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		The 17th annual Goodguys PPG Nationals is one of the largest Goodguys shows. Wild About Cars/AHPS had our own Tweed Vorhees at the show to record and photograph all the exciting action and awesome cars. Any Downloadable Files Associated with this Article (Click on the file name to download it)
17th Goodguys PPG Nationals July 11-13, 2014 Columbus Ohio
Click on the Thumbnails Below to Enlarge   By Wild About Cars / AHPS staff-- reprint with permission The 17th Annual PPG Nationals started, as usual, on Friday morn' around sunrise, with an endless line of cars and trucks streaming through the registration gates and pouring into the expansive grounds of the Ohio Expo Center. The largest of the Goodguys circuit shows expects to see in excess of 5,000 cars this weekend. By the end of the day there wasn’t a parking spot to be had on the main grounds, and they had to open up an overflow area. The midway was jam-packed with food vendors and many, many, specialty-equipment manufacturers representing, displaying, and selling their products. One of the highlights of the day was over at the auto-cross area, where there was a steady stream of serious competitors, as well as many novice “first timers,” that just wanted to “see what their car could do” over the course, which took the best of 'em just under 30 seconds to complete. Good Guys Awards Judges could be seen touring the show field and picking many “semi-finalists” for the Sunday awards presentation. Seminars and demonstrations were being put on all during the day in  many of the huge expo buildings around the grounds. If you were to follow the overhead skyride to its northern terminus, you would find several of the specialty judging areas such as “Mighty Muscle”, “Home built Heroes”, and “Trick Trucks.” All cars must leave the grounds at 5 pm daily, so it has become a tradition that maybe the best spot to see the entire show is to take up a seat along the exit road. Every car and truck MUST pass you in order to get out of the grounds. That’s quite a show in itself!! Then it was off to the “Friday Nite Drags” out at National Trail Raceway, about 35 miles from the show and downtown Columbus.  There were over 100 show participants that showed up to race, as well as a fantastic AA/FA match race and an old Nostalgia AA/Gas circuit race consisting of many “old school” Willys , Anglias, and Chevy bodied gassers. These guys were fun to watch! There were even several old-school front engine dragsters making demonstration passes. Bright and early Saturday morning, the “show” resumed  as the cars returned to the show field. The entry road was lined with spectators in their lawn chairs, and it's looking like everyone is ready for a Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade! It's an awesome sight to sit there for a few hours and get to see over 5,000 cars “parade” right in front of you less than 10 feet away! The lines were long and endless at all of the food and beverage vendors tents and trailers all day long, as the afternoon sun had the temperatures above 85 degrees and shade was at a premium. One of the Saturday highlights was the judging and grilling of the rods in pursuit of the “Street Rod of the Year” That award was crowned at the Sunday awards ceremony. All of the entries were assembled and displayed in a special “corral.” Shortly after noon they were all assembled into a line and paraded from the corral over to the autocross course where each took their turn traversing the circiut. Of course, there were points awarded to the rank of finish, which would be used as one of the overall judging criteria for the big award. By the end of the day on Saturday, the judges had selected five “finalists” for the Street Rod of the Year Award. Those finalists would be on special display in the Awards Building all day on Sunday. Click here to see photos of the Street Rod of the Year finalists: Judges continued to scour the grounds on Saturday, selecting finalists for all of the judging categories. By the end of the day, all of the cars that were determined to be award winners would be notified of their status. They were then given instructions to bring their cars to the Winners Circle area for display all day Sunday until the awards presentation parade on late Sunday afternoon, The other highlighted category of the PPG Nationals would be the crowning of the “Street Machine of the Year” Award. Just as in the Street Rod of the Year, the judges selected 5 finalists. They would also have their cars on display on Sunday in the Awards Building. Click here to see photos of all the Street Machine of the Year finalists: Sunday began with overcast skies and threats of rains, but it didn’t deter all of the award winners from shining their cars again and displaying them in the Winners Circle area.  Show attendees were treated to some of the finest machinery in the country, all assembled in that Winners Circle area.  Approximately one-hundred award winners were chosen and on display there on Sunday.  All of those award winners would then parade through the huge Awards Building just prior to the naming of the winners of the Street Rod and Street Machine of the Year Awards. Click here to see photos of all the cars and trucks in the Winners Circle: No one that attended went away disappointed. The Goodguys staff really knows how to put on a very large show and have it run as smooth as a fine tuned “street machine”! Our hats off to these guys – they do a fantastic Job. As the “grand finale” of the show – the Goodguys were to draw the winning ticket for their beautiful 2014 Street Rod Giveaway contest after the presentation of the final awards. Some lucky ticket holder will be driving home in a brand new street rod courtesy of the Goodguys show promoters! Click here to see more than 600 photos from this fantastic event Click here to see a full listing of all the Award Winners   A very clean Chevelle, with go-fast power to boot ! If you like Willys gassers, you found your home ! Or maybe an Anglia gasser ! A goodguys show isn't complete without a deuce coupe—how about one with a 409! If you like 'em low and custom, check out this '50 Olds -- smooth ! I like this 33 Willys street rod! A Cad LaSalle custom. I want this car !!