Weekend Rewind! Goodguys 27th Speedway Motors Southwest Nationals
It’s said that all good things must come to an end, and so it goes with the 2024 Goodguys event season. Someone (it might have been us) also once said that every season ending deserves a great party, and that’s exactly what we hosted this weekend in Scottsdale at the 27th Speedway Motors Southwest Nationals! This spectacular season finale brought together several thousand cool cars and trucks and a massive crowd of gearhead friends for three days of four-wheeled fun and fellowship to wrap up an amazing year with a final dose of Cool Cars, Cool People, and Good Times!
Every party has its stars, and for this one it was the Goodguys BASF Top 12 Of the Year vehicles lined up outside the main vendor tent, right beside the main cruising lane. Any adjective you can think of to describe these amazing creations would be an understatement. It was a mind-blowing, trendsetting, ground-breaking group of cars and trucks that represent the best our industry had to offer this season. Each vehicle was displayed with a personalized Snap-on toolbox and its corresponding Top 12 trophy. These incredible vehicles are truly the cream of the crop and everyone at the event had an opportunity to inspect them up close and study the amazing quality and fine details. What an experience!
Three additional winners joined the front line of featured vehicles. Our Chevrolet Performance Builders of the Year had their vehicles on display and took part in the Sunday awards ceremony and a lot of additional fanfare. Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop won the GM Iron Builder of the Year honor for the ’57 Safari built for Doug and Debbie Kenny, while J-Rod & Custom earned the GM Retro Iron Builder of the Year title for the ’78 Jeep Cherokee built for Nick Griot. Young Nate Collard also had his purple people pleaser ’98 Chevy pickup on display after winning the 2024 Goolsby Customs Next Generation award.
There were plenty of additional awards to be distributed throughout the weekend, highlighted by the cherished Builder’s Choice Top 10 selections from our friend Dean Livermore from Hot Rods by Dean. Dean is one of the most respected and consistent builders in the business and his bitchin’ trophies shine with polished billet aluminum bases and beautiful louvered top plates. As always, Dean’s picks were top notch.
The Goodguys team got a jump on the 2025 season by selecting finalists for two BASF Top 12 honors – Mark Young’s 409-powered ’62 Chevy Bel Air as the 2025 Snap-on Muscle Car of the Year finalist, and Lawrence Gutierrez’s ’69 GMC as the 2025 Dakota Digital Truck of the Year Late finalist. The Goodguys media team selected Derek Brechner’s multi-colored ’60 Ford F100 for the Fuel Curve Pick and Jim and Connie Zech’s ’57 Chevy for the Goodguys Feature Pick.
The car show season isn’t the only one coming to a close. The Speedway Motors Southwest Nationals also marked the end of the 2024 Goodguys CPP AutoCross Series season and, true to tradition, we had a season-ending shootout showdown in Scottsdale! Top AutoCross racers from around the country competed for spots in multiple Duel in the Desert shootouts on Saturday morning, followed by that afternoon’s ultimate King of the Desert shootout – a fast and frenetic finale that saw16 vehicles duking it out on a single-elimination ladder. Josh Leisinger was crowned the King of the Desert after dispatching all challengers in his Summit Racing-sponsored ’64 Corvette. Other big winners of the weekend included Bob Bertelsen securing the PRO King of the Desert victory, Andrew Chenoweth claiming the Street Machine King of the Desert win, Jared Cash winning the Sports Car King of the Desert, and David Carroll being named the Truck King the Desert. Benjamin Zukowski claimed the All American Sunday shootout win in his 2012 Corvette.
Like any good season finale, the Speedway Motors Southwest Nationals had a wide range of festivities and activities for everyone to enjoy. There was an incredible swap meet and Cars 4 Sale Corral lining the south end of the festival grounds. Multiple Summit Racing Nitro Thunderfest exhibitions shook the facility and drew huge crowds, while a huge vendor midway offered all kinds of automotive wares and services. Add in some live music, activities for the kids, good food, and plenty of time hanging out with friends and fellow enthusiasts, and you had everything a person could want in an end-of-year car party.
Of course, the heart of this event – and any Goodguys gathering – are the thousands of cool cars and trucks, and the equally cool and passionate enthusiasts who bring them. The signature Goodguys Good Times would not and could not happen without great hot rodders and enthusiasts like you supporting us all season long. All of us at Goodguys send out a sincere thank you for another amazing year. We hope you enjoy your holiday season, and we look forward to seeing you in 2025! 
Photos by Damon Lee and Terry Lysak
