MOPAR NATS 2021, Columbus, Ohio AUG, 13,14,15

Anyone going to the MOPAR NATS in Columbus, Ohio August 13,14,15? I will be there in spaces L 27, 28,and 29. Will have 66/67 B body parts with several trim

items for 67 Coronet R/T. See you there. THANKS for the ADD MOPARTS!!

You know it - I'll be in the announcer's booth Friday & Saturday. Wouldn't miss it!

Kayse (wife) and I will be there.

We check into the motel on Wednesday evening and head to the track on Thursday Morning to get set up.
I've been at the Mopar Nats every year it's happened since 1984.

I first attended when it was held in Indianapolis. Was terrible there. Couldn't cruise. I went the three years there then they returned to Columbus, Ohio, Bryce Road. Fist year back traffic so bad you couldn't move. Then it got better to where it is today. I can't wait myself.

Will be there and also Monster Mopar at Summit Motorsports Park Norwalk Ohio July 22-25th.

I'll be there representing the late B contingent

planning on being there Saturday.

Same here.

I'll be there Thursday through Saturday. Haven't decided if I'm swapping or just enjoying the fun field like I normally do.
PM Me your list of '66 Coronet parts!

These are just some of the Parts which will be available at Swap Meet Site AA21, Mopar Nats. Will be at Nats Thurs-Saturday. Contact me beforehand with Questions on any of these parts.

Additional parts which will be available at Site AA21 Mopar Nats.

So the cruises at night

Still taking place in Heath OH

Or Reynoldsburg OH - Brice Road

Or Both

Have not been to the Nats in many years , and yes I remember the Brice Road of old

Thanx Scott

From what I understand there will be some organized cruising on Brice on Friday and in Buckeye Lake on Saturday. Hopefully Brice is better than it has been the last few years.

There will also be the "Moparty" at the Chrysler dealer in Heath Saturday night. That's always a great time. Used to be "Tri County", now "Hinderer" CDJR. The owner is a good guy and very into the performance scene. Lots of people cruise the Buckeye Lake area, but like every other location the locals have kinda screwed that up with their hillbilly antics.

in my experience their lot is full by 4 p,m

Has anybody received their swap meet passes yet? Got my registration but not the swap passes. Thanks for the platform MOPARTS!!

Yep. It is a great time if you can get in there. I hung out for a while a few years back. The food was sufficient and the music was decent.

in my opinion not worth driving 700 miles each way

Would not miss it. A great event.

Since you're a local, are there any restrictions going on these days like mask requirements???????

Not at this time.

7 hours for me too. Was going to try and fly there but I couldn`t get things worked out in time.

It’s 8 hours for me and I plan to be there. I can’t wait after it being cancelled last year.

Any concrete information on Brice Rd cruising? Whenever I have gone there in recent years it has never been more than a few cars.

One of the two biggest events of the year and you think it is too far to go.

Got my credentials looks like C14 is my swap spot, I am with the Umbrella People who have C8 to C14 and I am usually at the end of their swap spots.

I'm coming up with some parts to sell from Oklahoma. Haven't got a swap space yet hopefully one will open up. I

Crossing fingers for DRY weather and no "down burst" or "micro burst" or whatever the heck that was like 2019.

Thursday Friday isn’t looking good

Same system in WI this past weekend brought record rains , moving East

Like three fronts over the next four days

With that said next weekend looks great

LOL

I'll second that.
That was the year that the "micro burst" tried to rip the just installed awning off the side of my enclosed trailer.
I literally had finished installing it on Tuesday and by Thursday afternoon it was damaged.
The wind went under it and ripped it over the top of the trailer.
I literally had to take the awning off the trailer because it broke several of the brackets.
Surprisingly it didn't tear the awning tarp.

It sucked because I was literally stepping out of the trailer to retract it so we could go back to the motel when the wind hit and ripped it over the top of the trailer.
Everything else was put away in the trailer and it was the last thing needed to be done before we left for the day.

It also tore down one of the giant red and white tents in the swap area.

The wind come out of the east and just destroyed all kinds of stuff.

Scattered thunderstorms for Friday.

A few years ago the forcast looked like a rainout. I was seriously thinkinig about staying home because of it. I went anyway and the weather was beautiful.

That's Ohio!

I'll be making the agonizing 40 minute trip again this year. Wouldn't miss it.

for me thats 4 days travel time for a 2 day show. yes its too far

We booked flights for it last year. and was cancelled.

We went anyway, made a deal on a car that weekend anyway . So was a great week regardless.

We were really considering it again this year . But just far to much going on this time of year held us back. ......... maybe next year I guess.

I want to travel back WITH the car one day.That MIGHT happen next year but in reality the following year is more likely

Pulled out some stuff to sell today, see you there!

Do your NO rain dance please

Forecast gets uglier by the hour

Saturday's guess looks good so far...

https://forecast.weather.gov/MapCli...&lon=-83.00274999999993#.YRPaDd8pCM8

I don't know what forecast your looking at but the weather has been looking better and better according to this one for Hebron.

https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/43025

I'm a local and while Friday will be hot & sticky Saturday & Sunday look to be outstanding!

I'm headed down tomorrow to crawl around the swap section. . . anyone bringing a repo 69 Roadrunner 6 pack hood? That's what I've got my eye on. Then head down Saturday evening to cruise! What's the word on the cruise this year? Dodge dealership to Buckeye Lake the "main drag"?

Drove to the Nats yesterday, construction and traffic in Indy sucked. But from St.Louis there really isn’t another route to take.
Got set up at the track today.

Seemed like a light crowd today to me.

Hopefully this pic doesn’t post upside down, I don’t normally post from my phone.

Anyone still at the teack after that nasty downpour and winds? Was kinda nasty here in Heath.

Those fenders, though... Nice to finally meet you.

Racers are reporting $100 fee for RV, $50 for enclosed trailer, $50 for golf cart. Thats $200 in addition to racer and crew member entry fees. This is a formula that will kill the racing side of this event.

Overall, a good day. Got really sticky and nasty a little before noon.

Tomorrow should be better, about 5-6 degrees cooler and the humidity is expected to be down about 8%.

Didn't find too much in the swap space I need, which rarely ever happens at this show. Oh well.

It came in buckets this aft right at the same time as the burn out contest

Shower and lightning this morning

Then typical hot humid sticky Nats

Then the cold front started working this aft

Spent practically the whole morning in the swap

These where just a few
Beautiful

I loved these two next to each

Rolled through Brice road around 5:30ish... was dead, do people not go there anymore?

Just got back from Brice Rd. Lots of kids doing burnouts and idiots doing donuts with people hanging out of the car down by the Honda dealership. Not much to look at.

I didn’t drive to Brice, I drove up through Heath and Buckeye Lake and saw maybe a dozen Mopars the whole time from 7-8pm.

Dead...

I was there yesterday, and spent majority of time in the swaps. Thank you to the very nice family from Cookeville TN that gave me a ride on their golf cart after I bought a pair of wheels and tires!

Cool pics thanks,I've we've never been there

just talked to my buddy about 15 minutes ago. he is perusing the swap meet and he said it's Super Nice weather today !
i told him to buy something bigger than his head that weighs a ton, as far away from the car as possible !

Just got back. Was very nice weather today.

Found one thing in the swap space I wanted today but, went back and it was sold. This is the first year I've not found and purchased several items at the swap but, since I had cash burning a hole in my pocket, I finally broke down and bought one of the cool lighted clocks from the vender in the last row. I've wanted one for years but, just never wanted to pay for it.

Nice show as always but, not going to lie, I miss the massive large amount of judged show cars like we've had in years past. Been missing them the past few Nats shows I've attended.

Was surprised at the amount of empty swap meet spaces on Friday but chalked it up to weather scaring people away.

I did see Belinda was charging drag racers for trailer entry, which may have been a miscommunication (I hope)? Anyone verify? Getting charged for entry, plus golf cart/ATV, plus RV, plus trailer is a sure bet to kill that program.

I

There has always been a trailer fee for some classes, I believe pro and super pro were the only ones not normally charged IIRC.
I could be wrong though.

I just got home it was worth the trip. Thank you if you bought anything from me I've never seen so many people shopping for others. Seemed the mopar community was working well together this weekend.

There were three times where people said I might be back and the next guy bought the parts. Also not really any haggling and never seen so many $100 bills at a swap meet.

Hope we have better weather next year!

Just got back as well. Friday was hot...really hot. The rain in the morning was super light and didn't last long. The rain in the afternoon was heavier but felt really good and cooled things off for awhile. Saturday's weather was perfect.

They had a General Lee jump on Saturday. They make the jump car out of an old Ford Crown Vic with reproduction Charger sheet metal on it. Fake grill and tail panel painted to look real. They set up the ramp on the track surface instead of the grass which I thought was odd. However, after witnessing the jump, I'm sure the car would have rolled end for end if it had landed in the grass. I didn't think it would be much to see but I was wrong. It was INSANE! That sucker landed HARD and skidded almost to the tower. I didn't think it was going to stop in time actually.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXatCG5NGkc

70 hemi Challenger convertible. Originally lime green. Was painted purple in 79 so it would match his wifes Challenger. 1 of 4 Hemi autos.

Yesterday

Sorry I wasn’t camera happy Friday and Sat AM

To much to see in a short time

Drove 9 hours straight back home in the aft to make a wedding party at night

More zzz

Smorzzzzz

Unrestored

No masks but some restaurants did not allow for indoor dining.. Some had limited staff and were only operating at 25% occupancy.. That part sucked.. Pretty good show overall except for a few storms rolling through, I do wish they would attempt to organize the car show part and not have everyday drivers parked all over.. That's typical August weather. Left at 6am this morning and it was only 62 degrees did not have to turn the A/C on until about 11.. Swap meet was great lots of great buys out there for sure!!

saturday day was a packed house. was good seeing all the folks come out. even the general lee show was good. just hope it keeps going for the younger crowd.

we were in the swap meet just past the car corral, have the 85 blue and silver 4 door dually. sold almost everything,maybe set a record for people on Saturday, what a show, thought it was great, many improvments at the track and new owners said many more to come, including camp ground. thanks to everyone who bought something, and thanks to everyone that helps put on the show. if you missed this year, better make plans for 2022

I wonder why they don`t at least keep all the old cars together?

Great pics thanks!

Was there a starting line photographer? I noticed a drone taking pictures in staging lanes was wondering if anyone knew who that was would like to see that footage. Mine was a White 64 with 3958 number and buddies was a B5 Blue 70 challenger if any pictures out there thanks.

I had a great time hanging out right outside the car corral. I had a great time as always, but this year seemed like golf carts and side by sides were on overload!
I think the only thing that really annoys me is that the next year's dates are always a secret. Lol. (I know, second full weekend in August. So put it out before November. That place in PA does.)

Whew! What a show!!! Best year for us ever. Great turnout. Spectacular cars. But next year turn the heat down! Setting up on Thursday and selling on Friday in 95 degree +, high humidity weather nearly did me in Wish the show could be in OCTOBER. I prefer the fall temps. Otherwise everything was GREAT.

Sounds like the show was a big success . From the pics Ive seen it looks like a good crowd / turnout.

My younger brothers 1971 Duster took 1st place in A body stock class. he was extremely happy to say the least . He has taken in all he's learned on 2 other attempts and received second both times and upgraded the car everytime.

Hopefully he will drive it more now.

Maybe next year I can make a better attempt to make the show again

"I do wish they would attempt to organize the car show part and not have everyday drivers parked all over." You must be a Carlisle person. There is a designated area for the Judged show cars. We had more there this year than the last 4 years. Everything else is the fun field. That's always been done that way at the Nats
Carlisle has ZERO judging and just try's to park similar cars together in their fun field. . Hopefully you went through the Judged area and saw the extremely high level of quality cars that were there. There were two Hemi cars that scored O.E.Gold. Something that hasn't happened is years! Cars could not even find parking places so the show was maxed out. Best Nats in a while even with the rain.

I arrived at the track noon Saturday and the police appeared to be blocking the main front entry
and the spectator lot was closed!
Anyone know why???

I was in for culture shock Friday Am when I showed up at 730am

The main parking area Field now looks like Soy Beans from years past across the river

And they had me park in what was the old show judged Field car club area on the opposite side of the track

I honestly think I was the first there , driving down and not seeing any Mopars until I hit the track

I said this can’t bee good


I was pleasantly surprised however as the cars trickled in and what I saw as the rain day unfolded

People where great , every one is saying it was a huge success very busy

Spending money like crazy

Now with the judged show and fun field all on one side of the track , and of course you add all the newer Mopars

Felt a little more unorganized with Everything happening on one side of the track

As you can tell I haven’t been there in many years

My 31st year. I thought it was a great show with a pretty large turnout. Not much of a Manufacturers midway to speak of but otherwise a great time as always.

Not sure. There were cars coming in the main entrance all day. I did see a sign that said for cars that needed to exit and re-enter the grounds, to use the gate behind the tower.

My 29th year and the first time I went home without buying anything. Very disappointed in the absence of vendor's in the manufacturer's midway.

Dales Cuda has been setup in the Manufacturers midway in the past. Little Detroit may have been as well. I thought maybe a change in the setup of all that was moved to the swap meet area back by gate H. Thought I would see Vans and Legendary Interiors somewhere but never found them.

No Dodge

No Vans

No Legendary

No Mancini

No Mega Parts

I was underwhelmed, but I hurt my back on Tuesday as my shop flooded over the weekend so I was in no mood to walk around. I brought my bicycle but could only use that sparingly. After 34 years of going I may finally skip it next year as the Holley Moparty will probably grow and this one continue the slide downhill. Once again the trash cans were never emptied, the bathroom and porta potties were nasty, and too many golf carts so nothing has changed. We went to Buckeye Lake on Saturday, not much going on but the cops were good. Had decent sales in the swap, but noticed it was way down. As mentioned above, hot, rainy, then beautiful. Had to go get my minivan from Bedford, PA on Friday night 6 hour round trip, but the starter died in New Stanton, PA and had to go back and get it with my enclosed trailer on Sunday, so called it a weekend Saturday night as that little debacle added four hours onto my trip home. At least after a month all my stuff is back from Carlisle, LOL...

When major vendors don`t come that is a concern.

I went to my first Nats when I was 13,I think I just attended my last one at 50. I would rather drive 7 hrs to Carlisle than 3 hrs to Columbus.

NO Staff/ INVENTORY - all the stuff you need is on back order.

I think if I were them and had to answer "when can I get this out of stock item" 100 times an hour, I would probably stay home, too. I don't feel it's a reflection on the show.

When you go to sell parts but have no parts to sell, there is no point in paying for the huge space, travel expenses, wages, etc.. That's just good business sense!

Megaparts hasn't been there in a couple years. And I don't think Vans has either

neither has anything to do with inventory

Mega Parts got upset one year when their tent wasn't up until late on Thursday. That didn't give them much time to setup. They vowed to never return to the Nats. That was probably 5 years ago by now. I'm not sure if Van's was there in 2019 or not. Their booth was always packed.

For both Vans and MegaParts its a FOURTEEN HOUR DRIVE. Then a setup. Then sell. Then break down and leave the same day on Sunday. We are all in our 50's or older and believe me it was brutal this weekend. Thurs when I was setting up I swore I wouldn't do this again and I am very healthy (I know I could lose 15lbs). I WILL do it again only because Sat and Sun weather was great. Really wish the show was in October. THATS my kinda weather.

With this COVID crazy sales the shows are a zero sum game. Factoring in the gas, food, motels, tents, spaces, payroll and the losses by not answering the phones and emails I could have saved all the b%^& busting effort and stayed back in the air conditioned shop and sold product. Pretty sure this is why the guys at Vans said they aren't doing shows anymore. But I do like getting out to meet customers and hang out at the shows. And customers get "free shipping" So its still a good thing to do.

And Year One that wasn't there. They just passed out catalogs. They never sold anything.

Dales Cuda WAS there. They were bought out and are now owned (not sure the EXACT financial arrangement) by Richard O'shields and Quirey Quality Design So they were in the gigantic tent in the last row of the swap area.

Indy wasn't there.

Mancini's backed out at the last minute. Maybe for the same reasons as Vans and MegaParts above.

The lockdown of 2020 causing events to be canceled meant people were forced to buy the parts they needed online and it changed the way many people shopped for stuff.

Why would vendors pay large fees for a Vendor space at an event like the Nats when their online sales are booming?

A new part purchase isn't the same as buying something used. Used parts you want it in your hand to see the condition.
New parts are either manufactured correctly or they aren't, the in your hand isn't as critical as used stuff.

As far as the availability problem, a buddy that owns a glass block company was telling me about the problems at the port of LA.
Cargo ships are literally sitting off shore for 4 to 6 months waiting to be unloaded.
His future inventory is just sitting on ships waiting offshore.
The dock workers are so short handed for workers (longshoremen) that ships take forever to get unloaded.
Ships are simply just sitting offshore waiting months before ever being unloaded.

Indy Cylinder Head was there. They were just in a different spot then usual.

Summit and Legendary weren't there but they don't sell anything there anyway...same as Year One.

Makes more sense then what others where assuming

Considering Mega Parts was at Mopars in the Park in June
Carlisle and Chicago in July

And the owners are the staff , and they do a hell of a job for customers


I was surprised they where in Chicago the following weekend after Carlisle

MEGA PARTS is one of the best out there with the reproduction parts. Have always treated me well, I bought something from them at Carlisle that quit working at the Nats and they already had another shipped out before I got home from the Nats. I am to the point of NOT doing business with Mancini anymore.

I will do business with the businesses that support the shows I go to.
Mega Parts
Brewers
A&A

The fact that the Nats has survived for 40 years is due to the patronage of the Mopar die hard. I have been attending the Nats since '87 and only missed the '97 event. The show back in the late 90s to early 2000s was unreal for the number of spectators, cars, swappers and racers. It dropped off during the economic decline of '08 to '09 and had started to experience some growth in '17, '18 and '19. For this year, foot traffic seemed to be strong on Saturday and ok for Friday. Most of this can be attributed to the pent up demand of not being able to get out and about due to Covid restrictions. I was surprised the number of people who were still there on Sunday morning.

Sales for this year was ok, but far from any records. I feel that the only reason that the show was as successful as it was this year was the fact that there is so much bottled up frustrations of not being able to get out and support the hobby.

The show has no organization after all of these years. The most frustrating fact is that you attend the event and you never know what your entering into. I spent $4,267.72 for a frame tent and show up to find a pole tent which was $2581.42 in 2019. I did not even get all of the side curtains and thankfully we had EZ-Up curtains and tarps to cover the areas that were still open. I paid for 34 spaces at $95 to find out that we could not use the last two spots on the row, yet it became a parking lot for golf carts and ATVs. The Port-a-John that we rent for the weekend was not cleaned out from Thursday through Sunday.

So I am very much on the fence as to our direction for 2022 for the event. I know of another large vendor who shares the same concerns. The swap meet is down approximately 18% in the larger section of the field. I would say that the smaller side is down by maybe 10%. The midway this year was basically Rick Allison, Indy Cylinder Head and Layson's with a variety of guys selling items like sunglasses, decals, billfolds, etc.

To have so much invested into the hobby, I hate to see any event falter. It is not good for any of us. But at a time, you have to determine what is best for your efforts. I am sure that the Nats will continue as it has for the past years. It may be smaller, but it will continue to be the social event that it is.

The one thing that I do know is that the Bowling Green event will be looming in the back ground and will be steadily eating into the attendance of the Nats in all areas.

The problem with the Bowling Green event is traffic,,,, in or out of the complex.

One lane road going in or out will make it very difficult to grow to any size with any chance to compete with the Nats or Carlisle

Its a very nice complex once in,,,,just a major snafu to get in ,,,UNLESS something has changed when I was there a few years back for an NHRA thing


Im planning on going to the MATS in Vegas next month and am real curious as to attendance for both vehicle and foot traffic

Vans sold their truck. Shame their spot was always full and usually bought off of them. Year One hasn't brought anything but catalogs then CDs to the Nats in years. Harden's was always a good vender but they've been gone a while now.

You forgot about the young ladies selling pictures on the Midway , well let’s just say I was a little surprised honestly

Especially with all the young kids running around

She asked if I had car in the show - I told her , nevermind - LOL - Invited her to The Mopars In The Park next spring , she likes her Mopars


Nicole Lynn was her name





Not complaining, just a little surprised

Vans is done with shows, they decided last year that it is more lucrative to just sell online, the expenses were too much for them when they can make more just sitting home...

Yes the ingress/egress of the Bowling Green facility is always an issue, that is why I stay at the RV park attached to the event. I have gone to the NHRA Hot Rod Reunion there for a decade and love the facility! It will fill up quickly, and expanding the event will always be an issue...

They have the LS fest there the week before…. The Mopar show will always pale in comparison numbers wise to that. Had 30,000 people there for it in the past.
I have heard race registrations are pre entry only, i just entered. Not sure if that is true or not, but if it is, a good way to “ size” the event how they want to.
I was there last year, what a blast. Liked it better than Norwalk actually.

Vans has not been to Carlisle, Nats and other shows in years. Mancini has not done any shows other than the Nats since 2015 and they too aren't doing shows as they do not have the staff and do well enough with internet sales. Many others are done with shows just doing internet or don't have product anyways. Legendary I heard paid for space but did not come as they have no product and are back ordered almost a year. Other vendors have folded or sold out. I heard the names of 3 that have passed, one being Art Toys and Hobbies. Many sell the same product so I would think that sales for those that did come will be much greater. Better get use to this hobby dying, as the new guys are not into the old cars as they are way to expensive and the new modern muscle is much better and faster than the old. I went to Carlisle this year and was surprised by the number of new cars out numbering the old by a large number. Also, what's up with all the trucks parking in the vendor spaces at Carlisle, many aisles were 1/4 full of vehicles parked with no vendors. I guess they have to park them somewhere, but I don't remember it being like that in year's past.

The hobby is slowly dying which really accounts for the change in Nationals numbers over the years as much as anything else. As the old guard passes away, there aren't enough younger folks that are interested or can even afford to pick up the mantle and run with it. Crazy cost of having or restoring one of these is too high as well.

I like my old cars but the modern Hemi cars with their conveniences and horsepower, being equal, are just too hard to pass up. Plus the younger folks can daily drive one of these newer cars. Hemi's have been out for awhile now.

Better get used to the number of new rides at shows. Everyone one ive been to the past year or 2 . modern rides outnumbered the old 2 to 1 easily.


Carlisle doesn't provide a truck or trailer parking area that I know. Vendors have always had to park there rig inside their spaces. I bought 6 and parked trucks in 2 the entire time I sold there

They do. $30 for a 10x40 parking spot. It's at the top of the hill at gate 5.

My first 25 years of the Nationals was spent driving one of my old cars to Indy or the 5 hour one way jaunt to National Trails. Lately it's been my 2011 Challenger. Age gets to you eventually. The last few years, I never pass or run into anyone heading to the track from Northern IN on the highways. That used to be a common occurrence, but no more. The actual numbers have dwindled way more than we realize.

Wow, I knew Art had been sick, but thought he was doing better....thats sad to hear of his passing .

The modern cars arent “ too hard to pass up for me”. I like muscle car era cars. Modern 4400 pound cars don't do much of anything for me.

In addition to all the previous mentioned issues there is the terrible condition of our Interstate highways!
I hit a spot on 270 near the exit to 70 East every year that is so torn up that it feels like major damage
is being done to my ride.
Then I arrive at the track at noon and find the entry gates blocked.
I dont see myself returning to Columbus

I never saw the entry gates blocked.
On Friday I had forgotten to grab the Popeye's fried chicken out of the motel room fridge and I left at noon and drove to the motel and was driving back into the track entrance 15 minutes later.
Yes there were police cars at the gates at the side of the entrance, but they weren't blocking the entrances.
They were also at the intersection of US 40 and Hwy 37 off to the side.
They sat in their cars and were probably there to control traffic if there was a problem.

Even when people were lined up on the entry road (track property) watering down the road trying to get people to do burnouts (some happened) the police never moved.

Was Jegs at the show this past weekend

I heard that Art passed away shortly after Carlisle. I was also told that his wife was originally planning on bringing him to the show, but unfortunately he had declined to the point to where that was not possible.

I don't remember Jegs EVER being at the Mopar Nats.

Not this year. Jegs was there quite a few years ago. I've still got some free hats they were giving out.

"The modern cars arent “ too hard to pass up for me”. I like muscle car era cars. Modern 4400 pound cars don't do much of anything for me."

My feeling as well.

If it wasn't for the modern Mopars these shows would have been done by now, they pay the bills! We came to that conclusion about 10 years ago with our local shows...

It seems to me that it would be hard to judge a row of new or newer cars.

These are Fun Field cars. No judging. The old cars are the ones being judged but not very many of those these days at the Nats. Hence why I would agree that the newer stuff has been carrying this show for a while.

I suspect a lot more of us older generation are going to lose interest in going due to all the newer cars showing up. I for one fall into that group and this Nats was most likely my last one after 29 years. If I want to see the newer cars I can always just run down to the local dealership but I don't have any interest in seeing the newer cars at all. I and my friend that went with me to the Nats were talking about this during the ride home. What I would like to see is, if the number of classic Mopar owner's is on the decline, perhaps the Nats be held at a smaller venue like Norwalk for just the older classic Mopars. The newer generation car owner's could also start their own event as well.

I dont mind the new cars as long as they don't have 30" wheels and that THUMPING music

I think these shows will be relevant for a decade or two. Hell I'm 59 and probably wont get to work on my own car till I'm 70+ (11 years from now). Things will probably taper off slowly as we get older or pass on. I was just talking to someone about how there may be a wave in the future as cars are passed down or people develop an interest "because their dad was into these cars".

A lot of people like to live in the past too.

I love both old and new Mopars.

The newer generation of Challengers is now 13-14 years old so they're not that new anymore.

There's a reason that people buy and drive them to events like the Mopar Nats, you can actually enjoy driving the car on the trip not just trailer it there and drive it as little as possible for fear of hurting the investment value.

Lets face it, most old Mopars are lucky to be driven 1,000 miles a year, I put 1,100+ miles on my 2010 SRT Challenger just going to the Nats.

The problem with both old and new cars is that too many people think that they should look exactly like they came off the assembly line.
I'll walk right past a perfectly restored car (usually over restored) to look at something modified or personalized.
Too many people want it stock for nothing more than investment value.
They never drive their cars at all so they're not actually enjoying them for what they were built for.

I started changing things on my 2010 as soon as I got it to personalize it and plan to keep doing that.

Every old Mopar I past on the way there and back was on a trailer being towed there, It wasn't being driven there.

I've trailered our 69 Dart GTS there before, but its more of a race car since it has 4.30 gears so a 550 mile one way trip would be tough

I've gone to every Mopar Nats since 1984, we'll be there next year too.

If you didn't enjoy yourself at the Mopar Nats, that's all on you and your attitudes about what should be there.

I took pictures of anything I thought was interesting or different, I enjoyed myself.

These are Fun Field cars. No judging. The old cars are the ones being judged but not very many of those these days at the Nats. Hence why I would agree that the newer stuff has been carrying this show for a while. [/qu

They may be in the fun field at the Nats but a some local shows I've been too they are in with the judged cars in a class for late mdl stuff. That's fine with me,I just think it would be hard to judge a class with all new cars or nearly new cars.

I haven't been to the Mopar Nats in 20 years, but the 15 years before that I didn't miss. The reasons I quit going had little to do with the show itself (except for maybe the overflowing trach cans, and the port a pots that hadn't been emptied all weekend). The reason we quit going was because of the mess that happened outside of the show. The very stuff most of you guys still seem to enjoy was not something I wanted to deal with when I had 2 small children along. We couldn't get back to the motel without drunks grabbing the door handles and insisting on me doing burnouts with another car 20' in front of me.

That said, lets look at the cars for a few minutes. Most of the cars we love were popular right off the show room floor, and grew more popular as they aged 5-6 years. I graduated high school in 1974, I couldn't wait to get my hands on a 68- 70 Road Runner. At that time, the new models of the cars we loved changed body styles every 2-3 years. We tend to love a body style that had a limited production run.

The early versions of the modern Challengers are 13 years old. I think the biggest problem with our generation not wanting to accepting them is the simple fact that the brand new off the show room floor versions still look like the 13 year old versions. Now, I'm sure those guys that have the early versions can point out several things that were different between the 2009 models and the 2021 models. How many here would be willing to argue the differences between a 68 Road Runner and a 69 Road Runner, or the difference between the 67 GTS Dart and a 68 GTS Dart? The point is, back in the 70s we were drooling over a 10 year old car, but we refuse to accept a 10 year old car now as show worthy.

I must confess, I seldom go to a car show and look at a restored car of any make, or year (unless it is a seldom seen vehicle). I'm drawn to those that have been personalized. The modern Challengers all (unfortunately for me) fall into the same category. I'm not much interested in stock looking cars or trucks, give me something different to look at, something that will catch my eye, or I'll probably walk right by. It takes a great deal of effort to make a modern Challenger stand out, and the "special version" stickers don't do it for me.

Our family will be enjoying the Mopars on the Mississippi this coming weekend. (They really need to correct the name. LOL!) There too, the modern vehicles will probably outnumber the vintage vehicles, but I fully understand that without the modern stuff, the show would have failed several years ago. I for one am pretty happy to see a show full of cars. It enables me to see the ones I really like, but don't get much chance to see in the real world very much these days. I'm going to walk through all those modern cars and trucks, because there are always a few guys the come up with some cool ways to make their ride stand out.

I'll be driving my just made road worthy, beat up old truck that looks pretty stock, until you look at it a bit. Gene

I haven't been there in about 12 years. Like said just above, is there a "brice road" area now? Or is all of the cruising spots, Heath, Brice, Buckeye.. all done. I can remember the redroof Inn on Brice to look like a riot zone later on Saturday nights. Sketchy, but what a time.

That mix of new/old cars has been going on around here at local shows for years. Back when the Vipers first came out A fella here local was taking his to car shows and entering in Mopar Muscle classes. I haven't shown for years but I had my original 1970 6 barrel Roadrunner in a show with his Viper and the judges did wonder what to do about that at first. They decided I would win the class that day and the Viper guy was basically outraged. Got all over the poor judges about it. Burned the hides on that Viper and almost wrecked it leaving the show. Pretty comical. This was back in the early 90's, I believe.

I went to the Nats back in 1992 and swore to never go again and I haven't back then the racers appeared to be an after thought with the most emphasis on the car show and swap meet. Most Mopar racers I know who have attended feel the same way. I have a Viper story also: a few years ago there was a car show at a local ( now gone ) Dodge dealer since it was only three miles from my house I decided to take my Dart race car I parked my trailer across the street and pulled in to park the Dart a guy with a Viper comes running over and says " you can't park here this is millionaires row for Vipers only " there were no signs stating that . I proceeded to drive back across the street loaded my car in trailer and went to Test and tune at my home track instead. I have however been taking my D150 to a few shows and cruise nights lately and have won a few awards and the experience has been mostly positive with not to many negatives except the one couple at a local cruise that ask way to many personal questions, they don't have a cruise / show car and I am tired of hearing how he sent money to Chevy for a catalog and t shirt and never got the t shirt.

Cops didn't like Brice Road back then the same way they don't like the newer meets with burnouts and donuts. Same concept different times. I don't mind the newer stuff at car shows as the new stuff is being modified to the owners taste like our cars when they were 5 or 10 years old. Support is support in any form. If I was just starting out and had 20k to burn I doubt I'd buy a rusty project when I could just plop it down on a Scat Pack and preserve my weekends.

I’ve been going to the mall for national since 1988 every other year mostly as a spectator ,Show is definitely gotten smaller over the years.
I’m sure there’s multiple reasons why, but I know one is the constant bitching and whining from half the Mopar guys.
It’s too expensive, they don’t pay enough in the dragracing, disorganized, not enough vendors, I didn’t win a trophy , they pay more at my local track. No more real cruising. I truly miss that myself,
It’s pretty much the only show left were Mopar guy can live in breathe Mopar’s and watch them race. And despite its problems you should support it. Went to the Mopar’s at Englishtown every other year.😩
Carlisle‘s nice but no racing, these cars are more beautiful moving than they are sitting still.
I suppose most of you guys rather go to a car show where 99% of the cars are 69 Chevrolet Camaros.
When this show goes away it’ll give you one more thing to [censored] about.
Jim F

Carlisle has racing at South Mountain Raceway a few miles south of the fairgrounds on the Friday evening of Chryslers at Carlisle I go every year to race but very few other people do.I don't understand it almost 3,000 vehicles at Carlisle and only about twenty or so show up to race along with a few spectators. I guess hanging in hotel parking lots is more fun than racing.

To someone like me , yes . I dont have a desire for racing, My personal view is , I dont what to throw away money to go a quarter mile, not for me .. Maybe for someone else... I enjoy the cruise and the hanging out...

Totally agree. I loved the Brice scene. The Red Roof parking lot was ground zero, what a blast. It's all over and it will never happen again. Even after the Brice Rd. fun was taken away I returned to the Nats another year. The night scene was a dud no matter where people claimed 'the action' was at. I had considered attending this year but didn't get a hotel room in time. Judging the comments already posted that may have been a blessing. Seems the Nats will no longer be worth the two 7 hr. drives, or fuel and motel costs just to chase parts and look at cars that i can view online.

I'm wondering if the Indy swap meet will happen in 2022 since Indy has been sold off...????

Yep. People bitched every year about the show in May at NTR, as well. Now there isn't one that is all Chrysler.

The new owners of Indy had it this last year. They owned it at that time.

I heard a rumor over the weekend that the National Trails facility doesnt want the nats back there next year ?

Supposedly they are putting in a drifting track where the swap meet is now located. This would seriously limit the facilities capabilities for a non NHRA event



Anyone heard anything able to verify or dispute ????

I have no idea about that, but they were installing the bases for putting lighting (the 100 foot tall style) in the fun field and swap area at certain locations of the fields.

There has to be a reason why they would install the infrastructure for lighting back there.

It wouldn't surprise me at all. Jeff Johnson told me at the May Double Douche Nationals that NTR didn't want any single marque shows except for the big money events like the Nats. So if they decided they could replace it with the drift crowd and bring younger blood that doesn't complain as much, I wouldn't be shocked.
However, does the younger crowd bring crap like happened up at 42 instead of complaining ?