2008 Goodguys Del Mar - Spring Into Action!

For many of us here in Southern California, the Goodguys Del Mar Rod & Custom Nationals has served as the event that kicks off the rod-run season and the start of summer for the past eight years. This year, the Del Mar Nats was actually the third event for the Goodguys, preceded by the Orange County Get-Together in Costa Mesa, California, and the All American Get-Together in Pleasanton, California, but served as our first official magazine outing for the '08 season.

With gas at four bucks a gallon, we're no doubt gonna feel the sting on our wallets this summer, but firing up the hot rod for the first time in a few months and hitting the road to a rod run helps alleviate that pain slightly. Heading down the Pacific Coast Highway and leaving Los Angeles behind for a more mellow, laid-back weekend in Del Mar sounded like just the thing I needed. As I zipped down the highway and carved my way through Orange County in my '55 Chevy two-door hardtop, it occurred to me how long it had been since I actually drove my own vehicle to a car show.

I couldn't count on four hands the number of actual events I'd been to in the past few years, Goodguys or not, but most of them have been out of state, or just far enough away where I could not afford the added time spent on the road and out of the office. But every year, the Del Mar Nats always land at the right time, where the weather is starting to come around, it's heating up, and our travel season has yet to kick in to top gear, allowing us to spend a day on the road and actually enjoy it.

The Del Mar Nationals, aside from being conveniently located, both on the calendar and the map, also happens to be an important show for a number of other reasons. For one, it kicks off our Top 100 program for 2008. If you followed along last year, you'll remember we upped our Top 10 program to include 10 shows across the country, with the winners of each show featured on our Web site, www.streetrodderweb.com. We also let you guys vote for your favorite car out of the bunch and christened it the STREET RODDER / Turtle Wax Online Street Rod of the Year for 2007. Well, we're at it again, and this year's fleet will be even more impressive than last year's if the first batch of cars from Del Mar is any indication. The '08 Del Mar Nats was also breaking ground in that it was the first Goodguys event to give out the Boyd Coddington Memorial Award, following Boyd's untimely passing in late February. Andy Meeh of Vista, California, was the winner with his '51 Ford pickup that he and his father had worked on since he was 14.

Del Mar is also the spot every year where the Street Rod d'Elegance Award is given out. Five finalists were picked from the indoor field, and Doug and Flo Hoppe's '35 Ford was announced as this year's winner. Check the photo coverage for more info. Other notable Goodguys awards given out throughout the weekend were for Custom Rod of the Year, Kustom of the Year, Muscle Car of the Year, and Truck of the Year-Late, which are all entered into a field of six cars, five of which will be picked at subsequent events throughout the year.

With so much happening over three short days, it's hard to take in the nearly 3,000 cars that pack the Del Mar Fairgrounds in early April, but more than 50,000 spectators did just that, with time to spare for the dozens of vendors and exhibition buildings. This event takes place every year in early April, so head on out to the Del Mar Nats if you're looking for an excuse to dust that hibernating hot rod off and shake it out before summer kicks in completely-you won't be disappointed.