The last 30 years have gone by in a flash for Pat Ford and his family since he held the first F-100 Supernationals show, and in that time, it has grown beyond his wildest dreams. You would know this too if you've had the pleasure of attending or even showing your Ford truck in the event that brings people from literally far and wide. The 2008 show was no different!

People often comment on the growth of events, saying they can't believe how they've developed so large so quickly. I too have made such comments. Take, for instance, the Lonestar Round Up-Austin, Texas's unique, multifaceted hot rod happening. Now in its seventh year, the show has evolved from its grassroots infancy into a full-fledged respectable event, attracting people from across the U.S. and beyond. But as amazing as the rapid growth may seem-from a tight-knit gathering of like-minded folk to an almost cult following-seven years is a bit more than just an overnight period of time. I guess when something happens only once a year, the months in between don't always equate as they should. Two weeks out of the past seven years really doesn't seem like a whole lot...but then again, we're not the ones planning, promoting, and staging the Round Up. That would be The Kontinentals, the Austin club responsible for the continued success of the event.

t's hard to believe that it's been well over half a century since the very first Grand National Roadster Show was held at the Oakland Coliseum. The year was 1950, and the very first recipient of the soon-to-be prestigious America's Most Beautiful Roadster award was Bill Niekamp's track-nosed '29 Ford, which was also a piece of hot rodding history in the making. Just a few years after its inception, the show featured a roadster pickup that would eventually become the first and only two-time consecutive AMBR winner--the Barris-built "Ala Kart."

The 1st Annual B&M / McLeod / Hurst / Classic Motorsports Group Charity Car Show was held at the B&M Facility in Chatsworth, California. With an early jump-start to the day, registration opened before 7 a.m. as attendees began to line up. One beautiful car and truck after another passed through registration and lined up in the street, behind the B&M buildings, inside the warehouse, and in the neighboring businesses. The broad range of vehicles on display was incredible. Street rods, musclecars, classic trucks, late-model Camaros, Mustangs of all body styles, Mopars, Corvettes, a Pro Gas car, and a Studebaker were there just to mention a few. Fuel-injected, nitrous-equipped, supercharged, as well as normally aspirated big-blocks, small-blocks, inline-sixes, and 12-cylinder engines were displayed by the over 200 entrants. The paint and finish on the vehicles ranges from black to white and every color in the rainbow, including many flame jobs.

Spring is here (and well on its way into summer!) and we kicked off the show season at the fairgrounds in beautiful, beachside, Del Mar, California for the annual Goodguys show.

As part of our jobs here at CLASSIC TRUCKS we have to-or get to rather-travel across the country to cover events to share with all of you. It seems that we rarely have a chance to go all the way across the country with so many of the shows being located in the Midwest. Well, this time I got to fly practically all the way to the other side of our fair continent late last October to the 14th Annual Goodguys Southeastern Nationals at the Lowes Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina-my first trip this far South.

The job of being a magazine editor is by no means everything it's cracked up to be...at least according to the average "outsider's" perspective. While indeed there are perks associated with the job, unless you're running a rag such as GQ or Time with practically unlimited budgets, managing a small niche publication, such as this, is severely lacking in the glitz and glamour-but we do get to travel, whether we like it or not. Oftentimes, our out-of-town stays are limited to nothing more than an extended weekend, most of which is spent pounding pavement, clicking shutter buttons, and sweating profusely. Sounds fun, doesn't it?

It's hard to believe that an entire decade has passed since the very first Goodguys Nationals in Columbus, Ohio. Actually, for some it may seem like it's been a lot longer. No matter what your take, there's one simple fact that everyone has no choice but to agree upon: The Nats have grown immensely since its inception, and for all intents and purposes, that is something to write home about!

According to Forbes magazine, Des Moines, Iowa, got their vote as fourth "Best Place for Business" in '07. That may be the case, but the capital city should be ranked first in having a good time! Having never been to Iowa, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I do know that Goodguys wouldn't be having one of their outstanding shows there if it were a bust.

Pickups Limited is an F-100 club that was started here in Orange County, California, in '68 by Lee Hill, who posted an ad in a local paper looking for others interested in '53-56 Ford F-100 trucks, and the rest is history! For 25 of the last 39 years, Pickups Limited has hosted the F-100 Western Nationals truck show, which has become the largest all-Ford truck show in the Western United States.

Of all the shows and events I attend year in, year out, there are but a few that I anticipate as highly as one: Paso Robles, or more appropriately, West Coast Kustoms' Cruisin' Nationals. The reasoning is quite simple, really, but let me explain, as I'm sure many of you might share the same sentiments about a particular event as well.

According to Forbes magazine, Des Moines, Iowa, got their vote as fourth "Best Place for Business" in '07. That may be the case, but the capital city should be ranked first in having a good time! Having never been to Iowa, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I do know that Goodguys wouldn't be having one of their outstanding shows there if it were a bust.The event was held just east of downtown Des Moines at their fairgrounds, which turned out to be much more than a flat lot with space enough for anyone's favorite carnival rides. The grounds covered what has to be more than half a dozen city blocks and is also home to some neat old historic buildings that continued up the green hills to the east just below the campground. As Friday morning went on, cars, trucks, and hot rods filled all the available roads surrounding the hills, many of which had highly sought after shady spots that came in handy thanks to a bit of heat and humidity and the workout we all got from walking the show. And if walking across the show proved too much or you just needed a break, there were two sky lifts to help out.

Pickups Limited is an F-100 club that was started here in Orange County, California, in '68 by Lee Hill, who posted an ad in a local paper looking for others interested in '53-56 Ford F-100 trucks, and the rest is history! For 25 of the last 39 years, Pickups Limited has hosted the F-100 Western Nationals truck show, which has become the largest all-Ford truck show in the Western United States.

For a show to carry on for a few years without fizzling out takes some hard work, so we couldn't even begin to imagine how many hours of organizing, promoting, and actually putting on a show that has been around for almost three decades would take. That's exactly what Pat Ford and his crew have done with their now 29-year-old F-100 Supernationals.

Back in grade school, as each passing summer was about to come to an end, I'd always get this certain feeling in my gut. It was a mix between eager anticipation and imminent fear of what lay before me: the new school year. The percentage ratio between the two depended on my age-the younger I was, the more I dreaded donning the new duds my mom had so kindly outfitted me with, not to mention discovering what teacher would control my life for the next 10 or so months; but as I grew older, I became more eager to put the surfboard back in the closet and begin the new semester.

For the last four years, the folks at Bobco in Elsinore, California, have sprung forward each April with a little thing they like to call the SuperTour Kick-Off Party. This year, though, it was anything but little (it really never has been a small affair), as the event was organized as a charity benefit for the Progeria Research Foundation. For their efforts and hard work, $23,000 was raised and donated to the foundation.

You might be saying to yourself, "Why is this guy showing us this Japanese hot rod show...again?" Well, if you hadn't already taken a gander at the photos of the '06 show, Moon's overseas adventure is much, much more than simply hot rods and customs.

I can't wait to get some good Southern food," was the first thing I thought to myself when I got off the plane at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport last September for the Goodguys 14th Lone Star Nationals. The airline could've lost my luggage and I wouldn't have cared as long as I got some delicious fried okra, catfish, chicken fried steak, or all of the above. People who haven't been to the South don't know what they're missing or possibly even what okra is, and they probably think a chicken fried steak is some frozen thing a diner warms up for you and dumps white gravy on. They really should teach this stuff in school. Regardless, my luggage didn't get lost, and Rob and I were going to make the most of a beautiful weekend in the Lone Star State. I ate what might be the best chicken fried steak ever made at a little place called Babe's that's not too far from the track.

From a vintage truck enthusiast's perspective, the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum-hosted, Automobile Club of Southern California-sponsored California Hot Rod Reunion-which rolls into the sleepy little town of Bakersfield the first weekend of October-is as good a place as any to see some of the coolest classic street trucks and race car rigs in the sport, some of which have been doing this kind of thing since the very beginning.

Brothers Truck Parts is a substantial cornerstone in the world of classic Chevy and GMC reproduction parts, and if you own a truck wearing either one of those badges, you most likely have some of their parts on it. Well, what better way for Brothers to promote their own business and bring their customers together to strut their stuff than the Brothers Show and Shine? It isn't exclusive to just their customers; they welcomed all Chevy and GMC trucks from '47-87 to Featherly Park in Anaheim, California, for this year's event, which happens to be in its eighth consecutive year.

What's 9 feet tall and would look pretty good in your living room-besides a Christmas tree? How about the coveted America's Most Beautiful Roadster trophy? If you already have one or two of these you know what I'm talkin' about, but if not, that's what was up for grabs at this years Grand National Roadster show.

It was hard to believe that we were already well into the month of December while I was headed over to the annual Mooneyes Xmas Party at the Star Academy in Southern Whittier, California. Santa Claus himself couldn't have brought a nicer day for a car show if he tried!

There are many aspects of life that trucks naturally go hand-in-hand with: farming, construction, recreation, and even drag racing. Yes, that's correct-drag racing! For those who know what I'm talking about, visions of vintage work of art front-engine dragsters being pushed by equally vintage and equally artful pickup trucks should immediately fill the mind.

My first assignment when I took the helm of CLASSIC TRUCKS just a year ago was to cover the Goodguys Lone Star Nationals in Fort Worth, Texas. I welcomed the task, not just because I love the great state of Texas, but because I was going to be amidst some of the best trucks in the nation vying for the coveted Truck of the Year awards (Early and Late editions) presented at the show. As it turned out, the corral of trucks, new and old, was astounding, and the show was a great way to get my feet wet.

I am still not too sure why it's called the Midwest when it seems more like the North, but who am I to say? I wasn't sure if I was going to be fighting the heat and humidity or scraping ice off my Mustang rental car when I got to Wisconsin this past August for the Goodguys Great Lakes Nationals, but it would prove to be my lucky weekend. I landed in Milwaukee for the first time and drove around the city for an hour or so to take a quick look before heading west to Waukesha. I've heard the name Waukesha for years in reference to the Waukesha engines that have powered many industrial applications for 100 years now, and, in fact, I believe I had just missed the city's big anniversary party. Nonetheless, the weather was nicer than the tailings of the Texas-like summer we'd had back in California, and I couldn'tbe happier.