Pick Your Winners at the 2026 Grand National Roadster Show

Elana Scherr

Sun, February 1, 2026 at 8:00 PM UTC

The load-in starts days before. The builds started years before. The Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS) in Pomona, California, is the kickoff to each year's competition in custom-car fabrication, paint, and presentation. The cars that win here at the first big custom event of the year will go on to other shows with major bragging rights. The runners-up? Well, they get bragging rights too just for being here, and there's a whole year ahead for them to claim their own accolades. Still, it's best to be the best at GNRS.

GNRS began in Oakland, California, in 1950, and from its inception, it offered an award for "America's Most Beautiful Roadster." The massive trophy was highly coveted, and builders began bringing cars from all over the country to compete. The use of the term "roadster" in the show and the award name was a marketing move to sound more upscale than "hot rod," which at the time was a subculture associated with greasers and hooligans. But hot rods these were, with no limits as to how they were styled and built, but strict rules as to what the starting point was. An AMBR car must first be a roadster, following the traditional definition of a car with no side windows and no permanent top. The famed 1932 Ford Deuce has made many appearances in the AMBR corral, but the rules are open to year, make, and trim, as long as it's a roadster from 1937 or earlier, based on an American production car.

In 1974, GNRS founders Al and Mary Slonaker added another big award to open up the competition to cars that don't meet the roadster rules. The Al Slonaker Award, which started in 1974, has been claimed by builds as varied as a '56 Harley in 1977 and a '48 Jaguar in 2014 (owned by Metallica's James Hetfield).

To see everything on display would take the whole three-day show and then some, because not only are the AMBR and Slonaker contestants on display, but also hundreds of other builds, from glittering lowriders to modernized muscle. Often, my personal favorites aren't any of the big-dollar builds, gorgeous though they are, but rather the long-lost racers, or less-traditional models turned into customs.

This year's show ran from January 30 through February 1 at the Pomona Fairplex. I did a quick run-through to see what was up for the roadster prize, and then I picked a few of my own winners.

On my personal Best In Cruising list would be this Foose Design 1956 Lincoln Continental Mark II. It's LS3-powered and obviously lowered, with the body lines massaged and the whole thing sprayed in the most perfect gold-flecked viridian. It's like driving a putting green.

Mamma Mia, that's-a some muscle. Two '68 Chargers, one in process and one ready to rumble.

Another view, just so you can appreciate what an excellent body style this is. The one on the left is Darren Moore's, and it's got a 572 Hemi behind that mean-looking grille.

Ok, let's get into the AMBR cars. This is Stanley Chavik's Ardun-flathead-powered '32. It's the raciest of the bunch, inspired by the Indy machines of the late 1940s. Chavik and his wife moved to the States from Czechia in 2003, and now run a hot rod shop in Orange, California. This car stood out to me not just for its cool Ardun conversion (an overhead-valve modification for Ford flatheads invented by Zora Arkus-Duntov of Corvette fame) and custom bodywork, but also because it might be the only entry this year owned and built by the same person.

Here's a nice classic Deuce entry. It's Shawna and David Pillado's '32, in inky black, with an 8BA flathead under those louvers and an original steel body. That last is bragging rights because many of the entrants, especially the '32 Fords, use reproduction steel bodies from Brooklands or other modern manufacturers. There's nothing wrong with a repro body, or even a fiberglass one, but there's always something extra cool about putting in the work to make nearly 100-year-old sheetmetal straight enough for a black spray.

Brandie Laird brought this Peyton Blue Phaeton from Delaware. A Chevy small-block provides the power.

For the past few years, colors have been muted, if used at all. Beth Myers had Brizio Street Rods go in the opposite direction, with a searing yellow 1934 Ford inspired by a Hot Rod magazine cover car from 1951.

You'll notice most of the cars are displayed with the hood sides open, and that's because the choice of engine and its design are as much a part of the final score as the car's body. Sitting in Myers's car is a Ford small-block chromed to a mirror finish and boasting a rare set of four-valve heads.

If the AMBR was won on presentation, John Fairleigh's 1933 Ford would have it on lockdown, with an impressive printed build story that surrounded the roadster on three sides while still allowing a look inside at the custom upholstery. The stance on this thing is vicious, as is the Kaase Boss 9 520-cubic-inch V-8 behind impeccably punched out and individually rounded louvers. I don't know what Fairleigh's mill cost, but if you're thinking about a Kaase Ford engine for your own machine, get ready to drop about the price of a base 2026 Mustang.

There's no rule to the AMBR that says a build has to be retro or period-correct. Dave Gonzales sent in a 1935 Ford that's been smoothed and stretched, then set on big thin-spoke wheels in low-pro rubber.

That's a modern mill, too: a 430-hp LS3.

I'm into this one. I like the earthy paint and the dog-dish hubcaps on Todd Samson's '32, build by Gray's Garage in Michigan.

Lest you think its subdued paint scheme makes it dull, check out the Ardun flathead and supercharger and imagine pulling up to a stoplight in this subtle killer.

Much like the doors and engine bays are left open to show off interiors and powerplants, some competitors choose to lift the cars up and put mirrors beneath for a better view of the chassis details. It's a risk, as judges see more of the build, but the floating angles are never as striking as a well-stanced car sitting on the ground.

This seafoam green machine is Cory Kozlowski's '37 Ford hailing from B.C., Canada.

Here's another personal pick. My photo doesn't do justice to the fabulous glow of Nicole Baird's turquoise pearl '32. The fur display, the white walls, the chrome intakes on the Buick Nailhead. It's all such a fun throwback to the golden age of show cars.

This was the 2025 AMBR winner, Ross and Beth Myers's '36 Ford, built by Troy Trepanier of Rad Rides by Troy.

Moving on from AMBR contestants present to possible AMBR contestants future? It's not unusual to see an in-progress car on display one year, then come back to compete when it's complete. This partial build is in the Hollywood Hot Rods display and features an Offenhauser four-cylinder and some intriguing custom-made chassis elements.

Looks like a casting but it's billet aluminum, machined and then peened by hand to a satin cast finish.

If you've never seen an "Offy" before, feast your eyes on the four-cylinder that dominated Indy and land speed racing from the 1930s through the '70s.

I love a sleeper, and what's sleepier than a gold Chevy Nova?

Oh, but wait, are those slicks in the back? A tuned engine in the front?

Column shifter and two helmets. Love it.

Sometimes you don't even need to know what's under the hood to find a build fantastic.

Beach Boys cover car, anyone? The "Silver Sapphire" was built by Clarence "Chili" Catallo and further customized by George Barris. It's such a silly, fantastic example of show-car styling.

Bonus points for the retro display of the Silver Sapphire's restoration.

Big Pontiac Safari wagon? Yes, I would.

Gimme some gassers!

The temptation was strong to call the number on this Corvair for sale. Wait for it. Well, actually, scroll down for it.

Mid-engine Corvette who?

Some assembly required, but no heater box needed.

Another awesome chassis, this one by land speed racing guru Steve Watt.

It's a Corvette. It's a '41 Chevy. It's a Coupevette.

We'll finish up with Dennis Troggio's 1955 Karmann Ghia. This build customized everything, down to the body panel screws. It's unreal.

Built by Buddy Hale of Type One Restorations in Tempe, Arizona, the VW is instantly recognizable as a Karmann Ghia, but it doesn't have a stock body panel on it. It's been widened in the rear, all the body lines are sharpened, and the headlights are lower than stock.

That's a 2387-cc air-cooled V-dub engine, but not like any you've likely seen before. It's making 304 horsepower with a 50 shot of nitrous, just for funsies.

When I said every screw was custom machined, I meant it. Builder Hale laughed when I asked how many extras he made. "There were a couple times during final assembly when I had to tell 'em to make me another."