It didn’t take long for Ray and Cyndi Hendren to realize that Tuesday evening’s “Cruisin’ for a Cure” car show had stepped up a notch from the usual weekly event for showing off hot rods and classic automobiles.

The Bowling Green couple rolled into the parking lot behind Bruster’s Ice Cream on Scottsville Road in their 1969 Camaro, only to find dozens of souped-up cars and a car hauler trailer taking up most of the parking spots.

“We got here at 4:45 for an event that starts at 5, and most of the parking spaces were taken,” said Ray Hendren. “Tonight brought out more people than usual.”

The culprit? The eBay Motors Parts of America tour, a 12-stop cross-country trip to explore America’s unique car cultures.

A tour that began in Michigan and is winding its way to the Nov. 18-27 Los Angeles Auto Show had to make a detour to Bowling Green because of one of the cars on that hauler: a 1958 Corvette “Gasser” drag strip car with a championship-winning pedigree.

Now owned by hot rod enthusiast Kenny Davis of Rogers, Ark., the Corvette drew a crowd Tuesday despite being only one of six vehicles the eBay Motors crew brought to town.

“If you’re going to unveil a Corvette, you have to come to Bowling Green,” said Mike Narx, who runs social media sites for the Drag-N-Drive organization that promotes hot rod events.

Narx, an Arkansas resident, drove to Bowling Green to tell about the 1958 Corvette and its unique history.

Converted to a race car by owners Richard and Eric Lasner of Rochester, N.Y., the car won its class at the 1969 U.S. Nationals drag racing competition, only to be essentially retired the next year.

“The Lasners moved to Arkansas in 1970 and just parked the car,” Narx said of the Corvette that is tricked out with custom wheels, exhaust and gas tank. “They didn’t drive it for 50 years. There are all kinds of parts that make it special.”

The Corvette was one of several special vehicles that eBay Motors brought to Bowling Green on Tuesday. Among them were an 800-horsepower Dodge Challenger and an Audi R8 twin turbo that can produce 1,500 horsepower.

“As they go across the country, eBay Motors picks up cars for each subculture of auto enthusiasts,” Narx said. “Different cultures will gravitate to different parts of the country.”

The Parts of America tour promotes eBay Motors, the automotive portion of the eBay electronic commerce giant and a place where auto enthusiasts can buy vehicles, parts and accessories.

On Tuesday, though, it also helped promote the “Cruisin’ for a Cure” nonprofit organization that holds the weekly hot rod shows during the warmer months and raises money for three charitable causes: Hospice of Southern Kentucky, the Alzheimer’s Association and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Having an extra-big car show on Tuesday helped “Cruisin’ for a Cure” organizers sell more T-shirts and ring up a bigger pot for the “50-50” raffle that benefits the three charities.

“This gets more people interested, and it gets younger people involved,” said Diane George, one of the original “Cruisin’ for a Cure” organizers. “You can’t find a better group to work with than car people.”

Largely as a result of setting up at car shows, “Cruisin’ for a Cure” has raised more than $1 million over the past 13 years, said George.

The group recently wrote a check for $20,000 to the Alzheimer’s Association and will make similar-sized donations to Hospice and the JDRF.

All the fundraising is a labor of love for George, who started supporting the JDRF after her granddaughter was diagnosed with diabetes at age 3.

“She’s now 18 and studying to be a nurse,” George said of her granddaughter. “She’ll be able to take care of patients with diabetes.”

As she worked the T-shirt booth and talked about her fundraising efforts on Tuesday, George was a little teary-eyed but gratified.

“We love it,” she said of the fundraising. “It’s just a good feeling.”