All rise for the Judge.

The 1969 Pontiac GTO “The Judge” was voted the best muscle car in 1969 (which is considered by many to be the best year in automotive history) according to thousands of votes on Summit Racing’s Facebook polling.

an orange pontiac gto judge with a stuffed tiger on the engine
(Image/OnAllCylinders)

Our friends at Summit Racing and we at OnAllCylinders were commemorating the 50th anniversary of this legendary year in American automotive history when we asked you to vote for your favorite.

Inevitably, a bunch of people will feel outraged that their favorite car didn’t win. We’re sorry and mourn with you. Every car in the eight-car field was a legit contender, along with another dozen that didn’t even make our little tourney.

Here’s how the voting went down:

1969 Pontiac GTO Judge
(Image/Championship Autoshows)

First Round Voting Results – Best Cars of 1969

NOTE: Look how close the vote was between The Judge and the Boss 429 Mustang (and, to be fair, the COPO ZL-1 and Charger R/T as well). No shame in the first round knockout for the Boss or General Lee. Either car could have won the entire thing had the voting winds been blowing ever so slightly in a different direction.

Final Four Voting Results – Best Cars of 1969

Championship Voting Results – 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge vs. 1969 COPO Camaro ZL-1

…

Good stuff.

Like our kindergarten teachers used to say, everyone’s a winner here.

But The Judge is just a little bit more of a winner than everyone else. Here are a couple more shots of one just in case you’re wondering why.

[Want to learn more about the ’69 GTO Judge? Read this.]