Don Ridler was the first professional promoter hired by the Michigan Hot Rod Association to assist them with their fledgling Autorama in the fifties. With Don’s creativity and professional approach in promoting, Autorama was able to grow tremendously, and eventually move to its present home at Cobo Center in 1961. In 1963, Autorama decided to honor Don Ridler, who had prematurely passed away, with an award given in his name.

Originally the award was given to the Best Vehicle first-time shown. Over the last forty years the award has evolved to better conform to new ideas, changing designs and concepts. Today it emphasizes creativity, engineering and workmanship. Anyone building a vehicle for Ridler competition should post these words on their garage wall. The vehicle that best represents these three areas will win the Ridler Award.

In addition to the above judging guidelines, there are a few hard and fast rules, with no exceptions.

1. The vehicle must make its first public showing at the Detroit Autorama. Showing the vehicle at any indoor or outdoor show or any part of the entry, i.e. frame, engine or body, will make it ineligible for contention.
   
   Realizing that car owners and builders may need some form or exposure to develop interest or to gain sponsorship and give credit to suppliers and/or sponsors, magazine and video build-up coverage is allowed. No articles, video footage or stories with photos of the vehicle in finished form will be allowed until after the award has been presented, i.e. car cannot be painted or upholstered to be used in any media format.
   
2. The vehicle must prove minimal operability. It must start, move forward and backward under its own power, turn left and right and stop using the brake pedal, before it is placed on the floor for display. Keep in mind that this is a minimum to qualify. Operational function ability is something the judges will look at.

Once the final Ridler Contenders have been determined, the field will be narrowed to 8 Finalists, which will be referred to as the Pirelli Tire Great Eight. Because of the number of entries contending for the Great Eight, the process of elimination will begin on Thursday evening after move-in has been completed. Entries do not need to be 100% set-up, but should be to a state that they can be evaluated fairly. The Pirelli Tire Great 8 Finalists will be announced Friday morning and they will be introduced at the Circle of Champions Brunch on Saturday morning.

If an entry is selected as a Pirelli Tire Great 8 Ridler Finalists the car will not be eligible for any Autorama awards including class judging and special awards. Each of the Pirelli Tire Great 8 will, however, receive a cash award of $1,000 – paid on Friday of the show. Owners and builders should also keep in mind that they may be asked during the weekend to close up their vehicle to be checked for fit and finish, and to make sure everything is operational.

There will be a Pirelli Tire Great Eight Ridler Contenders meeting Saturday at 7:00 p.m. for the builders and owners. This meeting is an opportunity to meet the other finalists, the judging staff and ask questions on how your car will be judged.

As title sponsor of ISCA’s GM Performance Parts Show Car Series, GM Performance Parts found it only fitting to sponsor the most prestigious award in the indoor custom car show industry. The winner receives America’s most prestigious trophy and Ridler Award jacket, his name on the plaque in the lobby of Cobo Center and his car featured on the 1st place trophies presented the following year. The builder of the Ridler winner receives a 1/3 scale Ridler Trophy. Since 1992, GM Performance Parts has offered a cash prize of $10,000 and a GM crate motor to the Ridler Award winner at each year’s Detroit Autorama.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call 586-771-7110 between the hours of 9:00 am and 5:00 pm EST or email MichHotRod@aol.com.

The Detroit Autorama is one event produced annually by Championship Auto Shows, Inc., North America's largest producer of indoor hot rod shows.  The Detroit Autorama is hosted by the Michigan Hot Rod Assn.