DRAG RACING ACTION ONLINE

Photos and story by John McCartney

The NAPA Syracuse Nationals 2026 edition will go down in the books as one smoking hot event in oh so many ways. First off, the event got kicked off with a bright orange sky filled with smoke thanks in part to the fires just across the border in Canada. However, when the show got underway on its new starting day of Thursday, yes for the first time in the history of the NAPA Syracuse Nationals, the event took over the New York State Fairgrounds on Thursday.

It was decided last year that the NAPA Syracuse Nationals would run the same three days but this year starting on Thursday and coming to close on Saturday. The feeling behind this change was to allow everyone the chance to use Sunday as a day of travel rather than the previous Monday. Folks came pouring in on Wednesday to set up their displays and park all of the thousands and thousands of cars that make up the NAPA Syracuse Nationals.

 

Once again one of the awards that everyone wants to take home is The Gene Winfield Legacy Award. This special trophy is given away in memory and to honor the late great custom car builder Gene Winfield who passed away last year. Winfield was a fixture each and every year at the NAPA Syracuse Nationals and always presented a trophy, jacket and a check for ten thousand dollars.

The winner is picked from what is called the Winfield Select Six. All of these entries were on display in the Expo Center. This year was one of toughest winners to pick as all six entries were outstanding in their own way.

After much discussion Robert Fryz was awarded the top prize for this year and took home the ten grand, trophy and jacket for his 1953 Mercury Monterey.

The others outstanding customs in the Winfield Select Six were made up of Ryan Timmons 1950 Panel Truck, Bob Sabre 1946 Ford, Brian Omastsu 1951 Mercury, Jesse Hallett 1950 Mercury and Rick Faust and his 1949 Chevy Fleetline.

Each of the owners got a check for 1,000 dollars along with a trophy and jacket.

 

The King of Cuse presented by Auto Metal Direct and House of Kolor was presented to Richard Jacobs for his 1968 Cadillac Deville, which was picked from some of the other entries found in the Expo Center.

Fans who took time to check out all of the above cars on display in the Expo Center were treated to much more. First folks could take a trip back to the 1980’s and were able to check out some cars from movies and tv shows that were big hits back in that decade. All the cars in the form of Back to The Future DMC DeLorean, Ghostbusters Ecto-1 in the form of a 1959 Cadillac and from the tv show Knight Rider K.I.T.T a 1982 Pontiac Firebird transfer back in time. All of this screen used rides came from the TV Showcars collection of John Sbrigato.

Fans could not get enough of seeing these cars in person with even some folks getting dressed up in outfits from the movies and tv shows. In addition to the TV Showcars collection the Expo Center once again served as the host for the Brush Fest. Brush Fest is the yearly gather of talented artists from all around the world that come together to create one of kind pieces of artwork. All of the artwork is auctioned off for charity during the run of the show and all of the money is donated to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central New York this year’s Brush Fest raised 95,077 dollars which no doubt will help make many families days that much better.

Right outside of the Expo Center folks could check out two great displays. Nitro Row presented by Street Side Classics, Turn Key Insurance Racing junk.com, Dead Mans Curve USA and Tub-O-Towels under the leadership of the nitro ringmaster Al Liebmann.

Liebmann collects the finest vintage drag racing cars in the form of dragster, funny cars, altered all which fire up several times each and everyday during the run of the show.

Right next door to Nitro Row fans could check out Pro Street Alley presented by Turn Key Collectors Car Insurance and powered by Grundy. Some of the wildest Pro Street creations could be found on display.

After folks checked out the thousands and thousands of cars on display over the entire New York State Fairgrounds there was so much more to be seen.

The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile made a appearance to close out the show much to the delight of everyone make sure you get your Wienermobile whistle.Once again Sparky’s Rock-a-billy Roundup had it’s annual gather of one of kind of hot rod, rat rods and customs.  Low riders were represented in a special display along with a giant swap meet. For inside the swap meet folks could buy all sorts of items to start, finish or complete any sort of project you might have on your plate.

The NAPA Syracuse Nationals is one of those events that has something for everyone no matter what your age might be. One thing is for sure you will need all three days of the show to check all that is on display.