2025 Grand National Roadster Show
We secured an indoor spot at GNRS in Pomona, CA this year and went all out on the display setup with a wood-like flooring, polished aluminum stanchions made by Wicked Fabrication, removed two wheels to see the hubs and suspension, and an iPad stand so people could browse the website made for the car. The car was last displayed at GNRS in 2017 shortly after it was completed, and after its SEMA debut. In 2017 it won 4 awards:
Best Custom
First in Class - Radical Hardtop 48-51
Steve’s Auto Restorations Award
Outstanding Individual Display
Happy to say the car has stood the test of time, as here in 2025 it won 3 awards:
First in Class - Radical Hardtop 49-54
Outstanding Enginering
Outstanding Individual Display
We met and chatted with so many people that I lost my voice on the second day. What was overwhelming were the people that worked on the car and came to the show to meet us. We met Craig Wick and some of his fabrication team in person, Jon Byers and some of his body and paint team, Dan Brewer who built the engine, and the Moal family who were involved in the initial concept drawings before Wicked Fabrication started the build. The Hilborn family stopped by to take pictures of the rare intake so they could look up information on it’s history for me. There were many others that had a hand in the build that stopped by, so I apologize as I may not be able to remember everyone’s name.
Another person that I have spent a lot of time talking with is Roger Beer. I think he has one of the best jobs - he takes care of car collections. At the time the Wicked Shoebox came out, he was taking care of Bruce Leven’s collection - starting, driving, cleaning, and maintaining all of his cars. Roger put the majority of the first 600 miles on this car. He went with it all over along with the Wicked Fabrication team. During that time, he collected a lot of magazines, T-shirts, and other memorabilia with the car’s image from various shows. I’ll write a separate blog entry, but he brought all of that and gave it to me to preserve with the car. I was stunned.
Special thanks to my brother-in-law, Derwin Ereso, and his wife Laura, as they traveled out from Arizona to help with the entire setup and breakdown. Also would like to thank Joe, AJ, and Al Gonzalez - my neighbors with the coolest car carrier with a lift built in. I was planning on driving to and from the show (about 160 miles round trip), but started getting a bit nervous since I have not buttoned up a small rear end oil drip. They stepped up and brought the car there and back in their trailer for me.
Can’t wait for the next show - we are putting together a calendar of shows we will be going to in 2025. We do have one carved in stone right now, the Wheel Hub Live event in Lincoln, Nebraska. I was there last year with the QuadraDeuce and had a great time. The show is scheduled for May 23-24, 2025 at the Museum of American Speed, which is a phenomenal auto museum - a must see!
