Goodguys raised the heat for their Spring Nationals last weekend as hot rodders took over the WestWorld of Scottsdale, Arizona, area for two days of high-rpm fun. Thousands of enthusiasts gathered to check out the best classic cars and trucks of the Southwest, browse the huge swap meet, enjoy some autocross racing, and experience more great hot-rodding activities.
One highlight of the event was seeing Nicole Baird’s 2026 AMBR winner, a 1932 Ford highboy roadster, for the first time out in the sun and cruising. It was brought out by builder Doug Jerger and his team from Squeeg’s Kustoms, who also showed off Doug’s personal Hemi-powered AA/100 (named “AA” because of the monster blown drag race Hemi), a mind-blowing machine that looks like a Hot Wheels come to life—which you can learn more about in our video interview with Doug.
Our crew also selected three top favorites for our In the Garage Media titles, including Mike Chrisinger’s 1933 Ford coupe for Modern Rodding, Ruben Arias’ 1967 Nova for the All Chevy Performance award, and Steve Haws’ 1972 K5 Blazer for the Classic Truck Performance pick.
Goodguys also handed out dozens of additional picks and awards at Scottsdale, including several finalists for their Top 12 awards presented by BASF. Those included Ron Williams’ 1939 Ford cabriolet as the Scott’s Hotrods ’N Customs Custom of the Year finalist, Eugene Bothello’s 1959 Impala as the Vintage Air Custom Rod of the Year finalist, and David Levin’s 1968 Camaro as the Griot’s Garage Muscle Machine of the Year finalist.
There was an impressive display of Chevy and GMC pickups in the special GM Truck Get-Together area sponsored by Squarebody Syndicate, and the swap meet did not disappoint, with plenty of parts and collectibles. Add in some Nitro Thunderfest cackling, a Jet Funny Car belching smoke and flames, live music, and, of course, hot rods, muscle cars, and classics of every style for a weekend of classic car bliss.
After a cold, damp start to their season in Texas, it was great to enjoy the sun and the Southwest scenery over the weekend. This coming weekend, Goodguys heads to their birthplace of Pleasanton, California (March 28-29), and then down to SoCal for the Del Mar National, April 10-12. MR
