Custom Rodder Top Ten · Custom Rodder Top Ten · Custom Rodder Top Ten
None of us are able to predict when a defining moment may happen, but down deep you can sense it's coming. That can truly be said about this year's 7th Annual Goodguys Rod & Custom Association's PPG Nationals in Columbus, Ohio. The banner event of the year for Goodguys didn't disappoint. What it did do was send a statement to the rodding world that all is good with our hobby.
Often referred to as "Columbus," rodders everywhere know it to be the crown jewel of the Goodguys' summer menu of rodding get-togethers. It has been looked upon as Goodguys' largest (a record 6,067 entries), the one with the greatest diversity (open to pre-'73 cars and trucks), and all are sandwiched neatly around 450-plus vendors. The year 2004 proved a point and then some! Columbus has joined the "short" list as one of the nation's largest and most influential rodding events-it's clearly on the "A" list for those wishing to get the most out of their rodding season.
The three-day event is blessed by its geographic desirability to the center of the rodding world in Ohio. Adding to its luster has been the historically good weather. Hey, in the Midwest, a day's worth of rain isn't all bad, although this year was dry and sunny throughout.
The combined staffs of CRM, SRM, and CTM all agreed on one thing for sure: Come Friday, it was obvious this was going to be a special event. Normally a Friday at any event will serve as a barometer as to what the participant and spectator turnout will be for Saturday, traditionally, the most attended day for participants and spectators alike. Incredible, as Friday at Columbus was clearly the largest Friday our staffs had ever seen, and we knew it was going to be a whopper on Saturday and Sunday, which it was.
Goodguys serves up Columbus as the showcase for several of their most prestigious awards with the selection of the Goodguys Street Rod of the Year and the equally prestigious Street Machine of the Year. Columbus has developed a following of its own where the new and "recently" new rods and machines of all types vie in the highly competitive ranks for many honors, but none more hotly contested than the above mentioned. It should also be noted that our three magazine titles perennially offer up their Top Ten awards, adding dramatically to the "basket" of recognition that can be reaped by those in attendance.
Street Rod of the Year, presented by Eagle One, was won by Roger Ritzow of Franklin, Wisconsin, for his superbly crafted and detailed '32 Ford highboy roadster built by Troy Trepanier and his team at Rad Rides by Troy out of Manteno, Illinois.
Recognition for the Goodguys/Popular Hot Rodding Street Machine of the Year, presented by Baer Brakes, went to Kathy Lange of St. Louis, with a '57 T-Bird built by Bobby Alloway and his team at Alloway's Hot Rod Shop out of Louisville, Tennessee.
Well, that about wraps it up for another year in rodding's central community, the Goodguys PPG Nationals in Columbus. See you next year, as it promises to be even better.