Car crafting is just as much about being sociable as it is about cars. Think about it. How much fun would the whole car scene be if it were just you and a couple of friends? Add a few thousand people who share your interest in high-performance musclecars, and now you have a party. That's exactly what the Car Craft Summer Nationals is all about. It's a celebration of horsepower!
Anytime a big event happens, somebody steps up to pay the bills. This year, GM Performance Division helps make all this happen in exchange for a friendly gesture on our part. Besides, they have cool parts. | 
The beauty of the event is that if it's a street machine, you'll probably find it here. And don't forget, there are dozens of Show-N-Shine awards presented for just about any category of machine that's allowed in the gate, so leave room in your trunk for your trophy. | 
You like Pontiacs? These guys are just waiting to talk about the rewards of wheelin' a Tin Indian. |
St. Paul may not sound like the car capital of the Midwest, but don't let those Viking ancestors fool you. They know how to put on a car show. Find your way to the state fairgrounds in St. Paul, and those hundreds of acres will be full of Camaros, Mustangs, 'Cudas, and an eclectic collection of iron that only Car Craft can attract.
The Summer Nationals in St. Paul is the place to be in mid-July this year. | 
Why bother with professionally photographed posters when you can stealthily snap a picture with your disposable camera? Yeah dude, you're busted. | 
You'd better show up, we know where you live (we have your addresses, you know). Don't make us do burnouts in front of your house. We will...I swear! |
Car Craft Summer NationalsJuly 21-23, 2006, St. Paul, MN
Event ScheduleFRIDAY
| 10 a.m.-6 p.m. | Show Hours |
| 8 a.m.-6 p.m. | Participant Registration |
| 10 a.m.-6 p.m. | DynoMax Dyno Challenge |
Event ScheduleSATURDAY
| 8 a.m.-6 p.m. | Show Hours |
| 9 a.m.-6 p.m. | DynoMax Dyno Challenge |
| 5 p.m. | Burnout Contest |
Event ScheduleSUNDAY
| 9 a.m.-5 p.m. | Show Hours |
| 9 a.m.-5 p.m. | DynoMax Dyno Challenge |
| 1 p.m. | Burnout Contest |
| 2:30 p.m. | Miss Car Craft Contest |
| 3:15 p.m. | Participant Awards Ceremony |
There is one requirement to attending the Summer Nationals. You must have fun.
Over the years, we've run across hundreds of excellent examples of musclecar mania, so we thought we'd look back at some of the more memorable machines and people we've met along the way. Besides the cars, we guarantee that if you spend a couple of minutes talking with a few car owners, you will not only learn a bunch about their machines, but you'll also discover that car people are some of the friendliest and most interesting people you'll ever meet. Sprinkle in a few technical tidbits on auto wrenching, and the hard part will be finding time to take it all in.
Does this picture really need a caption? Come on, I don't really have to convince many people why this is a great thing. | 
If you've never witnessed 1,200 hp chained down and straining against a monster spinning wheel, just show up in St. Paul. This is Carl Finney's nitrous-injected, 598ci '29 Model A that has taken top honors in the DynoMax Dyno Challenge twice in the last three years. Be afraid. The DynoMax Dyno Challenge will be chaining it down for you at all three events this summer. | 
Watch the burnout contest officials do their best impression of "Where's Waldo." Oh, there he is, hidden somewhere in a thick cloud of melted rubber. |
Consider that the St. Paul event this year will probably attract nearly 4,000 cars. If you're only interested in 10 percent of them, that's still 400 cars to look at and 400 owners to meet. Blend in the burnout contest on both Saturday and Sunday, a Miss Car Craft Contest on the main stage that your socially inept buddies will insist on witnessing up close, and the DynoMax Dyno Challenge, and there's precious little time left for food and perhaps a cold drink or two. And if you're a participant, you get to park right in the middle of all the action, where the spectators pay to see your car!
There's also action at Porky's, which may only be a few minutes' drive from your motel if you're lucky. There is a great crowd on Saturday night, but the cops keep a tight lid on any street action. Consider yourself warned. | 
Think of the Summer Nationals as an orchard of ideas from which you can take your pick. Steal an idea from a fellow car crafter then see if you can better execute it. It's called creative license. We do it all the time. | 
John Cottrell showed up a couple of years ago wheelin' a barely streetable version of a couple-year-old Busch car that actually ran at Daytona. The Monte Carlo is powered by an LS1 motor built by John's brother and TPIS owner Myron Cottrell. |
You can't afford not to be there. So blow off that rent payment this month, and make plans today to make the trek to St. Paul. We'll know if you don't show.
Presenting Sponsor:
Official Products:
Feature Sponsors:
Event Level Sponsor: