Friday First Look! Goodguys 20th Meguiar’s Del Mar Nationals

Hot rods, shining sun, and a cool ocean breeze. When it comes to a “destination event” it’s tough to top Del Mar. With the waves of the Pacific Ocean crashing no more than 100 yards away from the AutoCross track, the Meguiar’s Del Mar Nationals at the beautiful Del Mar Fairgrounds is a true one-of-a-kind event.



It’s been over two years since Goodguys has visited Southern California and it’s clear that the SoCal rodders were anxiously awaiting the return. What we also saw today were a lot of out of state rodders taking advantage of this late season opportunity to sneak in one more big event or try to claim a final 2021 Goodguys Top 12 finalist spot. Another big draw this weekend is the at-event crowing of the 2021 Meguiar’s Street Rod d’Elegance Top 12 award, and there’s some strong contenders vying for that prize – the winner of that title will be announced during Sunday’s awards ceremony.


We kicked off the weekend early yesterday with a hot rod cruise that the Over The Hill Gang of San Diego organized and led. The cruise took us on some scenic ocean view highways and made stops at historical sites and local automotive-related businesses.

The gates opened this morning and the fairgrounds quickly filled up. It wasn’t long until we were firing on all eight with cars cruising the grounds, vendors interacting with spectators, the Goodguys CPP AutoCross series heating up the asphalt, and the three indoor car show buildings bursting at the seams with candy and chrome on display.

There’s a whole lot more to come from this weekend so stay tuned in to all Goodguys social media channels throughout the weekend. And be sure to come back on Sunday for the full Weekend Rewind where we’ll recap the entire event happenings. Until then, here’s a few rides that caught out attention today.

Photos by Steven Bunker, Marc Gewertz, & Terry Lysak

Director of Media & Marketing

A lifelong car kid, Steven grew up around drag strips – his name may sound familiar because his grandfather is Bob Bunker, a Pro Mod pioneer who piloted the “Folsom Flash” ’55 Chevy from the ’70s through the ’90s. Steven’s father, Bob Bunker Jr., heads up Bunker Motorsports and is a regular in the West Coast racing scene, building chassis and race cars for more than 30 years. With genetics like that, it’s no wonder Steven has a passion for both cars and motorsports. In addition to helping his father and honing his fabrication skills at Bunker Motorsports, Steven began shooting photos at the drag strip and capturing the action with his Canon camera. He is now artfully crafting stories around the awesome machines at the shows, as well as the men and women behind them. When he's is not on the road covering events, he spends his downtime out on the water fishing, building his 1962 Chevy Nova, or cruising his 1987 GMC Suburban.