The Goodguys Rod & Custom Association has had a long (nearly 30-year) relationship with hot rodders across the county and, when they come to town, you can be assured of the chance to see all types of customs and rods (makes and models from before 1973 are allowed in) parading through the local fairgrounds.
For the past 4 years, Goodguys has also included the city of Nashville, Tennessee, in their yearly round-up of 22 events, and thousands of vehicles crowded in for the three-day show at LP Field-otherwise known to NFL fans as the Tennessee Titan Stadium.
Oppressive heat-98 degrees with an afternoon heat index (feels like) reading of well over 105 degrees in the shade-may have dampened more than one set of clothing on the backs of spectators but it did not dampen their spirit, as they came out in droves along with some of the most creative car builders in the country who used the show as a spot to debut new vehicles.
LP Field is a large stadium (it seats about 69,000 people) surrounded by ample parking areas, trees, and grass, which hot rodders took advantage of by claiming some of the real estate for their own. The event actually begins on Thursday with a Poker Run that starts at the host hotel, but most folks start pouring into the facility on Friday. The Goodguys' Street Challenge Autocross course was open on Friday, too, and many people decided to test their vehicle's performance against the clock. Some just lumbered around the track, which was located just beyond the event's swap meet area, in the 55-plus second range, but the serious drivers (who tweaked their rides to compete in this highly-entertaining activity) were able to get around the course in the 45-second range. We suspect the autocross, both from a participant level as well as a spectator level, will only grown in popularity as more people find out about it.
On Saturday sections of the grounds were roped off to house specialty car parking-everything from Trick Trucks to Homebuilt Heaven-as car owners vied for recognition. The event also features Builder's Choice awards, which is where a well-known professional car builder picks a handful of well-done cars to honor and, at this event, Tennessee's own Bobby Alloway was chosen to hand out 10 Builder's Choice awards.
The continuation of the Turtle Wax/STREET RODDER Top 100 program, where 10 cars from 10 shows are picked by the magazine for a run-off at the end of the year to determine who would be the magazine's online Street Rod Of The Year, was also in full swing.
Goodguys also picked finalists for their Custom Rod, Truck, Muscle Machine, and Muscle Car of the Year awards, so you could probably guess there were a lot of high-quality cars to see at the this year's show. And though it didn't rain on the awards presentation (it looked like it wanted to), it was announced the 5th Nashville Nationals will be held in May in 2010 instead of July in an effort to tap into a little bit cooler weather pattern. Check www.good-guys.com for more info on the next year's show.
 Rodders from Michigan to Florida...  Rodders from Michigan to Florida attended the three-day show in Nashville. Many builders also use this event to debut the latest cars from their customers. |  You don't have to go over...  You don't have to go over the top to have a clean driver, as Eric Hoyt from Holly Springs, MS, was able to show with his '54 Chevy. |  Larry Harper's 331 Hemi-powered...  Larry Harper's 331 Hemi-powered Model A pickup was one of many well-done pickups we've been noticing lately, and the judges must have agreed, as it won the Hot Hauler award, sponsored by Herculiner. |