A Lifted F250, a Chopped Merc and a Smoking Mail Truck: Goodguys Takes Over Puyallup for Year 38

A lifted 1977 Ford F250, a chopped 1951 Mercury, a Yenko Nova, a pastel 1956 Lincoln and a mail truck doing burnouts. If you want one snapshot of how wide the Goodguys tent has gotten, the 38th Griot's Garage Pacific Northwest Nationals in Puyallup, Washington, July 24 to 26, is a good one.

The show filled the Washington State Fair Events Center, and as usual it did double duty: a three-day car show and a cruise around the fairgrounds, plus a stop on the road to Goodguys' Top 12 of the Year awards. According to Goodguys' own Fuel Curve recap, the event is "all about making laps, giving thumbs ups and waving to the crowds," and the weekend delivered plenty of all three.

Five shots at the Top 12

For the builders, Puyallup is one of the stops where Goodguys picks finalists for its Top 12 of the Year program. Five cars made the cut here, per Fuel Curve, and they cover nearly the whole range of what the series rewards.

The Yenko Nova is the purist's pick, a nameplate muscle car fans know on sight. The Lincoln Premiere is the opposite kind of car, a big Fifties luxury convertible built into a custom rod, with Leach's yellow paint and red interior making it one of the loudest finalists of the summer. Jurado's F100 keeps the early truck class honest with a smooth, low stance and a satin finish.

Shane Petit's F250 is the one that would have looked out of place at a Goodguys show a decade ago. The 4x4 category is now a full Top 12 class with its own sponsor, and a crew cab Ford on big tires sitting next to customs and street rods is what the modern show field looks like. Transito Campos's 1951 Mercury, long, low and painted deep burgundy, is the opposite end of the spectrum: the classic lead sled shape, top chopped.

The Top 12 program is what gives a regional Nationals like this its stakes. Finalists picked over the season go into the pool for the year-end titles, and the categories named here, Muscle Car, Custom Rod, early Truck, 4x4 and Custom of the Year, each carry a sponsor and a reputation. For a builder, a finalist nod in Puyallup puts a car on the national radar. For an owner, it is the point where years in the garage turn into a shot at a national title.

Builder's Choice and a feature pick

Art Morrison Enterprises ran the Builder's Choice program, with a team led by Matt Jones narrowing the field to ten cars, according to Fuel Curve. Goodguys' Feature Pick went to Mark Herz's 1936 Ford coupe. Shows like this are where shops get their work in front of other shops, and the Builder's Choice nod carries weight precisely because it comes from people who build chassis for a living.

A mail truck wins the burnout contest, again

The burnout competition went to Troy "the Postman" Zimmerman and his 1969 Jeep mail truck, his second straight win, per Fuel Curve. A postal Jeep smoking its tires in front of a grandstand is about as Goodguys as it gets: serious hardware, not taking itself too seriously.

The rest of the weekend filled out the family-show side. A sand castle street rod took shape over the three days. The Pinstripers Brush Bash had artists laying down lines, there was a Hot Wheels track for the kids, and Auto World ran a model car show. The West Coast Pro Street Outlaws brought a fleet of pro street machines, big tires tucked under narrowed rear ends.

The crowd side of the weekend was classic Goodguys. Fuel Curve's photos from Damon Lee and Todd Ryden show swap meet tents full of vintage parts and oil drums, owners wiping down paint, and street rods parked alongside slammed C10s and lifted trucks. "Seeing hot rods and customs in motion never gets old," the recap notes, and the cruise around the fairgrounds gave everyone a chance to see them that way.

Lowriders in the house

One more detail in Fuel Curve's recap stands out: a lowrider hopping exhibition and an indoor lowrider exhibit. Hydraulics working in front of a Goodguys crowd is not something every Nationals offers, and it is worth noting. It fits the direction the Top 12 list already shows, with trucks, 4x4s and customs sharing space with the traditional rods and muscle cars.

What Puyallup sets up

The Pacific Northwest Nationals sits in the middle of a Goodguys season that, per its 2026 schedule, runs from the Spring Lone Star Nationals at Texas Motor Speedway in March to the Southwest Nationals at WestWorld of Scottsdale, November 20 to 22. The five finalists picked here go into the pool for the Top 12 titles handed out over the rest of the year, which means Leach's Lincoln, Petit's F250 and Campos's Merc will be judged again against cars from across the country. "We can't wait for number 39!" Fuel Curve's recap signs off. Neither can the guys already planning next year's build.