At this year’s Detroit Autorama BASF presented the Great 8, including the 2020 Ridler Award winner.
In the Hot Rod and Custom Car world, the prestigious Ridler Award is one of the most coveted accolades. The award, named after Don Ridler, a former football coach for Michigan State University and the Detroit Autorama’s first promoter, signifies custom car builders that have achieved top tier status in their field.
At the 2020 Detroit Autorama, held at Cobo/TFC Center in Downtown Detroit, BASF was proud to present the Great 8 finalists for this year’s Ridler competition.
Tina Nelles, Marketing Services Manager for BASF Refinish, presented the BASF Great 8 on the opening day of the show after each vehicle was selected from a larger line-up to compete for the coveted Ridler Award.
The 2020 Great 8 finalists consisted of:
- 1955 Chevy “Brute Force” owned by Bob Matranga— Irvine, Calif.
- 1969 Chevy Camaro owned by Tim and Angie Wheeler—Muskogee, Okla.
- 1929 Ford Model A Truck “Driftwood” owned by Greg and Gail Wilson—Louisville, Ky.
- 1963 Chevy Station Wagon “Impressive” owned by Brad, Brady and Cory Ranweiler, New Ulm, Minn.
- 1934 Ford Truck “Staxx” owned by Jerry Logan—Toledo, Wash.
- 1956 Oldsmobile 98 “Oldssled” owner: Jeff Hess—Woodland, Calif.
- 1955 Cadillac Coupe Deville owned by Frank and Demi Hinmon—Genoa, Nev.
- 1966 Ford F-100 pickup owned by George Conrad—Huron, Ohio
From these finalists, the 1963 Chevrolet Station Wagon, Impressive, was named the winner of this year’s Ridler Award.
“The work and detail on these cars are phenomenal,” said BASF’s Tina Nelles, who presented the Great 8 for the second year in a row. “You can see the amount of creativity and passion that was put into each one. I would like to personally congratulate each BASF Great 8 finalist in this year’s competition. Their work is truly stunning.”
Besides the Great 8, BASF also took the opportunity to impress a group of young painters who had recently competed in the R-M Best Painter Contest North American Finals. Each contestant attended the Ridler Ball and learned how each of the Great 8 finalists were selected.
BASF’s line of Glasurit and R-M products are often chosen by top tier custom car builders due to their level of shine and ease of use, enabling dreams to be transformed into reality and hence, show-winning custom cars and trucks, as was witnessed once again at the 2020 Detroit Autorama.
