Officially, it’s called the Goodguys PPG Nationals, but anyone “in the know” simply refers to it as Goodguys Columbus. After all, this is the “big daddy” of the outdoor car shows geared towards classic hot rods, muscle cars and street machines. Goodguys Columbus has always been a mecca for vintage hot rodders with a taste for early street rods and customs, however, when Goodguys introduced the event in 1998 they couldn’t help but take notice of the undeniable increase in popularity of late-sixties and early seventies muscle cars, and opened up the invite to consist of 1972 and earlier cars.
Mike George of Chelsea, Alabama...
Mike George of Chelsea, Alabama took some serious laps around the autocross course proving he wasn’t afraid to get down and dirty in his highly customized ’69.
Historically, the show has been dominated by pre-1949 cars, but the 2008 show marked a noticeable increase in post ‘50s hot rods. In fact, 51% of the 6,000-plus registered cars were 1950 and newer – a Goodguy’s first. It just goes to show that the muscle car and street machine segment of the hobby, have made huge strides in popularity among classic car enthusiasts.
As this surge continues, the aftermarket is blowing up with new and improved products designed for almost every make and model of late-sixties and early-seventies hot rods—and were not just talking tires, wheels, and brakes—some of the most technologically advanced, modern suspension components are now available to convert once ill-handling ’60s muscle cars into corner carving g-machines. You have to remember, when these cars were new, straight-line racing was all the rage, nationwide. So, relatively speaking, there was limited public interest in lateral g driving at the time. As Stock and Super Stock drag cars were bringing home Wallys on the drag strip, Ford, Chevy, and Chrysler dealerships were reaping the rewards in the showroom; Hence the mantra, “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday.”
Jeff Hanson’s LS7-powered...
Jeff Hanson’s LS7-powered ’69 made the top five, putting him in solid contention for the SMOY award. He also made impressive runs on the autocross course putting his DSE suspension to the test whipping up of the lowest lap times of the competition.
Today, the Goodguys autocross offers a great forum for suspension and chassis building companies to show the functionality of their wares in front of a huge, captive audience.
It all started in 2007, Goodguys and the folks at Air Ride Technologies put the idea together and began testing the waters by setting up an autocross at a few select events. Widely accepted by spectators, competitors, and vendors its popularity soon made it a premier attraction at selected events. So much so, they’ve added the timed course at nine events for the 2008 season.
 This beautiful ’68 convertible...  This beautiful ’68 convertible belongs to Kevin Alstott out of FT. Dodge, Iowa. Not only was he aggressive on the turns, but got he got the crowd going with smokey burnouts off the line. |  Ray Thompson has owned this...  Ray Thompson has owned this ’67 since his high school days. It’s armed with some very early DSE suspension goodies. As you can tell they still hang tough in any setting including the Columbus autocross. |  Kenny Davis dropped a ZL1...  Kenny Davis dropped a ZL1 into his gorgeous ’69 and had no qualms about showing its abilities on the autocross. He may have nipped a cone here, but that just tells us he was taking the competition very seriously. |
 Joe Brown’s ’69 was in contention...  Joe Brown’s ’69 was in contention for the SMOY, but failed to make the final 5. It’s powered by a Ramjet 502 and backed by a 6-speed. |  Ray Young’s ’69 looks mean,...  Ray Young’s ’69 looks mean, and it is mean. The 480LE bolts up to a blown 572 ci mill. |  |