Everything you need to run a great show

Guides for organisers, entrants, judges, and vendors — plus how Car Show Expert compares to paper, spreadsheets, and other software.

Getting started

How to run a car show: the complete guide for first-time organisers

The full arc of a car show — venue, registration, check-in, judging, and the trophy ceremony — with real numbers and timelines from 35 years of experience.

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Quick start: get your first car show live in 20 minutes

For first-time organisers on the free plan. Follow ten steps and you'll have a public registration link ready before your next committee meeting.

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How to reset a show for staff testing before the real event

You've been testing registration, check-in, and judging yourself — here's exactly what you can and can't undo before handing the show to your staff.

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Registration

Car show registration: how to set it up so show day isn't a disaster

What your registration system actually needs to do, how to handle online payment, and why the confirmation email is not optional.

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How to register for a car show: step-by-step for car owners

Find the show, fill in the form, pay or join the waitlist, print your dash card, and reuse your car from a Garage at every show.

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How to write car show classes and categories that actually work

Build classes for your actual entrant base, write descriptions that prevent misregistration, and handle reclassing before judging starts.

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How to create a car show dash card (window placard) that actually works

What goes on the card, what size to print, when to print, how to handle sponsor logos, and why QR codes are more useful than you think.

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Dash card layouts, logo sizes and print settings

Choose a Car Show Expert dash card layout, size your show and sponsor logos for print, and set the print dialog correctly so every card comes out sharp.

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Custom dash card templates: full HTML control over your printed cards

Upload your own HTML file and use merge tags to produce fully branded dash cards — sponsor logos, QR codes, and your club's identity, exactly where you want them.

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The participant portal: My Entries, My Garage, and results

How entrants use their account to track registrations, manage their vehicle library, and view awards — and why it saves you support emails.

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Payments

Setting up Stripe for your car show

Never used Stripe before? A plain-language walkthrough of what it is, what it'll ask you for, and how to connect it so entrants and spectators can pay by card.

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How to set up spectator ticket tiers for gate admission

Sell more than one gate admission price — Adult, Child, Weekend Pass — instead of a single flat fee, and see every paid ticket land in your own Spectator Payments tab.

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Judging and awards

Car show judging: how to set up a fair system that owners will actually respect

The 100-point scoring breakdown, how to recruit and train judges, and the chief judge role that holds everything together.

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How to set up judging: a step-by-step walkthrough

From building your class library to publishing awards — every step of configuring and running digital judging, in the order you'll actually touch it.

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Judge guide: scoring cars on show day

A phone-based walkthrough for judges — look up a car, score every category, and keep working even if you lose signal on the show field.

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Head judge guide: running judging on show day

A phone-based guide for head judges — open classes for scoring, track every judge's progress live, and close judging without needing the organiser.

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How to handle car show judging tiebreakers

Five ways experienced organisers break a tie in car show judging, why the rule must be picked before show day, and what today's results view shows.

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People's Choice awards at car shows: how to run a vote that feels fair

Poker chip votes, digital QR voting, hard close times, and why People's Choice is the most important award at a community show.

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People's Choice voting not working: causes and how to fix it

Voters can't vote, or see 'already voted' or 'too many votes'? The cause and fix for each People's Choice voting error, and how to test before show day.

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The trophy ceremony export: stop building the winner list by hand

Turn your assigned awards into a print-ready MC script with one click — grouped by class, with Best in Show and other special awards saved for last.

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Day of show

Day-of-show checklist for car show organizers

A literal, phase-by-phase checklist to print or pull up on your phone — the week before, before gate opens, check-in, judging, awards, and teardown.

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Car show day-of logistics: what goes wrong and how to prevent it

Weather, parking chaos, missing volunteers, PA failure, and trophy errors — every one of these is predictable. Here's the plan for each.

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Car show check-in: how to run a fast gate on show day

Two minutes per car is achievable — if you've set up the right lanes, the right list, and printed your dash cards before the first car arrives.

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Check-in staff guide: scanning cars in on show day

A phone-based walkthrough for gate volunteers — download the entry list before gates open, check cars in by search or QR scan, and handle duplicate dashcards.

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Offline check-in and duplicate dashcard detection

How Car Show Expert keeps your gate moving in dead-signal venues — and flags duplicate dashcard fraud in real time.

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Editing registrations on show day

Why a typo takes ten seconds to fix but a car's class can't be touched once judging starts — and what to do when the wrong car shows up.

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Volunteers, sponsors and vendors

How to run a car show volunteer team (without burning out your best people)

Recruit 30% more than you think you need, write specific role descriptions, run the 7am briefing, and call your best people before show day.

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How to get car show sponsors (and what to actually offer them)

Sponsors are making a business decision — here's how to build tiered packages, write proposals, and keep the same sponsors coming back every year.

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How to set up vendors: a step-by-step walkthrough

Turn on vendor applications, define booth spaces and fees, share the sign-up link, and review, approve, and get vendors paid — in the order you'll actually touch it.

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Software comparisons

Car show software vs. a car show platform — what's the difference?

Most car show software handles one workflow. A platform connects registration, check-in, participant garages, public show pages, and commercial management in one account.

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Car show management software: what it does and how Car Show Expert covers it

One platform for registration, check-in, judging, People's Choice voting, and awards — how Car Show Expert replaces spreadsheets, paper forms, and group texts.

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Car show registration software: online forms, card payments, and automatic confirmations

How Car Show Expert handles the full registration workflow — public form, Stripe payments, automatic confirmation emails, capacity limits, waitlists, and CSV import.

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Car show judging software: digital scorecards that tally automatically

Judges score on their phone, results tally in real time, and winners are ranked the moment judging closes — no paper, no transcription, no hand-counting.

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Car show voting software: QR code People's Choice without the poker chips

Every dash card gets a unique QR code. Attendees scan to vote. One vote per person enforced automatically. Results ready when polls close.

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Car show check-in software: scan a QR code and keep the gate moving

Gate staff check in vehicles by QR scan or name search from any phone. Works offline. Multiple staff on the same live list. Search-based check-in is free on every plan; QR scanning is an Expert show feature.

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Car Show Expert vs CarShowPro vs DrivenToShow vs CarShowSoftware

Full feature, pricing, and platform comparison of the four main car show management tools — so you can pick the right one for your show.

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Car show culture

Car shows in Pennsylvania — 2026

Upcoming shows across PA — from community charity events to regional marque gatherings — with dates, locations, and links to full details.

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Car shows in Arizona: 2027

Arizona car shows for 2027: Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale, Arizona Concours, Concours in the Hills, Goodguys at WestWorld and the Route 66 Fun Run.

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Car shows in California: 2027

California car shows for 2027: Pebble Beach, Grand National Roadster Show, Goodguys Del Mar and Pleasanton, Sacramento Autorama and more.

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Car shows in Florida: 2027

Florida car shows for 2027, from Amelia and Mecum Kissimmee to Daytona Turkey Run, with usual timing, venues, who each suits and a practical tip.

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Car shows in Michigan: 2027

Michigan car shows for 2027: Woodward Dream Cruise, Detroit Autorama, Back to the Bricks, EyesOn Design and Gilmore Car Museum events.

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Car shows in New York: 2027

New York car shows for 2027: Syracuse Nationals, Adirondack Nationals, Saratoga museum shows, a Long Island beach show and the NY Auto Show.

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Car shows in North Carolina: 2027

North Carolina car shows for 2027: Charlotte AutoFair, Goodguys Raleigh, Hot Nights Cool Rides and the Mayberry Cruise-In, with usual timing and tips.

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