or many of us living in SoCal, the weather is, for the most part, cooperative in the sense it allows us to get our rides out on any given weekend regardless of the time of year—although the winter of 2023 was one for the ages, as we found out what it was like to deal with more rain than we are accustomed to. Born and raised in Southern California, that was more rain than I have ever seen in a single year. It made me get a taste for what it might be like living in a part of the country where winter weather plays a big part in weekend plans.

No, I don’t know what it’s like to shut it all down for months at a time, so before you flood my email box letting me know how this Southern California native has no clue what it’s like, remember, I said, “I got a taste for what it might be like …” And to be clear, being spoiled by mostly great weather, I didn’t much care for all that rain, either.

Thankfully, as of this writing, we are now in the middle of summer with the car show season in full swing–a time in which we are all able to take advantage of the weather and get out to cruises, car shows, and, to many, some long-distance drives in our hot rods and muscle cars.

Speaking of car shows, one that I’m really looking forward to this summer is the Inaugural Triple Crown of Rodding. This show will be held at the Nashville Superspeedway, September 8-9, 2023, and promises to be massive. This event is getting so much hype and creating a huge buzz in the hot rod, muscle car, and classic truck communities. Although I don’t have a horse in the race, I’ll be scoping out cars to feature and covering the event for All Chevy Performance magazine while our sister publications, Modern Rodding and Classic Truck Performance, will be handing out awards to the Triple Crown winners, which not only includes the beautifully machined Triple Crown trophies but the winners will also have their vehicles appear on the covers of Modern Rodding and Classic Truck Performance magazines along with a full feature in the pages of an upcoming issue. Modern Rodding will give out the awards for Best Street Rod, Best Street Machine, and Best Street Cruiser. Classic Truck Performance will hand out awards to the top three trucks in their respective class (1972 and earlier, 1973-1987, and 1988-1998). If that’s not enough, each registered participant will automatically be entered into the drawing for a chance to win a 2023 Chevy truck hot-rodded by Alloway’s Hot Rod Shop.

Among other events this summer, we’ll also be at the NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky, August 3-6. That show is one we look forward to due to the massive car count and everything else the giant Kentucky Expo Center has to offer. It’s great to take in some local flavor and check out some cars from all over the country.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the shows; be sure to stop by to say “hi” at our display booths at both the NSRA Street Rod Nationals and the Triple Crown of Rodding–weather permitting. Just kidding. We’ll be there rain or shine.

You in?