Through the Lens – Highlights & Outtakes from Goodguys’ Steven Bunker
Goodguys was lucky to land Steven Bunker when he joined our media team back in 2015. 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 in the early 2000’s and capturing the action with his Canon camera. What he saw through the lens is what first captured our attention and led to an official invitation to join the media team. Steven’s creative eye and knack for finding four-wheeled action have made him a true asset to Goodguys. He’s logged countless miles on the road attending events and continues to refine his photography, learning new skills and upping his game every season.
We asked Steven to share a gallery of a few favorite images for this installment of Through the Lens. Not only will these photos give you a taste for his talent, but they also offer some insight into the interests and personality of a key player creating the content you see in the Goodguys Gazette and on FuelCurve.com.
Photo captions by Steven Bunker
I need to give credit and thanks to fellow photographer John Jackson for sharing his knowledge and teaching me how to light paint, which is how I captured this image of Bret Ervin’s 1963 Impala Wagon during a late summer night with the lights of Sacramento shining in the background.
I snuck off to Las Vegas a few days early in 2019 to catch the NHRA National event the weekend prior to the SEMA Show and got one of the best seats in the house to watch Brittany Force reset the 1,000-foot Top Fuel speed record at 338.17mph. Nothing will prepare you for over 10,000 horsepower blasting by you less than 10 feet away.
Jeff Garmeson’s 1966 VW Type III Fastback was photographed in a downtown Sacramento parking garage for a FuelCurve feature back in 2017.
Alright, so this isn’t one image, but I combined a couple images to do a see through visual of Marc Meadors’ 1970 Camaro Nitro Funny Car wearing the Fuel Curve livery back in 2017.
Growing up a drag racing kid, Rich Guasco’s “Pure Hell” ‘32 Bantam Fuel Altered is a true icon to me. This shot was taken at the 2016 Goodguys Pacific Northwest Nationals during the Friday Night Drags at Pacific Raceways.
Anyone that knows me knows I have a soft spot for first-gen Novas, and the Team Speedway ‘65 was an exciting car to photograph during the 2015-2016 seasons.
During the 2017 Heartland Nationals in Des Moines I caught wind of a drag race an hour away. I loaded up my stuff Friday after the show and hit the road to catch Nitro Funny Cars and Fuel Altereds match race at Eddyville Raceway.
Back in 2012 I witnessed this wild run of Will Martin in his nitro-burning Nostalgia Funny Car at the California Hot Rod Reunion in Bakersfield, CA. Miraculously, Will gathered it up without hitting anything. I vividly remember this moment and thinking he was coming straight at me.
