Baseball has its “Hot Stove League.” For the motorsports community, winter weather means it’s time for “bench racing,” sitting around someone’s race shop, getting cars ready for the next season, and arguing about such things as whether it’s the driver or the car that matters most.
For much of the classic car collecting community, winter means storing your vehicle, making repairs or updates getting ready for shows and cruises once spring arrives, and in some cases, going to auctions or indoor swap meets to buy parts, or just chat with friends you otherwise wouldn’t see until the weather breaks.
Among those winter gatherings was the first show of the year for Carlisle Events, its 30th annual Auto Mania, held at the Allentown Fairgrounds and Agri-Plex building in Pennsylvania.
“Mother Nature offered a bit of a speed bump but didn’t do much to slow down the first show of the year,” Carlisle Events said in its follow-up news release. “Thousands of guests as well as hundreds of vendors enjoyed three days of automotive bliss” at the automotive flea market in the heated Agri-Plex building.
Carlisle Events’ next event figures to take place in warmer weather, because it’s the annual Winter Florida AutoFest, scheduled for February 22-24 at Lakeland, Florida, where in program also includes a car show and auction.
In addition, the National Corvette Restorers Society will stage its winter regional meet and there will be a special Ford Mustangs show hosted by the Imperial Mustang Club of Polk County.
