What I topic! I can't resist adding to it...
"Popular" car shows have mystified me for many years. Truly, the results seem almost random in some cases. And while it may be common wisdom that "red cars always win," I have found that that is not quite true; they may more generally finish well, but what really seems to be a consistent winner is "differentness."
A case in point: two weeks ago at the Portland All British Field Meet -- reputedly the largest event of its kind west of the Mississippi River, with over 800 cars this year -- it was a tan and OEW BJ7 that won its class. It was far from any original color combination, but the car was immaculate and the differentness of it made it stand out.
"Nicest" does not, by any means, always win. "Most original" doesn't either. Nor does "most/best patina." The public is fickle, something people gang up to vote for so-and-so's car, sometimes having the spot on the end of a row helps, sometimes showmanship (signage, stuffed animals, Union Jacks, etc.) helps, and sometimes you wonder if they counted the votes correctly because there is no apparent rhyme or reason to it at all.
I like to think that the result of such a vote is the marketplace talking to us, but sometimes it is very hard to discern just what it is saying.
I am a bit confused, however, about your mention of judges/judging at the Palo Alto meet -- you mean that there were judges doing the selection, and not a "popular vote" where all entrants get ballots?