It's Fact, No Camping at York Next Year!

I spent about 45 minutes on the phone earlier this evening with Jerry Kennedy trying to understand WHY NSRA is doing this. He was very nice and the conversation was very civil. It is boiling down to money, plain and simple. They, NSRA officals, want the show to grow. They state they are

1) out of room for streetrods

2) out of room for spectator parking. He said paying spectators keep the costs down for members

3) out of room for vendor parking. He stated they will have more vendors in the new building next year therefore those new vendors will need parking.

I believe the growth will come from new "blood" not from existing streetrodders that will now supposedly decide there is enough room for them to attend. This new blood is the youth and this youth can not afford to stay in hotels. Hell, I can't even afford to stay in hotels! And thats IF you can find a place within 60 miles of the fairgrounds.

I believe that if they eliminate the camping they will eliminate the major fun factor at the event. There are lots of folks that attend JUST BECAUSE there is on site camping. I can't think of another NSRA or GG show where you can actually camp/park/cruz in the same area. All the other shows the camping is separated from the "show" area. Thats what makes York so special and thats what they are going to lose. It's going to be just another show with nothing unusal or exciting about it.

I've ask Jerry if he will look at this post if I print it out. He agreed and said he would then pass it on. Please state your opinions regarding this matter. Let him know what makes the show so specail for you and how this change will effect you. It's OUR club, we are all members and should have a say in how things are run.

With Ryans permission, I'm going to print this thread out next Friday afternoon right before I leave for Kzoo. I believe collectivly we have a strong voice and should be heard. Until next June rolls around, decisions can be reversed.

 

And to think I got blasted a few days ago when I said Goodguys and NSRA were NOT the future of hot rodding!!!! Well, I did not really say that but I did imply it.

 

I'm sorry Denise but you are wrong. NSRA is NOT our club. It is a major corperation out to make money BOTTOM LINE!!! They do NOT care about the street rodders they care about MONEY. Yes I will no longer attend York nor will I give NSRA any of my money. I live close by and I will attend the kick off party for free. They are wrong there is plenty of room if they use it wisely. York HAD character without the camping the fairgrounds will empty out at 5 and the evening cruzing will stop. There will be no need for the bands cause nobody will be on the grounds. Maybe this is what they want. We ARE the youth and we will NOT be back!!! NSRA SUCKS!!!! ClarkPS Thanks for trying to help us Denise

 

JimA Show this to your boss at GOODguys and tell him this is a great oppertunity for them. We need a show a couple of weeks before York in this general area (maybe Bloomsburg) with camping. It should take off like wildfire. I think I heard one time that there were about a thousand campers at York. That will be a lot of people pissed at NSRA and looking for a new show. Plus most of those campers have friends that will go too. I know Goodguys has plenty of shows on the East coast but spring is when we need something.
Clark

 

Clark,GG tried some at Carlisle and weren't successful.I doubt they'll be back,especially with Columbus so close.
Oh and BTW. You don't think GG is just a money making outfit ??? Their registration and spectator prices are worse AND they don't give anywhere near the stuff away that NSRA does.
Also,I disagree.... I think the cruising at night will be just as big. The food and beer vendors are there,the band is there,it's usually a warm spring night,cruisin'around York is a pain,so I think it will be OK.

 

Hey everyone writing from sunny and hot florida. Just heard from motor mikey and read all the posts. This has to be the biggest load of BS I have ever heard. Clark count us in for the boycott. We have all been camping together for like 10 years there. This is what makes York fun for all of us "scottyville" that is. But everyone hit it right on the head, N.S.R.A doesn't care about the "little guys" they are just out for the almighty dollar. Just curious when was the last time anyone other than a "TRAILER QUEEN" got any kind of recognition. I guess we don't dump enough money into our street driven rods for that. Here is what NSRA should mean.
No
Streetdriven
Rods
Allowed

 

I talked to skatkat the other night when I heard this "rumor" was flying around.

first and foremost as a LIFETIME MEMBER OF NSRA if the nsra cancels camping at york, I will not attend. I see no reason to go to the show EXCEPT to camp. back in the day posie and other builders used to debut their cars at york, now they dont even show up. why? the nsra raised the rent on vendor spaces.

take a look at the last 2 years coverage of the nsra nats east show, you will undoubtably see that streetscene has photographed the same 10 - 20 cars. NATS east is NOT growing. its stale, mostly because the nsra has nothin for participants to do, another reason why camping is essential. This year I had 2 of my cars there, as did sowhat and several others.. and the nsra wants to put the screws to us young guys? why we are the future of the sport, unfortunately the nsra doesnt see it that way.

what I see here is the national "association" squeezing the Young guys out.

the nsra had a great show which, for about 20 of us was a weekend vacation for the entire family, at what was and had been a reasonable price, now the nsra is gonna force us all to go to hotels and motels, or stay at campgrounds away from the fairgrounds so that it can make a few bucks on parking cars in the infield..

well thanks again nsra for abandoning the little guys...

and next month maybe we'll see an article in streetscene about how none of the younger generation is "getting" into street rods. I wonder why?

johnnylonghair hit the nail on the head. we have never seen a low buck street driven rod recieve any kind of recognition at york. Maybe the nsra doesnt like us. maybe they dont want our money. maybe I can sell my lifetime membership to some goldchainer..

oh well thanks again for nothin nsra..

last thought on how the nsra doesnt like YOUNGER RODDERS

my 46 hit the streets when I was 19. I looked for insurance for several YEARS before dad and I realized the only way for me to drive the damn thing was to put it in his name and list me as a driver.

the NSRA official insurance company Sneed, Robinson & Gerber WOULDN'T EVEN TALK TO ME AT YORK BECAUSE THEY WILL NOT insure a driver under 25 years old. (actually I think they require 10 years of driving experience.) This is why I do not now and never will use Sneed, Robinson & Gerber for insurance coverage.

so how do those "under 21" rodders insure their cars? are they doing the same thing I did? and if so should their cars be considered "theirs"

Cant believe I have written all this I guess I am as pissed as everyone else.

thanks for nothin NSRA

clark

I am in for the ANTI NATS at your place.... can I come a week early with my camper and setup my easy up so I can have my "SPOT" I really want to park where eveyone will see my billet wheels and gold chain.

 

Cruzer you are right Goodguys are about the money too but they aren't as pricky as NSRA. At least Meadors will talk to the small guy and hear his ideas.
As far as Carlisle is concerned that was Crlisle productions fault. Too many rules and too much BS. I've been to several of the other Carlisle events and they won't allow you to cruise or have fun. They just want you park your car and sit in your lawnchair.
Clark

 

Sorry guys this isn't about the awards and i could give a shit less about the awards. Randy Davis the Central PA rep (he actually thinks NSRA is a club that does good for the rodders) picks his award for the person that does a lot for rodding insead of the car.
Clark

 

I gotta agree with you on that,Clark. The Goodguys ARE easier to talk to and are very friendly. A guy from our club whose a Mopar nut cruised all the way to Cali.with Gary and his crew one year and he still talks about it.

As I said in an earlier post.I agree that they shouldn't stop the camping,just limit the size of the campers. The guys with the huge motorhomes aren't "the littleguys". They are the rich dudes(goldchainers) who like camping at the show so they don't have to drive their cars. The guy in the Provost motorhome who always parks on the NE corner of the camping area and has his big screen TV tuned to the NASCAR race is the type I'm talking about. Your Scotty area was cool and every time I went by you were having a ball.That type of camping needs to stay. Remember the club that used to park in the NE corner who did the pig roast every year? That was neat.
I agree 100% that NSRA has lost site of us little guys and the young guys because of their attitude,but they still put on a helluva show.
I hope they take another look at this camping issue and at their whole attitude towards the shows.

 

Ok I have been thinkin about this for a few hours and here's an Idea I came up with. Next time you order a part from any "street rod" vendor, let them know what you think about the NO CAMPING issue at york. also call old jerry whoever and tell him POLITELY that he's making a big mistake. then BOYCOTT THE SHOW IF THEY DONT HAVE CAMPING.

and tell all your friends who are show goers, campers, or rodders to do the same..

the nsra officials obviously have their heads in the sand on this issue

 

I talked to Kennedy also and Denise your right he was very polite and civil. What really pissed me off is when I called NSRA, the girl on the other end of the phone read me a statement that must have been already written. I told Jerry also that I'm always hearing how we need young people in this sport, but he just lost alot of them at this event.

 

Well I DO believe I am a member and I DO believe the collective membership has the power to get this changed. Yes, this decision is about the almight dollar. NSRA needs to see how this decision is going to COST them money, not make them more money.

Per Jerry, there were 428 campers last year. How many of those folks had the HUGE motor homes where each one took up the same space as 20 folks sleeping in Scottyville? NSRA folks had discussed maybe if your gear fit inside your "streetrod" or you could pull it with your "streetrod", then you could still camp but then they came to the conclusion that it wouldn't be "fair" to those members that want to bring their motorhomes

I believe they should eliminate the motorhomes and get the camping down to the barebones basics. This leaves camping to those that know what camping really means and the others can "rough it" in hotels.

I believe NSRA should do this one baby step at a time and not ax the whole camping experience altogether. Alittle bit of camping area can be given up now and then see if the numbers increase and how much room is actually needed for extra parking. I'm not one to easily give up a "fight" and I believe the camping experience at York is worth fighting for.

 

[ QUOTE ]
the girl on the other end of the phone read me a statement that must have been already written.

[/ QUOTE ]

I felt sorry for that girl. Can you imagine having to answer their phone this week?

Sawzall, letting the vendors know is a great idea. I'll take the time next weekend and make sure I stop and chat with as many vendors at Kzoo as I possibily can. I wonder if my boss will give me Friday off for this worthwhile, community service mission?

 

I'm tired of the man keeping me down.

 

Denise, you are 100% right.We are members and we can affect change.I'm sure Dennis O'Brien (O'Brien Truckers) will be / is reading this and will take our views to NSRA. I'll be talking to Jerry and Jake Moran at Burlington in a couple of weeks and give them my input.Hopefully,we can change their minds.
What you said about making a little change instead of outright banning the whole camping this is right on.
That would be a good rule: If you can tow it or bring it in in your streetrod,your in.If not,find another camping area.
I'd like to see some of those cars trailered behind these motorhomes actually move under their own power for more than 100 feet.

 

[ QUOTE ]
It is boiling down to money, plain and simple. They, NSRA officals, want the show to grow. They state they are

1) out of room for streetrods

2) out of room for spectator parking. He said paying spectators keep the costs down for members

3) out of room for vendor parking. He stated they will have more vendors in the new building next year therefore those new vendors will need parking.
I

[/ QUOTE ]

wait a minute, how does jerry know that they will have more vendors INSIDE next year? did the vendors already register for york? I doubt it. Or is the nsra going to force more vendors to take a spot inside? Thereby "freeing" outside space for more cars?

If I was a vendor and I had already registered for york I would request a refund based on the boycott being plotted by rodders who are being displaced by "easy ups secured by gold chains".

If I were a vendor and Had not yet registered for york I would like to know how the RODDING PUBLIC who buys PARTS from ME feels about their being NO CAMPING at York.

the moral of the story, I doubt jerry has any idea how many vendors are gonna show up and be inside next year, UNLESS he is going to force vendors to pay more for the plush indoor and therefore more expensive spots...
interesting.... we shall see how this plays out.. maybe in addition to mr jerry kennedy we should also email or SNAIL MAIL This thread to every street rod vender we do business with.. (along with an order of course)

boycot
where will these "more cars" come from? if none of us go?

if "more cars" dont show and use up the available "more room" where will the "more vendorS" who pay for the "more spaces" come from?

yeah the almighty dollar.. who really controlls it??

excuse me while I order some parts....

sawzall

 

Clark- am I allowed to participate in the Anti-Nats since I'm not Pre-48?

Sawzall- Bring your extra Scotty- We'll Paint NSRA SUCKS on it and sit it in my yard for dramatic effect.
This is a stoopid decision. It's not like you can easily book a room here- there are gonna be A LOT of people that just don't show up.
It's not a decision of camping or hotel- it's camping or not coming, unless you book a room for you and your TRAILER at the host hotel 3 years in advance.
Guarantee this will hurt the show in the long run more than it'll help by making someone a few bucks richer right now. Not to mention like everyone else said, pinch out the little builder for the poseur kit car/ trailer guys.
Maybe we should chip in for vendor space and sell Gold Chains????? Oh yeah.
Count me in for Scottytown West.
We need magnesium blocks to throw on the campfire, too.
~ Rob

 

[ QUOTE ]
Well I DO believe I am a member and I DO believe the collective membership has the power to get this changed

[/ QUOTE ] Sorry Denise,I think your kidding yourself on the democracy idea here. The collective membership has NO say in what goes on with the NSRA. And CruZer, is it really a hell of a show? Seems like the same shit in the same spot every year, with NOTHING happening...well except in Scottyville.

 

Denise & Cruzer thanks again for your help and please don't take my opinions or rants personally. I will not give up easily but I will not go if there is no camping. I am going to work on flyers to hand out and mail.It is a shame we did not find out about this last week. If we would have known about this last week at the Cumberland show we could have gotten a really good campaign against NSRA going.

Don't forget to Boycott Walker Radiators. Vernon Walker is one of the bigshots at NSRA making decisions like this.

Clark

 

No worries Clark, I don't take anything around these parts too seriously.

While this thread has Larry's attention, check out what I saw on my summer vacation. I didn't realize that you were such an enviromentalist. "You" adopted 2 stretches of highway, one near the north rim of the Grand Canyon and one on the way to the south rim. Me and Mr Bones just had to get a close-up look at the sign.

 

[ QUOTE ]


I believe they should eliminate the motorhomes and get the camping down to the barebones basics. This leaves camping to those that know what camping really means and the others can "rough it" in hotels.


[/ QUOTE ]

Come on now.....exclude some checkbook poser that will buy the latest high dollar billit pieces from the NSRA lovin' vendor or cater to a bunch up "hopped up kids" that scrounge around through junkyards building their rides. Lost cause guys.......
I hated York when I had to park my '55 Stude in the spectator lot while I paid to look at 4,000 fiberglass kit cars.......(but that's another issue)

 

Never been there but was hopiin to do it yet. Maybe there Was something in the "Within the streetrod" thing. Except maybe change that to "Within the space of A streetrod" to keep alla the show-offs with excess baggage from laying claim to valuable space that coulb be used for several campers. No need to get bent about people gettin sick of abuses of camping facilities, but the So-What show sounds pretty cool none-the-less

 

One of the main reasons I built my Scotty is for York.It's a good place for my 4yr. old to go relax from the heat.The camper is not even done yet!I guess my FAMILY will not be there next year.(or ever again)See ya then Clark.You'll be able to invite the vendors who will be looking for something to do too.

 

Larry,YES it is a helluva show. I drive 7 hours to get there every year,stay in a motel room with 5 other guys,eat junk food and drink beer all weekend.Plus I get to check out vendor stuff I can't see in a catalogue.I see some great cars cruisin' the grounds and the party at night is a ball. I do miss the nostalgia area.I put my car in there every year. And what about Wings???? He's worth the trip alone.
Has anyone thought about the idea that maybe the York Fair EXPO has gone WAYYYYY up on the rent because of the new building?????? I don't think NSRA is entirely to blame for this mistake in judgement.
Clark ,no offence taken. The thing I like about the HAMB is that every body can express an opinion and as long as your skin is thick enough,anyone can take some criticism.
I truely hope NSRA changes the plan. We can make it happen.

 

Thanks for letting out my top secret nice guy project Denise! I'm impressed to see Clark,(the "youth" of NSRA ) fired up about something. He's now a rebel with a cause! CruZer, I may be a little partial, but THIS is a photo from a fun show.

 

Can't argue with that,Larry. I loved the pix from that get together !!!!
Hey,maybe that's what NSRA should do with the track at York!!!! Yeah,right !!

 

Does anyone have anything to add to this thread before I print it today and give it to Jerry Kennedy at Kzoo this weekend?

Please add your thoughts on the subject even if you've never been. How do you feel about NSRA taking away a part of the show that has been a long standing tradition for lots of folks?

I'll wait till 4pm to print.

Just in case you didn't get Streetscene or didn't bother reading it, this is what NSRA had to say about it:

When the Street Rod Nationals East moved to York in 1974, the spacious York Interstate Fairgrounds offered a vast facility, one that would allow a super event to grow. During these twenty nine years the York Fairgrounds has continued to grow as well, not in size, but in scope, with the renovation of existing buildings, the addition to Memorial Hall and, just completed this month, yet another new building... the York Expo Arena; a state of the art facility of more than 100,000 square feet.
Throughout 2003 the NSRA staff worked with the York Expo Staff making every attempt to provide our participants with the same event they have come to know and expect, with minimum interferance by the ongoing construction. Activities were altered somewhat and areas such as the Swap Meet were moved to accomodate our every need.
The NSRA has worked hard to provide our participant, exhibitors, vendors and spectators with the best event possible. Our goal for the future remains the same...to provide everyone with quality events, bigger and better in every way, including more street rods, more exhibitors, and more activities we enjoy, always focusing on our participant and their street rods.
As a result, in order to continue the goals of bigger and better events for our participants, and most importantly, to provide ample parking for the registered street rods, on site (on the fairgrounds) camping at the NSRA Street Rod Nationals East in York, PA,

WILL NO LONGER BE AVAILABLE.

The NSRA will continue to work with the York County Convention and Visitors Bureau to provide a listing of area campgrounds, just as we do the hotel/motel accomodation guide, to assist those street rodders camping.
Camping has long been a major part of the NSRA Nats East, but the main focus has always been and will continue to be the guys and gals driving their street rods. We thank you for your support and understanding.

 

Sure just when I start to feel better you gotta bring it back to the top.
Clark

 

Boy am I dissapointed at the eleimination of Camping at Nats East. I finally have my teardrop usable and they do this. You can get 3 or 4 teardrops or scotty's in the space of one big Motorhome. Guys with the Motorhomes sure as hell can afford to motel it. I agree with the little guy being forced to stop going. Hell, for the last several years we have had to stay in Gettysburg because rooms are not available in York. Were are all these new vendors going to stay, what the heck is the that arguement all about.