I should get excited when I’m paid to go to car shows but I admit I wasn’t exactly gleeful when I heard I was to cover Goodguys Great Northwest Nationals in Spokane. On one hand it was a blessing; I have lots of pals in Spokane and every year I use the show as a good reason to visit them. And to be fair the event is pretty good: it attracts a number of feature-worthy cars. But would it attract enough cars to warrant full-blown coverage, much less a Painless Performance Products/Street Rodder Top 100 selection?

A lot went on at this year’s Shades of the Past Street Rod Association’s Hot Rod Roundup No. 29 in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, now held at Dollywood’s Splash Country Water Adventure Park. But, before we get into this year’s goings-on how about a little background on why this event is rapidly becoming one of the country’s premier rodding events?

For the past few years, the NSRA has highlighted some of the best hot rod builders in the country by organizing a group of them to showcase their latest rides in the foyer of the main hall that houses the hundreds of manufacturers attending the Street Rod Nationals in Louisville. There were 25 builders featured this year, but we only have space for a few. Here are some of the best:

Louisville Nats

The big story at the swap meet this year was not to be found in parts, rather the real deals were on cars. From barn finds to finished cars, the prices were right. Reports from the swap meet vendors were all the same, “The parts are selling but complete cars are barely being looked at.”

Unlikely Candidates

The 38th Annual Daytona Beach Turkey Run is history, and history was made. Car count was up from last year by over 300 cars topping out at 4,845, the 3,000 assigned swap meet/vendor spaces were all taken, and additional swap meet spaces were set up in the over flow area, and the over 1,500 spaces car corral was full. The weather was picture perfect for four days making the Florida Thanksgiving weekend perfect for the many visitors from the chilly North. Add 125,000 spectators and this year's Turkey Run broke all records.

For rodders, there’s nothing like setting course through the picturesque winding country roads leading to the Dutchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck, New York, to take in the Goodguys East Coast Nationals. Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, it’s an event that showcases not only the finest in rods and customs the East has to offer, but also its culture and history. When you finally motor into town you’ll immediately note the classic architecture that frames the quaint little town of Rhinebeck. Loaded with historical sites, it’s a place where time seems to stand still, making it a refreshing change of pace from the everyday rat race. Even before making your way to the event there are countless points of interest that you should be sure to check out, including the vast collection of vintage aircraft from the Pioneer, World War I, and the Lindbergh/Barnstorming eras at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. Weather permitting, you might even have a chance at taking a Barnstorming flight in a ’29 New Standard D-25 open-cockpit biplane over the scenic Hudson River.

It was a pretty good idea Goodguys had a few years back when they were trying to decide where they should hold their big national event. They had 18 or so regional events, but no spot to set up shop and hold an end-all, stand-alone Nationals.

Our hot rod heritage is a rich one, and after many years of attending rod runs that frankly suffer from a certain sameness, we look forward to the annual trek to the NHRA Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Holley is the major event sponsor, which seems only natural since Beech Bend Raceway is literally in their backyard.

Like a snowball gathering mass rolling down a hill, the SO-CAL Speed Shop party started off as a small gathering between friends of the shop with hot dogs for all. The food got more elaborate and, 15 years later, SO-CAL Speed Shop has to employ a mobile In-N-Out Burger truck cater to the thousands of folks who show up at the Pomona-based shop between 3 and 6 p.m. Friday before the L.A. Roadsters Show.

Sometimes the only way to get street rodders to follow the rules is to see what we’re doing and write the rules around that. A perfect example is the L.A. Roadster Show, where coupes, sedans, wagons, pickups, Vickys, customs, and just about every other variety of pre-’75 iron have been crashing this topless party for years. Nobody has the heart to kick them out on Father’s Day—instead the L.A. Roadsters Club relegates the non-roadsters to a designated area of honor known as Specialty Parking.

With apologies to all those roadster owners out there, the fact of the matter is the massive L.A. Roadsters swap meet is a happening unto itself, and it would probably be a very successful event even if no roadsters showed up next door.

Bobby and Melinda Walden moved to SoCal a few years ago after Bobby made a name for himself in his home state of Texas for his fabricating skills. He continued that trend working for some notable shops in the SoCal region before the pair opened the 7,000-square-foot Walden’s Speed Shop in Pomona, California, in 2005 (with a team of fabricators led by Jim “Jake” Jacobs, Wesley Kent, and Blake Tomlinson).

There are a few events that every hot rodder should attend and one of them is the L.A. Roadsters Show held each Father’s Day weekend at the L.A County Fairgrounds in Pomona, California.

It's such a natural it leaves us wondering why this hasn't been going on long before this premier event. The Coker Tire/Honest Charley complex in Chattanooga is the perfect place for a cruise night. There are two restaurants on the same block and several more within easy walking distance. The buildings that house Coker Tire, Honest Charley and the Honest Charley Garage (a full service rod and restoration shop) provide the perfect backdrop to a couple hundred cars parked around the entire block. With all three of the businesses also holding an open house the event gets even better. Inside the Coker building, which is a wonderfully restored old building, you were able tour the museum of vintage cars, hot rods and a large collection of early motorcycles. Outside the band was playing and people were kicked back having a great time in perfect 75 degree temperatures. But wait, there's more.

The 39th Annual Pensacola Rod-Tique Rod Run was held at the beautiful beaches of Pensacola, Florida April 15-17, 2011. The weekend was filled with great streetrodders, a free Friday night barbeque with all the trimmings, games, great music, goody bags, and a continuous supply of door prizes for all to enjoy.

Vintage hot rods are hot. What the late-Boyd Coddington liked to call "our ancestor cars" continue to attract and inspire today's builders. There's been a great collection of these '50s-era cars on display in upstate New York.

If you’re a little confused about this being the first Goodguys event called the Lonestar Nationals, don’t be. For nearly two decades the Goodguys Rod and Custom Association has held an event with that name in Texas (back then they used the same site where the Dallas TV show was filmed at the imaginary Southfork Ranch) and, since 1996, it’s been held at the Texas Motor Speedway, just west of Ft. Worth.

In 1937, hot rodders around L.A. formed the Southern California Timing Association to help organize dry lakes racing. That same year, near San Diego, the Del Mar horse racing track opened. Bing Crosby was at the gate to welcome fans. Who would have guessed that by the year 2000, hot rodders would be pouring into this chic Hollywood playground by the thousands—and nobody would even think of calling the police?

It’s always fun to celebrate a milestone and this year’s Round Up in Austin, Texas, did just that with its 10th annual event. What started as a gathering on a football field of hot rodders, artists, and musicians who thoroughly enjoy “old-style” hot rods and customs has broadened. The event focus is wide in scope, making it more than a car gathering. It’s also a celebration of music and enjoying today’s interpretation of a lifestyle from a former era. The Round Up is hosted by the Kontinentals Car Club of Austin, and they clearly have the feel to organize a first-rate gathering—it’s different and you better be ready for a change.

Traveling for work withers away at one’s soul but it has one distinct benefit: It offers the ability to test live prospective places to move. For the years that I worked directly for publishers I exploited that by taking stock of every town I visited. That I went those places to either cover an event or work with a manufacturer meant I never had to guess what a particular area’s car culture was like; it was all laid bare as if a real estate agent bent on shops and shows rather than school districts was my guide.

Not bad for a good ol’ southern boy who once spent his days as a shop foreman. The hot rod industry is incredibly fortunate to have as many talented builders as it has but there can only be one “King of the Hill,” and for 2011 at the 59th Detroit Autorama it was Bobby Alloway from Louisville, Tennessee.

One of the many cool portions of the Detroit Autorama is the hidden gem located in the basement of Cobo Hall known as Autorama Extreme 1953. It’s a place where traditional hot rodding lives in a world unaffected by time.