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This club was started in 1945 by a group of Sacramento area “Hot Rodders.” They held their first meeting in a chicken coop on Fulton Ave, which at that time was not even in the Sacramento city limits! This first meeting was to discuss forming a car club whose members had a common interest in racing their Model “T’s” & “A’s” at the Lazy “J” speedway in Sacramento. This first meeting was the beginning of their “Official” every two week meetings that have continued without a miss for 65 years!
At this first meeting, the official club name, “Capitol Auto Club” was decided. However, there are 2 or 3 differing stories about how they adopted the nickname “THUNDERBOLTS” or just the “BOLTS!” One story tells us that many of the founding members had just returned from WW II military service. History tells us that there was a military fighter aircraft named the “Thunderbolt.” Another story deals with the flapping fenders and loose bolts flying off cars that were racing at the dirt tracks in Nor-Cal and how the disconnected exhaust sounded like thunder. The final story states that club members could not make up their minds when at an early meeting one of the members brought in a magazine picture of a Detroit “Dream Car” called the “Thunderbolt.” According to the first president, Norm Milne, that picture was the deciding factor in choosing the club’s official nickname.
No matter how their nickname came about, the National Hot Rod Assoc. has declared the Capitol Auto Club, Inc. “THUNDERBOLTS” as the oldest continuously meeting “Hot Rod” club in the nation!
Over the past “6 plus” decades, the club has been involved in many different automotive events. They’ve continued their early racing plus they’ve participated and sponsored many charity poker runs. They started the Sacramento Autorama with their 1st Annual Auto Show at Capitol Chevrolet as a way of settling a dispute between two members who were arguing over who had the better car. They sponsored the Grass Valley Rod Run for 26 years and have hosted the Galt Car show from 1985 to 2006. They just recently hosted their 9th Annual “Thunder in Depot Park” car show in Rio Linda, Ca. They have “Hosted” the NSRA Poker run at the Golden State Nationals since it’s beginning. The club also donates time & dollars to the Sacramento area Special Olympics & the Make-A-Wish Foundation plus many other contributions to individuals & organizations each year when the membership deems them worthy. Each year the members attend variety of local & national automotive events, plus they have quite a few annual “Club Funded” events ie; the “Awards Banquet,” a “Club Family Run” weekend, their annual “Guys Only” Bachelor weekend rod run, the NSRA Golden State Nationals and the “Members Only” Christmas banquet/party at the last regular meeting of the year.
The club recently raised their membership limit to 40. Currently 12 of their members have over 20 years of service which includes “5-Life” members with over 30 years in the club, including two, who have 50 years plus as a member! The members live all over the Sacramento Valley and foothill area. Currently to be eligible for membership, a prospective member must own a drive-able American Hot Rod, Custom or Classic that was manufactured more then 50 years ago.
In 2006, the club was recognized by the nationally published STREET RODDER MAGAZINE in the July issue with a 6 page article as the ”Oldest Continuously Meeting Hot Rod Club” in the USA!
You can learn more about the Capitol Auto Club by talking to a current member or checking out the club’s website: www.capitolautoclub.com
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