the four historic “Big B Awards.” Dave Zocchi won the H.A. Bagdasarian World’s Most Beautiful Custom Award for his immaculate 1936 Ford.

The Sam Barris Memorial Award, named in honor of legendary custom car builder Sam Barris, is selected by members of the Barris family. They chose ‘Lucille,’ a beautiful 1951 Mercury built by Cambra Speed Shop for Gary Stell Jr., as the car featuring the best metalwork, alignment of body panels and paint.

The Joe “Candy Apple Red” Bailon Memorial Award was designed and created by Bailon, one of the nation’s premier custom car designers and builders. This year, the award was presented to John D’Agostino’s 1941 Cadillac designed by Oz Welch.

The last of the “Big B Awards,” the Dick Bertolucci Automotive Excellence Award, was given to a vehicle manufactured before 1973 that the family of the late hot rod and custom builder Dick Bertolucci felt exhibited the best craftsmanship in assembly, fit, finish and detail. This year, the Bertolucci family selected Schieder’s Dominator Street Rods-built 1937 Ford Cabriolet for the trophy.

Sunday’s popular Pinstriper Charity Auction raised $10,000 for UC Davis Children’s Hospital, which is dedicated to improving lives and transforming health care.

For more information about the Sacramento Autorama, the complete list of 2024 award winners and updates on upcoming Rod Shows events, please visit rodshows.com.