The Syracuse Nationals is an amazing success story. The biggest hot rod show in the Northeast draws more than 8,000 incredible vehicles and 90,000 hardcore enthusiasts to the New York State Fairgrounds every July. In addition to hot rods, customs, classic trucks, and race cars, Syracuse attracts some of the coolest muscle cars on the East Coast—and most of those wear a Chevy Bow-Tie.
There won’t be cars and crowds in Syracuse this summer, though. Like so many other events, the Syracuse Nationals has been postponed until 2021. Promoter Rob O’Connor of Right Coast Inc. announced that restrictions prevent them from maintaining the event’s standards this summer. The good news is that the Syracuse Nationals has renewed a five-year contract with the Fairgrounds, keeping the Nats at that venue until 2025. All currently registered participants and vendors will have their registration and payments rolled over to next year’s event on July 16-18, 2021.
Waiting until 2021 to get back to New York isn’t going to stop us from enjoying the Syracuse Nationals in 2020. We got a mountain of photographs from the past few years, and we’ll be posting them right here in the next few weeks, starting right now. Remember those Chevy muscle cars we were talking about a minute ago? Well, here’s a photo gallery of 75 of our favorite Chevy street machines from the last few summers in Syracuse. Have a look.
Remembering Bob O’Connor, Founder of the Syracuse Nationals
Syracuse Nationals participants will miss the show in 2020, but we will miss the event’s founder from now on. Bob O’Connor, who created the Northeast’s largest hot rod show, passed away on December 13, 2019, at the age of 75.
O’Connor grew up in the Syracuse area. As an automotive enthusiast, he enjoyed attending car shows with his sons and had organized local events. When the NSRA Street Rod Nationals, which had been held in Syracuse in 1995, moved permanently to Louisville, O’Connor came up with a plan for an annual national to replace it. The nonprofit organization Right Coast Inc. was formed to organize and promote the Syracuse Nationals. The inaugural event in 2000 surpassed expectations when more than 4,300 participants and 30,000 spectators showed up.
Bob O’Connor’s son Rob is now the president of Right Coast Inc., ensuring the future success of the Syracuse Nationals.
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