Three days of non-stop street machine chaos in St. Paul for the annual O’Reily Auto Parts Street Machine Summer Nationals WORDS: Todd Ryden
S
PHOTOS: Shawn Brereton
ummer in Minneapolis and the surrounding northern states goes by quickly, so when it comes to putting some miles behind the wheel of your street rod, July is go time. Of course, it certainly helps that one of the coolest shows of the summer takes place in St. Paul — the Street Machine Summer Nationals! For anyone that thinks this is just another lawn chair car
Rob Worden owns this slick ’57 New Yorker, which cruises with 392c.i. of Hemi power.
26 26
STREET ROD LIFE Vol. 3, No. 3 STREET ROD LIFE Vol. 3, No. 3
show, you need to think again. As a matter of fact, you may as well just leave the chairs in the garage because there is a lot more to take in around the fairgrounds. We’re talking the QA1 autocross track, stop box challenge, burnout contest, a sprawling vendor midway where you get to talk one-on-one with the tech experts, a bikini contest, and if you’re up for it, a dyno challenge! This year, they even hosted a qualifier for the SEMA “Young Guns” competition, where the under 27-year-old winner automatically qualifies for the SEMA Battle of the Builders competition and gets free airfare to the SEMA Show to see their vehicle featured on the show floor! All of this street machine fun took place in the beautiful Minnesota State Fairgrounds, located right between St. Paul and Minneapolis. Rodders converge from Wisconsin, the Dakotas, Illinois, and of course Canada to take part in the annual summer event, which brings in an array of different cars to enjoy. From restorations to modern takes on pro street badness, classic rods, and cruisers, you get to see it all. Be sure to make plans for the 2018 season at streetmachinenationals.net. SRL