Rigby Hot Classic Nights car show thunders into town this weekend
RIGBY — Organizers are busy prepping Rigby City Park for the 2022 edition of the Rigby Hot Classic Night Car Show and Drag Races.
This annual celebration of chrome, smoke and noise is set for Saturday, July 9, and will feature hundreds of classic cars, 100-foot drag races staged by Midnight Muscle Car Club, great food vendors and much more.
Now in its eighteenth year, the show was born as a fundraiser for the Rigby Senior Center. Originally held on the lot at Rigby Chevrolet (now Tad Jenkins), Classic Nights rapidly outgrew that venue and was moved to Rigby City Park. While the show is much bigger now, the goal of raising money for Rigby’s senior citizen community hasn’t changed.
“That’s how the show got started,” Classic Nights spokesman Adam Hall told EastIdahoNews.com. “It was a fundraiser to supplement the ‘Meals on Wheels’ program. They would always start it at 4 or 5 at night and that’s how it got the name ‘Hot Classic Nights.’ Over the course of eighteen years, it’s grown so massive that now we bring in fifteen to twenty food trucks and thirty to forty other vendors who are selling their pieces and 400-plus cars.”
Along with all the gorgeous classic automobiles, another Classic Nights highlight is the 100-Foot Drag Races put on by the Midnight Muscle Car Club of Idaho Falls. The races turn a quiet Rigby street into a drag strip as racers attempt to dial their cars in and get off to the best start possible.
“We make sure that people know that the Hot Classic Night show is really only half the show,” Hall said. “The Midnight Muscle drag races are really what brings a lot of people out. They love seeing the burnouts, they love seeing the smoke, they love hearing the noise, the roar of the engines. That factor of the show really adds a whole other level to what our show brings.”
Classic Nights fans also love the “Dick Brooks Moment of Noise,” a gearhead tribute to those the hot-rodding community has lost in the past year.
“We had a run where a lot of our hot-rodders from that generation pass away,” said Hall. “We didn’t know a way to honor them better than to have every single person in the park turn their cars on, rev their engines and make it as loud as possible right at that moment. Before we do it, we make sure to mention those classic hot-rodders and people who have been coming to our show for years, the car guys, those individuals who are the definition of classic car owners.”
Hall said he hopes to have close to 500 engines revving for this year’s “Moment of Noise,” including cars, pickups, big rigs, motorcycles and anything else in the park with a motor in it.
“It’s amazing how loud it already is at 9 or 10 in the morning,” Hall said. “It’s already a loud show and then you throw in the ‘Moment of Noise’ and it’s earth-shattering.”
The show ends with the “Memorial Cruise” down Main Street, which provides a good opportunity for those who miss the show to see the cars while giving everyone else one last look.
“It’s really a parade of as many of those that are willing to drive up and down (Main Street) as possible,” Hall said. “We encourage spectators to head over to Main Street, and even those who didn’t make the show, to come out and see these cars in action. The icing on the cake of our show is that awesome ‘Memorial Cruise’ at the end of the day.”
Hall said the show wouldn’t be possible without the support of its sponsors, including Holst Truck Part, Lowder Orthodontics, Tad Jenkins Chevrolet, Les Schwab Tires and many more. He also thanked Rigby City Police for the support and assistance they provide.
Classic car fans of all ages can come to get their fill of chrome, smoke and noise at the Rigby Hot Classic Night Car Show and Drags. The show runs from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 9, at Rigby City Park in Rigby. Admission is free to spectators.
