By ALEXANDER SIMONE

Staff writer

Saturday’s Route 77 Car Show in Burns was relatively small, with 40 vehicles, but that was a benefit for resident Ryan Peterson.

“I like the local ones because I don’t have to watch my son as much,” he said. “He can run around.”

Smaller shows also come with a more laid-back attitude, Peterson said.

“People are more personable, and you don’t have to keep as close an eye on your rigs,” he said. “You can walk around and enjoy yourself and the activities without worrying.”

One of the biggest attractions was how the event was presented. Flattened iron plaques with stenciled lettering were awarded to winners.

“What attracted me were the way it was presented online, and their trophies,” Wichita resident Stephen Caudill said. “I really liked that flat-iron look.”

Saturday was Caudill’s fourth car show, and he won the stock truck class, which marked his third trophy.

Part of the allure of showing cars is having a vehicle up to par but also available for daily use, Peterson said.

“I like to be able to take them and drive them,” he said. “With the older ones, you get a lot of money in them, and they’re harder to take out. I can still take mine to the lake and go fishing.

“It’s not really a toy if you can’t use it. “If I can’t take it out and enjoy it then there’s no point in owning it.”

Salina resident Bryan Harris agreed.

“These guys all drove their cars here,” he said. “The ones that come in on a trailer shouldn’t be in the same category.”

Harris, whose 2013 Hyundai Veloster has won 45 awards at shows, likes having a newer vehicle because there isn’t a need to rebuild it.

“Instead of doing a bunch of body work, repainting it, and everything else, I can just customize,” he said. “That’s my area.”

Harris likes that his foreign car is unique and turns heads.

“Not everybody has one,” he said. “I go to the import shows, and everyone and their grandma has a Honda. No one has one of these.”

Peterson took second in the 4x4 class for his 1987 Dodge truck, while Harris was the winner in the import class.

A self-described Ford fan, Caudill said older vehicles were special regardless of brand.

“When they get this age, it doesn’t matter what make they are,” he said. “When they’re from the 1940s and ’50s, they’re all nice.”