Jefferson City's High Street was a one-stop shop for performance car junkies and their families Saturday during the 11th celebration of Shelbyfest.
For the past four years, Doug Rosner and his sons Owen and Jake have come to Shelbyfest to check out the unique selection of Mustangs and Fords on display.
Rosner said Jake comes specifically to listen to the loud motors.
"I like any of them with big engines," Rosner said. "The more unique they are the more attractive they are to me."
A green 1965 Mustang GT Fastback caught the eye of many spectators. One attendee said he had owned a version of this particular car, making the day even more special to him.
"Every year, we get more cars from more states," Kyle Caraway, the creator of Shelbyfest, said. "It's hard for me to put into words when I see people with their families out here."
Caraway said Shelbyfest started in 2007 when he and a group of friends met to show off their Shelby GT 500 performance cars.
Eleven years later, car owners travel from across the U.S. to be apart of Shelbyfest, which moved to Jefferson City from Hermann two years ago. There were even cars from Canada and Alaska present Saturday.
The three-day event also made way for vendors from across the country, like Gateway Classic and the Shelby manufacturer, to promote their products and introduce auto-cross performance driving to those interested in learning to race.
Gateway Classic is a Missouri-based performance car shop in the business of building, restoring and modifying Mustang and Ford performance cars.
Owners of Gateway Classic Jason and Lonny Childress were on site, and said Jefferson City is the only city that hosts a show like this one.
"Every year, Jefferson City is excited to see us coming," Jason said. "The fire department opens up space for us to do auto-cross, the governor and the mayor came to check out the event. You don't see this level of excitement everywhere."
For $25, patrons had the opportunity to learn how to apply racing techniques to enhance their daily driving in an auto-cross simulation.
Auto-cross is a crash course that teaches people how to drive in a racing manner, using car control and break control techniques.
"When auto-cross techniques are applied safely, you can potentially avoid accidents that you may not have known how to avoid otherwise," Childress said. "There is a lifestyle of driving cars and these (performance) cars are designed for it."
This was the first time, Gary Patterson, president of a Las Vegas-based Shelby performance car manufacturer, attended the event, but the company supports the mission behind the event.
Patterson said Caraway's passion for Shelby cars has done a lot to keep the company coming back to Jefferson City for the event.
"This is really a big family reunion for people and the cars," Patterson said. "It started because of the cars, but we keep coming back because of the cool people we meet."