Since 2015, the Tri-Five Nationals presented by Classic Performance Products (CPP) has rolled into the beautiful hills of Bowling Green, Kentucky, for the world’s largest gathering of 1955, 1956, and 1957 Chevys. This event has stayed true to the Tri-Five Chevy and continues to flourish, with strong car counts and growing spectator numbers each year. The event features more than 2,500 cars on the Beech Bend Raceway Park property, which provides an amazing setting for this three-day event. The event features a huge car show, an action-packed drag racing schedule, a great selection of new parts vendors and builders, and, of course, a big swap meet packed with vintage treasures. The Tri-Five Nationals, presented by CPP, is promoted by the American Tri-Five Association, an international club with more than 10,000 members that continues to grow each year. Numerous awards are available, including the Lokar Top 25, the Lecarra Top 5, and the Tri-Five of the Year award. Many specialty awards are up for grabs, along with a nice purse for six drag racing classes. Exhibition drag cars, including Pro Mods and wheel-standing gassers, were on display, and this year a special match race between Jeff Lutz and Alex Taylor thrilled the crowd twice a day. Overall, the 2026 Tri-Five Nationals presented by CPP will be remembered for its extreme heat and humidity, but an event of this magnitude is always worth the blood, sweat, and tears to get there. The American Tri-Five Association once again threw the biggest Chevrolet party of the year, and this dedicated group is already planning for August 12-14, 2027, when the Tri-Fives take over Beech Bend again. MR
A group of Junior Stock racers gathers each year, and John Clothier came from Illinois to participate. He first laid eyes on this car in 1972 and ultimately paid $800 for it in 1977. He still owns it today and runs a 301ci small-block and a Muncie four-speed.
The action was hot for all three days of the 2026 Tri-Five Nationals presented by CPP.
Joe DeNoble came down from Wisconsin with his beautiful 1956 Chevy Bel Air. The car features subtle body modifications and a slick two-tone paintjob with a pearl yellow that offered the perfect custom look. DeNoble took home a Lokar Top 25 award.
It was a special treat to see the 2026 Ridler Award winner basking in the Kentucky sunshine. Rex Satterfield owns the heavily customized 1956 Chevy convertible, built by the crew at Kevin Riffey’s Hot Rods & Restorations. The car is truly a work of art.
Terry Wilbert brought this 1955 Nomad to compete for the Top 25. The car sits on a Roadster Shop chassis and features a well-detailed LS3 paired with a six-speed transmission. It was one of six Nomads winning this year’s Lokar Top 25 award.
Always testing, tuning, and modifying, Mickey Lyons brought three cars to the Tri-Five Nationals presented by CPP. The rowdiest of the bunch is this two-tone 1956 Bel Air, which runs 8s in the quarter-mile with a blown big-block.
The exhibition cars are always exciting to watch, and this one had all the right elements: a straight front axle, a giant supercharger, and a Lenco transmission. The Storlie Brothers came all the way from Oregon to put the wicked 1955 Chevy through its paces.
While there are plenty of contemporary custom builds scattered throughout the property, we loved the traditional look of Matt Cline’s 1957 Chevy 150. The car has air suspension to put it in the weeds, and the chrome wheels are period perfect.
We didn’t catch the owner’s name, but we couldn’t pass up the chance to snap a photo of this 1957 Chevy gasser in front of the “Kentucky Rumbler” roller coaster. The gold paint, red windows, and hand-lettering are just plain cool.
A modern take on the famous Black Widow race cars from 1957, this 150 two-door sedan is incredibly slick with a host of subtle body modifications. Hank Crosby brought it up from Frisco, Texas, and took home a Lokar Top 25 award.
It takes serious fabrication to tastefully chop the top on a Tri-Five Chevy, and this one is executed perfectly. This 1956 210 two-door sedan uses a hardtop windshield, which is naturally shorter; 3/4 inch was removed from the pillars. Thomas Landwehr is the owner.
Black is always a popular color at this event, and this example features custom bodywork, slathered in black with blue pearl. Mark and Kyle Cochran are locals in Bowling Green, and their custom creation stood tall among the best in the country.
The new Patina parking area filled up quickly with original-paint cars, old-school gassers, and cool builds like this 1956 210 Delray, built by Clarksboro Hot Rods. The stance and uncapped steelies are just right, and there’s a Don Hardy LS engine underhood.
Customized early in its life, this 1957 Chevy convertible is a rolling time capsule. Built by Bobby Garrett, this cool custom is now in the care of his son, Jay. The Ditzler lacquer paint was applied in 1972 and features 21 coats of Iced Tea clearcoat over a Burnt Sugar basecoat.
While there were several tributes to the movie cars from American Graffiti and The Hollywood Knights, the Two-Lane Blacktop–style cars always draw the most attention. A few tributes were on hand, but this is one of the three original movie cars built by Richard Ruth.
Boyd Howe added a fresh Beech Bend scar to his high-flying 1955 Chevy, the “Red Baron.” He made a few adjustments and got the car running straight, delighting the crowd with long burnouts, dry hops, and bumper-dragging wheelstands.
The main attraction on the dragstrip was a match race between Alex Taylor in the near lane and Jeff Lutz in the far lane. Alex is known for her drag-n-drive performances, including 6-second passes at 200-plus miles per hour, while Jeff Lutz is known for his street and no-prep racing.
Alloway’s Hot Rod Shop had two cars in the Lokar Top 25, including Gary Brown’s bad-to-the-bone 1955 Chevy two-door hardtop. With the patented Alloway stance and mile-deep black paint, the car turned heads all weekend.
The most special moment of the three-day event occurred on Saturday morning. To celebrate America’s 250th birthday, the American Tri-Five Association held a beautiful ceremony. Military veterans were invited to drive their Tri-Fives down the track in a parade.
Thursday night is always fun because there is a special drag racing program that takes place after sunset. It’s a bracket race that adds a little more fun to the event and raises money for a local charity.
Jerry “Scoot” Rice brought out his Alloway-built 1956 Nomad, which features a well-dressed LS engine and plenty of cool details inside and out. Of course, the ride height and tire and wheel selection are right out of the Alloway playbook.
While Corvettes are usually overshadowed by the more readily available fullsize Chevys, there are often several cool examples on hand. This one, owned by Tim Bailey, featured a hot small-block and a four-speed manual transmission.
Brothers Frankie (near lane) and Red (far lane) Morris had an emotional weekend. They lost their older brother Mike just a month before the event and raced in his honor. In a storybook ending, the Morris boys chipped through the Top Eliminator field and lined up in the finals together. Red took the win.
From day one of the Tri-Five Nationals presented by CPP, Woody’s Hot Rodz has always built a special car to give away to a lucky participant. This year, it was a high-riding 1956 Chevy 150 gasser. William Walker, a drag racer from Texas, won the slick gasser.
The Tri-Five of the Year award is always hotly contested, and this year was no exception. After the Lokar Top 25 cars are selected, the group narrows to the Lecarra Top 5, then to the overall winner. This year, the winner was a stunning 1956 Nomad owned by Norman Estes and built by Mike Goldman Customs in Mississippi.
Metallic teal 1955 Chevrolet gasser drag car pulling a high wheelstand off the starting line at Beech Bend Raceway during the Tri-Five Nationals.
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