Scenes from Scottsdale: A Look at the 2023 Goodguys Speedway Motors Southwest Nationals

The Goodguys Rod & Custom Association hit the Valley of the Sun on the weekend before Thanksgiving to complete its 40th anniversary season with the 26th Speedway Motors Southwest Nationals.

More than 3,000 hot rods, muscle cars, customs and classics descended on the 386-acre WestWorld of Scottsdale, located at the base of Arizona’s McDowell Mountains, across three days. The area’s stunning natural landscape provided a majestic backdrop to the power and beauty of the vehicles on display.

Each year’s Scottsdale event showcases the Goodguys Top 12 of the Year in various categories, along with the Chevrolet Performance Builder of the Year winners. This year, the award in the Builder of the Year program’s GM Iron category went to Hot Rod Garage for its 1963 Corvette, while Rutterz Rodz took the GM Retro Iron prize for a 1941 Willys.

The GM Iron award goes to a General Motors powered and bodied car, while GM Retro Iron recognizes a non-GM vehicle with a GM powertrain. The Corvette features a Don Hardy-built 427 cu.-in. LS engine, while the Willys has a Mast Motorsports LS3 under the hood.

As always, autocross was also a major component of this year’s Southwest Nationals with “Duel in the Desert” and “King of the Desert” programs taking place, as well as exhibition runs. An extensive vendor midway, swap meet, special vehicle corrals and much more were also part of the festivities during the weekend.

Chevrolet was well represented throughout the event, with Bowtie builds ranging from home restorations to crate engine^*-powered restomods all dotting the WestWorld grounds.

Our cameras captured many Chevrolet highlights; you can see them in the gallery below.

Be sure to keep watching The BLOCK for a variety of features on Chevrolet Performance-powered builds from the Goodguys Southwest Nationals and other events throughout the nation.

The 2024 Goodguys calendar kicks off with the 14th FiTech Fuel Injection Spring Nationals presented by Grundy Insurance at WestWorld of Scottsdale on March 15-17.

^*Because of their effect on a vehicle’s emissions performance, these engines are intended exclusively for use in competition vehicles. These engines are designed and intended for use in vehicles operated exclusively for competition: in racing or organized competition on courses separate from public streets or highways. Installation or use of these engines on a vehicle operated on public streets or highways is likely to violate U.S., Canadian, and state and provincial laws and regulations related to motor vehicle emissions.