With less than a month left to go until we ring in the new year, another car show season has once again come to an end, but not without a bang. In Scottsdale, Arizona, Goodguys Rod & Custom Association members and fans celebrated their last hoorah of the 2014 season in fine style as the annual Southwest Nationals filled the WestWorld events complex to the brim with hot rods and customs the third weekend of November.

If you were there, you know just how fantastic the turnout at the season finale was this year, and if not, well, you should definitely plan on attending next season. After all, what better way to top off your year than with one of the biggest car shows, swap meets, and autocross competitions in the country, all adjacent to the beautiful hills of Scottsdale?

The Goodguys Southwest Nationals ran from Friday, November 14th through Sunday, November 16th at Scottsdale’s famous WestWorld complex. Just like many other Goodguys shows, this event promised a vendor midway, Car Corral with vehicles for sale, swap meet, AutoCross competition, and of course, tons of hot rods and customs. But the Southwest Nats was so much more. Check out the weekend event’s highlights below.

Spectacular Hot Rods

Goodguys events are known for bringing out some of the most spectacular hot rods and customs in the country, but nothing could have prepared us for the absolutely stunning number of high-end builds of all genres we ran across at the Southwest Nationals. And we’re not just talking about cars built by industry-leading shops.

Every row of rides had something new to offer, some of the most amazing being the products of home builders. Sure, most of the home builders on site weren’t as well known as shops like Kindig-It Design, Squeeg’s Kustoms, or Pinkee’s Rod Shop, but the pure craftsmanship that these garage-based builders brought to the Southwest Nationals was beyond anything we’ve seen.

We were so impressed by the home-built hot rods at the event, in fact, that a number of them will be featured in our upcoming Top 5 Hot Rods from the Goodguys Season Finale feature!

With just about every state and even some Canadian provinces and territories represented at the show, we saw everything from sleek lead sleds and bagged customs to vintage semi-trailers and even an electric-powered Model 90.

Every make and model was represented, with even some extremely rare vehicles like a 1958 Ford Fairlane in unique Country Club trim, a true Nickey Chevrolet 1964 2-door Biscayne, and two of just over 400 1954 Kaiser Darrins ever produced among the hundreds of hot rods on the WestWorld property.

In total, enthusiasts brought out over 3,000 hot rods and customs for show-goers to enjoy.

Also on display were the Goodguys Top 12 rides of the year, including Art Varrath’s 1929 Ford Model A pickup truck named the Early Truck of the Year; Don Smith’s 1932 Ford sedan named Street Rod of the Year; Tony Lombardi’s 1930 Ford coupe named Hot Rod of the Year; James Hetfield’s 1948 Coachbuilt “Black Pearl” named Custom of the Year; and Kevin and Angie Bischoff’s 1936 Dodge “Rampage” named America’s Most Beautiful Street Rod.

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The Top 12 also included Muscle Machine of the Year, Dominick Farbo’s 1965 Mustang; Muscle Car of the Year, John Hill’s 1969 Chevelle SS; Street Machine of the Year, Steve Tornari’s 1967 Nova; Custom Rod of the Year, Bill Raper’s 1954 Pontiac Star Chief; and Street Rod d’ Elegance, Wes and Vivian Rydell’s 1935 Chevy Phaeton “Black Bowtie”.

Truck of the Year (Late)

While 10 of the Goodguys Top 12 of 2014 had already been announced prior to the Southwest Nationals, the Truck of the Year (Late) award winner and Autocrosser of the Year were selected right at the show.

Up for the Truck of the Year award were seven amazing finalist vehicles, including Calvin Andrew’s home-built 1970 Chevy C-10, Accel Performance Group’s 1966 Chevy Suburban, Jack Nelson’s 1969 Ford, Scott Waksmacki’s 1955 Chevy, Dave Jones’ 1956 Ford F-100, and Eric Steinbrecher’s 1967 Chevy C-10.

But the true standout was Gary Brown’s Corvette-influenced 1957 Chevy, which took home the top honor as Truck of the Year, as well as a custom toolbox and a future Goodguys Top 12 spotlight feature.

AutoCross

While hot rods were the focus of the weekend, much of the event’s excitement revolved around the autocross course.

With a number of competitors already named to the final shootout, only a few slots were left to compete for on Friday.

31 competitors took their turns throwing down power and rubber on the complicated course during morning practice rounds to see if they had what it took to be an AutoCross finalist. By day’s end, just 16 competitors remained.

On Saturday morning, the top 16 competitors from Friday competed for a chance to go against some of the best drivers in the industry during the final autocross shootout dubbed “Duel in the Desert”. Though all 16 competitors proved their worthiness on the course, just 12 drivers moved on to the final showdown.

With a total of 32 competitors (20 previously qualified and 12 from the qualifying rounds at the Southwest Nationals), the final shootout began mid-afternoon on Saturday with competitors battling it out in a modified bracket system. Not only did this make for plenty of pavement-pounding action, but also ensured that the fastest drivers would end up competing against one another in the final rounds.

The 32-person field quickly became 16 and then eight-strong as the real standouts became more and more apparent.

Among the top drivers to move up the ranks were the likes of Mary Pozzi, Brian Hobaugh, Josh Leisinger and reigning Goodguys AutoCross Champion, Danny Popp. When all was said and done, however, only one driver came out on top and that honor went to Hobaugh, who beat Popp’s final lap time by a mere 3/10ths of a second.

Along with his 2014 Duel in the Desert win, Hobaugh was awarded a $3,000 check, a custom tool box and was named the 2014 AutoCrosser of the year, rounding out the Goodguys Top 12.

On Sunday, the Southwest Nationals hosted their All American Sunday with countless enthusiasts hitting the AutoCross course with their hot rods and muscle cars for some all-around fun!

Swap Meet and Vendor Midway

Being at the end of the season, the Southwest Nationals brought out dozens of vehicles for sale, not only in the Car Corral, but also in the rows and rows of show cars. In the Corral itself, we found everything from project vehicles just begging for full overhauls to nearly perfect show-quality rides.

Rolling chassis and body shells also seemed to be popular items at the show, with a number of each appearing in the Car Corral and swap meet areas. Of course, you could find just about any part or component also in the swap meet to get these easily-customizable hot rods in tip top shape and back on the road.

Filled not only with hot rod parts and body panels, the swap meet section of the show was filled with colorful signs, vintage license plates, and tons of old hot rod memorabilia. There were also a few classically-relevant soda machines, coolers and gas pumps up for sale.

Brand new hot rod components could be had at the show as well thanks to a massive vendor midway.

From trick new wheels and suspension components to transmissions and batteries, just about anything you could want for a custom vehicle could be sourced from the rows and rows of vendor booths.

A number of big-name hot rod shops also had booths in the midway with some of their most recent builds on display, as well as apparel and other merchandise up for sale. Tool dealers, detailing and cleaning product companies and even a custom mobility scooter company rounded out the vendor sections, showcasing their businesses and products throughout.

A truly remarkable event, we already can’t wait for next year’s fall Southwest Nationals. Check out the massive Rod Authority Photo Gallery below to see more sights from the November show and be sure to check out all the event’s award winners HERE.

Stay tuned for our Top 5 hot rods from the event in a special feature set to release right here on Rod Authority soon!