Poor weather drives down attendance at 43rd annual NSRA Street Rod Nationals South.
Jim Rowlett of the National Street Rod Association talks about the 43rd annual street rod and custom car show in Chilhowee Park on Friday, May 5, 2017.
The 43rd annual NSRA Street Rod Nationals South drew thousands of people to Chilhowee Park on Friday and Saturday to see over 1,600 registered street rods being presented by members from across the region.
This year’s event marked the 34th time that the Street Rod Nationals South has been in Knoxville. According to NSRA Marketing Director Jim Rowlett, the event typically draws over 10,000 visitors and participants to the park, but Saturday’s cold, rainy weather drove attendance down significantly. Rowlett explained that the number of NSRA members registered for this year’s event was only slightly less than in 2016.
Rowlett explained that the NSRA hosts less than a dozen national street rod events across the country each year and that turnout for Saturday’s event had been great before the rain hit. Still, he said, Knoxville has proven to be a hot bed of street rod supporters.
Rick Edmunds, who traveled from Chesapeake, Ohio, to join his car in the event, said that part of its draw was the opportunity to enjoy a weekend in East Tennessee.
The Street Rod Nationals South event will continue from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Chilhowee Park on Sunday, and nearly 30 winners will be selected from the over 1,600 participants competing for NSRA awards. For Rowlett, the competition and the awards remain secondary to the event’s sense of community.
For Rowlett and many other members of the NSRA, the annual Street Rod Nationals events are about more than the cars. Will Seibel, a divisional director for NSRA, said that the real motivating force behind the events was the camaraderie and community that they curated.
Edmunds and Rowlett echoed Seibel’s sentiment.