I like the Poker Runs the best. Though this tends to be a motorcycle thing, our car club and several others do them around here. A little more planning as you have to have your route and about 5 stops arranged in advance, But WAY more fun.
Drive for 45 minutes--stop and have a mini-show and a drink. Drive for 45 more minutes--stop and have another mini show and a drink.
Lots more fun and you get to drive a lot of miles, especially if the countryside is nice.
And not as expensive as racing--less breakage.

i prefer cruise nights where you can eat. i roll in, get something to eat, socialize a little but and cruise on out.. shows suck being trapped all day somewhere for the most part.

mostly what we do with the cars anymore is drive them to a destination.. the shore, somewhere to shop, etc...etc...etc basically drive it anywhere and everywhere.... a lot more fun...

i'm helping to put on a covered bridge cruise with a bunch of friends this weekend.. i only invited people i know and we should have a great time as long as the weather is good..

Theres a cruise two miles from my house ( as is the famous hot rod party at the farm) I take my D150 there now that its allowed, ( 25 years and older ) I got thrown out a few years ago as it wasn't old enough it seems to many new Vettes, Mustangs etc were coming taking places that old cars couldn't park. So they put a limit. I only go once in awhile mainly because theres a good italian restaurant there we have dinner at during the cruise. In Carlisle theres a drag strip a few miles from the fairgrounds that holds a Mopar race the Friday evening of the meet, I go every year and have a blast.

we go to one cruise. Hot Summer Nights in Beaver,Pa. All kinds of cars....stock classics from the '20s,Hot Rods,Musclecars,and some newer stuff. Plenty for all tastes. It's an hour from us, so we get to have a nice drive to and from the show.They shut down the center of town, plenty of food. I park so I don't get trapped so we can leave when ready. Takes hours just to walk around. If we happen to be driving by a local show, we may stop, but it's usually newer stuff.

Reminds me of a cruise I went to when my 79 Cordoba wasn't quite 25 years old yet. I went to roll in and was stopped. "Sorry, not old enough, have to be 25 years". I look over and there was a '79 LRE sitting in the lot. I asked "Then how is that LRE truck in there, we are the same year?". Answer: "Oh, that is one of the organizer's trucks." Yeah, never went there again.

I prefer the smaller and shorter weeknight cruise ins where you grab an ice cream, sit around a little and leave before it gets too dark.

No cars shows this year that I'm aware of due to the virus.

I only go to the large shows these days, which is about 3 or maybe 4 of them. Hundreds of cars show up so there is always something new to look at. I usually walk around and look at the cars and don't say anything to the owner other than I like their car. Too many will go down the "this car is worth a bunch of money" road so it's best to keep the conversations short to avoid that. I like to admire the cars for what they are not to talk about rarity and money so much.

I used to go to the local dragstrip all the time, and now I only go once or twice a year. The cars have gotten faster, but also more boring to look at. Very few guys racing Chrysler products here compared to years ago so it's all early Camaros, 68-72 Novas, and 302 powered 80's-90's Mustangs. Also our track has next to no shade so at the end of the day you are burnt and used up.