Weekend Rewind! Goodguys 11th Griot’s Garage North Carolina Nationals presented by Grundy Insurance
What a rollicking time in Raleigh! Goodguys hosted a two-day party in the pines this weekend as the 11th Griot’s Garage North Carolina Nationals presented by Grundy Insurance took over the North Carolina State Fairgrounds, and regional rodders responded by flooding the facility with a fantastic array of hot rods, cool customs, mighty muscle cars, classic trucks, and other four-wheeled finery. It was a spectacular turnout as we brought the signature Goodguys Good Times and helped hot rodders in the Eastern U.S. kick off the springtime cruising season!
The weatherman dialed up the perfect forecast for this celebration of horsepower, with clear skies and warm temperatures in the upper 80s delivering an inviting Friday and Saturday in Raleigh. It was the perfect atmosphere for showing off vibrant paint jobs, gleaming chrome, and the distinctive style of vintage automotive design.
For more than a decade now, our friend Jonathan Goolsby from Goolsby Customs has been joining us in Raleigh for this fun, laid-back event. Not only does he show off some of the latest creations from his shop, but he also scours the grounds looking for deserving recipients for his custom Builder’s Choice Top 10 trophies. It was a target-rich environment this year, and the resulting lineup was as fine as ever.
The Goodguys awards team also identifies finalists in Raleigh for several Top 12 Awards presented by BASF. This weekend’s fortunate finalists included Karen and Scotty Hooper’s ’57 Chevy pickup as the LMC Truck of the Year Early finalist; Jerry Detweiler’s ’70 F100 as the Dakota Digital Truck of the Year Late finalist; Danny Caldwell’s ’69 Mercury Cyclone CJ as the Snap-on Muscle Car of the Year finalist; and Andy Vasas’s ’67 Camaro as the Griot’s Garage Muscle Machine of the Year finalist. The Goodguys media team took a trip back to his high school days and selected Dave Erdmann’s ’86 Buick T-Type for the Goodguys Feature Pick.
A hard-charging group of racers let it all hang out on the tight coned track of the Goodguys AutoCross at the edge of the fairgrounds, delivering some thrilling action for spectators while putting their driving skills to qualify for Saturday’s No Limit Engineering Rumble in Raleigh Shootout. Top finishers included Chris Stein-Martin in the Summit Racing PRO class, Ron Scott Jr. in the Forgeline Street Machine class, Bob Bertelsen in the Corvette class, Rob MacGregor in the No Limit Engineering Truck class, and Kip Hartzell in the Challenger class. All class winners doubled up by claiming victory in their respective shootouts.
Goodguys has always packed a lot of fun features into the North Carolina Nationals event, and this year was no different. In addition to all the fine rides spread around the outside of the facility, there was great Indoor Car Show to check out, plus indoor and outdoor vendors, and a Swap Meet. There was also great live music, tasty food, and the Auto World Family Fun Zone to enjoy. And, following the awards ceremony on Saturday afternoon, we finished off the event in what has become tradition here in North Carolina – with a smash-’em-up, crash-’em-up Saturday night Demolition Derby presented by LMC Truck!
Yes, the Goodguys Good Times just keep getting better for the 2026 season, and this weekend in Raleigh was another step forward in making this a great year for having fun with your vintage ride. Thank you to all the enthusiasts who came out to join us in North Carolina! We’re going to take a few weeks off now, but we’re looking forward to seeing many of you next month for the 1st BASF Legends of Hot Rodding event in Nashville, Tennessee, May 15 & 16.
Photos: Terry Lysak, Todd Ryden
