Goodguys Brings Hot Rod Heaven to WestWorld of Scottsdale

On Saint Patrick’s Day weekend this year, 2500 rods, customs, muscle cars, imports, and trucks built through 1999 blanketed the massive grounds at WestWorld of Scottsdale, Arizona.

It was the Goodguys 15th FiTech Fuel Injection Spring Nationals, a three-day weekend packed with a full load of events, including Goodguys CPP Auto Cross, Nitro Thunder Fest presented by Summit Racing, a huge swap meet in the cars-for-sale corral, more than 100 manufacturer vendor stalls, live music, and a free Kidzone featuring the auto world model car Make and Take show.

The Goodguys show is just one of many events throughout the U.S. that celebrate hot rods, including the March Meet, a quarter-mile drag racing rumble at its best, and the Grand National Roadster Show, since 1950 the longest-running indoor car show in the world, with hundreds of hot rods vying for the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster award. The 1950s, of course, were peak hot rod, exemplified by Norm Grabowski’s “Kookie T”, which made the cover of Hot Rod magazine in 1955. Dean Jeffries penned the flames, while Tony Nancy did the upholstery. The car inspired “TV Tommy” Ivo to build his fuel-injected Buick-powered T-bucket.

Some say the first hot rods were a product born during the Prohibition era of the 1920s and 1930s, serving bootleggers who needed quick escapes from the law in faster cars. The moonshine cars were eventually described as “hot rods,” which evolved to mean any car that was modified to raise performance and increase engine output. This was accomplished by reducing vehicle body weight by removing hoods, fenders, tops, and sometimes windshields and then cloaking the creation with significant and impressive paint jobs and, in many instances, colorful flames to signify speed.

Furthering the hot rod concept, soldiers returning from World War II who had gained excellent mechanical skills during the war brought back their knowledge to delve into a new awareness of hot rods. This led to the creation by Wally Parks of the National Hot Rod Association, which put hot rods on race tracks around the country.

But these machines have always been about more than merely speed. Many consider hot rods works of art, including Parks, Vic Edelbrock, Sr., and Bob Petersen, along with significant collectors like Beau Bockman, John Mozart, and Bruce Meyer, which led to a hot rod class at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2022, curated by journalist Ken Gross. Meyer, the restoration maestro, was honored with first in class in Ford Historic Hot Rods with his 1932 Ford Bob McGee Roadster. This hot rod legend holds the honor of being the first non-race car to grace the cover of Hot Rod magazine, in 1948, and it was featured on a U.S. Postal Service Hot Rods Forever commemorative stamp. Meyer donated the car to the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles in 2023. “I realized the car is too important not to be shared in perpetuity,” he said.

The Goodguys Rod & Custom Association has hosted classic car shows around the country each year since 1983, when it was founded by Gary Meadors. The organization is now directed by his son, Marc, and its events bring together hot rodders and vintage auto aficionados of all stripes, along with their families, for a weekend of good times.

At WestWorld, former racer Robby Unser was representing Speedway Motors, which makes custom suspensions, front clips, and various parts that he helped develop and test. “This weekend at Auto Cross, we’re running a Cobra kit car with an LS engine and a solid axle in the back, with the ultimate goal for this company to sell these Cobra kit cars with a safe suspension,” he said.

A valuable direction and goal of Goodguys is to promote careers and hot rodding through its partnership with the ASE Education Foundation and WyoTech trade school, which will conduct educational awareness seminars at select Goodguys events. They will work with local high schools and tech school to recruit students interested in a career in hot rodding.

On Saint Patty’s Day, I ran into a family of enthusiasts who came out to enjoy the Arizona sun all the classic and vintage cars. Gary and his wife Shelly brought their 15-year-old “car geek” son Justin to get a taste of what he has been experiencing with his father while restoring their 1969 Camaro Z28. “My dad is an accountant,” Justin said, “but together we have worked on many cars like a Pontiac GTO, a 1966 Chevy Impala, and a 1966 Mustang. I’m sure I have the automotive interest and desire to pursue a career in automotive restoration and development. I’m looking into applying to McPherson College for the Fred S. Duesenberg Scholarship that was established by TV personality and car collector extraordinaire Jay Leno.”

As Mike Coley, president of ASE Education Foundation states, “Together with Goodguys, we are able to interact with students who have the interest and technical aptitude to excel in one of the many career paths in the automotive industry, and these interactions help strengthen students’ chances of entering our industry.”

According to the Goodguys mission statement, the company “celebrates our passion for the great American car culture, bringing together Cool Cars, Cool People and Good Times!” Marc Meadors expounds on that: “I hope you’ll take full advantage of the freedoms we have in this country, get that old car or truck loaded up, and enjoy some time on the road. ‘You gotta drive ’em’, as my father said back in the day.”

More than 100 Goodguys winners received awards at the March show, but there were a few that stood out. In Auto Cross, Robby Unser cornered the Autocross Pro X Class and the Spring Shootout Pro X Class in the 1967 Cobra kit car, while Jason Wilcox took first place in Truck Class, piloting his 1972 Chevy K5 Blazer. The Goodguys staff pick went to John Druar with his stunning 1950 Cadillac convertible, and the Maguires Magnificent Masterpiece Award honored Keith Allen showing his striking 1939 Lincoln Zephyr.

Goodguys has a full slate of events scheduled throughout the spring, summer, and fall, at locations across the country, so if you’re afflicted by the hot rod disease, the antidote is closer than you might think.