Hobaugh Sweep- Goodguys Scottsdale & Texas Wrap-up 2014

[Trackside-Brandy]

The Hobaugh Sweep
Goodguys Scottsdale & Texas Recap March 2014

As many of you know the Goodguys 5^th Spring Nationals in Scottsdale, Arizona was the opener to the Goodguys show season for 2014. What many of you didn’t know was that Brian Hobaugh was going to make it his mission to win the overall Goodguys Pro Class Winner starting with Scottsdale and then on to Texas. Scottsdale had quite a few cars on the autocross course a couple weekends ago. Seeing the autocross grow at this event has been an awesome thing to witness. I remember attending the first Scottsdale autocross and people thinking we were nuts for bringing our cars out and running them around a course of cones. Within the past couple years, we have started to see more and more cars and trucks come out to compete at the Goodguys Autocross events; bringing heavier competition and more notoriety to the sport. Our pro-touring world has definitely grown and I have a feeling we will be seeing more cars come out and make their appearance at these events throughout this coming year.

Goodguys Scottsdale Pro Class included:

Brian Hobaugh and his ‘65 Vette
Kyle and Stacy Tucker of Detroit Speed and Engineering in their ’70 and ’69 Camaros
Rob MacGregor in “Hellboy” his ’69 C10
And finally James Crosby in the ridetech ’68 WCC (West Coast Camaro)

Brian Hobaugh was undefeated though as he took lead for the weekend in his Vette and won Pro Class.


A nice surprise was the Thurmond Family. We want to congratulate Greg Thurmond in his ‘64 Vette for becoming the new addition to the Pro Class, winning the Street Machine Class for the weekend. His wife Jane Thurmond followed closely behind in second place in the same car. Honestly Jane is definitely someone to watch out for in the upcoming season. I remember the first time she got behind the wheel and was dead last; now this girl is right there on everyone’s tail. I give Jane credit because she has followed the first rule of racing; SEAT TIME. Greg and Jane can be found at their local autocross track up in Camarillo putting in as much seat time as they can while running their successful business Outrageous Paint by GTS Customs. This seat time, their passion and the desire to get better defiantly showed in Scottsdale as Greg took first and Jane second in the Street Machine Class.


Mike Wright and his 1969 Camaro could also be found on the Goodguys autocross course that weekend. Mike is no stranger to autocross. A longtime customer of Detroit Speed and Engineering, Mike has been to several Goodguys Autocross Events. He was also recognized in Scottsdale as one of the Muscle Machine of the Year finalists. We hope to see Mike out at more of these events and can’t wait to get more pictures of his beautiful ’69 Camaro.


Another crowd favorite Dick Eytchison and his ’65 Chevelle were out dodging cones in Scottsdale. A long time and loyal Hotchkis Suspension Customer, Dick not only drives his car hard, but represents the Hotchkis name very well. For those who might not know Dick, back in 2012 he recovered from open heart surgery and was back behind in no time. To be given a second chance and waste it on a sport like ours only tells me one thing; he loves doing this. It was awesome to see Dick and his Chevelle out at Scottsdale and we look forward to seeing him at more West Coast events in 2014.


Scottsdale was the place to be if you were a Street Rod or a Truck looking to run some laps on the autocross course. With only two competitors in the Hot Rod Class and Truck Class, it was definitely the time to be in Scottsdale if you were looking to try and win in these classes. We want to congratulate Mark Koep in his ’71 Chevy C20 and Tom Hull in his ’36 Pontiac Silver Streak for their win in each class. We hope they can continue to encourage more people to get behind the wheel and drive their vehicles around the autocross course just like they had done in Scottsdale.





Fort Worth, Texas was quite a different scene. The 4^th Spring Lonestar Nationals is known for their big course, faster speeds, and quite a few more participants than most other Goodguys Events. Unlike the usual “peanut,” the Texas autocross course presents a much faster and technical course. Having more room than other venues, Trent from Goodguys is allowed to expand his creativity and make drivers work a little harder on this course. Texas was the place to be last weekend if you were local. Some of the Pro Class included Brian Hobaugh who left his Vette at home in exchange for his ‘70 Camaro, Kyle and Stacy Tucker in their DSE Camaros, Bret Voelkel of ridetech and his 48 Hour Camaro, Cheryl Herrick and the Jet-Hot ’67 Nova and Smitty with his ’67 C10 Truck.


Hobaugh managed to grasp victory once again, though the battle between him and Kyle Tucker was a close match. Hobaugh pulled it off, leading Kyle Tucker by a little less than one second. We want to congratulate Brian Hobaugh in his finish with the best lap time of a 65.793 and also Kyle Tucker who placed second with a 66.68.


Terry Neuville and his ’68 Camaro placed first in the Street Machine Class. Out of 33 Street Machine competitors, Terry kept his lead with a little over a second ahead of the other street machine drivers. It was awesome to see so many competitors in the Street Machine Class. It will be exciting to see just how many more competitors come out to the Texas show in the fall and what surprise new competition may show up in preparation for SEMA and the optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational.


The Truck and Hot Rod Class at Texas had a little more competitors than in Scottsdale, but the count was still low. The competition was tough though, especially in the Truck Class. Duke Roddy and his ’65 C10 ran a 72.038. With Rob MacGregor and Chris Smith C-10 trucks in the Pro Class, there was a chance for a new leader in the Truck Class in Texas and Duke claimed that spot. Wade Faustmann in his ’34 Ford Coupe claimed the last pro class spot in Texas as he won the Hot Rod Class. Wade and five other competitors went head to head to compete for the one spot that would bump them to Pro Class. Wade pushed his Coupe to run his fastest time of a 77.115, putting him in first place.


Rain ended the weekend early at Texas Motor Speedway. For safety concerns, Goodguys will not let autocross competitors run in the rain. With the forecast not clearing for the remainder of Saturday, times were entered half way through the day and the winners were announced in each class. Goodguys Scottsdale and Texas were just the beginning of the battle for who will be the ultimate winner in the year-end finals. Brian Hobaugh is off to a great start claiming two first place titles, but Kyle Tucker is following closely behind while accumulating points. With both cars so close and new competition coming out at each event it is hard to say who will be the overall winner come Fall Scottsdale. For now we will just have to wait and see what each Goodguys autocross will bring us throughout this 2014 race season.

If you’re interested in becoming a member of Goodguys or participating in their autocross event at a show near you please visit: https://www.good-guys.com/events/2014/2014-events
**We want to thank Weston Thurmond for capturing the Goodguys Scottsdale event and providing photos of the event that we can all enjoy**

Official Results for Goodguys Scottsdale Autocross: https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/...oCross-Results
Official Results for Goodguys Fort Worth, TX Autocross: https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/...oCross-Results
Additional Coverage of the Goodguys Texas event can be found at:https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...3086108&type=1
Additional Coverage of the Goodguys Scottsdale event can be found at:


And finally, Here's a great Video Rodney Prouty from RideTech put together from the Goodguys Texas Event Last weekend:

[RobNoLimit]

nice coverage Brandy

[Rod]

well done Brandy!