Autumn is a great time to visit the southeastern United States. The air is crisp, the evenings are long and cool, and the leaves on the trees are beginning to make their brilliant transition to hues of amber, bronze, and gold.

Driving through the colorful rolling hills of North Carolina, it's hard for any car enthusiast not to think about the moonshiners who sped through them decades ago. It was those outlaws who laid the foundation for what has become one of the nation's biggest sports and one of the region's life bloods: NASCAR. The sport's influence quickly becomes apparent when you see how many race shops dot the area's hillsides, particularly as you head northeast from downtown Charlotte and approach the massive Lowe's Motor Speedway complex in Concord.

It should come as no surprise, then, that there are thousands of car enthusiasts in the region, with interests that run the gamut from race cars to customs, street rods, trucks, and musclecars. The folks at Goodguys learned this long ago when they brought the Southeastern Nationals to Lowe's Speedway. They really made a smart decision a few years later, when they began holding the event in the cooler weather of late October.

The 12th annual Southeastern Nats, held Oct. 28-30, had even more pigment than the autumn hills, plus all the other elements that enthusiasts have come to expect from this and other Goodguys events. Several thousand vehicles--many from as far away as New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and even Canada--made the pilgrimage to Charlotte for what was probably their last big show of the season. Those who wished could even fulfill their circle-track dreams by participating in the Saturday night track cruise, and do a good deed in the process by donating to the Ronald McDonald House charity.

For Custom Rodder, the Southeastern Nats was the third and final stop for the 2005 Top Ten program. True to form, it was tough limiting our choices to 10, as there were many choice rides on the Lowe's infield. Our final list was an interesting study in contrasts. There was a contemporary '49 Ford alongside a sectioned, traditional '50; a '60s-style '55 Chevy contrasted by a smooth modern version; and a mild '52 Buick paired with a hot rod-red '54, both with Cadillac taillights. All in all, we thought it was an interesting, eclectic bunch of cars.

Take a gander at what we've rounded up on the next few pages, and see if you don't agree that Charlotte is a great place for viewing autumn colors of a different nature.