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NEWS AND NOTES
Der Dutchman Cruise-In:
Scattered afternoon thundershowers put a damper on Thursday’s cruise-in, with attendance topping out at around 149 cars.
Creative Auto Group/Advance Auto Parts Car Show:
The Creative Auto Group held its monthly car show on Friday evening at the Advance Auto Parts store in Marysville, Ohio. Despite a modest turnout of 12 registered vehicles, the event delivered plenty of classic charm and community spirit.
The 50/50 raffle raised $50 for the local food pantry—thanks to the generosity of Rex Dillon, who donated his winning half of the pot back to the cause.
Award honors went to two standout entries:
Bruce Pawley with a 1967 Chevy Camaro RS
Gary McDowel with his 1967 Chevy Chevelle
Next month's show will on Friday, August 8th.
Destination Outlets Cars & Coffee:
Despite the heat, Cars & Coffee at Destination Outlets drew Over 15 vehicles Saturday morning. There was everything from classic muscle to modern performance on display.
Attendees were treated to free coffee courtesy of The Bear Den storefront inside the mall, helping keep the energy up even as temperatures climbed. The event continues to grow in both size and variety, thanks to strong support from area enthusiasts.
This month’s gathering saw members of both the Greater Dayton Corvette Club and Lancaster Corvette Club in attendance, as well as a good turnout from local regulars. A special surprise came in the form of a Hoonigan-branded ride, adding a little extra edge to the mix.
Cars & Coffee at Destination Outlets is held every 2nd Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. — the next one will be Saturday August 9th.
Picktown Palooza Car, Truck, & Bike Show:
With the Goodguys Summit Racing Nationals drawing massive attention in Columbus this weekend, the Picktown Palooza Car, Truck, and Bike Show at Pickerington Central High School still held its own, drawing around 50 registered vehicles.
The event was proudly sponsored by Don Shaffer and the Shaffer Team alongside Howard Hanna Real Estate Services.
A few standout awards from the day:
- Shaffer Team Pick: Dale Peace for his beautifully restored 1950 Chevy 3100 pickup.
- Top 35 Awards: Bubba Hettinger and David Dipietro were among the recipients.
- Best Truck: Dave O’Brien took top honors in the truck category.
27th Goodguys Summit Racing Nationals Presented by PPG:
Another Goodguys Summit Racing Nationals is in the books.
The Ohio Expo Center was in worse shape than last year, no doubt about it. No parking on the grass this time — most of it was freshly laid sod, so it was strictly off-limits. That really cut down on available space and made everything feel a lot more cramped.
There were even photos going around of construction crews still working on Friday, which kind of tells you all you need to know. Cleanup definitely wasn’t what it was last year. It was dusty everywhere — if you showed up with a clean car, it didn’t stay that way for long.
And just to top it off, Saturday’s rain turned parts of the place into a muddy mess. By Sunday, you were dodging puddles just trying to get around.
The other controversy from the event centered around what vehicles were actually eligible for judging on All American Sunday. According to the Goodguys website, All American Sunday is described like this:
"Got a super cool ride that you want to show off? Meguiar’s All American Sunday is open to ALL YEARS of American-made and powered vehicles."
That same message was even announced over the PA system — All years means all years, right?
Well, apparently not. Several folks found out after paying the $48 registration fee that judging was only being done for vehicles 2000 and newer. Owners of older rides were turned away from judging, even though their cars clearly met the advertised criteria.
But here’s the kicker — that policy wasn’t even applied consistently. Several pre-2000 vehicles were judged and even received All American Sunday awards. Needless to say, that didn’t sit well with a lot of people.
Goodguys really needs to get their act together and make sure the website, announcements, and staff on the ground are all saying the same thing. Mixed messages like this don’t just cause confusion — they leave a bad taste for participants who paid to be there.
Anyway, enough about the less-than-acceptable state of the Expo Center and the All American controversy. Let’s take a moment to congratulate the Central Ohio car enthusiasts who received Goodguys Awards. Here are the cars—I’m sure you’ll recognize many of them.
The big display in the Kasich Building this year was ‘70 Years of the Tri-Five’ — the ’55, ’56, and ’57 Chevys.
Here are combined photos from Dave Bratton and me taken at the exhibit.
Check out this video montage featuring even more awesome rides from Goodguys! The photos were taken by me, Jeff Shankle, Dave Bratton, and Doug Glassburn. You’ll spot the El Camaro, Dan “Boots” Longenette’s FranknVette, and several Trick Truck Award winners. Don’t miss it!
If you'd still like to see more photos from Goodguys, Jeff Shankle has posted galleries from all three days. Here are the links. (Note: You’ll need a Facebook account to view them.)
Friday 07-11-25:
Saturday 7-12-25:
Sunday 7-13-2025:
- Gallery One
- Gallery Two
- Gallery Three
- Gallery Four
- Gallery Five
- Gallery Six
- Gallery Seven
- Gallery Eight
- Gallery Nine
The 27th Annual Goodguys Summit Racing Nationals presented by PPG wrapped up another exciting weekend in Columbus, showcasing incredible cars, passionate enthusiasts, and the best of American hot rod culture. Despite a few bumps along the way, the event delivered on its promise of top-tier automotive excitement. Congratulations to all the award winners and participants — everyone is already looking forward to next year!
Cruisin' at the Yacht Club Car Show:
The Buckeye Lake Yacht Club (BLYC) hosted its 18th annual Car Show on Sunday, drawing a strong turnout with 94 entries. Sponsored by AutoZone, the event featured 25 “Cappy” Participant Awards and plenty of tool giveaways, thanks to the generous support of the sponsor.
Dave O’Brien’s 1982 Chevy C-10 “Orange Crush” pickup earned the People’s Choice Award, while Jeff Grindrod took home Best of Show honors with his beautifully restored 1956 Ford Thunderbird.
Other Area Show and Bike Events:
- The Delaware Area Vintage Motorcycle and Coffee event had another strong turnout Sunday morning at Coastline Coffee Company in Delaware, Ohio. The event is definitely growing in popularity.
- I don’t have any official stats, but based on the photos posted to Facebook, it looks like the City of Lights show on Friday and the StreetKingz Motorfest on Saturday had a strong turnout. If you have details or attended either event, feel free to share in the comments!
- I saw a post on Facebook apologizing for the rain and a trophy mix-up at Saturday’s Purple Door Car Show, with a promise to do better next year. If anyone has details on what happened to prompt the apology, please feel free to share them in the comments. Update: Frank Russell posted a review of the Purple Door Car Show to Facebook. With Frank's permission I've posted a copy his review in the comment section.
That wraps up this week’s News and Notes. Despite a few hiccups—like the rain and some judging confusion—it was another BIG weekend for the Central Ohio car scene. As always, if you have photos, corrections, or stories to share, drop them in the comments. See you at the next cruise-in!
This week’s News and Notes contributors include Dale Pearce, Jeff Shankle, Dave Bratton, Doug Glassburn, Lynn Raduege, Jason Colvin, Robert Hettinger, and Cindy McBee. A big thank you to each of them for their contributions!
Stay safe, stay cool, and we’ll see you at the next show!
Frank Russell shared the following review of the Purple Door Car Show on Facebook. It sheds some light on why an apology was posted. Here's Frank's unedited review:
Revved up Car Show Review 7/14/25
Greetings. It was a warm sunny morning as I drove to the Purple Door Church in Grove City on Saturday for their annual car show. Attendance was smaller than usual because of Good Guys and many other shows drawing large crowds. After getting through the road construction and puddles, I settled into a spot next to some friends. More cars did arrive during the day and I think we ended up with around 100 cars before the thunderstorms came and people started to leave. The rain was bad and we all got wet. Meanwhile judging started late and was interrupted by the rain. I was “Display Only” with my Cobra so I also left when the weather cleared. There were numerous trophies. Probably more trophies than cars after the many departures. The die-hards that stuck it out did well in the hardware department. I suggest that next year they pick a date that doesn't conflict with the Good Guys Show.
As for my review. It was a good venue with helpful friendly people. Plenty of trophies and a $5 food voucher. It should have been a good show. All was going well with some awesome rides to enjoy until the tsunami rolled through. Judging started late and was suspended during the storm. Many cars left. The rest had to wipe down their cars multiple times. It was a mess. It totally threw off the show organizers who didn't seem to have a plan B. After a long delay the trophies were handed out, interrupted by more rain. There were some odd categories that really didn't fit the cars who won them. I wasn't there to see all of it but it seemed quite confusing. A beautiful restomodded 60’s era Mustang deservedly won Best in Show. However, there were many unclaimed trophies while some folks who stayed all day left with nothing. It was disappointing. It was not handled well. It looked really bad.
I guess the folks who won something were happy. The show didn't end until well after 5:30. Whew! I really did enjoy seeing old friends and some really cool vehicles. We can hope that next year they will pick a different weekend, be better organized, and maybe it won't rain. Check out my show pics below. See you next time.
Thanks, Frank
PS. I do not attend the Good Guys Show for a lot of reasons. I'm certainly glad I didn't go this year. I've heard it was a frustrating experience for many. I attended a Ford Swap Meet at the Expo Center in April and saw how terrible the conditions were. I'm not surprised by the problems this year. I am surprised by the confusion with Sunday's show. It seems more and more that a well organized, well executed show, with fair, honest and transparent judging is getting harder to find. That's a shame.
See you next time.