May 5, 2026

Weekend Wrap – The 75th O’Reilly Auto Parts Sacramento Autorama

The Sacramento Autorama wrapped up their diamond anniversary over the weekend with a grand gathering of stunning customs, lowriders and hundreds of other top notch classic cars and trucks. As one of the longest running car shows in the country, the event always pulls in some of the most prestigious builds from across the country to vie for the coveted Custom d’Elegance award. The West Coast Grand Champion award and World’s Most Beautiful Lowrider are two other major awards presented over the weekend.

The Custom d’Elegance Award was presented to Nick Rogers with his 1936 Ford Coupe built by South City Rod and Custom.

The Best of the West award, presented by ARP Fasteners, was given to Charlie and Alanna Butts with their 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible, beating out competitors who participated in at least four select car shows across California, Oregon and Washington. Juan Montero earned the title of the World’s Most Beautiful Lowrider for his 1963 Chevrolet Impala Convertible.

“This weekend wasn’t just a celebration of Sacramento’s hot rodding roots, it was a statement about where the craft is today,” said John Buck, owner of Rod Shows. “Seeing builds like Nick Rogers’ ’36 Ford Coupe take top honors made our 75th anniversary one of the most competitive and inspiring shows we’ve ever hosted. From the world-class customs to the lowrider community and our Builder of the Year tribute to Steve Santos, this year truly showcased the best of the best.”

Other significant honors included the four historic “Big B Awards”:

H.A. Bagdasarian World’s Most Beautiful Custom Award: Won by Homer Diaz with a 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air
Sam Barris Memorial Award: Selected by the Barris family for best metalwork, alignment, and paint, awarded to Taylor Yager’s 1937 Lincoln Zephyr
Joe “Candy Apple Red” Bailon Memorial Award: Presented to Ernie Enriques for their 1947 Dodge Coupe.
Dick Bertolucci Automotive Excellence Award: Awarded to Steve Castellano and his 1956 Ford Panel.

The 75^th Sacramento Autorama was one for the books! It was great to see the popular Pinstriper Charity Auction present $7,000 to UC Davis Children’s Hospital, which they raised over the weekend. There were plenty of vintage race cars from sprint cars to land speed racers, pro street to a few spectacular drag boats. It’s a show that every car-guy and gal should have on their bucket list – just take a look through our gallery to see what you missed!