Carlisle All-Ford Nationals broke all boundaries and raised the bar for itself this year by breaking attendance records and drawing more fans and cars since the show’s inception eleven years ago in 1995. On June 3rd through 5th, 2,625 different models of Ford cars and trucks caught the eyes of 48,983 attendees. If you are a fan of any type of Ford that has ever rolled off of the assembly line, Carlisle was the place to be!

As a testimate to how dedicated some show attendees are is the Most Miles Traveled trophy that was given to Lou Medina, who drove 3,200 miles from Union City, California in his 1987 Merkur XR4Ti to attend the show! (I wonder how many bathroom breaks a trip like that involved?)

The largest of cars gathering at the show was the Boss Car Nationals: Boss Cars Reunited, which brought more than 275 Boss cars, more than ever assembled anywhere at any time.

Sofia Duncan, a fashion designer from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, won the title of Miss All-Ford Nationals and $300. The winner of the burnout competition was Donald Ross Jr., who smoked the competition in his 1978 Ford F150 pickup and won a $100 gift certificate to Advance Auto Parts. But, in one of the most important contests, Harry Harvey of Enola scarfed 25 hot wings to take the Wing Eating contest championship!

The Merkur Club of America won the trophy for having the most club members at the event, representing Ford’s German marque with more than 200 members and cars to help celebrate the Merkur’s 20th anniversary.

A member of the Merkur club, Jason Wiss of Lakewood, Ohio, won the best prize of the weekend, a 1986 Merkur XR4Ti with only 35,000 original miles that was given away by Carlisle Events.

In the Mustangs & Fords dyno challenge, Neville Pinnock’s 1972 Ford Torino won for the vintage Fords in the ’65-’73 Mustangs vs. ’60-’73 Vintage Fords contest with 375 horsepower.

The Ford Thunderbird celebrated its 50th anniversary this year with one car from each significant model change represented in the Thunderbird Evolution. And Guest John Samsen, who worked on the creation of the T-bird, signed autographs at the event. In recognition of the 40th anniversary of a stellar year in Carroll Shelby’s auto racing history, an exhibit featured memorable Shelby models.

Special guest Bud Moore, who entered the 1969-’70 Trans-Am season with the driving team of Parnelli Jones & George Follmer, signed autographs at the event. Moore’s racing propelled the Boss Mustang 302 into racing history. For the 1967-’68 season, the Moore team raced Mercury Cougars, one of which was on display. Also available for autographs was Donald Farr, editor of Mustang & Fords and Mustang Monthly and author of the book “Mustang Boss 302, Ford’s Trans-Am Pony Car.”

Next year’s All-Ford Nationals is to be held June 2-4, 2006. You can make plans to attend by visiting www.carsatcarlisle.com; if you start practicing now, you may be able to win the wing eating championship!