The National Street Rod Association's 2005 season began at Oklahoma City last April. After 12 events, lots of miles, smiles, and street rod fun, the season wrapped up in October at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa. A record 1,413 rods were registered for this event. For a state and region that has been ravaged by hurricanes over the past year, Florida lived up to its name as the Sunshine State for the weekend of the Southeast Nationals.
October is the time of year that folks from the North make the migration south for the winter. From the looks of the Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana license plates, they bring their street rods with them! Since participants come from far and wide, the diversity of the rods in attendance varies as much as the license plates.
Fern and Cecil Taylor's Hercules Motor Car Company open house has become a tradition on Thursday afternoon in Tampa. Hundreds of rodders were greeted and fed at the home of the New Generation Woodie.
The weekend was filled with all the things that make a National Street Rod Association event fun for both the participants and the spectators. The swap meet area was big with plenty of clean Southern sheetmetal offered for sale. The National Street Rod Association safety team inspected a record number of vehicles this year at Tampa. The Friday kickoff party and Saturday's Lip Sync and rock 'n' roll show at the fairgrounds were both well attended.
At the awards program on Sunday afternoon, event director Mike Chrispyn gave special recognition to some folks who traveled many miles this summer. For the second season in a row, National Street Rod Association safety inspector Lynn Hubbard attended every event this summer. She also won five long distance awards traveling from her home in Bakersfield, California. Charlene and Tom "Chicken Willie" Smith also made them all in 2005.
It was a great weekend in Tampa. The sun and fun were a perfect way to wrap up a summer full of rod runs. The best part is that we don't have to wait too much longer to start all over again in April 2006 in Oklahoma City.