Ok, since people seem to be developing theories that I do not think are accurate, I’ll address these concerns seriously in the hopes that everyone might have a better understanding of the concourse judging. Let me state up front that I judge sometimes and have entered my car.
Keep in mind these aren’t formal and intensely serious events like Pebble Beach. They are supposed to be fun events so everyone can enjoy each other’s cars, have some motivation to clean them up and participate in a friendly competition. In my mind that is also the order of priority.
The formula for judging really isn’t a secret. The concourse chairman, Doug, publishes how to prepare your car in the newsletter at the beginning of the season and included his phone number in the May newsletter for anyone with questions. National I believe establishes the categories and points awarded. If you are interested in finding out exactly how cars are scored, you can ask Doug for a copy of the scoring sheet. I would think most judges would be happy to answer any questions after the judging is completed (sometimes they have a lot of cars to review during inspections so they might not be as communicative then).
I’m not familiar with the car you are referencing or why it placed the way it did, so I’ll give you a scenario that might help you better understand the scoring. Lets say there are 2 scoring divisions for judging the engine compartment – 10pts for cleanliness and 10pts for originality. Now, for our example lets say there are two cars—one engine is totally original but the owner has made no attempt to clean it and it is very dirty. The second one has been fully detailed but has 5 glaring modifications including painting some items pink. The first car might get 10 pts for originality and 0 for cleanliness for a total of 10. The second might get 5 pts deducted for the modifications in the originality category and get 10 pts for cleanliness for a total of 15 pts. Now it might seem odd to some that the engine with the modifications and pink parts wins, but when you look at the breakdown it makes sense. Also, judges work in groups of 2 to counter any individual biases. The way the score categories work also makes it difficult to figure out who will have a higher score until the judges total them at the end.
As far as the judges themselves, I can only give you my opinion based on my experiences. Rather than jumping to conclusions, I would recommend that you form your own opinion about their character and integrity by participating in events, not necessarily concourse, and getting to know them better. My opinion is that they volunteer because they enjoy the cars and the other people who share their passion. I do not believe they play favorites and it would never even cross their minds to begrudge someone for not volunteering to participate or also be a judge. In looking at the events so far this year, and the ones in recent memory, I don’t see evidence of a favoritism theory. The judges do the best they can and I think they are quite accurate in awarding the cars in the correct order.