Weekend Rewind! Goodguys 25th Grundy Insurance Colorado Nationals presented by Griot’s Garage
Goodguys stretched out the summer fun in the Rocky Mountain high country this weekend during the 25th Grundy Insurance Colorado Nationals presented by Griot’s Garage! It was a lovely time in Loveland filled with sun, fun, and a colorful spread of cool cars and trucks throughout The Ranch Events Complex.
Enthusiasts along the Front Range and beyond were primed and ready to make the silver anniversary of this high-altitude event a special one. Friday’s attendance was off the charts thanks to sunny skies and comfortable temperatures, making it a perfect kickoff for the extended weekend. Goodguys and the ASE Educational Foundation welcomed more than 150 area high school students that morning for a Careers in Hot Rodding program presented by WyoTech. And we finished the day with our favorite Colorado tradition – the TGIF party at Pinkee’s Rod Shop and Mash Lab Brewery.
Saturday was a welcome repeat – a gorgeous sunny day filled with good times, lots of friends, and even more great cars and trucks packed into the facility. The Saturday Specialty Parking Areas were filled with cool rides, especially the Builder’s Choice area, from which the Pinkee’s Rod Shop team selected its Top 10 from the event. Eric and his crew always do a first-rate job with their selections, and this year’s lineup was especially strong.
The Goodguys team also chose dozens of picks and award winners, including finalists for many of our Top 12 categories. This included Ken Henderson’s ’68 Camaro for Griot’s Garage Muscle Machine of the Year, Steve Leach’s ’38 Dodge picking up the Scotts Hotrods Truck of the Year Early, Mac Coldwell’s ’55 Chevy Delivery Sedan for Vintage Air Custom Rod of the Year, and Harmon Anderson’s ’69 Camaro Z/28 for Snap-On Muscle Car of the Year. Picking up the two Chevrolet Performance Builder of the Year finalist awards was Ron Jones Garage claiming the GM Iron title with Jim Myers’ ’67 Nova and Dynamic Rides getting the GM Retro Iron spot with Randy Lofquist’s SBC-powered ’32 Ford Coupe.
The Goodguys media team got in on the feature pick action this weekend selecting Rusty Izatt’s custom ’56 Ford Victoria for the Goodguys Feature pick and Junior Mass’ ’34 Ford hot rod for the Fuel Curve pick. You’ll see more of these two rides in an upcoming issue of the Goodguys Gazette.
The south side of the complex was roaring and squealing with the sounds of tire-punishing Goodguys CPP AutoCross Series action as dozens of racers competed for fast times and an opportunity to compete in Saturday’s Western Shootout. Eric Sheely brought out a ’65 Corvette roadster and found the winning line in the Speedtech Performance PRO-X class and shootout, and then won the PRO shootout in his ’72 Corvette, topping Keenan Smith, who had won the Summit Racing PRO class. Ken Yeo won the Forgeline Street Machine class, but Tim Molzen was able to come back and claim the shootout victory, while also winning both class and shootout in the Sports Car field. Local Don Yarbrough secured the double-up win in the No Limit Engineering Truck class, while George Gonzalez won the FiTech Challenger class in his ’69 Camaro. On All American Sunday we battled some afternoon rain showers so the 8-car shootout event could not be contested. But Gunnison Jones was able to claim the class win in his race-prepped 2006 Z06 Corvette with a fastest time of 22.097.
There was plenty of noise found throughout the facility as we held several Nitro Thunderfest sound-offs on Friday and Saturday, and also welcomed live music in addition to the tunes DJ Axle was spinnin’. Add in a swap meet, classic auto auction, a wide variety of vendors, a Goodgals Gallery, and other attractions, and there was plenty to keep any gearhead busy throughout the weekend.
Ongoing improvements continue to make The Ranch Events Complex a better facility, and you can say the same thing about this late-summer event. As more enthusiasts discover the laid-back fun you can have at the base of the Rockies in early September, more of them are opting to join the Goodguys Good Times at the Colorado Nationals. If you haven’t experienced it for yourself, we invite you to join us next year. Until then, have a look at some highlights from this weekend.
Photos by Steven Bunker & Todd Ryden
