Weekend Rewind! The 10th Griot’s Garage North Carolina Nationals Presented by Tremec
Goodguys took an early leap into Easter weekend and a big jump into the springtime cruising season in the Eastern U.S. this past Friday and Saturday with a sun-filled, fun-filled couple of days at the 10th Griot’s Garage North Carolina Nationals presented by Tremec. The weather was warm, the vibe was cool, and the people and vehicles were fun and colorful as we took over the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh for two jam-packed days of Goodguys Good Times!
A handful of rodders got an early start on the weekend activities on the Rollin’ to Raleigh tour that left Bristol, Tennessee on Thursday morning. Led by Goodguys Rodders Rep Mike Smith, participants enjoyed some fun cruising, good food, and a great stop at the McCandless Collection in Burlington during an enjoyable day on the road to Raleigh. The fun continued that evening at Raleigh Speed Shop, where they opened the doors, turned up the tunes, and served up food for a fantastic Kickoff Party.
Friday dawned clear and sunny and regional rodders responded by rolling into the fairgrounds in droves and shining up their cars and trucks. Old friends greeted each other, new friends met, and everyone seemed ready to get back into the Goodguys groove. Vendors were showing off their wares, the swap meet was hoppin’, and the Indoor Car Show was packed with even more fine rides. It was a fantastic first day, which culminated with even more after-hours fun at L&S Customs, where they hosted a laid-back TGIF Party.
Saturday was another beautiful weather day with warm sun and cool breezes. The winner’s circle began filling early, while Jonathan Goolsby of Goolsby Customs got to work scouring the Builder’s Choice parking area and Indoor Car Show to select his Builder’s Choice Top 10 picks. He assembled another stunning lineup of cool cruisers and standout street machines that would be the envy of any garage.
The Goodguys awards team was also busy scouring the grounds looking for top picks and award-worthy rides. Among the dozens of awards bestowed were several finalists for Goodguys Top 12 presented by BASF honors. Those included Mark Shaw’s ’68 Hemi Road Runner as the Snap-on Muscle Car of the Year finalist, Jeff Johnson’s ’89 Mustang for the Griot’s Garage Muscle Machine of the Year finalist, Scott and Kim Crews’ ’67 GMC as the Dakota Digital Truck of the Year Late finalist, and Paul and Patti Nemeth’s ’51 Chevy for the LMC Truck of the Year Early finalist. The Goodguys media team liked the looks of Clayton Bond’s classy ’56 Cadillac Coupe deVille and selected it for the Goodguys Feature Pick.
Across the fairgrounds there was the constant sound of high revving engines and squealing tires on the Goodguys AutoCross track as racers ripped around corners and cones to qualify for the No Limit Engineering Rumble in Raleigh Shootout. On Saturday afternoon, the ladders were set and the pressure was on for each driver! Rob MacGregor scored the class win and raced his ’84 Blazer to the shootout victory in the No Limit Engineering Truck class while Bill Graves wheeled his fresh ’63 Corvette roadster to his first class and shootout win of the year the Speedtech Performance PRO-X class. Ron Scott Jr. followed suit earning class and shootout victories in the Summit Racing PRO class in his ‘63 Corvette with Kip Hartzell racing his ’71 ‘Cuda to a double victory in the Challenger class. In the competitive Forgeline Street Machine category, Angela Payne scored the class win in her ’68 Vette but Chris Mulberry bested her in his ’73 C3 for the shootout title.
The two-day event format reached a colorful crescendo Saturday afternoon with big crowds, a sea of cool cars and trucks, and a winner’s circle of amazing award-winning vehicles. There was even an Easter Egg hunt for kids of all ages to score candy and cool prizes. It all led up to a late-afternoon awards ceremony at 4:44 where we celebrated a stunning variety of rides in a cool and colorful parade.
Every event deserves a smashing sendoff, and the Griot’s Garage North Carolina Nationals delivered with our annual Saturday Night Demolition Derby presented by LMC Truck. It was a fun finale to wrap up two days of Cool Cars, Cool People, and Good Times in North Carolina. Thanks to all of you who spent part of your Easter weekend with us! Let’s keep up the energy and momentum this coming weekend as we finish a fantastic April of cruising at the 15th LMC Truck Spring Lone Star Nationals presented by Old Air Products at Texas Motor Speedway in Forth Worth!
Photos by Damon Lee and Todd Ryden
