On a warm and sunny Saturday last month, The Checkered Flag – Hot Rod Annual took over the Latimore Valley Fairground in York Springs, Pennsylvania, USA, a half-mile, banked oval dirt track with history dating back to the 1920s.
Hosted by the Hooligans Car Club, the event featured around 200 pre-1965 traditional hot rods and customs gathered in the racetrack’s infield – including my friend Dean’s Chevy-powered 1930 Ford Model A coupe, and my orange Chrysler Hemi-powered 1928 Ford Model A sedan, which we drove around 110 miles to get to the venue.
As expected, most of the cars on display were vintage Fords and Chevrolets with bias-ply tires, chrome, finned aluminum speed parts, and multiple-carb setups. One standout for me was an Oldsmobile-powered 1932 Chevy coupe, hoodless and fenderless but otherwise finished in midnight blue paint and loaded with rare performance parts.
Nostalgic customs included tail-dragging, white-wall-tired Mercurys, Cadillacs, and even a Packard. I have to make special mention of the black 1956 Caddy with a gold metalflake roof and steering wheel, and the understated Bellflower-style 1962 Ford Thunderbird, as both builds were truly exceptional.
On the track itself, period-correct race cars ran laps in all their unmuffled glory. These included historic speedsters, early sprint cars, and stripped-down roadsters and coupes, nearly all of which ran hopped-up ‘Bangers’ (Model T and Model A Ford valve-in-block four-cylinders) or Flathead V8s. Their skinny tires and buggy-spring suspensions reminded us all that it’s more fun to go fast in a slow car than slow in a fast car.
Alongside the displayed cars was a swap meet and a variety of food trucks serving everything from smoked BBQ beef brisket to sweet treats, while rockabilly bands provided a fitting soundtrack all day long.
Afterwards, Dean and I drove home and back to the 21st century, but we’re already looking forward to next year’s party.
