STURGIS - Locals will show off their Chevelles, Mustangs and Camaros on Saturday at the Knuckle Saloon & Grill.

But aficionados of other vehicles shouldn't feel left out; this show has something for everyone, with classes for best bike, best truck and best cruiser as well as the standard hot rod and muscle car classes.

The local car show season wraps up with this Sturgis event. Bryan Carter, general manager at the Knuckle Saloon & Grill, said the show's October date is taking a gamble that the weather will cooperate.

But he said the date also is a plus for organizers, because by this time of year, the slew of car shows across the Black Hills will be over and they won't have competition.

Carter does not compete in the show himself - "I'd win the bomber class for driving the biggest piece of junk around town," he joked - but he said it is a family event that people across the Hills will enjoy.

"It's a good hangout, good food and cold beers," Knuckle co-owner Tony Fortier said of the event's attraction.

Everybody who enters a car receives a T-shirt printed by Turkey Graphix, another business Fortier co-owns.

But the one-of-a-kind, handmade trophies are an even bigger reason to enter a car. The trophies, which stand a good 2 or 3 feet high, are constructed from old motor parts, pistons, flames - "everything hot rod," Fortier said.

The muscle car class is open only to cars made in 1972 or earlier, because Fortier holds that anything newer than that isn't a muscle car. Apart from that regulation, rules aren't too stringent.

"Our show tends to drag a few people out of the garage, not so much the high-end bunch," Fortier said. "We don't care if you have a little rust or scratches, as long as your car is cool."

The new trend in hot rodding, he explained, is "rat rods" - hand-built, rusty cars patched together in someone's garage on a shoestring budget, just like hot rods that were built in the 1940s and 1950s. Those devotees are more than welcome at the show and cruising night.

"I'd hate to pigeonhole any car as a rat rod niche, but there's definitely a strong presence. People like that rusty rod thing, and we'd like to encourage those people," he said.

Car shows have been growing in number over the past five or six years, both nationally and in the Black Hills.

"For some reason, the nostalgia … has really enthused young and old people alike," Fortier said, describing a resurgence in the traditional, grassroots hot rod scene.

While new hot rod publications are popping up across the nation, Fortier collects genuinely old hot rod magazines and memorabilia, some of which can be seen decorating the Knuckle Saloon.

"It's just something that really gets me going, I guess, and a lot of other folks too," he said.

Fortier himself drives a '58 Oldsmobile with a dull paint job, a real low cruiser - not customized, but naturally lowered by gravity over the years.

"It's not that expensive, but I get waved at when I drive it around," Fortier said.

Past shows have been judged on a people's choice voting process, but a "distinguished panel of experts" - hot rod enthusiasts in the local community - will be picking this year's winners, one per class.

"It's just all about fun … we try not to get too serious about the judging," Fortier said.

Many of the participants in the annual show have been building hot rods for decades. Fortier said it is neat to see old-timers being recognized for their work these days.

Younger people as well are invited to display their hot rods. "We encourage all of that," Fortier said. "Anything motor sports is a good time."

If you go

What: Fourth annual Sturgis Fall Cruisin' Night and car show

When: 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6; burn-out competition in the pavilion at 4 p.m.; awards at 6 p.m.

Where: The Knuckle Saloon & Grill, 931 First St., Sturgis

Admission: Free for spectators. To enter a car, cost is $15, or $10 and five cans of food for the Sturgis Food Bank.