Weekend Rewind! Celebrating the First-Ever RaceDeck Salt Lake Nationals!
Goodguys laid the groundwork for an incredible new event in the American West this weekend as we hosted the first-ever Goodguys RaceDeck Salt Lake Nationals at the Utah State Fairpark! Postponed from its originally scheduled date in May, the event turned out to be a spectacular summer sizzler and a fantastic way to introduce Goodguys Goodtimes to this scenic region.
As soon as we set foot on the Utah State Fairpark grounds, we knew we’d found a perfect home for our special brand of automotive excitement. With the Wasatch Mountains towering in the distance, this beautiful facility combines open spaces, historic buildings, green grass, and plentiful trees – a perfect space to spread out and showcase the rainbow of color and chrome that rolled in the gates.
The laid-back good vibes started Friday morning as rods, customs, classics, trucks, and muscle cars from around the region cruised in and claimed some space. Enthusiasts have been eager to get out this season and were happy to comply with the guidelines of the Goodguys Cares initiative to ensure everyone could enjoy a safe and fun time. They were greeted by a great selection of vendors and exhibitors, a swap meet full of deals, plus plenty of automotive eye candy throughout the grounds.
Car builder and reality TV star Dave Kindig of Kindig-It Designs was crusin’ around all weekend and spent Saturday selecting his favorite rides for the Builder’s Choice Top Ten. As you’d expect, Dave came up with a killer lineup of bitchin’ rides for this inaugural event outing and made car owners extremely happy with the hardware they hauled home.
The Goodguys team got in on the awards fun, too. We selected two finalists for our Goodguys Top 12 which were Lew Bisbing’s home-restored 1970 Plymouth AAR Cuda getting the RaceDeck Muscle Car of the Year finalist nod and Cody Veibell’s HS Customs-built 1981 Chevy K2500 earning a LMC Truck of the Year Late finalist spot.
On top of that, our media team chose a Gazette Feature Pick and Fuel Curve Pick to showcase in the October Goodguys Gazette. They selected two cool mid-50’s customs – Bob Cummings 1955 Ford Custom “Premier” Wagon (Gazette) and Bart Grange’s 1955 Chevy Bel Air (Fuel Curve).
The Fairpark rumbled all weekend from the Goodguys AutoCross course and racers were eager to tackle a new track and fresh set of cones. The action was as hot as the weather, with many heavy-hitting regulars making the journey to Utah. The competition was stiff, as always, and big winners during the weekend were Josh Leisinger (PRO-X), Tim Molzen (PRO), David Carroll (Street Machine), Alex Giesey (Truck), Doug Johnson (Hot Rod), and Richard Giesey (All American Sunday).
A full schedule of happenings and activities kept participants and spectators entertained all weekend long, including live music, a ground-shaking Nitro Thunderfest, a model car Take ’n Make, and the Spectre Performance All American Sunday welcoming all years of American-made machinery out for the event’s final day. By the end of the weekend, the consensus was the same for everyone: this is an event with a tremendous amount of untapped potential that is sure to become a favorite in years to come. Check out the photos for a taste of it, and then start making plans to join the fun in Utah next year!
Photos by Steven Bunker & John Jackson
