South MS showpiece event named nation’s best for sixth straight year
Make that six years in a row South Mississippi has the No. 1 car show in the United States.
USA Today asked readers to vote for their favorite car show in the country, and once again Cruisin’ The Coast zoomed past the 19 other nominees.
Cruisin’ The Coast took the top spot over popular events like Back to the ‘50s Weekend, Triple Crown of Rodding, NSRA Street Rod Nationals and even Hot August Nights, which was the model for Cruisin’ The Coast when it began in 1996.
The first Cruisin’ drew 374 antique and classic cars and trucks for what was a four-day event.
It now runs eight days, from Oct. 5-12 this year. In 2024, the event drew 9,961 vehicles from 44 states, Canada, England and New Zealand.
This year there are already more than 3,900 registered vehicles from 42 states, Australia and Canada.
Cruisin’ The Coast came out fast in the voting, said Woody Bailey, executive director, and stayed there for most of the month-long competition.
“Our participants and spectators come back year after year because of the hospitality found along our Mississippi Gulf Coast and keep voting us No. 1,” Bailey said. “They tell our story the best and spread the word about CTC across the country.”
Winning this award is a testament to the staff, the support of the sponsors and the hundreds of volunteers who work to make Cruisin’ the event it is, he said.
This story was originally published May 7, 2025 at 1:55 PM.
