Chrome, smoke and noise to be on display at Rigby Hot Classic Nights 2021

RiGBY — It starts with a rumble.

The massive engine rumbles as it waits to unleash its pent-up horsepower, like a barely-contained earthquake. The driver revs the engine as the rumbling, the roaring noise and the anticipation all mount.

Then, launch. The car leaps forward, throwing you back into your seat. If you’re not ready for it, you might end up with a goose egg on your head to help you remember your experience. But the exhilaration of the acceleration and pure speed is worth a little knock on the noggin.

This is an experience the members of the Midnight Muscle Car Club regularly partake in and they were out on the streets of Rigby this past weekend laying rubber, making noise and getting their cars dialed in for the Rigby Classic Hot Nights car show and drag races.

Now in its eighteenth year, Rigby Hot Classic Nights combines a classic car show, lots of tasty food and 100-ft drag races all into one event at Rigby City Park. This family-friendly show is free to the public and has become one of the biggest classic car culture events in the area and it’s all for a good cause.

“The way the whole thing started out is that the Senior Citizens came to me and wanted to know if we could help them out selling hamburgers at a Fourth of July event that we were holding,” the show’s chairman Todd Stowell told EastIdahoNews.com. “We did that and found out they didn’t make a lot of money that summer, so we decided let’s start this car show. So the next summer we started a car show and all of the proceeds go to the Senior Citizens Meals on Wheels program. We have done that ever since and the show’s done nothing but grow.”

Stowell attributes the show’s growth to several factors, among them the growth of the local population.

“With the growth of the area, we’re seeing a lot more hot rodders coming in from other areas,” he said. “I think the other part of it is that Rigby is a huge hot rod town and has always been a big hot rod town. And I think people are just excited to get out and see hot rods.”

Along with Midnight Muscle Car Club’s 100-foot drag races and all the beautiful classic automobiles, Rigby Classic Hot Nights also includes another special and unique moment: the Moment of Noise, a tribute to the classic car community members who have passed on.

“Every year we lose a few old hot rodders,” Stowell said. “So instead of a moment of silence, we do what’s called a ‘Moment of Noise.’ We have everybody start up their cars and they step on the gas and give it as much noise as we can get. It is a cool part of the show, to honor those guys who have gone on before.”

The show ends with a cruise down Main Street, which gives the community one more chance to see and hear the hot rods.

“It’s something to watch and look at the cars but it’s something else to hear them run,” Stowell said. “So we encourage everybody who shows up for the show to stay afterward and go up and down Main Street, just for a few minutes. It’s interesting to see the amount of the public who comes out to see the cars.”

You can come out to see and hear these classic hot rods when the Rigby Hot Classic Nights car show and drag races descend on Rigby City Park at noon Saturday. The cruise starts at 5 p.m.

All proceeds go towards funding the Senior Citizens Meals on Wheels program. Visit the show’s Facebook page for more information.