Weekend Rewind! Goodguys 32nd Autumn Get-Together
What a pleasant weekend in Pleasanton! Cool fall temperatures, clear and sunny skies, vibrant fall colors, and an incredible array of cool cars and trucks combined to make a fantastic scene for the 32nd Goodguys Autumn Get-Together. It was the perfect combination of elements to attract thousands of fine rides to the Alameda County Fairgrounds for one more round of Bay Area Goodguys Good Times to finish off the 2022 California cruising season.
The Autumn Get-Together is always a special one for Goodguys. Scheduled right around Veterans Day, it’s the event where we pay tribute to the veterans who have served in our armed forces. A special ceremony on Saturday afternoon included a color guard presentation and invocation, a live rendition of the National Anthem, and our time-honored Vettes for Vets parade, where veterans are driven through the grounds riding in colorful examples of America’s Sports Car. What a great way to honor our service members!
While the overall vibe for the weekend is very laid-back, there was plenty of action to be found throughout the fairgrounds. Three rounds of Demolition Derby presented by the Hayward Firefighters Local 1909 made for a smashing good time on Saturday while raising money for charity, and we also had a stellar smoke show at the Burnout Competition. If that wasn’t enough, multiple Nitro Thunderfest exhibitions kept the ground shaking and the zoomie pipes cackling.
The Goodguys awards team stayed active both days selecting dozens of recipients for picks and awards. It made for a spectacular Sunday winners circle and awards ceremony. Among the many winners were finalists for the 2023 Scott’s Hotrods Truck of the Year Early – Rick Howell’s ’56 F100 – and for the 2023 LMC Truck of the Year Late, which went to Bret Haskins’ laid-out ’95 Chevy 1500. The media team zeroed in on Jim Leslie’s ’32 Ford Tudor for the Goodguys Feature Pick.
Even more action could be found all weekend long on the Goodguys CPP AutoCross track, as area racers got in two days of corner-carving action with class competition and a series of Fall Shootouts on Sunday. Mike Maier won both the Speedtech Performance PRO-X class and shootout in a ’72 Corvette, while the Summit Racing PRO class was split, with Craig Johnson taking the class win in his ’63 Falcon, and Todd Liebelt winning the shootout in his ’65 Chevelle. Matt Roberts won the Forgeline Street Machine class in his ’82 Corvette, with Ken Yeo claiming the Street Machine shootout in his ’65 Corvette. Dustin Reed took a double win in the LMC Truck class, topping both the class and shootout in his ’72 Chevy C10, and Scott Fraser did the same in the Gearstar Sports Car class. Thomas Mak doubled up in the Tremec All-American class and shootout in his 2020 Tesla Model 3, and Kyle Vallarino won the FiTech Challenger class in his ’65 Mustang.
Truck fans had a true treat for the weekend, with a massive indoor truck display that spread across two buildings. There was also an impressive indoor car show, plenty of vendors, and the always-big end-of-season Swap Meet and Cars 4 Sale Corral outside. Add in features like live entertainment, a model car show, vintage trailer display, kids’ zone, Goodgals Gallery, Cruiser-Rama custom bike display, and more, and you had the makings of a cool California car culture weekend.
Thanks to everyone who came out to make the 32nd Autumn Get-Together a huge success and helped us wrap up the 2022 California cruising season in style. We ain’t done yet, though! Goodguys still has a massive season finale brewing in Scottsdale, Arizona next weekend. Be sure to come join us for the 25th Speedway Motors Southwest Nationals at WestWorld of Scottsdale and stay tuned to this space for highlights!
Photos by Damon Lee & Terry Lysak
