event coverage bat
|

What to Know About event Coverage: BaT at the 2025 CLASS Car Show in Clear Lake, Iowa

Byjustpastevehicles

8/7/25 Event Coverage Update:

The BaT team made its first trek out to Clear Lake, Iowa, for this year’s Clear Lake Auto Social Society (CLASS) Car Show & Summer Dance Cruise this past weekend. With nearly 800 cars for Friday night’s cruise around the lake and 500 for the next day’s car show downtown, fans of all things automotive had plenty to see over the course of the two-day event.

Our hosts from CLASS set us up with a prime viewing spot at the staging area for the Friday night cruise, which covers the roughly 20-mile loop around the lake. Our friends from the Clear Lake Fire Department were there to snag a few overhead shots of the staging grounds with their drone and, we’ve got to say, they nailed it.

After the cruise around the lake, Friday night saw the team head over to the legendary Surf Ballroom to catch Midwest rock icons Head East and snag some popcorn and refreshing lagers. Filled with an endless collection of Americana, this National Historic Landmark fit the festive atmosphere of the cruise and car show just right.

Fans of the site Todd and Joanne Brackey made the trip down from Minnesota in their 930 Turbo for the cruise and ended up sticking around for Saturday’s car show in City Park downtown. Our tent provided a front row view of the show from beside the bandshell. We were probably outshone by the slantnose, but we’ll take it.

We were also thrilled to present one lucky attendee with new tires from our friends at Michelin and BFGoodrich. Hailing from Mason City, our new buddy Jason made the 10-mile trek over in his 383-powered Polara on “for trailer use only” Trailer King rubber that, needless to say, didn’t quite suit the top-of-the-line offering from Dodge for 1963. Our vote is for a set of redlines from the BFGoodrich catalog.

Finally, we extend our thanks to our hosts from CLASS and everyone who stopped by the tent. Perfect weather, a wonderful setting, great people, and some good old classic iron made for a world-CLASS event! Check out the full gallery below.

Photo Gallery

 Original post:

The Clear Lake Auto Social Society proudly presents their annual CLASS Car Show & Summer Dance Cruise: a pilgrimage of American iron spanning several decades gathered for one packed weekend. BaT is sponsoring this year’s gathering, which takes place on August 1 and 2 in Clear Lake, Iowa.

This annual happening covers a lot of ground these days, and you can expect hundreds of cars and thousands of participants in attendance. The event “kicks off Friday night with a car cruise around Clear Lake, with a concert to follow. On Saturday, the car show is held downtown around City Park,” according to the organizer. Said Friday night concert will have Midwest rock icons Head East playing at the infamous Surf Ballroom, otherwise known as the last stage on which Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper played the night “before the music died.” We assume a better outcome will be had by all, this time around.

BaT staffers will be there both days—look out for the BaT tent at the cruise staging area and the park! We’re excited to experience such a large assemblage of automotive Americana on display in one locale. Come out and see us in beautiful Clear Lake!

Image: Globe Gazette

CLASS Car Show & Summer Dance Cruise 2025
Friday, August 1, 2025 – Car Cruise & Head East Concert at the Surf Ballroom
Saturday, August 2, 2025 – Car Show & Entertainment at City Park

Clear Lake, Iowa – Visit the Clear Lake Iowa website for more details.

Similar Posts

  • |

    New BaT Local Partners in TX, NJ, UT, FL, CA, and NM!

    Byjustpastevehicles

    Our Local Partners network continues to grow, and we’re always  excited to bring new shops into the fold. Local Partners are trusted operations that have partnered with BaT to provide professional services and expertise to private owners wishing to list their vehicles on BaT. Such services can include preparation, presentation, and auction management; additionally, mechanical repairs, shipping, and logistical assistance are often available. It’s our goal to make it possible for anyone who wants to sell on Bring a Trailer to get the help they need to do it well, and our Local Partners have a proven track record demonstrating the transparency and engagement necessary to achieve successful results. We regularly update the Local Partners directory, so if you are a professional shop interested in becoming a Local Partner, please reach out to us at LocalPartners@bringatrailer.com.

  • |

    Understanding big Milestones, Big Bikes, and a Big Trip to Goodwood

    Byjustpastevehicles

    Episode 175 covers the reaction to our last movie episode, Tyler’s Corvette origin story, taking calls in parked cars, early lot numbers, lot 250k, the preponderance of cool bikes in Europe, great recent moto sales, a digression into McQueen territory, a Harley revelation, and Alex’s impromptu trip to the UK to spend some time on track at Goodwood.

  • |

    Here’s sludgo’s Mile Markers: Mile 222

    Byjustpastevehicles

    Recently I did something that all my life I swore I’d never do. Had been offered many chances to do it before but always gamely resisted, white-knuckling through any and all temptations like a champ. However, over the past few years I’ve found myself growing weaker of body and spirit and mind while the deadly-sweet melody of one particular siren’s song only grew louder and more seductive and last week I finally gave up and gave in. I know there are those who’ll think less of me because of it, people who’ll look askance at me when I walk into the room and whisper and hiss and snicker about me when I walk back out but, oh well. It is what it is. Or was what it was, I suppose. There’s no taking it back now and before rumors started to fly I figured I’d better get ahead of any scandal and admit it outright, admit that I’d gone over to the Dark Side and for the first time ever had my car professionally detailed rather than washing it by hand myself. I hope you were all sitting down.

  • |

    sludgo’s Mile Markers: Mile 221

    Byjustpastevehicles

    This is Part Three of a three-part series. Click the links to read Part One, and Part Two.
    It was a warm and sunny June morning and I’d been home about a week and a half. I was out in the garage thinking I should take advantage of the weather and give Mom’s RAV4 a good wash because it needed it. Had gotten dusty sitting in front of the McBungalow since I got back and was still grimy and buggy from the trip, but just as I was getting motivated my phone rang. Saw it was the eldest so I picked up. Knew immediately by his voice that something was brewing. He pretended-normal for a minute, asking me all the usuals. How I was. What I’d been up to. If the dogs were okay. And I answered him with all the usuals. Fine. Not much. Yup. Then he paused and cleared his throat. Said he’d just gotten off a phone call from Grandma—the Beehive—and needed to talk to me about a couple things. So I walked over to my workbench and sat down on my shop stool. “Okeydoke, kiddo. Shoot.”

  • |

    This Week’s Weird and Wonderful—June 12, 2026: A Practical Look

    Byjustpastevehicles

    Earlier this week, we hit a new record for volume with 1,248 live auctions on the site. That’s great for business, but a little too much for anyone trying to keep up with every single BaT listing of note. That’s why we have assembled The Weekly Weird and Wonderful, a curated list of the 10 most interesting, unusual, and significant cars to appear here in the last seven days, plus a handful of honorable mentions thrown in because we couldn’t help ourselves. Now, this is not comprehensive by any means, so please head over to the live auctions page to spend down the rest of your attention and focus doing something worthwhile.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *