June 12, 2025
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5,000-plus classic cars roll through Kankakee on Tuesday

By Tiffany Blanchette
A passenger waves from a classic car as it travels in a group along Court Street in Kankakee as part of the Hot Rod Power Tour 2025 on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. Over 5,000 cars passed through the city's main artery en route to Joliet as part of the five-day traveling car show.

A passenger waves from a classic car as it travels in a group along Court Street in Kankakee as part of the Hot Rod Power Tour 2025 on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. Over 5,000 cars passed through the city's main artery en route to Joliet as part of the five-day traveling car show. (Tiffany Blanchette)

Over 5,000 classic cars are cruising through Kankakee today as part of the Hot Rod Power Tour 2025.

Cars traveling in packs of 50–200 made their way west on Illinois Route 17 (Court Street) toward Illinois Route 113 en route to Joliet’s Route 66 Raceway as part of the 31st annual tour.

Passersby and spectators paused to watch as the largest group rolled through around noon.

The Hot Rod Power Tour is the world’s largest traveling car show, according to hotrod.com.

The tour hit the highways June 9 and continues through June 13 as over 6,000 vehicles participate in the five-day event.

Large groups of classic cars travel along Court Street in Kankakee as part of the Hot Rod Power Tour 2025 on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. Over 5,000 cars passed through the city's main artery en route to Joliet as part of the five-day traveling car show.

Large groups of classic cars travel along Court Street in Kankakee as part of the Hot Rod Power Tour 2025 on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. Over 5,000 cars passed through the city's main artery en route to Joliet as part of the five-day traveling car show. (Tiffany Blanchette)

The MotorTrend event team and Hot Rod editors curated a route that runs west to east, beginning at the famed Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park and ending at the Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.

The 31st annual road trip includes three dragstrips and two fairgrounds as Monday’s kickoff featured drag racing on the famous Indianapolis Raceway Park strip.

The second day, Tuesday, heads north to Joliet to one of the most notorious tracks on the National Hot Rod Association’s national event schedule - the Route 66 Raceway - for the second straight day of drag racing.

The third and fourth days are a break from dragstrips as the Power Tour visits the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

A short drive east into Michigan brings the group to Thursday’s stop at Monroe County Fairgrounds. And finally, the tour concludes at the Summit Motorsports Park in Ohio, one of the crown jewels on the NHRA national event tour, according to hotrod.com.

For more information, visit hotrod.com/hot-rod-power-tour.