FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – Of the hundreds of regional Mustang car shows held all across the country each year, the Mustang Club of America selects only a few to serve as "MCA National" shows – and only ONE of those as the year's "Grand National" show. These are the big, memorable, officially judged shows that Mustang lovers will gladly travel long distances to attend – and even plan their family vacations around.

The 2019 MCA Grand National was the Capital Horsepower show, which was held August 30-September 1 at the Expo Center in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and hosted by the National Capital Region (DC/MD/VA) Mustang Club. Of course this show included all of the attractions that make an MCA National so popular, and it drew more than 460 registered cars. But it also featured a surprise appearance of the original Bullitt Mustang movie car and its owner, Sean Kiernan (thanks to the good folks at MECUM Auctions). The evening banquet included a special tribute to Richard Porter for his 40 years of membership and service to the club that came with a video greeting from none other than Jay Leno. And the Keynote Speaker was Ford Performance Enthusiast Communications Manager John Clor.

Ford Performance was also on the show field to set up its familiar Meet & Greet display tent and spend the day handing out Mustang Bullitt and Shelby GT350 posters and talking Mustangs and Fords with attendees. Also there from Ford was the Mustang Airbag Recall Team, which was on-site to help late-model owners make sure they’ve had their Takata airbags replaced in their Mustangs. One member of the team, Eric Pasteiner, was able to spend a few minutes checking out some of the cars on display and snapping a few photos of his favorites, which he shares with us in the gallery below:

FORD PERFORMANCE PHOTOS / COURTESY ERIC PASTEINER

BULLITT and all related characters and elements © & ™ Warner Bros Entertainment Inc. (s18)