8th Goodguys PPG Nationals

One of the events that has become a "must do" on many street rodders' list of rod runs to attend is the Goodguys PPG Nationals in Columbus, Ohio. This year it was the final destination on our own Tom's Fun Run.

Held at the Ohio Expo Center, rods, customs, classics, and musclecars through '72 were welcomed. Activities began Thursday, July 7 with a poker run that started at the fairgrounds. Later that evening there was a kick-off party at the Columbus Marriott.

Friday it was time to head to the fairgrounds and check out more than 6,000 cars, visit vendors, do a lap or two of the swap meet and car corral, look at the new products, and visit the model/pedal car display. If all that wasn't enough to keep you busy, Goodguys put on the Hot Rod Drags at National Trail Raceway that afternoon. Along with gassers, Altereds, dragsters, and musclecars, the nitro burning exhibition nostalgia Funny Cars of The Mill Road Boys and a recreation of the famed 1970 Dodge Charger known as the Chi Town Hustler were on hand.

To give street rodders a chance to get out of the stands and onto the strip, Goodguys introduced a new Street Rod 1/8-mile, non-elimination, timed run category. Unfortunately the drags were cut short when a booming thunder-storm rolled in and completely washed out eliminations. It was sure fun while it lasted though!

For those who still wanted more to do, the Goodguys hosted a party at the Marriot that evening. Up to that point the weather had been great, but about the time everyone was gathering for the TGIF bash, the clouds opened up. Our very own Brian Brennan got caught in the downpour trying to get a cover over his roadster. And even though he was dripping wet and made a squishing sound as he walked, Brennan was having a good time, which is what this event is about. If you can't find something fun to do at this event, we suggest stamp collecting.

On Saturday there were a host of featured parking areas at the fairgrounds: Low, Smooth, Cool sponsored by Air Ride Technologies; Home-Built Heaven sponsored by Timberland Pro; Mighty Muscle, Pros Pick, Wide White Way sponsored by Coker; Deuce Doins sponsored by Hot Rods and Horsepower; Ya Gotta Drive 'EM sponsored by Goodyear Tires; Drive Your '55 In '05 sponsored by Cap's Brite Hot Coatings; and Youngguys, for guys and gals 25 and younger, sponsored by Vintage Air. Entrants in all these featured areas received a special dash plaque. Also on Saturday, participants had the chance to meet hot rod hero, George Barris, at the 10 a.m. breakfast. Later in the day there were valve cover races and a variety of seminars from leaders in the industry including Hot Rod Air, Air Ride Technologies, Lincoln Electric, Vintage Air, Fatman Fabrications, and PPG paint. One of the coolest kids' activities was something called Make-N-Take Models. Sponsored by Revell-Monogram, participants were given the opportunity to build a model car and take it home when they were done. A pretty cool way to get kids interested in the hobby, our kudos goes to Goodguys and Revell-Monogram.

Something else that was new for a Goodguys event was the presentation of best new product awards. There were five judged categories: Detroit Speed and Engineering won for their four-link rear suspension kit for Camaros and Firebirds; Barry Grant won their category with the TripleD SixShooter induction system; DuPont/Hot Hues took the paint and car care division with their Candy Color concentrated dyes; Hot Rods and Horsepower went home with a trophy for their retooled fiberglass '32 Ford roadster body; and RB's Obsolete was recognized for their new instruments. The People's Choice award went to Vintage Air's new FrontRunner Drive system.

Sunday morning the cars that had been recognized with awards, including the STREET RODDER Top Ten, gathered in the winners' circle so everyone could get a good look at them. Later that afternoon the awards program began where the coveted Street Rod and Street Machine of the Year awards were announced. The last official activity of the day was giving away the Hemi Deuce, built by Boyd Coddington. The finalists in the grand prize program were each given keys, but only one was the right one for the Ford coupe. Boyd would try each key in the ignition switch and the one that started the car was the winner. When Jason and Lauire Robinson's turn came, the Hemi fired up and they became the proud owners of the bright yellow five-window.

With all the happenings throughout the country, there's not a summer weekend that goes by that street rodders don't have a long list of events to pick from. But like we said, no list is complete unless the Goodguys PPG Nationals is on it.

8th Goodguys PPG Nationals Street Rodder Top Ten
When it comes to picking the STREET RODDER Top Ten at a Goodguys event the guidelines are pretty simple: We pick the cars we like. Not very scientific and there's really no rhyme or reason to it. Here's our Top Ten from Columbus and why we chose them. What's in it for them, you might ask. They all got a Top Ten winner's jacket.