Weekend Rewind! Goodguys 36th Griot’s Garage Pacific Northwest Nationals Presented By Wicked Fabrication
Goodguys brought the summertime hot rod Good Times to Washington this weekend and served up a triple-dozen treat as we celebrated an amazing 36 years of the Griot’s Garage Pacific Northwest Nationals presented by Wicked Fabrication! It was a big-time hot rod party in Puyallup as more than 3,000 hot rods, customs, trick trucks, muscle cars, classics, and more jammed into the Washington State Fair Events Center for three days of cool rides, good friends, and fun cruising.
There’s no better way to enjoy midsummer in the Northwest than with several thousand of your closest gearhead friends. This event has served as a reunion for rodders in this region for three and a half decades, and you could see smiles on countless faces this weekend as people caught up with fellow enthusiasts, shined up their rides, and enjoyed a few days of sunny skies, warm weather, and throaty exhaust notes.
True to tradition, we finished off the first day of the event with a trip to Pacific Raceways in nearby Kent for an evening of old-school straight-line action at the Friday Night Drags. Area sportsman racers duked it out in class competition, while members of the West Coast Outlaws put on a thrilling show of lightning-fast door-slammer action.
Back at the fairgrounds on Saturday, Matt Jones and his team from Art Morrison Enterprises studied the rides in the Builder’s Choice parking area and Indoor Car Show to assemble an incredible lineup to receive Builder’s Choice Top 10 awards. As usual, they knocked it out of the park.
The Goodguys awards team was busy, too, seeking out finalists for several regional BASF Top 12 awards. This included Holden Jung’s ’56 F100 as the LMC Truck of the Year Early finalist; Dave Wixon’s ’49 Ford as the Fuel Curve Custom of the Year finalist; Guy Hall’s ’65 Riviera as the Vintage Air Custom Rod of the Year finalist; and Mike Munger’s ’70 Trans Am as the Snap-on Muscle Car of the Year finalist. Chris Holstrom Concepts grabbed the Chevrolet Performance GM Iron Builder of the Year honor for the ’67 Firebird built for Josh Helm, while J-Rod & Custom earned the GM Retro Iron Builder of the Year finalist nod for the ’78 Jeep Cherokee built for Richard Griot. Scott and Shari Nixon, meanwhile, got our editorial team’s attention for the Goodguys Feature Pick with their ’31 Ford Phaeton.
The rest of the fairgrounds was no less exciting on Saturday and Sunday. A fleet of pro street machines from the West Coast Pro Street Outlaws pounded the ground as they cruised the facility Friday and Saturday. More shaking came from the Nitro Thunderfest exhibitions, plus a smokin’ Burnout Competition on Saturday afternoon. We had a great showing of lowriders, as well, plus packed turnouts for most of our Saturday Specialty Parking Areas.
Most of all, though, we had a lot of cruising, which lasted well into the evening on Saturday to complete the weekend’s party theme. That kinetic energy is part of what makes this event so special and keeps everyone coming back for more year after year. We love seeing cars and trucks moving, making noise, and keeping the momentum going. Puyallup delivered yet again this year, and we’re already looking forward to returning in 2025 to do it all again. Until then, check out some of the scenes we witnessed this weekend.
Photos by Damon Lee and Terry Lysak
