From Goodguys

(Columbus, OH) - The bar has been raised again. Significantly in fact. The competition for Goodguys 2015 Classic Instruments Street Rod of the Year and Goodguys 2015 Optima Batteries Street Machine of the year reached a thunderous crescendo Saturday night at the 18th PPG Nationals in Columbus.

A new wrinkle this year included placing ALL eligible cars in each category inside the Celeste Center – host site for the award ceremony. The top 5 finalists in both divisions were announced to the crowd then driven to the stage where official ceremonies took place.

The pre-’48 Street Rod category started the festivities. With the lone Chevy of Chuck Rowe surrounded by 4 spectacular Fords, the final 5 represented the pinnacle of contemporary street rodding. Fending off the 4-pack of Fords for the Street Rod of the Year title was Rowe’s Millington, Tennessee based ’37 Chevy. A fresh build from Alloway’s Hot Rod Shop, Rowe’s in-the-weeds Chevy coupe turned plenty of heads for its perfect Alloway stance, bigs and littles and that mile-deep Alloway black PPG paint. Behind the handmade aluminum grill lies perhaps the rarest hot rod motor ever assembled. It’s an all-aluminum McLaren Chevy big block recovered from Peter Revson’s 1971 Championship-winning Chaparral Can Am car! Other notable features include suicide doors, countless other exterior mods, a Morrison chassis, Mike Long G-Force 6-speed transmission, one-off Alloway ET Wheels, red leather interior and Classic Instruments gauges.

Fellow Street Rod of the Year Finalists included Diane Clise, Queenstown, MD (1936 Ford Roadster) Jesse Greening, Nashville, TN (1927 Ford Roadster), Al Nagele, Willmite, IL (1932 Ford), and Mike Terzich, Gibsonia, PA (1937 Ford Woody).

The field of Street Machines eclipsed anything we’ve ever seen. The builders made this year’s top 5 selection process the most grueling Goodguys officials have ever encountered. When the final votes were tallied it was Lafayette, Louisiana’s Sonny & Debbie Freeman driving off with the most coveted crown in the Street Machine world. Their Artic White ’67 Corvette by Mike Goldman Customs is a world class car with otherworldly styling and handling characteristics. The Vette’s scratch-built rockers sit a mere 3” inches off the ground, channeled neatly over the Roadster Shop chassis. Other handmade panels include the rear pan, full belly pan, wiper grates, one-off grille, and one-off nickel bumpers as well as all nickel trim. The gaps are flawless and uniform throughout – no easy feat with a Corvette! Powering the nimble beast is a simply wicked Mast Motorsports 427 c.i. V8 pumping out 700 ponies. Custom coated Forgeline wheels (18x8” front and 19x10” rear) are shod in sticky Continental tires.

Inside the cabin, Paul Atkins stitched the rust colored leather, wrapping both dash humps. The stock dash houses Classic Instruments gauges while the steering wheel is from Billet Specialties. The Goldman’s also integrated a ’62 Corvette hatch creating a seamless waterfall interior flow. Not only is this the Freeman Corvette flawless, it’s also fast! With Talbert Goldman behind the wheel – the car ran an AutoCross lap of 42.414 seconds – one of the fastest laps in the class.

Look for full features on both cars in the December issue of the Goodguys Goodtimes Gazette.

Fellow Street Machine of the Year finalists included Clayton Graham, Baker, MT (1969 Camaro), Joel Shook, San Clemente, CA 1965 Mustang, Willie Maise, Glenco, AL (1965 Dodge Dart), Randy Wilcox, Mahtomedi, MN 1962 Chevy