Weekend Rewind! Goodguys 38th West Coast Nationals
Way to go, West Coast hot rodders! You brought the energy, enthusiasm, and excitement to Pleasanton this weekend and made the Goodguys 38th West Coast Nationals a spectacular event to remember! We’re talking three days of California summer fun filled with the most outstanding cars and trucks on the left coast!
Yes, the shine returned to the Goodguys Crown Jewel summer event as we filled the Alameda County Fairgrounds with thousands of cool hot rods, customs, muscle cars, classics, and more. We built up to the weekend with three days of road tripping during Gary Meadors Memorial Hot Rod Week, and never let off the throttle until the Sunday afternoon.
The fairgrounds were shining with fine iron as soon as the sun peeked above the horizon on Friday morning. We were happy to see an especially strong turnout of early hot rods this year, which is appropriate considering they laid the foundation for this event back in the early days. Add in some cool customs, trick trucks, mighty muscle cars, and vibrant vintage rides of all other styles and you now have a show with something that appeals to virtually any gearhead.
The variety was not lost on Ben York and his crew from Roseville Rod & Custom, who had the unenviable task of looking everything over and selecting just 10 standout rides to receive Builder’s Choice awards. Ben rose to the challenge, though, and assembled a lineup that showcased outstanding craftsmanship, style, and variety.
Goodguys representatives faced the same challenge in seeking out finalists for all of our regional Top 12 Awards presented by BASF. With many worthy candidates in each class, picking just one was tough. The winning rides ended up being Brad Brown’s ’70 Boss 429 Mustang as the Snap-on Muscle Car of the Year finalist; Ron Michels’ ’68 Dodge Charger as the Griot’s Garage Muscle Machine of the Year finalist; Jeremiah Allen’s ’54 Chevy as the Scott’s Hotrods ’N Customs Custom of the Year finalist; Kelly Boen’s ’56 Chevy as the Vintage Air Custom Rod of the Year finalist; Andrew Slattery’s ’57 Chevy pickup as the LMC Truck of the Year Early finalist; and Cameron Carter’s ’67 Chevy C10 as the Dakota Digital Truck of the Year Late finalist. The Goodguys media team was drawn in by Tony Jurado’s bright orange Deuce roadster and selected it as the Goodguys Feature Pick.
After a month-long hiatus, Goodguys AutoCross racers strapped back in, revved up their engines, and started carving corners on the event’s tight and challenging course, vying for top class positions and a chance to compete in Saturday’s West Coast Shootout sponsored by Wilwood Disc Brakes. Winning drivers for the weekend included Bill Graves Sr. in the Speedtech Performance PRO-X class, George Reiss in the Summit Racing PRO class, Ken Yeo in the Forgeline Street Machine class, Dean Richards in the No Limit Engineering Truck class, Mairaj Din in the Sports Car class, Barry Weber and Mike Cheuoy in the Challenger class, and Geon McKenzie in the All American Sunday class.
Summertime heat had many people seeking a break inside one of the three Indoor Car Show buildings, where we celebrated 70 years of Tri-Five Chevrolets with ’55s in one building, ’56s in another, and ’57s in a third one. It was a great way to commemorate a milestone of these iconic cars.
The rest of the fairgrounds was absolutely packed with happenings, features, and activities. There were hundreds of vendors in the Swap Meet and Cars 4 Sale corral, and an equal number of vendors selling new parts, products, and services throughout the show. Multiple Nitro Thunderfest exhibitions shook the ground on Friday and Saturday, while smokin’ Burnout Competitions pulverized rubber on Saturday and Sunday. There was also a model car show, the model car Make and Take sponsored by Auto World Store, a Family Fun Zone, a cool Cushman exhibit, the Pinstripers Brush Bash, Goodgals Gallery, live music, great food, and so much more. In short, it was a weekend that was guaranteed to keep the oil flowing and the rpms up for any gearhead or car enthusiast.
We’ve said it before, and this year reinforced it: there’s no hot rod party like a West Coast party! We’re excited to be celebrating nearly four decades of the signature Goodguys West Coast Nationals, and we’re looking forward to carrying this fun-filled tradition well into the future. Thanks to all of you who made the weekend a resounding success, and for supporting this Crown Jewel gathering through the years!
Photos by Damon Lee and Terry Lysak
