GOODGUYS NATIONALS 2003

The Evolution of the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association

When Gary Meadors started the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association, he had a plan. He wanted his association to be open to a larger variety of cars, not just street rods. Meadors, a street rod enthusiast, has owned a variety of them since he was a kid, but he is also what we would call a real car guy. He likes everything from classic cars to customs.

In keeping with his own enthusiasm for all types of cars, he planned a variety of different events when his organization was just getting started. Street rod events already proved to be successful, so he planned an event at Pleasanton, just down the street from his hometown. It was quite successful and has remained that way ever since. He also started several other events, including muscle car events and events for VW bugs, but neither proved very successful.

After fine-tuning his event schedule, he began to get a better feel for what would and would not work. He limited his events to American cars ’72 and older, which would also give the street machine and classic car owners a venue in which to show their cars. The entry years varied from show to show, depending upon available space, and that seemed to work just fine. As an example, the Pleasanton event allows cars ’54 and older, while Del Mar allows ’72 cars and older. So, Meadors has maintained his fine-tuning.

This was a challenge when it first started, because, traditionally, mixing street rodders with street machiners was like mixing oil and water. But over time, and as enthusiasts aged, this dissimilarity has changed. Everyone seems more mature, and a mutual respect has developed for both the newer and older vehicles. Because of this, many of the Goodguys shows are open to a wide variety of cars.

The Rise of the Goodguys Columbus Nationals

It’s said that time flies when you are having fun, and that is certainly true when it comes to car events. It seems as if it were only yesterday that the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association was planning its first national event in Columbus, Ohio. The first event opened to all cars ’72 and older, and over the past six years the show has grown into a major event. This Goodguys Columbus Nationals was attended by more than 6,000 vehicles of every make and description. The majority of vehicles are street rods, but there are also street machines, classic cars, trucks and early-’50s cars in attendance. Since we are real car guys, we enjoy seeing them all.

Street Rods, Customs, and Award-Winning Builds

We also like the new street machine look, where the cars do everything well. And we enjoy seeing today’s street rod styling, where anything goes. Today, the street rod scene, at least east of the Rockies, is being taken over by concept or designer rods, such as Alloway’s Speedstars, Boyd’s Boydsters, wild Rod Factory-stylized ’37 Fords, Minotti’s wild ’37 Fords and Kugel’s Muroc roadsters. While these high-dollar rods are creating quite a stir, balancing things out, you find a large variety of enthusiasts building traditional street rods, many of which are outstanding drivers. In fact, George Poteet’s latest nostalgic entry, a ’32 coupe, won the Street Rod of the Year award at the show, shocking everyone back into reality.

Drag Racing and Innovation at the Columbus Nationals

Separated from the main show at the fairgrounds, there is a drag race at National Trails Dragway east of Columbus. It was also a part of the festivities, and the go-fast guys enjoy the races. Some of the cars that were eliminated made their way to the fairgrounds and were on display. Overall, the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association should be pleased with the sixth annual Goodguys Columbus Nationals. It was a very successful event. The part we enjoyed the most was looking at all the cool cars. For us, it is a great way to see new innovation and to get great ideas for the cars we are building ourselves. In the following pages, we will show you some of the fine cars we found on display.