The 10th annual Warbirds, Wings and Wheels gave attendees a record show in May that is worth another look!
Among the usual wings that were out at the Estrella Warbirds Museum were a record number of autos for the show.
“We ended with 298 cars,” event director Carol Verstuyft said. “Last year we had 210 cars, and the most we had prior to this year was 230. We were running out of places to park cars.”
Along with the cars came people, and the evening barn dance with Monte Mills & the Lucky Horseshoe Band was packed with 210 dancers. The one-day show brought thousands.
“If you take all the car show attendance, we were pushing 5,000 attendees,” Verstuyft said.
One of the big hits was the first-ever Cacklefest at WWW, put together by the Throttle Merchants. The old front-engine dragsters popped the throttle and flames roared out of the pipes to thrill the crowd. There was so much going on around the property that nobody even signed up for the corn hole tournament!
The event is complete with a giant swap meet, and 132 “swappers” were on display to send people home with trunks full of new-old treasures. All together, the show brought folks from all over the west coast.
“We had folks from the state of Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, and all over California,” Verstuyft said. “Locally they also come from the Valley, Bakersfield, Santa Cruz, and Salinas.”
Nationally renown TV car show host Dennis Gage (My Classic Car) was on hand with his “cartoon custom” VW Bus.
“He was a huge attention-getter at the show,” Verstuyft said. “People loved looking at his car.”
Along with several attractions, there were also more food venders than ever and as always, Firestone Walker was keeping the crowds cool with kegs and cases of beer.
Among the winners of the car show, the Woodland Auto Display winner was Tom Young in a 1932 Cadillac 452 AWP.
Class winners ran the alphabet with an A-Z of categories. Kelly Rohrer and Rob Rohrer won for best Model A and Model T, respectively. Barry Lewis won for best Military, with a 1945 Willis Jeep, and Chuck Wentworth won best Race Car with a 1927 Buick Racer.
Inside, the Estrella Warbirds Museum continues to improve. Even if you saw it at the show, it has undergone some great new changes.
The flight simulator offers a variety of trips for would-be pilots, with up to 30 different options. Museum curator, Dr. Jill Thayer, has been busy arranging the halls, and a few interior walls now boast new paint jobs.
If you are interested in meeting the vast supporters of the museum, the Warbirds host a monthly dinner on the first Wednesday of the month. The hall opens at 6 p.m. and dinner begins at 7 p.m. The cost is $20 per person, and tickets can be purchased at ewarbirds.org, or 805-296-1935.
The facilities are also home to many other great events, and are available for rent for large gatherings and events. Call Vicki Conger at 805-674-3939. Conger rentals also has table and chairs and more available for large crowds and custom events.

SILVER CROWN

The museum, and Woodland’s Auto Display are proud to announce that Jeff Gordon’s famous “Silver Crown” race car is now on view for museum patrons. The car is on loan from Fred Ede of Fresno, who, with his father, campaigned the car with Jeff Gordon as their driver.
The Woodland Auto Display is well known for having a large variety of historic race cars and very collectable automobiles, but this is the first time that a “Silver Crown” race car is being shown there. This unique car, “.. looks like a sprint car on steroids.”
With a longer wheelbase of 96 inches — vs. 86 for a sprint car — it weighs over 1400 pounds and can carry up to 75 gallons of fuel. Its engine is limited to 355 cubic inches versus 410 for a sprint car, it still produces approximately 750 horsepower. Silver Crown cars are designed for 1-mile dirt and pavement tracks and their fuel load allows them to run 100 miles without refueling. These cars are extremely tricky as the combination of tire wear and lighter fuel load during the race challenges drivers.
Head out to Estrella Warbirds Museum and Woodland’s Auto Display today!