Weekend Rewind! Goodguys 19th BASF Nashville Nationals with the Tanks Inc. Hot Rod of the Year
It was a motorhead medley in Music City this weekend as the Goodguys 19th BASF Nashville Nationals rolled into Tennessee! The hot rods were tuned up, drivers were revved up, and gearheads from around the country were turned in this weekend for one of the coolest hot rod happenings of the season at Nashville Superspeedway.
For many builders and enthusiasts, the wheels on this event have been in motion for weeks as they got their hot rods and customs ready for the road. A handful of those folks plugged into the Navigatin’ to Nashville caravan that made its way from Indiana to Tennessee on Wednesday and Thursday, led by Rodders Reps Pat and Peggy Lennen.
More than two dozen hot rods took that road trip spirit and ran with it on Friday during the Reliability Run for the Tanks, Inc. Hot Rod of the Year competition. The run made stops at Smithson Speed and Engineering, Advanced Plating, and Team Witt Customs before returning to the speedway for burnouts and drag strip runs on pit road. It was a day filled with revving engines, rowdy exhausts, and plenty of speed!
The large field of Hot Rod of the Year contenders was narrowed down to a Top Five by early Saturday afternoon. It was an impressive lineup with many different interpretations of the hot rod concept that included Cody Walls’ ’32 Ford coupe, Amadeo Angelo’s ’32 Ford coupe, Joe Horsik’s ’34 Ford coupe, Dave Kroona’s ’33 Willys coupe, and Ryan Kalil’s ’31 Model A coupe. There was a lot of speculation over the next 24 hours as rodders on site and throughout the country tried to guess which car would take home the top prize. And to conclude the awards ceremony Sunday afternoon, Dave Kroona’s ’33 Willys was announced as the 2025 Tanks, Inc. Hot Rod of the Year! Watch for a full feature on this supercharged ground-pounder this week on FuelCurve.com, as well as in the September issue of the Goodguys Gazette.
There was a lot of additional hardware getting handed out at the speedway, as well. Top of the list were the signature Builder’s Choice Top 10 trophies from Bobby Alloway at Alloway’s Hot Rod Shop. Bobby’s awards are coveted throughout the hot rod world, and his lineup this year was second to none.
The Goodguys awards team had dozens of awards to distribute, too, including several finalist spots for regional Goodguys Top 12 awards presented by BASF. This included Harold Chapman’s ’40 Ford pickup as the LMC Truck of the Year Early finalist, Steven Bailey’s ’69 Ford Bronco as the Dakota Digital Truck of the Year Late finalist, Tom Bresnahan’s ’55 Nomad as the Vintage Air Custom Rod of the Year finalist, and Marshall Gay’s ’71 Cuda as the Griot’s Garage Muscle Machine of the Year finalist. Kevin Doolittle, meanwhile, wowed our media team with his wild ’41 Willys and took home the Goodguys Feature Pick award.
The mechanical music had a slightly different tone over on the Goodguys AutoCross track, where racers got to pick up the speed with a longer, multi-elevation track that utilized part of the superspeedway road course. It made for a fun and challenging weekend for racers leading up to and including the No Limit Engineering Music City Mayhem Shootout on Saturday. Top performers included Josh Leisinger in the Speedtech Performance PRO-X class, Ron Scott Jr. in the Summit Racing PRO class, Andrew Chenoweth in the Forgeline Street Machine class, and Brian Johns in the Sports Car class. Vincent Rotundo topped the Challenger class, and Mark Golovin claimed the All American Sunday class and shootout wins at the Nashville Nationals.
Whether you were showing off, cruising, racing, or spectating, there were happenings and activities to keep hot rodders of all ages engaged and occupied all weekend during the Nashville Nationals. Dozens of vendors showcased their parts and wares, the swap meet was filled with tuneful deals, and the Predator monster truck offered fun rides for fans. There was also a great selection of food, time to catch up with friends and gearhead buddies, live music, and a Saturday Evening Track Cruise where the Nashville Superspeedway banked oval was opened up to all participating vehicles. What a cool way to cap off our spectacular Saturday!
Goodguys is grateful for the 19 fantastic years that hot rodders have supported the Nashville Nationals, and we’re looking forward to more Good Times in the years ahead in Music City. Next up, though, is a trip to the East Coast in a couple weeks for the 2nd Grundy Insurance Mid-Atlantic Nationals presented by R&M Performance in Dover, Delaware. We hope to see many of you there!
Photos by Marc Gewertz and Damon Lee
