Celebrating the 55th year of the NSRA Street Rod Nationals
More than a few things come to mind when the city of Louisville, Kentucky comes up in conversation: Bourbon, Kentucky Fried Chicken, the baseball bats proudly branded with the city’s name, and UPS Worldport, the massive distribution center. And of course, the first Saturday in May that kicks off the month of horsepower with the famed Kentucky Derby, horse racing’s first jewel of its triple crown. All of those are nothing to sneeze at.
![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary street rod grounds](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-22-scaled.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&ixlib=php-3.3.0)
If you’re a street rod fan, though, one more thought that comes to mind when Louisville is mentioned: The annual gathering of street rods known as the NSRA Street Rod Nationals. Put on by the National Street Rod Association around the end of July and first days of August at the Kentucky Exposition Center, the Nationals first landed in the River City in the 1990s, permanently settling into the city near the end of the decade. Before then, it had traveled around the country, first starting in Peoria, Illinois by the editors of Rod & Custom magazine in August of 1970.
![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary street rod high angle grounds](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-23-scaled.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&ixlib=php-3.3.0)
![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary street rod grounds](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-27-scaled.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&ixlib=php-3.3.0)
In recent years, Hagerty has honed in on certain aspects of the Nationals, from its autocross to its giveaway builds. This time, it was only right to cover the Nationals itself and its history, as it celebrated its 55th anniversary of bringing thousands of street rods, their owners, and their fans together for a few days under the blue skies of the Bluegrass State. We reached out to Craig Meads, NSRA’s marketing director, to talk a little about the Nationals’ past, present, and future.
“They are kind of the same but different at the same time,” said Meads of the show’s evolving group of attendees. “Many of our members started street rodding back in their 20s and 30s. Now, they are in their 70s and 80s, and they don’t do as much of the fun stuff they would have done when they started. But there is a growing number of young adults in their 20s and 30s that are building or rebuilding some of the older street rods and coming to shows. We are seeing a lot of people that are now driving their dad’s or granddad’s old vehicles, so many are staying in the family.”
According to MotorTrend, the Nationals’ story began when a few of the editors and writers at Rod & Custom kicked around the idea of putting together a street rod nationals with the intention of not only bringing the East Coast, Midwest and West Coast rodding scenes together, but also to help change the general public’s perception of street rodding amid many states passing laws that were detrimental to the hobby.
Thus, the decision was made to bring everyone together to Peoria, Illinois, a more-or-less central gathering point. The first Nationals, held from August 14 through 16, 1970, drew a total of 600 street rods from all over the country, including a few more than capable of tackling the cones of the Nationals’ first Streetkhana (now known as the NSRA Autocross).
![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary street rod rear three quarter](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-17.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=480&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary street rod racer](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-33.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=480&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary engine](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-31.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=480&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary kids cars](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-35-The-future-of-street-rodding.-What-will-they-bring-to-the-Nationals-in-around-20-years-though_.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=480&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary woodie](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-72.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=480&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary street rod](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-37.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=480&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
By 1979, the 10th edition of the Nationals had drawn nearly 5,000 street rods to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in St. Paul, Minnesota, plus thousands of street rod fans. A few years later in 1982, the NSRA gave away its first giveaway street rod build, beginning a long tradition which ended with its last giveaway build in 2023, a custom 1977 Chevrolet C10 pickup. The annual gathering took place in several spots around the country—including the NSRA’s home of Memphis, Tennessee—before making its first stop in Louisville in 1988 (which was also the first year over 10,000 street rods appeared). A decade later, Louisville would become the Nationals’ permanent home. In 2010, the Nationals were opened up to a rolling 30-model-year minimum age limit for all custom machines, allowing newer and newer builds to join with each passing year.
![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary Louisville LSR Streed Rods sign](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-45-1-scaled-e1724083516486-1024x720.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=450&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
“The NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Louisville is the most anticipated automotive event in the world,” said Meads. “From the Builders Showcase in the lobby of the exhibition center, where 40 of the hottest builders in the country bring their latest builds, to the manufacturer’s midway, automotive swap meet to the arts and crafts area, and then you add over 10,000 street rods to all of that, it just doesn’t get any better,” he added. “Then there is Louisville, what a city, from the mayor all the way down, they are so welcoming to us and really embrace the event.”
There’s nothing like being around thousands upon thousands of horsepower, whether watching cars cruise through the main drag of the expo center’s massive parking lot amid the backdrop of Kentucky Kingdom’s roller coasters and the many UPS jets flying overhead, checking out the sea of street rods parked all over the grounds, or watching them prove they can corner as well as they can cruise at the autocross in the back of the center. Yet, time marches on, and there’s no telling what street rodding will look like in the next decade, let alone another 55 Nationals from now. But Mead has hope for the hobby’s future:
“I see the market growing,” said Mead, “not as fast as it has in the last 50 years, but it’s still growing. A lot will depend on our government and regulations they may impose on the older vehicles and internal combustion vehicles. I think street rodding has changed and will continue to change with the times. People’s love for cars is generational, and what vehicles I like are probably way different than someone in their 20s, and the same for someone that is 20 years older than me and has a different taste for cars than I do.”
![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary purple](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-81.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=480&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary truck](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-44-1.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=480&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
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![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary street rod](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-79.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=480&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
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![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary wheel](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-67.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=480&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
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![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary roadster](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-65.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=480&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
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![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary signs](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-60.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=480&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary road runner graphic](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-59.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=480&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary wagon](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-58.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=480&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
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![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary engine bay](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-55.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=480&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary customs](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-54.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=480&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary camaro front three quarter](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-53.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=480&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary 228 engine](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-51-scaled.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&ixlib=php-3.3.0)
![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary parking lot](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-52.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=480&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary parking lot](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-50.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=480&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary cadillac](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-49.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=480&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary horse rider emblem](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-48-It-wouldn_t-be-the-Nationals-in-Louisville-with-out-a-nod-to-the-horses-of-the-hooved-kind.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=480&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
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![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary gasser](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-43.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=480&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
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![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary street rod engine](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-20.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=480&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary street rod Mach E](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-19.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=480&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
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![2024 NSRA Nationals 55th Anniversary street rod inside](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/08/NSRA-Nationals-55th-11.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=480&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
A street rod is a car or truck that was manufactured before 1949 and has been modified for style, safety, and reliability, or a more modern build that is manufactured to resemble a pre-1949 vehicle. By that definition, at least half of the cars in the pictures – though cool and nice to look at – do NOT qualify as street rods. IMO, we in the hobby and related industries should work to keep “definition creep” from blurring the lines – most observers don’t have any idea what most of our terms mean, and increasingly, neither do we, apparently!
“by definition…” Who’s definition? You should take up that up with the National Street Rod Association. It’s website states “We will be accepting vehicle registration from 30 years old and older…”
Sounds like they want to have fun with cars rather than be pedantic about who gets to park where. It’s similar to the people who get all hot under the collar about “classic.” Does it really matter that much?
No. Let’s just slop everything together into a bucket and call it a day…
Not the same without a giveaway car. I also think they topped 10,000 entries in Columbus predating Louisville.
It’s like Coupe. We now have 4 doors and SUV’s being called Coupes. Whatever they call the show it’s a good collection of cars.
Attended the NSRA Nats in Columbus in ’80 in my chopped ’31 Model A 4-dr Had a FABULOUS TIME — found a great spot near a POOL in the Fairgrounds. My old ’26 ‘T’ Roadster Pickup came with its new owner also.
At some point later… they started accepting ’30 years or older’ cars.
IMHO, this made it less much unique — but they certainly did it for increased INCOME as well as greater participation.
It has its Pro’s & Con’s. Think it would have been better to have a National Street Machine Ass’n, than modernize the Pre-49 standard it had maintained for so long.
“Diversity and Inclusion” (NASTY words in today’s social circles.) aren’t always acceptable to us STUBBORN, OLDER, and TRADITIONAL Street Rod FARTS. *STREET* isn’t as *NEAT* and unique as it used to be.
End of Rant.
I live in Louisville and can tell you what a joy it is the see these cars and trucks (all of them!) drive around town. Our kids are exposed to some amazing sights and sounds (which is like a hook in a fish’s mouth). The interactions with the out of towners gives us a chance to show off our hospitality (which we love to do). To visit the show is exhausting, not because the engines are running, but because there are so many amazing builds (some less than others) to see.
I am also retired from UPS Airlines and must apologize for the continuous flyovers (landings and takeoffs). While distracting, it shows how busy our airport is.
We locals love this show and enjoy watching the changes as more kinds of cars and trucks are participating. We hope this continues for years to come!
Many thanks to the old farts, middle age folks and young ‘uns who came to this amazing show! Hope to see you again soon…
I attended the NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Detroit, MI, in 1972 with my 1930 Ford Model A Coupe (Lincoln Automotive). I was in my early 20’s, and now I am 75 years young. I still feel like a teenager when I drive my T-Bucket now, but I know that I’m not as agile anymore. Where in the Hell did the time go? Those were the days! Rodding was coming of age, but we didn’t have all kinds of high tech stuff back then. I kind of wish that I could turn back the clock, but I know that I can’t. Lots of fond memories live on.