Goodguys 14th Del Mar Nationals 2014 RECAP

[Trackside-Brandy]

Goodguys Rod And Custom Association14^th Del Mar Nationals
Del Mar Fairgrounds Del Mar, Ca
April 4-6, 2014


This past weekend was the one and only 2014 Goodguys Rod and Custom Association's Car Show and autocross in the southern California region. With that being said, anyone and everyone who is part of the pro-touring community and lives in southern California comes out to either 1. Attend the show, 2. Put their car to the test on the short technical autocross course or 3. Do both. I was really surprised with how many people drove down from northern California as well to attend this weekend's event. Over the course of three days, there were 80+ street machines, hot rods and trucks that had gone though autocross tech and over 400 runs. It was quite the event and Pro-Touring.com was there to capture every moment from the cone carnage to the breakage, the Pro Class Battle and the Street Machine and Hot Rod Shootout.




Speaking of Pro-Class, Greg Thurmond in his '64 Corvette and Rob MacGregor in his '69 C10 Truck ran head-to-head as they battled for first place. In the end, Thurmond won with an incredible run of 61.922 seconds that even he did not expect. With a little more than two-tenths of a second ahead of MacGregor, Thurmond swept away the competition and went ahead to claim his first Pro Class win since moving up to Pro Class last month at the Goodguys' Scottsdale show.




Though Greg Thurmond led a strongfirst, we do not want to forget about the other Pro Class drivers. Kyle and Stacy Tucker of Detroit Speed and Engineering could also be found on the leader board. What I loved about Kyle and Stacy is that they always had a line of people waiting to ride passenger in both Kyle's '70 Camaro and Stacy's '69 Camaro. I never get bored watching Kyle and Stacy run. Just when you think they don't have anything left, both drivers have the ability to throw down a run that puts them right back on top of the leader board. This past weekend Kyle Tucker had a couple of those runs as he entered the chicago box and grazed the inside cone, barely touching in but never knocking it out of it's box. Even I was at the edge of my seat questioning how such an impressive run was even possible with his style and grace.




Post by Pro-Touring.com.



Mike Maier of Maier Racing was also out with his wife Brianne in her '66 Mustang. Both Mike and Brianne are another amazing couple to watch. When Mike and Brianne are not on the track, they are usually under the Mustang figuring out how they can squeeze that last one-hundredth of a second out of the car to take the lead. The real surprise this weekend was a mysterious third driver behind the wheel of the Maier's '66 Mustang. Though many may not have realized there was a third driver or recognized him, we would like to give a huge credit to Matt Alcala. He not only had the guts to get behind the wheel of the Maier Racing Mustang, he also ran it hard alongside Mike and Brianne all Saturday. Alcala's '69 Camaro suffered some damage this weekend, resulting in a possible diagnosis of a blown head gasket. This left Alcala without a car on Saturday. Mike and Brianne tossed him the keys and said have at it. Alcala did a great job pushing that Mustang and we wanted to give him the credit he deserved. We would also like Alcala to know that everyone was officially jealous of him for having the opportunity to take Maier's car out and beat on it.




Cheryl Herrick from Jet-Hot was out with the Jet-Hot '67 Chevy II. Cheryl's daughter Andie also had a chance to come out and sit passenger with her mother. These two women were a blast to watch this past weekend. There were countless photographs taken where both Cheryl and Andie were smiling away as the Chevy drove around the autocross. Cheryl has done really well with this car. It will be exciting to see her take this car and Jet-Hot's secret new weapon to the next level over the next year.




Larry Woo was also present at this past weekend's Goodguys' Del Mar Nationals in his '68 Camaro. He is no stranger to our pro-touring community. Many may be familiar with his name after he competed in last year's OUSCI. Larry is someone to keep an eye on throughout this year. I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot more of him and his '68 Camaro in the upcoming months.




Rob MacGregor laid down some insanely fast times this past weekend as well. If he was given more time Saturday, MacGregor may have made Greg fight for that first place title in Pro Class. As Saturday came to an end, both MacGregor and Thurmond could be found watching each others final laps to see who would claim the first place spot. Both driver's put on a awesome show and I still don't know how MacGregor managed to master the chicago box like he did. Out of every participant, I would have to say MacGregor should have been given an award for getting through the chicago box the quickest without hitting any cones. It was amazing to watch and there are probably people still asking how he was able to maneuver his way around those cones without any penalties. He is honestly just that good.




Street Machine Class had some notable drivers that I would like to quickly mention. Jake Rozelle claimed 1^st place in a last minute shootout between him and Greg Blundell. Aaron Ogawa, Evan Osborn and Brianne Maier. Rozelle and his '69 Camaro have been on a role these last couple weekends claiming first place at both the Street Machine Nationals, NMRA and now Goodguys Del Mar. His win this past weekend claimed him a spot in the Pro Class. We will possibly be seeing him again later this year during the fall west coast swing. He is definitely someone to keep an eye on because he is only getting quicker with each event.




Dennis Russell and Don Chemello were also surprised with a last minute shootout on Saturday. Russell and Chemello ran a tight race; knocking each other from the first place position several times throughout the weekend. Russell and his '33 Roadster had all the pieces in place on Saturday as he consistently ran a slightly faster time than Chemello. Consistency is always good, but when a surprise shootout takes place, you never know what will happen. Chemello and his '32 Ford Coupe surprised us all when he threw down a faster lap time than Russell during the shootout,claiming first place and a spot in Pro Class. Sometimes all is takes is just one lap, and Chemello proved that Saturday evening. Congratulations to both drivers for some incredible driving and we can't wait to see both cars back out at the end of the year.


I've been saying this for the past two Goodguys events, and this weekend I state it again- I wish I had a Truck or a Street Rod to compete in these Goodguys autocross events. The entire weekend consisted of only 2 Street Rods and 7 Trucks. Wes Drelleshak with his '59 Apache and Dave Wheeler with his '57 Chevy Pick-up competed for first place. Drelleshak was just a little quicker, being consistently clean and shaving a little time off each run. Drelleshak has been working hard for that first place win and he definitely deserved it this past weekend. It has been awesome watching him improve at each event and I know he was extremely excited to take the position of leader and win a spot in the Pro Class. We will be seeing him much more throughout the year and we can't wait because his truck is honestly one of the easiest vehicles to photograph. Keep coming back Wes because we like taking pictures of your truck! (Plus we love giving you a hard time).





There were several other participantsout this weekend that we would like to mention. Jane Thurmond ran an incredible session on Friday and could have possibly claimed 1^st place in the Street Machine Class if she didn't have to leave to help her daughter get ready for prom on Saturday. That was definitely more important, but we do want to see her come back out and claim that 1^st place because we all know she has it in her.




Post by Pro-Touring.com.


Cris Gonzalez came out with the JCG '70 Challenger. Cris has been running this car hard the past couple weekends, attending the Street Machine Nationals, NMRA and Goodguys Del Mar. Cris has brought out several cars over the past couple years. This '70 Challenger shows just how talented Cris is and how dedicated he is to the pro-touring community. How Cris is able to maneuver such a large car around a tight course is beyond many, but his seat time and testing methods say a lot about the cars he builds.




Kyle Newman from Newman Car Creations was also out with his '57 Chevy Wagon. If you have not gotten a ride in this car around the autocross, next time you see him just ask. It will be one of the funnest rides you will ever have as a passenger around an autocross. The humor of the grocery bags in the back, the slippery bench seat and his incredible driving make for one amazing experience. Kyle Newman and his family are amazing people and we love spending time with them; especially during our after hours BBQ parties.




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I honestly could go one for a while about all the great people at this Del Mar Goodguys event, but I have probably lost some of you by now and others, well you are probably still looking to see if I mentioned your name. I apologize if I did not include you this time, but unfortunately I have to wrap this up. If I did not get a chance to mention you, we most likely took some amazing photos of your car on the course. Please take the time to look through all our event photos this past weekend. Rob Phillips from PCHRODS shot some great footage, especially of all the cone carnage, and we want to thank him. We also want to thank the Goodguys crew for hosting another great autocross and we can't wait for the Goodguys Kissimmee, Florida event coming up April 35-27,2014.




For more information on Goodguys Eventsor to see if they are coming to a city near you visit: https://www.good-guys.com/

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[Trackside-Brandy]

If you haven't had a chance to watch the latest video Larry put together from Del Mar, here's Wes Drelleshak, truck class winner and recent Pro Class addition:

[RobNoLimit]

Very nice right up Brandy. Well done. I hope this type of write up becomes the standard. BTW, the pict of Jane Thurman was from Sunday, when she took a lap in the HellBoy. I have been lightly coaching Jane for a little more than a year, and she is doing great. Sunday, her and Tina were joking around, Jane sittting in the truck, and Tina says, "Jane's going to take me out on the next run". I laughed and said "OK". Then they stopped laughing. I thought about it for a moment, walked around and got in the passenger seat and showed her how to start it. We pulled out of the line-up and went down the cruise lane, and out of the fairgrounds, down to the old town Del Mar and back, so she could get the feel of it. When we got back to the pits, we had missed our turn, but Stacy let us in line. Jane ran a low 66 with 1 cone, on her first lap ever in the truck. The smile tells it all. Congrats to Greg on the win, he earned it. Those are some first class people.

[eric1967]

Very cool. Thanks for taking the time to post.

[Larry Callahan]

Awesome recap Brandy!!!

[Larry Callahan]

Pro-Touring.com video coverage of the 2014 Goodguys Del Mar Nationals.
Grab a cold beverage, crank up the volume and set aside 18 minutes.

[Martin71RS]

great report and video...as if I was there! thanks :-)