For some, the coming of Spring may conjure up thoughts of birds chirping and flowers blooming. But for those with an automotive fixation one other thing is bound to come to mind....the Spring Daytona Beach Car Show & Swap meet. Held inside the world famous Daytona International Speedway it already has the edge due to the place’s legendary reputation, and is the second largest show in the state. Add lots of auto enthusiasts and the result is a certain recipe for fun. Such was again the case at the 16th Annual event, held March 18-20, 2005.

As most of you reading this are well aware, the Speedway had recently undergone a HUGE renovation of the infield area, with lots of new construction taking place. For the Turkey Run in November things were still being wrapped up, but the Spring Daytona show was the debut of the completed project to us car show and swap meet attendees. Yes, things really are nice now....and in the coming years should make both car shows inside the Speedway that much nicer for participants and spectators alike - and open up more area at the same time.

The weather for the Spring Show was pretty good overall, and its hard to complain when it is pleasant most of the time. Though not an official show day, Thursday was the worst of the bunch, with lots of rain almost the whole day. On Friday, for the first day of the show, there was no rain but it was cold. Coupled with the wind and high humidity the cold would bite into you pretty good at times - but just about anything is better than rain at a car show. On Saturday everyone was treated to the type of weather we here in Florida expect from the Spring; nice and sunny with very pleasant temperatures. This worked out pretty well, as Saturday is the biggest day for the event - and was followed up by a Sunday that was absolutely perfect.

Enough of the amateur meteorologist shtick....everything we’ve all come to like about the shows inside the Daytona Speedway was present. That included the legendary swap meet area, packed with lots of restoration items and hidden treasures. We spent a fair amount of the weekend exploring this area, and came home with a few items. Nothing major this time around, just some cool auto related stuff to dress up the house and garage. That even included a trip through the crafts section and buying some “lucky bamboo” for the kitchen table. How diverse is that?!?!

As most of you are aware, the Spring Daytona Show is the smaller sister of the Turkey Run, which is held inside the Daytona International Speedway over Thanksgiving weekend. With the construction now completed people are looking forward to the Turkey Run even more than usual, so we can all enjoy the new improvements along with 5,000 show cars and everything else the Daytona shows have become famous for. Get the latest scoop at www.turkeyrun.com, and start making your plans for November! CN