This car was displayed with the various awards it has earned over the years. The blue ribbons and National Corvette Restorers Society (NCRS) Top Flight Award certificates on the left side of the photo above are earned when a car achieves a score of 94% or greater based on the NCRS judging process. The center plaque is a Duntov Mark of Excellence Award. which is reserved for cars that achieve a judging score of 97% or greater. The yellow ribbon and NCRS Performance Verification certificate on the right side of the photo are awarded when the car passes a performance test of ALL mechanical components. Having earned all of these awards mean this car is one of the finest 1954 Corvettes on the planet, and authentic in just about every way.

This 1954 Corvette represents the second year of the model's existence. It also represents a time when the car-buying public wasn't sure if it liked the whole Corvette idea. Production of the introductory 1953 Corvette was intentionally limited to 300 cars and marketed as an exclusive sports car that was purchased by celebrities. Beginning in 1954, everyone got to play. The problem was that the car cost more than some Cadillacs, but didn't have any of the Cadillac goodies like a V8 engine. A manual transmission wouldn't be available for another year.

For 1954, the Blue Flame inline 6-cylinder made 155 hp. While adequate for the era, performance was also lacking by sports car standards. All of this resulted in only 3,640 Corvettes being produced that year.

Carolina AMC club.

Last year, the Carolina AMC club was set up inside one of the Showcase Pavilions. This year, they had moved outside.

Carissma.

The spelling of "Carissma" is a nod to the Chevrolet Impala SS and its variants.

Carissma.

The Southeastern GM Toyz club was parked along Pit Road.

1958 Chevrolet Impala.

1977 Excalibur Series III Phaeton.

Once again, my camera didn't want to cooperate. But you get the idea. Around 3,500 Excaliburs were produced from 1965 - 1990, making this car very rare.

1969 Pontiac GTO Judge.

The "Ram Air IV" decal on the hood of a Judge is a very big deal in the world of the GTO. A Ram Air IV Judge is extremely rare, (only 302 produced that year).

But I have to wonder if this car is a Judge tribute, only because there is no Ram Air equipment under the hood. Plus, the car has a/c which was not available with the RA IV engine.

Several Chevrolet Camaros.

1992 Chevrolet Camaro RS convertible.

I had a 1991 Z28 many years ago and loved it ! This RS convertible is something I would daily drive today.

1964 Chevrolet Impala SS.

This car was displayed with its original build sheet.

I remember seeing this beautiful Impala before. The car has been in the same family since new and was featured in Super Chevy magazine. The current owner's father ordered this car new in 1964. As a kid, he got to ride home from the dealership in the back seat when his dad picked the car up.

The Tach Twisters were parked in the same place as yesterday, but have arranged their cars differently.

The "Vega on Viagara."

Seeing a giant blower sticking through the hood seems to be a recurring theme with the Tach Twisters.

Another Blown 1968 Chevrolet Camaro.

A blown Ford T-Bucket.

I remember seeing the Chevrolet Corvair (L) last year. This heavily modified Corvair not only had it's flat 6-cylinder engine replaced with a V8, it's location has also been moved forward making the car mid-engine instead of the normal rear engine.

More Tach Twisters cars.

More Tach Twisters cars. There's a video of this very mean sounding roadster running on YouTube.

More Tach Twisters cars.

The Cadillac Kings have moved since yesterday. While a low rider with air or hydraulic suspension isn't my thing, I can appreciate the amount of work that goes into a build. Of a particular note to me was that there were three 1965 Cadillacs on display today including the 1965 Fleetwood on the right side of the photo above, (I had a 1965 convertible many years ago).

1965 Cadillac Fleetwood.

The second '65 was the Coupe de Ville (L) seen in the photo above. Next to it is a 1969 Sedan de Ville (R).

1962 Cadillac Series 62 coupe.

The third '65 on display was Calais. The yellow Cadillac on the right side of the photo above is a 1968 Coupe de Ville.

1968 Cadillac Deville convertible.

1965 Cadillac Deville convertible.

Ford Owners Association of the Carolinas.

Ford Owners Association of the Carolinas.

1955 Ford Fairlane Sunliner convertible.

Ford began using the name "Sunliner" to designate its soft-top convertible in 1952. This was a popular car, (one of 49,966 made that year).

1978 Mercury Zephyr.

This is a better picture of the Procharged Zephyr I saw yesterday.

1997 Ford Thunderbird.

This car seemed to be in great condition, especially considering the 163k miles on the odometer. This would be the last year for the Thunderbird until the 2005 reboot.

1965 Mercury Comet (L), 1966 Ford Fairlane (R)

Modified T-Bird Turbo Coupe.

Since it was now 10 AM, I figured enough time had passed for the AACA cars to arrive and get registered for the show. I decided to head out of the speedway to check out the AACA Southeastern Spring Nationals. But first, I took a few more pics from the grandstands.

Underground Detour, a classic rock cover band from Charlotte, was on stage. No worries of lightning today.

I did what I usually do at this point and tried to take a few pics that I could stitch together to make a panorama. The photo above looks toward turn 1.