 This was only one of three...  This was only one of three large rooms at the Century II Convention Center in downtown Wichita, KS, that was filled with cars attending Darryl Starbird's 50th National Championship Exotic Car Show. |
 That's Darryl Starbird on...  That's Darryl Starbird on the left, proudly showing the hardcover book written about his life by author and grandson Brice Bledsoe (right). |
 It wasn't the first custom...  It wasn't the first custom Starbird built, but the bubbletopped Predicta was the car that put him on the map. That was back in 1960, and he hasn't looked back since. |
 Mark Moriarity built the Futurian...  Mark Moriarity built the Futurian as a tribute to the great bubble cars built by Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. The car will be on display in Winnemucca, NV, in the America's Car Collection when the museum opens in 2008. |
 Fritz Schenck is another customizer...  Fritz Schenck is another customizer who wanted to emulate the vintage bubbletop cars of the '60s, so he came up with his Roswell Rod, which looked like it jumped right off the li'l pages. |
 The Astrosled is a brand-new,...  The Astrosled is a brand-new, handbuilt creation from the mind of Dave Shuten. We checked out the judge's book on this car and it is as well-built and detailed as any of the cars you find competing for the big prizes at other indoor car shows. |
 Somewhere in there is a Chevy...  Somewhere in there is a Chevy S-10 that Eldon Titus and Gary Meyers started with on their way to creating the Vampyre for Gary and his wife, Carolyn. |
If you had attended Darryl Starbird's 50th annual National Championship Exotic Car Show in Wichita, Kansas, then you would have seen the secret to the show's longevity.
At the end of the three-day show, and after all the trophies were given out, the last thing Starbird did was stand on the awards stage and bring out, one by one, every member of his extended family (including grandkids) to thank them for standing behind him while he and his wife, Donna, road the car-show roller coaster these past five decades. It was a poignant and touching moment where one of the most famous customizers of all time showed the public that he was thankful for what he's gotten all these years.
But during each day of the event, it was the people-some of whom had attended many of the past 50 shows held in Wichita (or had been a part of one of the other hundreds of shows Starbird has produced in other cities during the same time frame)-who were the grateful ones. And many took the time to walk up to Starbird and tell him how much he and his shows have meant in their lives over the years.
Most folks started off by saying, "I was in your 1976 show in Tulsa," or, "I've got this car that I think was at your 1964 show," and Starbird quietly listened to everyone's memories and then thanked them for attending the show. It was in 1957 when he held the first Wichita event-a few years before he would become known as the "King of the Bubbletop" with his Predicta and other show vehicles.
At one time, Starbird ran 15 different car shows per year (one of them being the famed Grand National Roadster Show in Oakland, California), but nowadays he's content with running two big shows, Wichita and Tulsa (the latter celebrating its 43rd anniversary in 2007), hosting the 6th Merc/Deuce Reunion (in May 2007), and organizing his Hall of Fame outdoor car show held at his custom-car museum in Grand Lake, Oklahoma.
But you can't have a show without the cars, and more than 400 of them showed up to fill three gigantic rooms in the Century II facility in downtown Wichita. Starbird, the consummate promoter, filled all three days of the event with live entertainment (from live bands to a bikini show from the Texas Bikini Team), pinstriping shows with world-famous artists, big-screen celebrities, as well as legendary customizers, and, finally, the most bubbletopped cars ever displayed in one show.
It's a challenge to put together a show where everyone comes away happy because promoters like Starbird don't believe in the old adage, "You can't please everybody." To that end, he filled the downtown convention center with every possible version of a custom vehicle, with cars and owners coming from far and wide to attend.
There were two large rooms with enough for the "regular" car-show attendee to see, with numerous examples of cars from the '30s through the '60s, but it was the center room that had that little extra something. First off, there was a large display of some of the vehicles Starbird had created over the years, including the newly refurbished Predicta. The Predicta, originally built in only 11 weeks in 1960 out of a '58 Thunderbird, is the car that put Starbird on the map. From there, he continued to build more bubbletop vehicles (including the Forcasta, Illusion, and Cosma Ray) and other specialty vehicles (such as Cecil the Diesel).
The center room had a good many of Starbird's classic creations, but also a new group of vehicles inspired by Starbird's past vehicles built by today's builders. And, if you like bubbletop cars, this was the place to be, as it was the largest-ever display of them in one place.
A long table was set up along the edge of the center room, and some of the most well-known customizers of all time were seated behind it. Bill Hines, Eldon and Jerry Titus, George Barris, and "Candy Apple" Joe Bailon were all on hand to sign autographs for the crowd, plus Starbird himself was set up at an adjacent table signing copies of his new book about his life and cars written by grandson Brice Bledsoe.
Wichita, Kansas, may be located near the center of the country, but it becomes the center of the custom-car universe for three days out of the year. For more information on the next show, any of Starbird's creations, or his museum, visit www.darrylstarbird.com.
 |  Richard Stokes had an impressive...  Richard Stokes had an impressive '62 Buick on display in Wichita. His LeSabre, nicknamed Sumac, used a 401 Nailhead, Air Ride Technologies suspension, and 20- and 22-inch wheels to full effect. |  Nick Davis' '59 Chevy looked...  Nick Davis' '59 Chevy looked great with its flattened copper/bronze color and the five-spoke wheels wrapped in wide whites. |
 It's hard to see in this photo,...  It's hard to see in this photo, but there was some amazing pinstripe work done to Butch Harness' '32 Ford sedan (especially on the firewall). The homebuilt Tudor uses a 303 Olds V-8 for motorvation. |  Where are the future pinstripers?...  Where are the future pinstripers? An interactive display set up by a group of pinstripers allowed children to try their hand at some fine-line 'striping. |  Dave Worley's '26 Ford roadster...  Dave Worley's '26 Ford roadster was built using an original steel body (with its seams filled) set up on a boxed '32 chassis. Power comes from a 327 backed to a four-speed trans. |
 Lonny Moore's '28 Ford roadster...  Lonny Moore's '28 Ford roadster pickup was sharp! A resident of Wichita, Moore advertised his paint and body business on the door of his truck. |  |  In the rat rod division of...  In the rat rod division of the show, Steve Zaring's '27 Ford roadster was unique in its interior treatment. Besides the bomber-style seats, Steve used chrome bed strips on the floor of his ride. |
 How many Chrysler sedans do...  How many Chrysler sedans do you see out there nowadays? Steve Dale, from Mulvane, KS, brought his bright yellow four-door in for folks to check out. |  In the past few decades, a...  In the past few decades, a lot of people have gotten into rodding because, as kids, they were into building scale models. |  The paint on Lawrence Smith's...  The paint on Lawrence Smith's '29 Ford roadster pickup was very nice, as was the blown motor stuffed under the hood! |
 Steve McGregor is from Wichita,...  Steve McGregor is from Wichita, so he didn't have to travel too far in the snow to get into the show with his sano '29 Ford sedan, stylized with Moon discs and gas tank. |  Working for the Monogram scale-model...  Working for the Monogram scale-model company in the '60s, Starbird was asked to build a fullsize car to copy one of the company's scale models, and the result was the Big T, which was featured on the cover of Car Craft in October 1962. |  This low-slung ride was well...  This low-slung ride was well hidden in a back corner of the show, but it was still impressive. Using a '31 Chrysler as a base from which to work, Keith Bright, from Salina, KS, finished out his four-door with a set of wide whites and a deep black paint job. |
 There were a lot of great-looking...  There were a lot of great-looking suede cars at the Wichita show, including Steve Blackwell's '28 Ford sedan, which had one of the most evil chop jobs we've seen done to a sedan. |  Alan Girrens' '28 Ford shows...  Alan Girrens' '28 Ford shows what you can do with a highboy five-window Model A (especially if you want to scare the folks driving alongside you on the freeway!). |  |
 Bill Hines has been choppin'...  Bill Hines has been choppin' and leadin' customs for decades, and he was on hand all weekend with The Bat, his customized '49 Ford, to sign autographs and answer questions from fans. |  Show promoters Darryl and...  Show promoters Darryl and Donna Starbird (left) were presented with an honorary award to commemorate 50 years of the Wichita show by Eldon and Jerry Titus (who also built the award). |  At the end of the show and...  At the end of the show and after the awards presentation, Starbird brought out each of his family members to personally thank them for helping him put on the show, and it was a touching moment by a truly classy individual. |