After being canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, the Goodguys Rod and Custom Car Show made a triumphant return to Nissan Stadium for the 15th Annual BASF Nashville Nationals over Memorial Day weekend. One of the fastest-growing cities in the nation, downtown Nashville provides one of the best backdrops for a car show. Just across the Cumberland River from the stadium, Nashville is sprouting skyscrapers faster than weeds in a pasture.
Nashville is one of the fastest growing cities in the nation. With skyscrapers seeming to pop up daily, the downtown creates a magnificent backdrop for a car show.
Unseasonable weather saw show-goers treated to all of the seasons in one weekend! Friday saw scattered sun and showers as a front moved through, dropping the temperatures for Saturday into the high-50s with overcast skies and a cold wind. The merchandise trailers were inundated with people (who either didn’t see the forecast or didn’t believe it) buying up sweatshirts and jackets. Thankfully, Sunday returned to perfect 70-degree temps and sunny skies just in time for cars to be displayed in the winner’s circle!
Once you arrive at the show, it’s always best to hit up the swap meet area on the west side of the stadium first so that you can beat everyone else to a one-of-a-kind part for your project or piece of nostalgia for the man cave. Whether you are buying or just perusing, it’s a great place to find just about anything you need to complete your build or to pick up a new one in the car corral. It’s also a good idea to check back on Saturday morning as some vendors don’t set up until then.
Hit up the swap meet and car corral first thing when you arrive so you can beat everyone else to those hard-to-find items you can’t do without!
After that, we like to start heading down the south side of the stadium toward the vendor midway area looking at cars parked along the road and grassy area above the river. Checking out the vendor area on Friday allows you more time in a little more relaxed environment to ask questions of vendor reps about their new products. It can also give you a hint about what cars you will most likely see in the Builder’s Choice area on Saturday. Many of the hot rod shops will display their latest creation in their booth, and it gives you more time to look it over and ask questions.
If you're wise, you will hit the vendor midway on Friday, so you have more time to talk with the reps. And, you can get a sneak peek of vehicles that will be seen in the Builder’s Choice area on Saturday.
From there, we like to head over to the autocross and scope out the on-track action. Nashville has one of the larger layouts, yet this year seemed to be a particularly tight course with many “full-lock” hairpins keeping speeds lower than we are used to seeing. All of the usual Pro Category suspects were on hand, but it was nice to see a wide variety of “average” vehicles trying their hand around the cones. Make sure to go up on the bridge to get a bird’s eye view of the pits and cars navigating the course — you can’t get a better view!
The pits at the autocross have some of the most eclectic vehicles to be found. Whether they are purpose-built race cars or homebuilt creations, it is always entertaining to watch.
If you time it right, you can catch the Thunderfest as you come down the bridge. Either stay up top and watch from above or turn the corner and get up close and personal. This year, Thunderfest had three nitro-burning nostalgia drag cars on display. At 1:00 pm, they fired them up for a cacklefest. If you’ve never seen, heard, or smelt a nitro car, it is a treat to behold as the driver’s suit up to show off the horsepower of these monsters. However, suppose you’d like to see them in action on the quarter-mile. In that case, we recommend heading to Bowling Green, Kentucky, on June 17-19 for the 18th annual Holley National Hot Rod Reunion presented by AAA Insurance, where you will see all the best wheel-standing and nitro Nostalgia Racing action!
Thunderfest is where you can see, hear, smell, and taste nitro-burning Nostalgia drag cars as they cackle in the parking lot.
Of course, Saturday is the big day at Goodguys events as the specialty parking areas open up from 7:00-noon for people to try to catch the eye of people picking vehicles for an award. Participants can choose to enter different themed areas: Trick Truck Corral, Ya Gotta Drive ‘Em, Homebuilt Heaven, Mighty Muscle, Deuce Doings, Camaro Corral, The Next Generation, Tri-Five Chevy Corral, or Builder’s Choice. As the day wears on, be on the lookout for a yellow sticker on the driver’s side headlight — this signifies a car has been chosen for an award and will be in the Winner’s Circle on Sunday.
(a) Dustin Williams from Buford, Georgia, showed his ‘68 F100 that his parents bought in ‘71 in Trick Trucks. (b) Jeff Treuden of Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, brought this blast-from-the-past ‘78 Chevy Blazer. (c) Big Oak Garage built this ‘57 Chevy 210 for Mark Shaver from Burnt Hills, New York, packing a blown, big-block 572! (d) Dale Deburger of Seymour, Indiana, chose a chromed-out 1966 Buick Nailhead with six Strombergs to motivate his ‘30 Model A Coupe.
Autocross action heats up as participants compete on the timed course and hopefully get invited into the Music City Mayhem shootout later in the day. This year, there was a burnout competition in the same area. Other attractions included two more nitro dragster exhibitions, a free kid’s model make and take, and bands playing on the Goodguys stage.
Throughout Saturday, there was plenty to choose from with bands on the main stage and lots of heated autocross action.
While some participants leave early to start their trek back home, they miss some of the best parts of the event. Sunday is also a great day to see the “best of the best” all together in one place in the Winner’s Circle. The award winners are displayed prominently with a sign showing what award they won. Also, the BASF Nationals is where the Hot Rod of Year contenders find out who is crowned the winner of the competition. These are some of the finest hot rods in the nation, and the finalists are all on display in the Winner’s Circle. Lastly, Goodguys opens up the show to newer model vehicles for “All American Sunday,” where all American-made or powered cars are welcome.
The five Hot Rod of the Year finalists were Todd Tamm from Sugarland, Texas, ‘32 Ford Tudor; Brandon McCullough from Glenpool, Oklahoma, ‘32 ford Roadster; John Hornbrook of Fort Worth, Texas, ‘32 Ford Coupe; Danny Burroughs of Tom Ball, Texas, ‘32 Ford Coupe; Natalie Balea from Moon Township, Pennsylvania, ‘30 Ford Model A. John Hornbrook’s 3-window coupe took home the title!
The event culminates with the awards ceremony kicking off promptly at 2:22 pm. Each award winner receives their trophy or plague as they cross the stage, finalists for national awards are introduced, and then the winner of Hot Rod of the Year is announced. Finally, one lucky participant who deposits their card in the bucket will get their name called for a chance to win the Goodguys Giveaway car at the Colombus Nationals. This year’s car is a 1967 Chevy II Nova built by Designer Street Rods.