Bay Area Biggie - 2006 Goodguys Pleasanton

West Coast rodders have a host of events to choose from on any given summer weekend. But come the end of August, the only place to be is Goodguys West Coast Nationals in Pleasanton, California.

There are a variety of factors that make this one of the best events on the left side of the country. Certainly the facility is one-the Alameda County Fairgrounds is the perfect venue and the location is such that it pulls cars from California to Canada, not to mention points well to the East. Then there's the weather; it's usually perfect. But the real reason for this event's success is that Pleasanton has developed a reputation as the place to see the finest street rods in the country, and it's a reputation that's well deserved.

While this year's West Coast Nationals took place August 26, 27, and 28, earlier in the week Goodguys put on four days of tours, dubbed "Hot Rod Week." On Monday the 22, the gang visited Rare Parts and Stockton Wheel. Tuesday there was a cruise through the wine country with stops at Creative Concepts, Flowmaster, Fred Stoke's memorabilia collection, and dinner at the Joker's Clubhouse in Richmond. A popular stop on Wednesday was the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield, and then it was off to Sacramento Vintage Ford and Smeding Performance with a final stop at Henry's Street Rods. The Hot Rod Week tour wound down Thursday with visits to Altitude Aviation, the Blackhawk Auto Museum, and finally the kickoff party at the Wyndham Garden Hotel in Pleasanton.

Throughout the weekend, there were a variety of activities to participate in, vendors to visit, displays to check out, and a swap meet to search through. In addition, there were a number of prestigious awards given out over the weekend. At Friday evening's "Beach Party," Boyd Coddington handed out his handcrafted billet aluminum Fab 4 trophies, on Saturday, Paul and Eric Hansen's '32 Ford roadster was named America's Most Beautiful Street Rod (the Steve Moal highboy also won America's Most Beautiful Roadster at the Grand National Roadster show), and STREET RODDER gave out Top Ten awards along with personalized jackets.

Another factor that adds to the appeal of this event is that it's open to rods, customs, and classics through 1954. Even most hardcore pre-'49 street rodders agree that it gives participants a bigger and better variety of cars to look at. And while awards and all the other activities are entertaining, at the Goodguys West Coast Nationals, it's the cars that steal the show-and a great show it is.