Hot Rods Hit the Road! Goodguys 2023 Tanks, Inc. Hot Rod of the Year Reliability Run Recap

The Tanks, Inc. Hot Rod of the Year competition has evolved into one of the most exciting Top 12 awards during each Goodguys event season. Aside from winning the Hot Rod of the Year title, the highlight of the competition for all competitors is the Friday reliability run.



The run this year was a roughly 120-mile trek that took us on some great Tennessee backroads organized by local Ben Smithson with stops at Advanced Plating, lunch at White House Pizza, Music City Raceway for some burnouts and 1/8th-mile dragstrip runs, and Infinite Fab Works before heading back to Nashville Superspeedway.

Check out this video recap from the run, plus the below photo gallery, and check back on Sunday in the Weekend Rewind to see which car takes the 2023 Tanks, Inc. Hot Rod of the Year title.


Photos by Marc Gewertz, Damon Lee & Steven Bunker

Director of Media & Marketing

A lifelong car kid, Steven grew up around drag strips – his name may sound familiar because his grandfather is Bob Bunker, a Pro Mod pioneer who piloted the “Folsom Flash” ’55 Chevy from the ’70s through the ’90s. Steven’s father, Bob Bunker Jr., heads up Bunker Motorsports and is a regular in the West Coast racing scene, building chassis and race cars for more than 30 years. With genetics like that, it’s no wonder Steven has a passion for both cars and motorsports. In addition to helping his father and honing his fabrication skills at Bunker Motorsports, Steven began shooting photos at the drag strip and capturing the action with his Canon camera. He is now artfully crafting stories around the awesome machines at the shows, as well as the men and women behind them. When he's is not on the road covering events, he spends his downtime out on the water fishing, building his 1962 Chevy Nova, or cruising his 1987 GMC Suburban.