Weekend Rewind! Goodguys 14th FiTech Fuel Injection Spring Nationals presented by Grundy Insurance
Ready. Set. Go! Goodguys dropped the green flag on the 2024 event season this weekend in Scottsdale, Arizona at the 14th FiTech Fuel Injection Spring Nationals presented by Grundy Insurance! The cars and trucks were shined up, the engines were revved up, and the people were amped up to launch into another great year of Goodguys Good Times as we partied at WestWorld of Scottsdale all weekend long!
There was a little pre-staging on Thursday as dozens of rods, customs, and cruisers caravanned around the Phoenix metro area on the Hot Rod Cruise. By Friday morning, everyone was warmed up and ready to fill the WestWorld grounds with some fine iron in full spectrum of styles and colors. Rain showers dampened the day a little and brought the afternoon to an early end but could not diminish the spark that had been lit for the weekend. These gearheads were ready and eager to have a great time!
Saturday dawned with sunny skies and the event grounds were soon alive with color like a spring desert bloom. It was a spectacular scene as sunshine reflected off vibrant steel and gleaming chrome. The facility was soon packed with fine rides, from the lower grass field to the upper parking lot with the Saturday Specialty Parking and Builder’s Choice areas, giving Doug Jerger from Squeeg’s Kustoms a great variety from which to choose for his Builder’s Choice Top 10 selections. Doug has an incredible eye for top-quality finishes, clean style, and attention to detail, and his Top 10 lineup reflected all those qualities.
The Goodguys awards team got back into the swing of things, too, selecting dozens of cars and trucks for awards and picks. There’s nothing like a trophy to bring a smile to the face of a gearhead! Among the winners were several finalists for the 2024 Top 12 series presented by BASF in their #QUESTFOR12, including Scott and Tina Johnson’s ’67 Chevelle SS396 convertible as the Snap-on Muscle Car of the Year finalist; Tim Kirby’s ’64 Corvette as the Griot’s Garage Muscle Machine of the Year finalist; Randy Kohltfarber’s ’59 Chrysler 300 as the Vintage Air Custom Rod of the Year finalist; and the ’36 Ford of Ron Hernandez as the Fuel Curve Custom of the Year Finalist. We also selected two Chevrolet Performance Builder of the Year finalists – American Legends Hot Rods for the ’72 Datsun 240Z they built for Tim Kirby, and Roadster Shop for the ’60 El Camino built for Barry Blomquist. The Goodguys media team tapped Michael Baucom’s Coyote-powered MG for the Fuel Curve Pick, and Glenn Kramer’s ’32 Ford pickup for the Goodguys Feature Pick.
Racers were getting back up to speed in the Goodguys CPP AutoCross series, too, and heated up the track all weekend in the first competition of the season and the G-Comp by Speedway Motors Spring Shootout. Chad Everett snagged his first class win of the season in the Speedtech Performance PRO-X class, but Dan Gagnon was able to come back and beat him for the shootout victory. Eric Sheely took the double win in the Summit Racing PRO class and shootout, and then tacked on the Forgeline Street Machine shootout win, as well, topping Street Machine class winner Ken Yeo in the shootout final. Cameron Bishop doubled up in the No Limit Engineering Truck class, and Tim Molzen did the same in the Sports Car class. The Challenger class saw Dominic Rosa earning the class win, and Riley Potter finding the winning time in the shootout. Ealing Jahn conquered All American Sunday, winning both the class and shootout.
No matter where you looked on the WestWorld grounds, you could see people who were happy to be shaking off the winter doldrums, and vehicles getting much-needed doses of sunshine and road time after being cooped up in garages all winter long. The swap meet was brimming with cool finds and great deals on parts to get your ride tuned up for the season, while an expansive selection of indoor and outdoor vendors offered all kinds of upgrade options. We had some great happenings to keep the weekend lively, as well, including Nitro Thunderfest exhibitions, live music, and a revitalized kids’ zone with activities for the youngsters.
Now that we’ve got the season launched, Goodguys is not about to let the foot off the gas. We’ll be shifting gears through a calendar of good-time spring events in the coming weeks, with the next two on tap being the 40th All American Get-Together next weekend in Pleasanton, and the 23rd Meguiar’s Del Mar Nationals presented by FiTech Fuel Injection April 5-7. You better get strapped in and ready, because 2024 is getting off to a fast start and is shaping up to be a fantastic season. We’ll see you at an event soon!
Photos by Damon Lee, Todd Ryden & Terry Lysak
