It’s hard to believe that Goodguys Rod & Custom Association just hosted its Goodguys 25th Meguiar’s Del Mar Nationals! Better yet, the event shows no signs of slowing down, as so many West Coast hot rodders turned out last weekend to celebrate the event’s silver anniversary. We’re not just talking hot rods, but also lowriders, customs, classic trucks (including a new mini-truck exhibit), muscle cars, woodies, and all the other cool rides that make up the SoCal hot rodding theme.
Meguiar’s West Coast d’Elegance
Speaking of variety, the Del Mar Nationals is where Goodguys presents its first Top 12 “Of The Year” awards, including the special Meguiar’s West Coast d’Elegance. This title recognizes a classy, elegant 1965-and-earlier vehicle that showcases an abundance of West Coast style. As usual, it was an eclectic mix of cars, with the top five rounding out as follows: Nicole Baird’s 1932 Ford roadster, Gary Kozlowski’s 1937 Ford roadster, Dennis Troggio’s 1955 VW Karmann Ghia, Bryn Williams’ 1955 Chevy Nomad, and Marv Struiksma’s 1951 Studebaker. At Sunday afternoon’s award ceremony, the title went to Dennis Troggio’s 1955 Karmann Ghia, built by Type One Restorations, an absolutely stunning build from the inside out, top to bottom.
In The Garage Editor Picks
Speaking of awards, our In the Garage Media crew also scoured the fairgrounds for their favorites. It was hard to pick just one for each title, but we came down to: Larry Gloria’s 1972 C10 built by Tres Customs, netting the Classic Truck Performance Pick, Rick Katz with his 1967 Nova for the All Chevy Performance Pick, and for the Modern Rodding Pick, a cool 1959 Brookwood wagon owned by “Squid” Magid and built by Hot Rods & Hobbies.
Goodguys also added a number of Finalists to their Top 12 “Of The Year” awards, including Jim Thompson’s 1968 Firebird convertible as the Snap-on Muscle Car of the Year finalist, Tommy Alberini’s 1948 Ford F-1 as the LMC Truck of the Year Early finalist, Larry Gloria’s 1972 Chevy C10 as the Dakota Digital Truck of the Year Late finalist, Taylor Yeager’s 1939 Lincoln Zephyr as the Scott’s Hotrods ’N Customs Custom of the Year finalist, and Denny Shaffer’s 1957 Ford Ranch Wagon as the Vintage Air Custom Rod of the Year finalist.
More Specialty Display & Awards
Not only is Del Mar a unique show simply because it takes place right on the Pacific coast, but it’s also a showcase of different SoCal hot rodding styles. There was the mini-truck display, the Lowrider Palace (complete with a hopping contest), a special gathering of woodies, traditional hot rods, and so much more. It was a great weekend of hot-rodding fun.
