Weekend Rewind! Goodguys 26th Summit Racing Nationals Presented by PPG

All roads lead to Columbus! At least they do when it’s early July and you’re a hot rodder or car enthusiast. That’s when Goodguys brings The Big One to Ohio – the Summit Racing Nationals Presented by PPG! We celebrated the 26th running of this four-wheeled midsummer festival this weekend and had our foot on the throttle all three days delivering the signature Goodguys brand of Cool Cars, Cool People, and Good Times!

The fuel for this fantastic event began flowing early in the week as the Cruise to Columbus made its way from Iowa to Ohio with more than two dozen vehicles in the caravan. The cruisin’ continued for Columbus locals and early arrivals as the traditional Summit Racing Nationals Poker Run ventured to stops around the capital city. Kickoff parties at the host hotels Thursday evening simply added octane to the mix.

By Friday morning, thousands of gearheads were fully primed and ready for the weekend to begin. Cars and trucks were rolling into the fairgrounds under sunny summer skies and vehicle owners wasted no time getting their rides shined up and polished. This included contenders vying for two signature BASF Top 12 Awards – Classic Instruments Street Rod of the Year, and PPG Street Machine of the Year. These honors always attract some of the coolest and most creative builds in the country and this year was no different, with nine fine street rods and 31 aggressive street machines gunning for their respective titles. A special awards ceremony was held Saturday evening to announce the winners, where Bill Paul’s ’34 Ford pickup was named the 2024 Classic Instruments Street Rod of the Year, and Ed Ganzinotti’s ’68 Dodge Charger claimed the 2024 PPG Street Machine of the Year title.

Twenty other elite awards for the weekend came in the form of two different Builder’s Choice Top 10s. First were those selected by Roadster Shop, who have the distinction of making picks at the Summit Racing Nationals each year.

We also welcomed 2023 Goodguys Trendsetter Bill Ganahl to the event to choose a second set of Builder’s Choice Top 10s. Here’s the lineup he liked.

There was a lot more winning happening as dozens of other awards and picks were selected by various members of the Goodguys awards team. This included finalists for several regional Top 12 awards, like Frank Szymkowski’s ’69 GTO Judge as the Snap-on Muscle Car of the Year finalist; Jimmy Ferrell’s ’67 Chevy C10 as the LMC Truck of the Year Early finalist; and Shannon Manley’s ’51 Mercury as the Fuel Curve Custom of the Year finalist. Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop earned the Chevrolet Performance GM Iron Builder of the Year finalist spot for Douglas Kenny’s ’57 Pontiac Safari, and Brad Starks Customs claimed the GM Retro Iron Builder of the Year finalist nod for Brad’s ’32 Ford coupe. The Goodguys Feature Pick went to Marvin Wiegand’s tasty little ’60 Rambler wagon.

Over in Kasich Hall, Goodguys and the GTO Association of America celebrated the 60th anniversary of the GTO with a massive indoor display of Pontiac’s game-changing muscle car, with incredible examples of original, restored, and modified examples of the nameplate. Dozens of other great cars and trucks joined them in the hall for a great indoor car show. Outside the hall, for the second year in a row, we had a huge special area for fat-tired street machines taking part in the Lokar Pro Street Takeover, which had the added appeal of making parade laps around the fairgrounds multiple times on Friday and Saturday.

For performance fans who prefer cornering prowess, the Goodguys CPP AutoCross Series saw plenty of action on a tight new course. More than 40 racers competed for class victories and a spot in the Forgeline Buckeye Shootout Top performers included Dan Ballard winning the Sentech Performance PRO-X class and shootout in his ’72 Camaro; Danny Popp winning the Summit Racing PRO class in his ’72 Corvette; Brian Coney winning the PRO shootout in his ’69 Camaro; Chris Mulberry winning the Forgeline Street Machine class in his ’73 Corvette; Brian Stephens winning the Street Machine shootout; Rob MacGregor winning the No Limit Engineering Truck class in Bill Holt’s ’84 Blazer; Jeff Kunk winning the Truck shootout in his ’67 Chevy; Ryan Mathews winning the Sports Car class and shootout in his ’94 Corvette; Beth Conaway winning the Challenger class and shootout in her ’87 Corvette; and Quinn Clancy winning the All American Sunday class and shootout in his 2019 Corvette.

In a weekend celebrating street rods and street machines, it seemed fitting we had one of each genre represented in the form of Goodguys Grand Prize Giveaway vehicles. On Saturday evening, we revealed the 2025 Grand Prize Giveaway ’87 Monte Carlo Aerocoupe, a bitchin’ modern muscle machine built by Goolsby Customs using great products from throughout the hot rod industry. And following Sunday afternoon’s awards ceremony, we gave away the killer ’32 Ford five-window coupe built by Streamline Custom Designs. Riley Barricklow was the finalist whose lucky key fired the Roush small-block Ford engine to life, and he was looking forward to cruising the coupe back to his home in Pennsylvania.

In a weekend filled with thousands of cool cars and trucks, we can’t forget the hundreds of wonderful companies from the hot rod aftermarket that came out to showcase their wares. These are the manufacturers, retailers, and shops that help us all keep our favorite rides running and performing better than ever, and it’s wonderful to have so many to visit with and shop from throughout the weekend. We even hosted a variety of educational seminars coordinated by the Hot Rod Industry Alliance.

The weekend activities didn’t stop there. Each day of the event included a full schedule of happenings, from multiple Nitro Thunderfest exhibitions, to a Saturday Burnout Competition, a massive swap meet, live music, a wonderful New Product Competition display, and nightly parties at both host hotels.

Yes, we learned once again why all roads lead to Columbus for hot rodders each July. The Goodguys Summit Racing Nationals Presented by PPG is an event that combines passion, tradition, fun, creativity, and the fellowship that comes from gathering with your car and truck friends. It’s a special mix that’s hard to replicate, and it keeps us coming back year after year. Thanks to all of you who joined the fun this weekend – we can’t wait to see you all again next year!

Photos by Damon Lee, John Jackson, Terry Lysak, Todd Ryden

Editor, Goodguys Gazette

Damon Lee began snapping photos at car shows when he was 10, tagging along with his father to events throughout the Midwest. He has combined his passion for cars and knack for writing and imagery into a 20-year career in the automotive aftermarket, writing for titles like Super Chevy and Rod & Custom and, more recently, working for respected industry leaders Speedway Motors and Goodguys Rod & Custom Association.