As sculpture,
the AMBR cars
are stunning,
but it’s when
they’re used
that their true
beauty shines,
as David Martin
demonstrated
by driving us
home in his
2018 AMBR-
winning ’3 1
Ford (below).
On Sunday night the wait is over. The Grand National
Roadster Show highlights nearly 1,500 cars, from lowriders
to rat rods, and there are awards for every category. Finally,
Buck calls Poteet to the stage and hands him the $10,000
check for winning the AMBR. The crowd cheers. Everyone
agrees the ’36 deserves the prize.
Cars fire up all over the fairgrounds, a marching-band
warmup of lopey cams and lake pipes. Martin walks up and
grabs my arm. “C’mon, I’ll show you what this is really all
about,” he says. He opens the door on the Martin Special,
and static sculpture turns to wind against my face, the
smell of gasoline and the pop of the engine filling the open
cockpit as we fly home. Beautiful. AM