Weekend Rewind! Goodguys 25th Meguiar’s Del Mar Nationals Presented by FiTech Fuel Injection
Now that was a spectacular Southern California hot rod weekend! West Coast hot rodders turned on the charm once again and delivered a fantastic few days at the beach for the silver anniversary of one of our signature events – the 25th Meguiar’s Del Mar Nationals presented by FiTech Fuel Injection. It was the sort of laid-back, good-vibe, car-crazy weekend that reminds us why Southern California is such a special place for the hot rod community.
Since the 1930s, the Del Mar Fairgrounds has been a playground for stars and entertainers and a destination for all kinds of folks seeking a little sun and fun combined with sandy beaches, ocean breezes, palm trees, and scenic views. And for a quarter century, Goodguys has made it one of the most picturesque venues for hot rods, customs, classics, and other vintage rides. It’s a classic combination, and while the forecast early in the week made a few people nervous, the event weekend delivered the sunshine, cool breezes, and comfortable temperatures that help make this such a special gathering.
Speaking of special, one of the elements that makes the Del Mar Nationals a standout event is that it’s where we crown the first of the year’s Goodguys Top 12 Awards presented by BASF. The Meguiar’s West Coast d’Elegance award, formerly known as Street Rod d’Elegance, is a long-running honor designed to recognize a classy and elegant 1965-and-earliers vehicle that showcases an abundance of West Coast style. We had some amazing contenders this year, and a truly diverse Top Five lineup that included Nicole Baird’s ’32 Ford roadster, Gary Kozlowski’s ’37 Ford roadster, Dennis Troggio’s ’55 VW Karmann Ghia, Bryn Williams’ ’55 Chevy Nomad, and Marv Struiksma’s ’51 Studebaker. There was a lot of debate among onlookers at which fine ride would take home the top honor, and when the envelope was unsealed on Sunday afternoon, the combination of Italian style, German engineering, and American hot rod craftsmanship in Dennis Troggio’s ’55 Karmann Ghia built by Type One Restorations proved to be the winning formula. Watch for more details on this amazing build soon.
Speaking of style and craftsmanship, the team at Streamline Custom Designs is well versed in both and had its eyes out for those qualities and more while searching for cars and trucks to win coveted Builder’s Choice Top 10 awards. Donnie Hall, Isaac Gonzales, and their crew scoured the grounds and assembled an impressive selection of great rides to take home these custom-crafted trophies.
The Goodguys awards team was working hard, too, and selected several dozen vehicles for different awards and honors. Among those were finalist for some of our regional Top 12 Awards presented by BASF. Those included Jim Thompson’s ’68 Firebird as the Snap-on Muscle Car of the Year finalist; Tommy Alberini’s ’48 Ford F1 as the LMC Truck of the Year Early finalist; Larry Gloria’s ’72 Chevy C10 as the Dakota Digital Truck of the Year Late finalist; Taylor Yeager’s ’39 Lincoln Zephyr as the Scott’s Hotrods ’N Customs Custom of the Year finalist; and Denny Shaffer’s ’57 Ford Ranch Wagon as the Vintage Air Custom Rod of the Year finalist. The Goodguys media team tapped the rowdy ’55 Chevy of Danny Santoro as the Goodguys Feature Pick.
A new course location and layout tested the skills and agility of Goodguys AutoCross racers as they took to the track and competed for fast class times and a chance to run in the Duel in Del Mar Shootout on Saturday. The fastest drivers included Chad Everett racing the Sheely family’s Shelby Daytona in the Speedtech Performance PRO-X class; Mark Golovin racing the Black Betty ’99 Camaro in the Summit Racing PRO class; Keith Corrigan racing his ’55 T-bird in the Forgeline Street Machine class; Chad Everett racing a ’68 Chevy in the No Limit Engineering Truck class; Eric Sheely won the Corvette class in his yellow C3 while Ken Yeo took the shoot out win in his ’65; and Mark Kempkey winning the Challenger class in his ’67 Mustang. All class winners doubled up in the shootout. Sunday saw Jim McNeil claiming the All American Sunday class in his late-model Camaro, but rain brought the shootout to an early end before a winner was crowned.
It wouldn’t be a Goodguys weekend without a variety of attractions and activities, and Del Mar was chock full of both. There were two Indoor Car Show buildings, which included a special Mini Truck Mania display in O’Brien Hall. And a third building hosted our traditional Lowrider Palace, which was chock full of nearly 100 ground-scraping, candy-painted rides showcasing lowrider culture. Just outside that building, we also had a Lowrider Hopping Contest on Saturday afternoon.
Back outside, you could experience multiple Summit Racing Nitro Thunderfest exhibitions, a sizeable swap meet and Cars 4 Sale Corral, the Woodies on the Plaza display, scores of great vendors showcasing parts and services, plus live music from Santana Soul. There was also the customary Auto World Family Zone, a model and pedal car display, model car Make N Take, and plenty more to take in.
Of course, there was also a fairground full of cool cars, trick trucks, and fine rides to see, study, and talk about. Best of all, there was nonstop cruising all weekend long providing chance to see these creations in action and hear the horsepower under the hood. It’s one of the other things that makes the Del Mar Nationals great – old-school cruising under sunny skies and palm trees. Sounds a little like a California dream, don’t you think?
Photos by Michael Christensen, Damon Lee, Terry Lysak
