Who established the Grand National Roadster Show in 1950?

Al Slonaker established the Grand National Roadster Show in 1950.

Slonaker’s involvement began with an automobile exhibition planned at the Oakland Exposition. In 1949, an Oakland-area hot-rod club persuaded him to display ten of its cars. The first event drew more than 100 cars and 27,674 attendees, demonstrating that custom vehicles could attract a major public audience.

For the 1950 follow-up, Slonaker focused the event specifically on hot rods and promoted it as the National Roadster Show. The word “Grand” was added to the title in 1962, and the show later became widely known as the Oakland Roadster Show before moving south to Pomona in 2004.

Slonaker’s name remains central to the show’s history. The Al Slonaker Memorial Award was introduced in 1974 for the best non-roadster vehicle, covering categories such as customs, street machines, lowriders, Volkswagen builds, and trucks. George Barris, Robert Petersen, and Wally Parks were influential automotive figures, but they did not establish this exhibition.