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1969 Plymouth Road Runner - Owner: Jason McKendrick

I know I say this all the time, but it's another BIG week of car events in Central Ohio. Not only is there the 4th of July Holiday on Tuesday but it's also Goodguys weekend and all the after-the-show cruse-ins and burnouts associated with it. And if you're not interested in Goodguys, there are plenty of other events to choose from. Be prepared for a lot of classic cars to be in the area this week.

Monday (July 3):

  • No Events Found

Tuesday (July 4) Independence Day:

Wednesday (July 5):

Thursday (July 6):

Friday (July 7):

Saturday (July 8):

Sunday (July 9):


For the most comprehensive list of future events in Central Ohio, check out the "Save the Dates for 2023" page. There's also a quick link in the menu at the top of the page.


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NEWS AND NOTES

Der Dutchman Cruise-In:

Despite the poor air quality caused by the Canadian wildfires, the weekly cruise-in at the Der Dutchman restaurant in Plain City, Ohio still drew 280 cars this past Thursday.

Auto Smarts Cruise & Ride at PCC Transportation:

Dan "Boots" Longenette and the Auto Smarts Radio team were in Circleville, Ohio on Saturday hosting a car and bike show at PCC Transportation.

Rain showers throughout much of the show caused an early end. The show registered 41 cars rain and all.

The Honor Flight Pick went to Chad Herrick and his 2018 Dodge Charger Daytona 392.

Rhonda Taylor's 1967 Ford Mustang GT 500 "Eleanor" Edition received the Best of Show honors.

Street Elite Corvette Club Open Car Show:

The Street Elite Corvette Club hosted its annual "open" car show at Foundation Park in Pataskala, Ohio on Saturday.

The show registered 65 cars and manage to stay relatively dry for the entire event.

Dale Pearce's 1950 Chevy 3100 pickup received the Chief of Police's Choice award.

The Best of Show award for classic cars went to Greg Spangler and his 1987 Buick Regal Grand National.

Mick Proxmire's 2002 Corvette received the Best of Show for Corvettes.

Crossroads Car, Truck, & Bike Show at Eldorado's Food & Spirits:

Frank Russell and the Crossroads Events team were in Columbus, Ohio on Sunday hosting the monthly car show at Eldorado's Food & Spirits.

The rain that had been predicted to arrive mid-afternoon never materialized. Everyone and every car stayed high and dry throughout the entire show.

The following are the top Eldorado's Food & Spirits picks for this month:

The owner of Eldorado's Food & Spirits selected the Best of Show winner. Her pick this month went to the 1961 Volkswagon Beetle of Mark Garrett.

The Point on Main Independence Day Car Show:

Another show that the rain skipped on Sunday was the Independence Day Car Show at the Point on Main Sports Bar and Grill.

Hosted by Shaun "Big Dawg" Saunders and the C-Town Cruisers, the show registered 63 cars. The Best of Show went to Mark Evans with a 1969 Chevy Camaro.

Junction City Independence Day Car Show:

Junction City, Ohio held its 24th annual Independence Day car show on Sunday. Wet roads in the morning kept some cruisers at home. The show ended up registering 40 cars.

Our good friends, Anthony Musick, and Dale Pearce, received Best Mopar and Best Truck awards respectively.

The Best of Show award went to Melody Thomas and her 1963 Split-Window Corvette.

I'm going to end this week's News and Notes with a slideshow I put together from the photos Jeff Shankle took at three cruise-in/meet-ups this past weekend. The three were Honda Marysville Motorsports Car & Bike Night, Columbus Cars & Coffee at The City Apartments, and Marysville Motors Monthly Meet-up at Ramsey's Pizza and Pub.


Here is this week's News and Notes contributors:

  • Jeff Shankle
  • Chad Herrick
  • Anthony Musick
  • Dale Pearce
  • Phil Monroe
  • Mark Mitchell

A big thanks to every one of them for their help.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Fourth of July. God Bless America!

Central Ohio Forecast
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77/59°F
73/59°F
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NEWS AND NOTES

Fair warning, the focus of this week's news and notes is Goodguys and Goodguys-related events. Everyone I know was at Goodguys at least one day this past weekend including myself.

Classic Car Cruise-In at Chesrown:

The only non-Goodguys event to report on this week is the Classic Car Cruise-In at Chesrown Chevrolet, Buick, GMC in Delaware, Ohio.

It was a packed house at the dealership on Thursday evening. Parking spots were at a premium.

There were food trucks, live music from The Conspiracy Band, prizes, and lots of great-looking cars.

I finally got to see Dan Varner's pristine, and I mean pristine, 1991 Camaro Z/28 1LE.

A rare one-of-a-kind El Camaro made an appearance at the cruise-in.

For more photos from the Chesrown Cruise-In, CLICK HERE.

Goodguys, Goodguys, and more Goodguys:

Here are some local highlights from this year's Goodguys Summit Racing Nationals at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus, Ohio.

  • Dan "Boots" Longenette from Auto Smarts Radio won the burnout contest on Saturday.
  • Over the four day event, Jeff Shankle took 1500 photos on his phone -- half of them selfies. 😎
  • Reported attendance on Saturday approached the 40,000 mark. I heard it was wall-to-wall people.
  • My 2017 Camaro ZL1 received an All American Sunday award.
  • Somewhere in the neighborhood of 4500 vehicles registered for the four day event.

Saturday Evening at the Crown Plaza, Polaris Hilton, and Quaker Steak and Lube:

I have always wanted to check out the after-show events at the host hotels but never got around to it until this year.

I stopped by the Crown Plaza first. There was already a pretty good size crowd of people and cars when I got there at 5:30 pm Saturday evening.

There was a food buffet, live music, adult beverages, and nice weather. All the right ingredients for a good party.

Next, it was on to the Polaris Hilton. A much smaller crowd and a bit low-key compared to the Crown Plaza. Still, some very nice cars in the parking lot.

It turns out rubber burning is all it took to make Quaker Steak and Lube the craziest venue of them all. It had traffic backed up on Polaris Parkway in both directions. Columbus police eventually had to close down Lyra Drive into the restaurant because of the excess traffic. I heard it was a two and half hour wait for a table. A lot of people parked at the Hilton and then tried to cross Polaris Parkway (not a very safe move). Needless to say, I didn't even attempt to make it to Quaker Steak and Lube.

If you'd like to see more photos from the Crown Plaza and Polaris Hilton, CLICK HERE.

Back to Goodguys:

I'm going to finish out this week's report with a few of the cars that received awards at Goodguys. You can CLICK HERE to see a bunch more automobiles (warning pic heavy) from the event.


Special thanks to Jeff Shankle for sharing some of his 1500 photos for this report.

Central Ohio Forecast
63°
Cloudy
7:22 am7:24 pm EDT
TueWedThuFriSat
77/59°F
73/59°F
72/59°F
77/57°F
79/55°F

It's the Big One! It's Goodguys week! I thought it was going to be canceled again this year when the Governor closed the Ohio State Fair to the public. Just goes to show what I know. I guess cars trump cows, horses, and pigs.

The Crowne Plaza Columbus North-Worthington and Hilton Polaris are the host hotels so expect a lot of action at these locations after show hours.

Even if you're not planning on attending Goodguys, there are still plenty of Central Ohio events to choose from this week.

NEWS AND NOTES:

Der Dutchman:

With the threat of rain Thursday evening, only 114 cars showed up at the Der Dutchman Cruise-In in Plain City, Ohio. There was no food service. If you wanted something to eat you had to go into the restaurant. I don't know for sure but possibly management didn't think it was cost-effective to send out food and servers for only 100 cars. Something to watch out for as the season progresses. On the bright side, everyone who attended the cruise-in on Thursday was offered a free cup of ice cream to make up for the lack of food service.

Delaware First Friday:

Again this month, the organizers of First Friday in downtown Delaware, Ohio closed off a block of Sandusky Street just south of East William Street (Rt 36) for classic cars. About 50 cars participated in the event on Friday. You couldn't ask for a better evening of weather.

4th of July Show at Tony's Bar & Grille

Sixty-Four cars celebrated the 4th of July at Tony's Bar & Grille Friday evening in London, Ohio.

Our good friend, Russ Annis, took Best of Show honors with his 1967 Chevy Chevelle.

For more photos from the 4th of July Show at Tony's, click here.

Rod Knockers July Show - Marion, Ohio

The Rod Knocker's July show in Marion, Ohio registered 104 cars Saturday evening. It turned out to be a good evening for the Longenette vehicles. Stacie's 1948 Chevy pickup received a Top 25 award and Boots' Badd '57 Chevy was this month's Club's Pick.

To see more cars from the Rod Knockers show, click here.

Ye Olde Mill Rod Run - Utica, Ohio

The Newark Rodders Car Club held their annual Ye Olde Mill Rod Run on Saturday at the Velvet Ice Ye Olde Mill in Utica, Ohio. The club registered 103 cars. Click here for photos from the show.

Champaign Cruisers Firecracker July 4th Show - Urbana Ohio

As I mentioned last week, the biggest show of the weekend was going to be the Champaign Cruisers' Firecracker July 4th Show at Skelley Lumber Company in Urbana, Ohio. Not only was it the biggest show of the weekend, but it also set a new attendance record with 677 cars!

The Best of Show Award went to Dennis Miller with a 1937 Chevy Sedan.

Here are a few more cars from the Firecracker Show.

Special thanks this week to Jeff, Dave, and Russ for sending in car show photos.


Central Ohio Forecast
63°
Cloudy
7:22 am7:24 pm EDT
TueWedThuFriSat
77/59°F
73/59°F
72/59°F
77/57°F
79/55°F

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Despite moving my father from skilled nursing to assisted living and the hottest weather so far this year, I managed to somehow attend four events this week and was a spectator at a fifth.

Goodguys PPG Nationals All American Sunday

I started the week at the Goodguys PPG Nationals All American Sunday. This event has been on my radar for the past several years. I've always had a reasonable excuse not to attend until this year.

For those that may not know, Goodguys All American Sunday is open to ALL YEARS of American made and powered automobiles. Owning a late model car this was obviously my only option to participate in the Goodguys event.

Being a first-time participant, I wasn't sure what to expect. I spoke with several people prior to Sunday and consensus was to arrive no later than 8 AM. I went a step further and got there before 7:30 AM. Knowing what I know now, I could have arrived by 9 AM and been fine.

I exited I-71 at 17th avenue. The lanes for entry of show cars into the event and for registration were well marked. Non-member cost to register for the day was $40. I got talked into joining Goodguys as a Silver member for an additional $5. As a Silver member, I can pre-register next year at a discount.

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