Best car show and event guide for 2022 – Roadshow [CNET]

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Rolex 24 at Daytona: Jan. 29-30

We begin our wish-list year with the event that happens first on the calendar, the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the granddaddy of American endurance races. This all-day, all-night spectacular began in 1962, and takes place at the Daytona International Speedway on the track’s full road course. 

With multiple classes of racing, from purpose-built Daytona Prototype International (DPi) race cars to production-based GT Daytona (GTD) cars, there’s something at the Rolex 24 for everyone. Even if you’re not a motorsports fan, there’s plenty to do and see, including the crazy infield camping scene, which is not to be missed. Attend just once and you’ll realize that Daytona isn’t just a race, it’s a cultural phenomenon.

Don’t miss: Ride the Ferris wheel for a great view — even at night.

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Radwood: Various dates

Radwood, the 1980s and ’90s-themed car show, is still in its infancy. Founded in 2017, its popularity continues to mushroom, and it’s easy to appreciate why. Focused on automobiles produced from 1980 to 1999, Radwood doesn’t just celebrate those rare and expensive models that are starting to acquire classic status. No, this series of shows doesn’t take itself seriously enough for that. Instead, Radwood wholeheartedly embraces time-warp examples of humble workaday iron, as well as period custom cars and individually imported “forbidden fruit” from Japan and Europe. Said another way, Radwood keeps it weird in the best way possible.

What started off as a one-off show in California’s Bay Area has quickly snowballed into a national calendar of events, so chances are getting better that there’s a Radwood show headed to a city near you in 2022. This year’s calendar is still coalescing (likely due to evolving pandemic concerns), but the first event on the slate is going to be Feb. 26 in Austin, Texas, a rescheduling of an event originally scheduled for Oct. 9, 2021. 

We at Roadshow have attended numerous Radwood events, including a particularly memorable Radwood LA in 2019, when we entered an ultra-low-mileage 1993 Prelude from Honda’s personal collection and an ex-Jerry-Seinfeld 1993 Renntech E60 Mercedes-Benz. That said, the folks behind Radwood are open to all kinds of rides in all kinds of conditions and with all kinds of values. Displaying your 1980-1999 car or truck at the show is inexpensive and general admission is reasonable, too. Keep an eye on the traveling show’s official website for future dates.

Don’t miss: Period-appropriate attire and car-display accessories is absolutely encouraged. Radwood is your best excuse to seek out a pair of vintage Zubaz, or maybe splurge on a Lasonic double-cassette boombox to display in the trunk of your Nissan Pulsar NX.

Overland Expo West 2021 descends upon Flagstaff

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Overland Expo: Various dates

Overlanding was already growing by leaps and bounds prior to COVID, but if anything, this vehicle-based adventure travel pastime has been turbocharged by the pandemic. Perhaps that should come as no surprise, because with its inherent emphasis on off-the-beaten-path exploration, camping and self reliance, overlanding is all but tailor-made for these socially distanced times.

Whether you’re just looking to dip your hiking boot into this activity for the first time or you’re or a seasoned pro with a dedicated off-road rig or an RV with piles of gear, there are few better places to learn more about this outdoor hobby and buy gear to support it than Overland Expo. This series of family-friendly events travels across the country from Arizona to Virginia between May and October, and naturally, there’s plenty of camping space for attendees.

• Overland Expo West – May 20-22 – Flagstaff, Arizona
• Overland Expo Mountain West – Aug. 26-28 – Loveland, Colorado
• Overland Expo East – Oct 7-9 – Arrington, Virginia 

Overland Expo isn’t just rows of hundreds of vendors and off-road builds of every shape, description and value, although that’s a big part of its attraction. (You could probably roll into an OE Expo on a Friday with a bone-stock SUV, van or camper and roll out with the gear, contacts and skill to build a fully accoutered rig by the end of the weekend.) The secret sauce that makes Overland Expo both useful and inspiring are the related activities, which includes hundreds of hours of instructional classes on everything from excursion planning to off-road driving and riding techniques to how to cook in the wilderness and first-aid. There’s even live music and food and beer tents offering pretty decent grub, as well as a film festival.

I attended Overland Expo West in Flagstaff, Arizona in late September 2021, and it was an almost overwhelming indoctrination into the hobby. I’ve been enjoying off-roading for over 15 years, and after attending, it’s clear I’ve just scratched the surface when it comes to overlanding. If anything, the sheer scope of one of these events can be a little daunting, so bring a friend — maybe even a four-legged one. (I’ve never seen so many dogs at any car-related event.)

Don’t miss: Class time. Seriously, where else can you learn so much about wheeling, camping and self-sufficiency from experts in one place? 

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Monterey Car Week: Aug. 12-21

Monterey Car Week is nothing less than the nexus of America’s collector-car universe. This 10-day-long series of car shows, auctions, cruise-ins and vintage racing happenings is a spectacle where you’ll see more blue-chip classics and exotics in the parking lots of many of these events than you’ll see entered in other top-notch car shows. 

This epic celebration of automotive beauty, speed and noise culminates in the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, held on the posh greens of the Pebble Beach Golf Links. Having your car even invited to participate at Pebble is a sign that it’s among the very finest automobiles in the world. Winning a prize — let alone Best In Show — is an obsession that well-heeled enthusiasts spend untold millions pursuing. Luxury automakers and lifestyle companies have glommed on to the event, as well, and Pebble has become a favorite spot for car companies to launch new concepts and luxury production models, since at the show they have a built-in audience of monied buyers.

Of course, Monterey Car Week is about far more than just Pebble, and indeed, far more than the big-dollar auctions from outfits like Bonham’s, Gooding & Company, Russo and Steele, and RM Sotheby’s. 

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Unlike the Pebble Beach Concours, The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, is an unjudged assembly of world-class vintage racing and street cars. Held in the garden-party-like setting of the Quail Lodge & Golf Club in Carmel, this is unabashed automotive high society. As a result, tickets for events like The Quail are among the most exclusive and costly in all of car culture, but you needn’t be landed gentry to enjoy Monterey Car Week. You can take in the Pebble Beach Tour D’Elegance Presented by Rolex on Aug. 18. An annual driving event that traces sections of the original 17 Mile Drive, including a noontime display on Ocean Avenue. Still too high-end for you? How about Concours d’Lemons Monterey at Seaside City Hall on Aug. 14, one in a series of madcap national concours car shows designed to celebrate “the oddball, mundane and truly awful of the automotive world.” 

Don’t miss: Touring the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion pit area. The sights, sounds and yes, even the smells are not to be missed. Plus, you never know who you might bump into.

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The Race of Gentlemen: TBD 

If there’s an event on this list that you might not have heard of, The Race of Gentlemen — “TROG” for short — is probably it. But if you’re the type of person who thinks you were born in the wrong era, you’re going to want to listen up. Dreamed up by a cadre of reformed motorcycle club members, this Wildwood, New Jersey, happening celebrates pre- and post-war car and motorcycle racing. Bracket-style drag racing takes place on a sandy beach from morning until sundown (provided the tide cooperates). Despite the event’s title, both men and women participate in all manner of racing. This year is the event’s 10th anniversary.

If you didn’t notice the cell phones and modern cameras in spectators’ hands when you happened upon TROG, you might think you’d stepped into a time warp. Cars racing on the beach are pre-1936 and motorcycles are pre-1947. Modifications are plentiful, but participating vehicles have to feature period-correct speed parts (including reproduction tires), and most participants rock era-appropriate hot-rodder clothing and helmets, too. 

Even if racing isn’t really your scene, you can stroll through the reserved parking for pre-1965 cars right on the beach, plus there are supporting events with food purveyors, tchotchke vendors, live music and other attractions. There’s even a bonfire beach party.

Dates for TROG 2022 have not yet been announced, but in past years, the event has been in the fall, typically in the late September to early October timeframe. Keep an eye on the event’s official website for details, as well as any of TROG’s other offshoot events.

Don’t miss: Customs by the Sea — this hot rod and classic car show is open to pre-1952 automobiles modified in period fashion.

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24 Hours of Lemons: Various dates

If you have yet to get into auto racing because it’s too costly or you think people just take motorsports too seriously, the 24 Hour of Lemons is for you. This is low-dollar, crap-can racing with a heaping helping of theatrics, hilarity and good ol’ Yankee ingenuity. The racing isn’t bad, either.

This endurance-racing series features cars bought and track-prepped for under $500, and you don’t even need a racing license to participate. Can that be safe? Yes — safety-critical components like brakes, wheels and tires don’t factor into that budget, nor do required features like a racing seat and belts, fire suppression, engine kill switch and so on. 

Some participants build serious stripped-down race cars, while others go for novelties and curiosities. Some manage both at the same time. Ever seen a 1983 Porsche 944 fused with a ’70s Chevy pickup? You can at Lemons. Heck, back in 2013, someone dropped an abandoned 1956 Cessna 310 airplane shell atop a Toyota minivan, dubbing it “Spirit of LeMons.”

Frankly, it doesn’t get much weirder or more spectacular than a Lemons race. The community spirit and good humor are everywhere, and the racing isn’t too bad, either. At the moment, there are no fewer than 24 races on the calendar for 2022, running from March to December, so there’s probably one in your area.

Don’t miss: If you can’t get enough of 24 Hours of Lemons, you might also want to check out Concours d’Lemons, a series of car shows “celebrating the oddball, mundane and truly awful of the automotive world.” 

Did we miss any?

How many of our must-see events are on your own personal automotive wish list? What other events should we add? Let us know by leaving us a comment.