GOODGUYS Meguiar’s Del Mar Nationals — “America’s Favorite Car Show!”
Much more than just a car show
After a long absence due to COVID-19, GOODGUYS Del Mar Nationals returned to the Del Mar Fairgrounds, on a beautiful 3-day October weekend in Southern California.
Arriving the day before the show starts
This mega event is so much more than just a car show. At this year’s event, they pulled out all the stops. Listed on the event program were: a swap meet and “4 Sale Corral,” a model and pedal car show that included a “Free Kids’ Model Make & Take,” a massive indoor car show, a stunning PPG lowrider display, vendors and exhibitors, a featured car club (Der Kleiner Kampfwagens), a Del Mar Cruise, the always thrilling GOODGUYS CPP Autocross, live nostalgia entertainment, the GOODGUYS Nitro Thunderfest presented by Summit Racing (dragsters) and a burn-out competition.
Each participant received a custom dash plaque in the GOODGUYS “Saturday Specialty Parking Areas,” which included: “Trick Truck Corral — All trucks are welcome,” “Homebuilt Heaven — Did you build it yourself? Park here for recognition,” “Ya Gotta Drive ‘Em — Did you drive over 300 miles to get here? — Drivers wanted,” “Deuce Doins — Make Henry Ford proud, show off your ’32 here,” “Builder’s Choice — Going for top awards of the event? This area is for you. Selected by Charley Hutton,” “Lowrider Showcase — Low and slow? Park here!,” “Tri-Five Chevys — All ’55, ’56 & ’57 Chevys welcome,” “Mighty Muscle — Factory correct or modified — show your Muscle here. Muscle Car of the Year finalist selected from this area,” “Camaro Corral — All Camaros welcome,” “The Next Generation — 25 years or younger? Park here!,” “Air Cooled Corral — All air cooled cars welcome!” and last, but certainly not least, “Good Wood — Got wood? Park Here!”
A woodie
My time at the Del Mar Nationals was very limited this year. I covered and took lots of pictures of the “All American Sunday” portion of the GOODGUYS CPP “Duel in Del Mar” autocross, with 1988 and newer muscle cars, hot rods, sportscars and trucks. That was followed by the Wilwood 8-car All American Shootout, where the drivers competed for the top autocross honors.
In past years I had also competed in the “All American Sunday” autocross in my 2011 Mustang GT, but I sold that car in order to buy my Racing Orange 2019 Mazda MX-5 Miata. That does not qualify as an American car.
After photographing the autocross, I quickly headed over to the “Winners Circle” event where I took more pictures, as car after car (and truck) drove up to the reviewing stand. There, the honored winners were presented with over 100 awards, as spectators sat on the grass, clapped and enjoyed the procession. The selection criteria, which varied by the award, included superior body and paint, engineering, fit & finish, modifications, components, styling, handling and more.
Guy Russell's lowrider is named "Final Judgement."
The final, and most prestigious, award of the 2021 Good Guys Del Mar Nationals was the Street Rod D’Elegance award. As reported in a Goodguys “Fuel Curve” news story linked from the primary GOODGUYS website, “one of the oldest and most storied of the Goodguys/Meguiar’s Top 12 ‘Of The Year’ honors, Street Rod d’Elegance is awarded to the most elegant and gorgeous pre-’49 vehicle from among the contenders at the Meguiar’s Del Mar Nationals.”
The finalists entered the “Winners Circle” as a group.
After each entrant was interviewed, the recipient of the Street Rod d’Elegance was announced: Gary Devine, for his 1932 Ford Roadster Pickup. Dave Shuten at Galpin Auto Sports was credited for his exquisite detail work on Gary’s roadster.
Gary Devine won the Street Rod d'Elegance award for his 1932 Ford Roadster Pickup.
Gary Devine with his Street Rod d'Elegance award for his 1932 Ford Roadster Pickup
For a full photo spread by Damon Lee, editor of the Goodguys Gazette, visit: www.fuelcurve.com/gary-devine-2021-street-rod-delegance/
Even though the weekend’s event was officially over, after the “Winners Circle” presentations I quickly made my way over to the building where the lowriders exhibit had been.
It was outside that building, parked in the late afternoon sun, that I came upon one of the most gorgeous lowriders that I have ever seen.
Guy Russell’s beautiful lowrider is named “Final Judgement.” It began its life as a 1964 Chevrolet Impala. Guy is a member of the Majestics San Diego car club.
The detail work on his car is absolutely incredible. The customization process included paint and body, murals, upholstery, engine, brakes, hydraulics, chrome, engraving, exhaust, LED lighting, audio and more.
Leaving the Fairgrounds after the Del Mar Nationals...
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Comments (18)
Final Judgement is pretty nuts. I've never seen etched brightwork like that on anything car. It's magnificent. That's a car I would love to see in person and speak to the owner. That level of detail is something else.
David,
To have that degree of extremely fine detail on one chromed piece of a car would be very impressive, but to have it on chromed pieces all over the car is insane!
You really do need to see it in-person. Mere photos cannot do it justice.
Read moreNo i mean upload1 photo for a post so we dont have to scroll through the whole post. Add a description of the car. You will get more promotions that way. Upload one a day so each one gets some time to shine.
Always try to attend their event’s at Texas Motor Speedway, always one of the best shows of the year… minus the exploding hotdog stand at this past event.
I think I heard about an exploding concession stand in the national news recently. Was that a hot dog stand at a GoodGuys event? Wow!
It was, happened just as we were leaving because I could hear it from the parking lot. Somehow the area by the propane grill caught fire and the tank eventually blew. Fortunately nobody was hurt and the garage it was next to only sustained some...
Read moreToo much good stuff. I was going to comment i really love the blue 55, then i saw the blue 59 wagon, a couple sweet galaxies and the apace truck etc etc etc. Completely lost track of my favourite car. Just awesome
It was a great show. I wish that I'd had more time sto spend there. Hopefully next year...
Can you upload some pics individually?
Jan, you seem to be a quick learner with your new Sony equipment. The photos are crisp, colorful and totally natural. Did the Sony equipment allow you to edit more efficiently?
Two cars that did bring back memories were the two almost identical 1949 customized and lowered maroon Mercury Coupes. (I hope I’m correct here). My first ever car was a 1949 Ford Meteor, very used and rusted but it ran like a charm. The Mercury was higher in the pecking order in the Ford family and got most of the customizing attention.
I also liked the blue Viper with the white racing stripes. These are the same colors as my 1970 Datsun 240Z, one of the first in all of Canada.
You must have been disappointed not to be able to participate in the Autocross event. I know you are a keen and skilled Autocrosser going back to your days in Edmonton and your 1971 240Z, but now, like the Datsun then, your Miata was made in Japan and would not qualify as an American car.
Every time I see photos of the low riders, I never cease to be amazed by the attention to detail by the owners in the preparation and maintenance of these cars. Truly amazing!
Keep these photos coming! David.
Hi David,
As always, thank you for the compliments! They help keep me going, and going and going...
Yes, my recent switch to Sony full-frame mirrorless gear from shooting with Nikon full-frame, mostly professional cameras for the...
Read moreI’ll visit your website and have a look at some of the older columns. Are you able to sell ads for your website? I see ads floating around DT but I have no idea how they get there.
That’s a metric ton of good work! Well done!
Thank you Stephen. It was a great event. It was also a good opportunity to continue learning how to use my new camera system, after I switched from Nikon SLR and then DSLR full-frame, to Sony mirrorless full-frame.
Jan