Weekend Rewind! 30th Autumn Get-Together
The 2019 event season may be starting to wind down, but there’s still plenty of fuel left in the Goodguys tank as evidenced by the fun times and cool cars that filled the weekend at the 30th Autumn Get-Together at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, California. This fall tradition brings together all years of American-made and American-powered machines for two days of laid-back showin’ and cruisin’, while also honoring veterans and active-duty military members in a salute to Veterans Day.
Sunny skies and comfortable fall temperatures made it a picture-perfect weekend for enjoying cars, friends, and family in the NorCal outdoors. The fairgrounds were packed with hot rods, cool customs, muscle cars, trucks, late-model muscle, and just about every other variety of American-made or powered vehicle you can imagine. It was a star-spangled celebration of cool rides!
There are many features that make the Autumn Get-Together a special one. One of them is the salute to veterans and military personnel that includes a special invocation, raising of the colors, and a live performance of the National Anthem on Saturday. Another great tradition – the “Vettes for Vets” parade – is always a highlight and allows many veterans to take a ride in a Corvette through the fairgrounds.
Beyond the patriotic tributes, the weekend included the high impact “Smash 4 Cash” Demolition Derby that provided great entertainment while raising funds for the Hayward Firefighters Union Local 1909. The popular Burnout Competition and Nitro Thunderfest exhibition also made plenty of noise.
We put a special spotlight on trucks at this event, with an indoor truck display showcasing cool American haulers. We also selected a finalist for the 2020 Truck of the Year Early, which went to Shaun Salehyan’s 1937 Studebaker Coupe Express, and Truck of the Year Late going to Jerry Wood’s homebuilt 1972 Ford F100. Other noteworthy award selections went to the Fuel Curve Pick, Larry Barbier’s 1931 Ford Model A and Ron Michels 1970 Dodge Dart for the Gazette Pick.
You can always count on intense AutoCross action at the Autumn Get-Together and competitors were weaving and accelerating around the track all weekend in a quest to win their class and earn a spot in Sunday’s Fall Shootout sponsored by Turn One. Picking up class wins were Dustin Reid (Truck – 1972 Chevy C10 – 61.366), Bill Graves Sr. (Street Machine – 1966 Corvette – 59.672), Evan Dalley (PRO – 1963 Chevy Nova – 60.331), and Scott Fraser (PRO-X – 1966 Cobra – 58.865). Fraser doubled up by winning the PRO-X/PRO shootout driving Bruce Cambern’s Cobra, winning the Street Machine/Truck shootout was Brandon Osborne who entered the shootout in the number three qualifying position driving a 2017 Ford Focus.
Everywhere you turned there was something cool to see throughout the weekend, from the fun display of vintage camping trailers, to the Cruiser Rama vintage bicycles, to the massive swap meet and Cars 4 Sale Corral. This 30-year autumn tradition is a perfect way to wrap-up our quartet of Pleasanton events for the year and makes an ideal lead-in to next weekend’s season-finale 22nd Speedway Motors Southwest Nationals presented by Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale. We hope to see you there!
