"I am very proud of our Amy Plemons, who worked extremely hard on this wonderful award. I think it is safe to say that without her, this would not be possible. Great job, Amy!" - Car Pro Show host Jerry Reynolds
A big congrats from the Car Pro Show to all the winners of this year's 2025 BILL NEALE AUTOMOTIVE FINE ART AWARD FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS! The annual award, hosted by the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA), honors world-renowned automotive fine artist Bill Neale who passed away in 2021. The award, in its second year, is designed to inspire the next generation of automotive artists.
This year’s First Place award winner is Michigan 11th grader Madison Francis Randick for her entry “Legacy In Motion”.
1st place: Michigan 11th grader Madison Francis Randick- “Legacy In Motion”
"I felt that it was a great challenge, Bill Neale seems like a wonderful person with great paintings. I looked at his compositions and techniques for inspiration. I like how Bill Neale emphasized personality and it was great to learn about such a tremendous illustrator. Winning this award was a blessing. I truly appreciate the skills the Lord has blessed me and all the winning artists with! Thank you for the recognition and I am so very grateful for this opportunity you are giving me and other young artists.” - Madison Francis Randick, 1st Place Winner
2nd place: Michigan 11th grader Natalie Grace Black, “Racer”
Second place goes to Michigan 11th grader Natalie Grace Black for her entry “Racer”. Third place is awarded to New York 11th grader Fatemah Alloo for her entry “Designed to Drift”. Alloo also won third place in last year’s competition.
In addition to the first, second and third place winners who receive cash prizes, the award recognizes five honorable mentions:
- Madison Francis Randick - 11th grade, Michigan, “Legacy in Motion” - 1st, $1000 cash prize
- Natalie Grace Black, 11th grade, Michigan, “Racer” - 2nd, $750 cash prize
- Fatemah Alloo, 11th grade, New York, “Designed to Drift” - 3rd place, $500 cash prize
- Evan Wong, 11th Grade, California, “Passing the Torch” - Honorable Mention
- Harmon Joel Laatsch, 12th Grade, Bonn International School, “Banana Split” - Honorable Mention
- William McElhoes, 10th Grade, Idaho, “Sunset Cobra” - Honorable Mention
- Gabriel Cordoba Zuccher, 12th Grade, Michigan, “The Ascent of Speed” - Honorable Mention
- Lance Lin, 11th Grade, California, “McLaren F1 Racecar” - Honorable Mention
To view artwork visit BillNealeAward.org.
3rd place: New York 11th grader Fatemah Alloo, “Designed to Drift”
“I could not be more impressed by the sheer talent represented this year. As someone who dabbled in automotive art myself while in high school, I give huge credit to all the students who entered.” - Cory Fourniquet, President of TAWA
The award was open to U.S. high school students in grades 9-12 and students of U.S. military families serving overseas. The first place winner receives a $1000 cash prize, the second place winner a $750 cash prize and the third place winner a $500 cash prize.
This year’s judging panel consisted of Austin, Texas-based realist vehicle painter Shan Fannin, recipient of the 2021 Bill Neale Automotive Fine Art Award, Leslie Neale from the Neale Family and Aaron Shelby from the Carroll Shelby Foundation.
The award also benefited the Texas Cultural Trust's Art Box Project, an initiative within the nonprofit's Arts Access program. The project supplies art supplies to underserved Title 1 elementary school students in Texas.
The award is sponsored by the Carroll Shelby Foundation, Mecum Auctions, Terlingua Racing Team and the Texas Auto Writers Association
Photos of the winning artwork courtesy of the Texas Auto Writers Association.