Weekend Rewind! Goodguys 37th Griot’s Garage Pacific Northwest Nationals presented by Wicked Fabrication
The month of July should really be renamed the month of Goodguys, because we host three of our biggest hot rod happenings during this warm and sunny mid-year stretch. We just wrapped up the third stage of our summer trifecta in Washington at the amazing 37th Griot’s Garage Pacific Northwest Nationals presented by Wicked Fabrication. And take it from us, there’s a good reason this car-crazy party is closing in on 40 years – it brings together the coolest rides, the most fun-loving enthusiasts, and one of the best fairgrounds facilities on our circuit to deliver three fuel-filled days of Goodguys Good Times!
We love the Pacific Northwest this time of year. The days are warm, the sun is out, and the conditions are perfect for cruisin’, showin’, shinin’, and hanging out with your favorite gearhead friends. The enthusiasts in this area were primed and ready for a Goodguys weekend, and it showed when about 100 rides showed up for the Thursday Poker Run coordinated by the King’s Men Car Club, followed by a cool kickoff party at Griot’s Garage. That got everyone pumped and ready for fun times on Friday as the Washington State Fair Events Center in Puyallup filled up with thousands of the finest cars and trucks from this region and beyond.
The party paraded over to Pacific Raceways for our traditional Friday Night Drags. The pits and staging lanes were filled with all kinds of race-ready iron, from sportsman hot rods and street machines to nitro-burning nostalgia drag machines. Between the historic facility and the vintage iron on the track, it was like a trip back in time to the drag race weekends of old!
The action continued back at the fairgrounds on Saturday and Sunday, where cool cars and trucks were packed into every corner and cruising the circuit all day and well into the evening. The Saturday Specialty Parking Areas all saw plenty of vehicles, especially the Builder’s Choice area, where Matt Jones and his team from Art Morrison Performance were making selections for the Builder’s Choice Top 10 awards. Narrowing the field to just ten is always tricky, but we think the lineup was spot-on.
The Morrison crew weren’t the only ones recognizing fine iron. The Goodguys awards team got in on the action too, seeking out finalists for several regional Top 12 awards presented by BASF, including Phil Mitchell’s ’70 Ram Air IV GTO Judge for Snap-on Muscle Car, Bill Bienapfl as the Vintage Air Custom Rod with his ’52 Studebaker, Tim Divers’ ’47 Dodge WFA-32 as the LMC Truck (Early), and Carly Brogren’s ’39 Lincoln Zephyr for Scotts Hotrods ‘N Customs Custom of the Year. The Goodguys media team was in the overlanding mode of the northwest and chose Don Backstrom’s limestone green ’74 Ford Bronco for their Feature Pick.
Awards are cool, but there was plenty of fun to be had without them, during the Pacific Northwest Nationals. The fairgrounds were buzzing with activity all weekend long, with cool sights and happenings everywhere you turned. A fleet of pro street machines from the West Coast Pro Street Outlaws pounded the ground as they cruised the facility, and there was a healthy dose of ground shaking from the Summit Racing Nitro Thunderfest exhibitions, too. A smokin’ Burnout Competition burned rubber and generated huge clouds of smoke on Saturday afternoon, and we also had a great indoor lowrider showcase, plus a huge Pinstripers Brush Bash, live music, great food, kids activities, dozens of vendors, a sizeable swap meet, and so much more.
And don’t forget the cruising – there was lots of it! Seeing hot rods and customs in motion never gets old, and the steady stream of slow-cruising classics lasted well into the evening on Saturday, helping to fulfill the good-time party vibe this event has cultivated through the years. It’s one of the things that makes the Pacific Northwest Nationals special, and it keeps enthusiasts coming back year after year at the end of every July. Thanks to all of you who joined us for party time in Puyallup again this year. And if you couldn’t make it, be sure to mark your calendar to join us next July for this cool summertime cruise fest!
Photos by Terry Lysak and Todd Ryden
