The National Street Rod Association (NSRA) opens their show season in a couple of weeks at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa, Florida. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (March 31-April 2), over 1,400 of the coolest specialty vehicles will gather for what the NSRA has promised to be “the areas largest, most spectacular automotive event.”

For the 30th time in as many years, Tampa will host the NSRA Southeast Street Rod Nationals where vehicles primarily from the southeastern U.S. will turn out for public viewing. A great blend of street rods, customs, pickups, musclecars and pro-touring cars have typically showed up during the event.

The NSRA’s ultra-popular Streetkhana is returning this year, starting with the Tampa event. The streetkhana event is not a closed course to see how fast you can go through, rather it’s how well you can navigate your vehicle through a twisting, turning course of cones, without knocking them over. Those fans that have witnessed the tires squealing, brakes smoking, and engine revving around the hairpin turns can’t wait to see the latest crop of drivers take their turn at the cones.

Fans of the feature film American Graffiti will want to stop by the exhibit building to see actress Candy Clark. Among the many roles Clark performed over an amazing career, most car enthusiasts recognize her as Debbie Dunham, the good time party girl that Toad picks up while cruising the Modesto strip in Steve’s car. Clark was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress academy award for the role. While she may not have taken home the oscar, the role was popular enough that Clark was asked to perform as Debbie again in More American Graffiti.

Candy Clark will be in the exhibition hall with memorabilia from the movie American Graffiti.

Along with Clark will be the other star of the movie, the white ’58 Chevy that is owned and restored by Ray Evernham. According to film experts, the Chevy appeared in 22 minutes of the film, making it one of the legitimate stars in the cast. In the film, Toad said that the Impala features a 327 Chevy V-8 with six Stromberg carburetors. Evernham went out and found a first-year-of-production 1962 327 and six period-correct Strombergs on an original Offenhauser manifold to keep the car as “movie original” as possible.

This event will include manufacturer displays representing leading automotive specialty and aftermarket suppliers, as well as a “Women’s World” area with arts and crafts. A vintage car parts “swap meet” adds to the experience and helps the enthusiast find these “one of a kind” parts. For more information about the event, visit the NSRA online at www.nsra-usa.com.