• Cars and Parts Car Show and Swap Meet is located at the Clark County Fairgrounds, right off Interstate 70, near Springfield. The biggest event of the year is the spring show on Memorial Day Weekend, May 24-26. Admission is $8 per person per day. The car show and swap meet cover 126 acres on the fairgrounds, featuring cars for sale and literally hundreds of vendors with both new and used parts for practically anything on wheels. This year, the date of the second show will be Sept. 13-15. The final event for 2019 is the November show, Nov. 8 and 9. More information is available at http://www.ohioswapmeet.com.
• The 41st Cincinnati Concours d'Elegance at Ault Park will be held June 9. The event will not only feature Mid-Century Modern American cars, but also honor collectors Judge Joseph and Margie Cassini of Llewellyn Park, New Jersey. The Cassini Collection has twice won Best of Show at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Four of the Cassini Collection's award-winning automobiles will be displayed on the show field, including a 1931 Duesenberg Model J Tourister by Derham – one of eight built on the Model J chassis. Andy Granatelli once owned it. A 1931 Stutz DV-32 Convertible Victoria by LeBaron is believed to be the only one in existence. A 1961 Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series II, one of only 200 built featuring coachwork by Pininfarina. And finally, a 1927 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A S Roadster by Fleetwood. The "Valentino Roadster" was custom built for silent screen heartthrob Rudolph Valentino, who died before delivery. It was awarded Best of Class at the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
• So you want big? Then head for the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus, July 12-14 for the GoodGuys 22nd annual PPG Nationals. See more than 6,500 hot rods, classics, customs, muscle cars and trucks. In addition, there will be 450 vendor and manufacturer displays, a for-sale car corral, swap meet and indoor auto show. With road tours and evening parties, there is far too much going on to include here, so go online to www.good-guys.com/ggn-2019 for all the details.
• The 35th Franklin Ohio Downtown Saturday Night car show is scheduled for Aug. 10 from 3 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Presented by Warren County Kustoms, it is one of the biggest and best car shows in the region. It routinely has more than 800 show cars. The entire downtown area is filled with classic cars, vendors, food and fun. The event is being sponsored by PPG Ohio Auto Kolor. You can find more information at: http://www.warrencountykustoms.com.
• The 35th Trans Am Nationals will be held Aug. 23-25 at the Holiday Inn in Fairborn. The event attracts Trans-Ams from across the United States and also features a cruise-in on Saturday evening in Tipp City. The actual car show, featuring 31 classes, will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, the 25th at the hotel. For more information and schedule, go online to https://tanationals.org/.
• The 13th annual Dayton Concours d'Elegance at Carillon Park will be Sept. 15. This year will feature the Grand Classics, elegant machines with names like Packard, Rolls-Royce, Pierce-Arrow, Duesenberg, Bentley and Cadillac. The Concours also will honor the 50th anniversary of the Pontiac Trans-Am. The weekend also features a casual Preview Party on Saturday evening, Sept. 14 at Carillon Historical Park. For more information, go online to www.daytonconcours.com.
There you have it, car lovers. The Miami Valley is going to be ripe with great automotive events again in 2019. Now fill your calendar!
About the Author