Car show saw largest Saturday crowd in 11 years.
By Fernando Alfonso III
Contributing Writer
Traffic was backed up on Interstate 690 Saturday as a record breaking amount of fans poured into the Syracuse Nationals car show at the New York State Fairgrounds.
“It was probably the largest Saturday crowd we’ve had in 11 years,” said Bob McLean, a spokesman for the show. “We’re on track for some good numbers in both those areas, cars and spectators.”
In 2009, the Nationals had more than 80,000 visitors and 7,130 classic vehicles from 30 different states and Canada. McLean could not provide exact figures for attendance for this year Saturday. The show, which is the second largest event at the fairgrounds, wraps up Sunday at 3 p.m.
While most people stayed outside, admiring the classic cars, others took refuge in the Horticulture Building where the Mini Nationals Model Car Show was taking place. Douglas Beebe, from Syracuse, entered six 1/25th-scale cars in this year’s show. He has worked on one car, a maroon colored 1940 Ford, for three years.
“It has a lot of modifications. A lot of modifications. It has a ’49 flat head engine in it, it’s got different tires and wheels on it, it’s got different suspension,” said Beebe, a car enthusiast since he was a teenager.
“It’s a disease.”
His passion for cars was nurtured through car magazines and his grandfather’s 1939 Dodge pickup truck. He hopes he can inspire younger generations to get involved with model cars.
“If the old people didn’t do it, the young kids wouldn’t see it,” Beebe said. “And the whole hobby depends on the kids coming up and keeping into it and moving it on.”
One of Beebe’s competitors is Andrew Behrens from Massapequa. He has competed in the Mini Nationals since the car show started 11 years ago.
“I used to do this stuff as a kid. I always lit em’ on fire or blew them up with firecrackers when I was done,” Behrens said. “Now add 30 years and I come back into this hobby and see it’s still going. The work just blew me away. I’d like to see more kids getting into it. ... Most of us are all gray hairs now.”
Most of these model cars were put together with glue and paint. Some of them, like Beebe’s Ford, were made using pieces from multiple cars. The same was done when building Jim Federspiel’s 1926 Ford Tub, but he used pieces from a Boeing B-17 “Bomber.”
Although the cars are special, said Henry Gober from Binghamton, it is the camaraderie they create that means the most.
“I’d like to see more people doing this stuff. It’s a lot of fun,” Gober said. “Nobody is about the paint job, and all that. They’re just out there having fun.”
Fernando Alfonso III can be reached at falfonso@syracuse.com or 470- 6078.
Related links
» Right Coast Association, the organizers of this weekend's Syracuse Nationals car show, have announced a "King of Trucks," a truck event that will include an off-road dirt race to be broadcast on Fox Sports Net.
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» Check out more Syracuse Nationals coverage.