Lots to See & Lots to be Excited About
Last weekend was “the Big One” for hot rodders as Goodguys hosted their 27th Summit Racing Nationals presented by PPG at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus. The fairgrounds were bustling with cool classics, street rods, muscle cars, and vintage trucks of all colors, shapes, and styles—something for everyone!
As always, the case with Goodguys is that they have a lot going on, but somehow they manage to include even more at this event. Two highlights are their selection of the Classic Instruments Street Rod of the Year and the PPG Street Machine of the Year as part of their Top 12 of the Year Awards. This year, those titles went to Ross Myers and his 1936 Ford roadster, created by Rad Rides by Troy, as the Street Rod of the Year; and to Angelo Vespi with his 1987 Grand National, built by Dutchboys Hotrods, earning the Street Machine of the Year title.
Goodguys also selected three finalists for their Top 12 of the Year program, which included Mike Seebert’s 1966 Corvette as the Snap-on Muscle Car finalist, the 1969 Ford F-100 of Troy Peck as the Dakota Digital Truck of the Year Late, and Janet Cooper’s 1957 Pontiac Safari as the finalist for the Vintage Air Custom Rod.
Keeping up with the awards, our crew picked three impressive rides for our In the Garage Media awards: Blake Shaw’s 1969 Chevelle for the All Chevy Performance pick, April Bynum’s 1969 Ford F-100 for Classic Truck Performance, and Nick Terzich’s sleek 1941 Ford coupe for Modern Rodding.
Speaking of award winners, the Goodguys Nationals also hosts the In the Garage Media New Product Showcase where manufacturers can showcase their latest and greatest products—and there were plenty of them! We’ll have a rundown of the winning products soon.
Another feature unique to the Columbus Goodguys event is the ceremony for their Grand Prize Giveaway Car, along with the introduction of the next giveaway. For 17 lucky people, it was a nerve-racking wait to see who had the magic key that would let them start and drive away in the Goolsby Customs–built 1986 Monte Carlo SS Aerocoupe. The winner turned out to be Trent Nelson. For the 2026 giveaway, Goodguys revealed a sleek 1940 Ford coupe built by Roseville Rod & Custom.
Goodguys pulls out all the stops when it comes to the Big One in Columbus. There was an indoor show featuring Tri-Five Chevys for the 70th anniversary, a good-sized indoor swap meet, action on the autocross course, a pro street rollout, over 100 other awards, live entertainment, hotel parking lot afterparties, and a boatload of manufacturers to visit. And they’ll be doing it again in Puyallup, Washington, on July 25-27, for the Griot’s Garage Pacific Northwest Nationals. MR
