I was on the road again this past weekend. This time, I headed east up Interstate 40 to Lebanon, Tennessee, for the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association 18th BASF Nashville Nats(GGNN) at the Nashville Superspeedway. It was our first trip back to GGNN since it moved from downtown to the Superspeedway. It is a terrific venue located on I-840, well on the outskirts of the metro area.
The bad part about living in the South in the spring is that we almost always have to start every story talking about sketchy weather. Unfortunately, this story is no different. The forecast was plain and simply a crapshoot leading up to the weekend. We left Memphis for GGNN at 7:30 a.m. in a drizzle that continued for the entire three-hour trip.
Before we went to the Superspeedway, John Campbell invited us to stop by Reviving Relics, a hot rod shop in Lebanon. That morning, they hosted the GGNN Hot Rod of the Year Reliability Run on their required 150-mile drive. Reviving Relics is a four-man shop that builds high-end custom cars and restores concours-level originals. It was a special treat for us to meet these skilled technicians and gawk at their incredible creations.
GGNN Friday
As luck would have it, the rain ceased during our lunch break, and we eagerly made our way back down I-840 to the Superspeedway to collect our preregistration packets. After affixing our windshield stickers and obtaining our tickets, we circled the track to access the tunnel leading to the infield. A friendly GGNN host club member guided us to a prime parking spot in front of the NASCAR garages, setting the stage for an exciting day ahead.
The garages housed some vendors, including a display of cars and trucks from Johnson’s Horsepower Garage (JHG). JHG sponsors a few of the Elite Motorsports Pro Stock cars, including champ Erica Enders. We did a little browsing before heading over to the GGNN Swap Meet to see if there were any finds that we couldn’t live without.
Next, it was time to check out the cars. Though all the contestants weren’t present on Friday, our first stop was the Builder’s Choice area to see the cars that Bobby Alloway had to judge for awards. These vehicles are the best of the best, with hundreds of thousands of dollars spent. We were happy we didn’t have to judge them!
We made our way past the Goodguys merchandise trailer to the other side of the scoring tower. Several hot rod shops, such as Rutters Rod Shop, Alloway’s Hot Rod Shop, Velocity Restorations, and Triworks Hot Rods, were set up, showing off some of their latest builds and the parts they fabricate. Also, several vendor trailers were parked here, including Continental Tires, Wilwood Disc Brakes, and Forgeline Wheels. On Saturday, this area would play host to some specialty parking areas.
The day’s last stop was in Turn 1 to see some of the GGNN autocross contenders. If the Builder’s Choice area has the cream of the crop show cars, the purpose-built autocross cars are built to thrash (though many could win a car show, too). The autocross course was set up using part of the road course and the apron in Turns 2 and 1. It appeared to be a pretty quick course, and we could hear engines roaring and tires squealing all weekend. By 5:00 p.m., most everyone had left, and we decided to call it a day as well.
GGNN Saturday
It goes without saying that Saturday is the big day at any Goodguys event, especially GGNN since the weather was so sketchy on Friday. Saturday is more structured, with specialty parking areas from 7 a.m. to Noon, where participants can get their cars noticed by the judges. At GGNN, these areas included:
Trick Truck Corral, presented by LMC Truck
Corvette Corral, presented by Coffman Corvettes
Mighty Mustang
Ya Gotta Drive ‘Em, presented by Lecarra Steering Wheels
Homebuilt Heaven, presented by Speedway Motors
The Next Generation, presented by Goolsby Customs
Camaro Corral, presented by Metal Brothers
Tri-Five Chevy
Goodguys Builder’s Choice, presented by Alloway’s Hot Rod Shop
Deuce Doins
My friends and I decided to enter the Homebuilt Heaven area, although we really should have entered Ya Gotta Drive ‘Em, seeing we slogged through the rain to get there. Honestly, we probably didn’t have a shot in either area. The caliber of vehicles in a Goodguys specialty area is always high, and the creativity is often off the charts. Everyone received a dash plaque for joining the specialty area parking, and those of us in Homebuilt Heaven also got a free t-shirt.
Once we had cleaned up our cars as best we could, we took off to see all the other vehicles. On our way to the Builder’s Choice area, we noticed that the Tanks Inc. Hot Rod of the Year competition was slimmed down to the Top Five overnight. Those cars were on display in front of the Goodguys merchandise trailer. Again, we were happy that we didn’t have a say in who got that award!
Of course, the first stop of the day was the Builder’s Choice area to see if we missed any cars from the day before. Probably 40 to 50 cars were competing for a Top Ten trophy from Alloway. Some heavy hitters in the car show world were at GGNN, including contenders and past winners of some of the nation’s top awards.
Other Happenings
At Noon, after the national anthem, the Goodguys Nitro Thunderfest, presented by Summit Racing, cranked their nitro front-engine dragsters. It was fun to see those who have not been baptized by the smells and sounds of nitro cars, especially the kids.
The Goodguys autocross was busy all day (only taking a one-hour lunch break). At 3:30, the Music City Mayhem shootout commenced.
However, the highlight of the day actually came at the end. Registered participants could drive their car out on the NASCAR track during the Track Cruise. The boys and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity, so we got in line on pit road.
We were led by a pace car onto the banked oval with the safety truck taking up the rear. If you think the cruise is a nice, easy 30-mph trip around the track, think again! We were able to stretch the legs on our cars quite a bit. I won’t tell you how fast I went, but if there were a speed limit, I would’ve exceeded it!
With that, it was time to get some grub. We settled on steak and found the Chop House in Murfreesboro. It was a great meal; I highly recommend it! After an hour-long wait, it was late by the time we got back to the hotel, and we were beat from the long day, with one more left to go.
GGNN Sunday
Sunday is always a much more laidback affair at a Goodguys event. We took our time getting packed up, grabbed some breakfast, and got to the track around 10:00 a.m. Only on Sunday is the show open to all American-powered vehicles, so there were some new vehicles in the mix vying for All-American Sunday awards. Evidently, it was also open to cicadas, as the once-in-a-lifetime infestation hit Nashville overnight (seriously, they were everywhere!).
However, the place to be is the Winner’s Circle, where you can see all the award winners chosen on Saturday. All the winners are parked in one place for everyone to admire. The GGNN award recipients included finalists for LMC Truck of the Year Early, Snap-On Musclecar of the Year, Vintage Air Custom Rod of the Year, Griot’s Garage Muscle Machine of the Year, Dakota Digital Truck of the Year Late, Fuel Curve Custom of the year, and of course, Tanks Inc. Hot Rod of the Year. Also included are various other awards, including the Top Ten Alloway Builder’s Choice and Gary’s pick (for Goodguys founder Gary Meadors). Beyond that, there are many different awards for each specialty area and other picks for various things like Cool Custom, Hottest Hot Rod, etc.
The awards ceremony began promptly at 2:22. Each winner drove their car in front of the stage while Tim Strange and company were on the microphone telling information about each vehicle. Strange had the one-liner of the event after being hit in the mouth by a cicada — “Welcome to the Nashville Cicada Nationals, everybody!”
The final award to give away was the Hot Rod of the Year. All five finalists parked their vehicles in front of the stage. Announcers interviewed each owner or builder about the hot rod, construction time, location, and standout features. Ultimately, a ‘33 Ford Coupe owned by Keith Hill and built by Pinkee’s Hot Rod Shop came out on top!
All that was left to do was draw someone’s name for a chance at the ‘32 Ford 5-window coupe that will be given away at the Columbus Goodguys show. Unfortunately, our names weren’t called. However, the weekend wasn’t a total bust, as my name was drawn for one of the last door prizes. There wasn’t much left to choose from, but I snatched up a gift certificate from Total Cost Involved Engineering for a discount on an independent front suspension!
Conclusion
After breaking down and packing our tent, we set off for the return trip to Memphis! One word of caution for travelers with classic cars on I-840 — some of the bridge transitions are rough — so just be wary. I’m pretty sure my front tires came off the ground on one!
If you’ve never been to a Goodguys show, GGNN is one you should put on your list. Yes, it used to be in the heart of downtown Nashville at the Titans Stadium, and it may have lost some of its charm because of it. However, the Superspeedway is a terrific venue with everything Goodguys needs to put on its parade of classic chrome. Look for the 19th Annual Nashville Nationals in 2025, most likely in May!
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