Cars
The Grand National Roadster Show Hall of Fame is where hot rodding’s biggest names get the recognition they deserve. Since 1960, it’s been the ultimate nod to the builders, visionaries, and die-hard gearheads who’ve left their mark on the scene. This isn’t just a list of names—it’s a legacy of the innovators who’ve shaped the custom car world and made the Grand National Roadster Show the powerhouse event it is today.
Hot rod history hit overdrive at the 2025 Grand National Roadster Show, celebrating its 75th anniversary with a killer lineup in Building 9. The big deal? A special exhibit packed with a gathering of America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) and Al Slonaker Memorial Award winners. Teaming up with the Petersen Automotive Museum, GNRS pulled together some of the most legendary roadsters ever to roll out of a garage.
The Suede Palace at the 2025 Grand National Roadster Show was, as always, the ultimate hotspot for anyone who lives and breathes traditional hot-rodding. Tucked into Building 10 of the Pomona Fairplex, this gathering wasn’t about high-dollar billet builds or over-polished show queens—it was a raw, authentic tribute to the early days of hot-rodding, where creativity, attitude, and a little grease under the fingernails mattered more than a six-figure paint job.
The 75th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Grand National Roadster Show, presented by Meguiar’s, went full throttle this year, bringing out some of the most insane custom cars the hot rod world has ever seen. Sure, the AMBR award gets all the press, but the real hardcore builders know that the Al Slonaker Memorial Award is where true engineering battles happen. This isn’t just about looking pretty—this is about pushing the limits of fabrication, design, and flat-out mechanical genius.
The 75th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Grand National Roadster Show, presented by Meguiar’s, once again proved why it’s the crown jewel of indoor car shows. From January 31 to February 2, the Pomona Fairplex was loaded with the meanest, cleanest roadsters in the country, all gunning for the top prize: the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) Award. This wasn’t just some polished-up car show—this was a throwdown of craftsmanship, power, and pure hot rod passion.
The 75th Annual Grand National Roadster Show went down from January 31 to February 2, 2025, and for those who live and breathe speed, this one hit different. ARP Racing Products turned their booth into a full-blown tribute to land speed legend George Poteet, who passed away last year, leaving behind a legacy that continues to inspire.
If you caught this machine in bare metal at the Rad Rides booth last year, you knew it was gonna be special. But now? Fully finished and flexing some seriously next-level craftsmanship, it’s the total package. From the hand-built body to the insane drivetrain and killer stance, this car just oozes cool.
Boom! Andy Leach and the Cal Auto Creations crew have done it again, taking home the 2025 Al Slonaker Memorial Award with one of the slickest Pontiacs to ever roll through the Pomona Fairplex. This isn’t just another custom—it’s a full-blown, no-expense-spared masterpiece that took seven years to perfect.
While most of us equate the term “bubbletop” with early-’60s Chevys, other GM brands had their own versions of these sleek sport coupes, including Oldsmobile. Although these cars shared the same slim roof design, along with its highly celebrated rear window, other unique changes left no doubt about the special nature of these individualistic and stylish machines.
“Corvette Bill” Bartenstein and his son, Bill Jr., are renowned around the state of Hawaii—more specifically Kailua—for their car-building talents. But that’s not all—at the 2007 Barrett-Jackson auction at Scottsdale, Arizona, a candy-blue Bartenstein-built ’69 Pro Touring Camaro fetched a record $182,000. It just so happens that this Firemist Red ’66 Corvette Sting Ray resto rod—another Bartenstein creation—rolled across the B-J auction block that same weekend and sold for an incredible $130,000. So what makes a Bartenstein-built car so attractive? Let’s take a closer look.
