Goodguys 17th Meguiar’s Del Mar Nationals Autocross Recap
The Del Mar Nationals is the fourth stop on the 2017 show season for Goodguys and, according to many, is one of the crown jewel shows to attend. Between the perfect weather, the amazing ocean views,great scenic photography, delicious restaurants nearby and thousands of cool hot rods to look at it’s understandable why so many people make the trip to Del Mar year after year. This year as well as last, the weekend coincided with the SCCA ProSolo and NMCA West events held in Fontana at Auto Club Speedway.
Friday and Saturday’s autocross action brought out 51 vehicles to try their fate on the compact yet very technical track. So technical in the fact that many drivers were not too happy with this year’s course layout. After talking with John Borcher of “Goodguys” he broke it down very simply by stating sure I could’ve made the track the same as last year but what fun is that? Wouldn’t the drivers prefer a new and different course? Well, some did and some did not. Apparently, the old addage is true: “You can’t please everyone.” Speaking with Mark Allen and his killer 1967 RS/SS Camaro he stated: “I don’t care what kind of course it is, it’s fun either way”.
Goodguys Pro Class
The “Pro” class only brought out 6 entries which are a little low for Del Mar from recent years but with the other autocross events taking place the same weekend, it was understandable why. Casey Cronin took home the top spot in his 1972 corvette with a winning time of 0:43.081 overtaking Greg Thurmond’s lead from earlier in the day. It stands to reason that Greg’s head wasn’t completely in the game as his wife Jane during one of her stints hit a k-rail causing her to end her weekend early. Luckily Jane was fine and only caused some cosmetic damage to her 1964 Corvette called “Scarlett”.
Pro Class Results:
| Position | Driver | Car | Best Lap |
| 1 | Casey Cronin | 1972 chevy corvette | 00:43.1 |
| 2 | Greg Thurmond | 1965 Chevy corvette | 00:44.1 |
| 3 | Matt Alcala | 1965 Ford Mustang | 00:46.3 |
| 4 | Jane Thurmond | 1964 Chevy Corvette | 00:48.1 |
| 5 | Mike Sullivan | 1965 Chevy El Camino | 00:49.1 |
| 6 | Bret Voelkel | 1969 Ford Mustang | 00:55.3 |
Goodguys Street Machine Class
“Street Machine” class brought out the most entries as 38 cars registered to race there way into the “Pro” class for the finals in Scottsdale in November later this year. General Motors was the product of choice for two-thirds of the Street Machine class with a few Fords and a couple Mopar’s sprinkled in for good measure. At the end of the day, it was Rick Jung in his 1968 Ciro Racing Chevy Corvette holding onto the quickest time for the win. Cheryl Herrick in her Chevy Nova placed second and headed over to the NMCA West event to compete on Sunday. Rounding out the top three was Michael Erickson and his 4-Door Big Block Chevelle.
Street Machine Results:
| Position | Driver | Car | Best Lap |
| 1 | Rick Jung | 1968 Chevy Corvette | 00:43.9 |
| 2 | Cheryl Herrick | chevy Nova | 00:45.1 |
| 3 | Michael Erickson | Chevrolet | 00:45.2 |
| 4 | Gregg Blundell | chevy | 00:45.5 |
| 5 | Mark Allen | Chevrolet | 00:45.5 |
| 6 | Ian Sakurai | ford | 00:45.8 |
| 7 | Cody Marque | Ford | 00:45.9 |
| 8 | Mike Young | ford | 00:45.9 |
| 9 | Matt Alcala | 1969 Chevy Camaro | 00:46.0 |
| 10 | Todd Vierra | chevy | 00:46.1 |
| 11 | Chris Meyer | chevy | 00:46.3 |
| 12 | Brandon Thurman | 1967 Chevy Camaro | 00:46.5 |
| 13 | Andrew Leggio | 1969 Chevy Camaro | 00:46.7 |
| 14 | Ron Myers | 1969 Chevy Camaro | 00:46.9 |
| 15 | Mike Selvaggio | 1967 Chevy Camaro | 00:47.3 |
| 16 | George Dias | Chevy | 00:47.4 |
| 17 | Robbie Conklin | Chevrolet | 00:47.9 |
| 18 | Zane Graham | 1971 Chevy Camaro | 00:47.9 |
| 19 | Charles Davis | chevy | 00:48.0 |
| 20 | Gerald Lum | Camaro | 00:48.7 |
| 21 | Nick Herrington | Mustang | 00:49.4 |
| 22 | Mike Byron | Chevy Camaro | 00:50.2 |
| 23 | Dick Martin | 1971 Chevy Camaro | 00:50.9 |
| 24 | Ryan Half | 1968 Ford Mustang | 00:51.0 |
| 25 | Rick Nogy | 1969 Chevy Camaro | 00:51.1 |
| 26 | Jason Pecikonis | 1965 Mustang Vicious | 00:51.3 |
| 27 | William Dale | 1967 Chevy Camaro | 00:52.3 |
| 28 | Joe Roach | 1966 Plymouth Barracuda | 00:52.6 |
| 29 | Rusty Thompson | 1970 Olds Vista Cruiser | 00:53.0 |
| 30 | Jerry MC | Nulty Dodge | 00:53.4 |
| 31 | Rick Markey | 1967 Chevy Camaro | 00:53.9 |
| 32 | Ralph Hollis | 1970 Pontiac GTO | 00:54.5 |
| 33 | Ron Friel | 1964 Ford Falcon/Sprint | 00:55.2 |
| 34 | Peter Madsen | 1956 Chevy 210 | 00:56.2 |
| 35 | Jeff Howe | 1965 Chevy Malibu SS | 00:56.4 |
| 36 | Chris Humphrey | Chevy | 00:57.1 |
| 37 | Francsico Preciado | 1966 Ford Mustang | 01:01.7 |
| 38 | Mike Regan | 1967 Ford Mustang | 01:13.2 |
Goodguys Hot Rod, Truck and Fun Run Classes
Unfortunately, there were only seven total entries between the “Hot Rod”, Truck”, and “Fun Run” classes. Dennis Russel took home first place in the Hot Rod class as he had the pleasure of only racing against himself, seeing as he was the only entrant in that class.
The truck class only brought out three entries with Bill Kinsman (AKA T-Rex) with his 1972 Bronco taking the win and was promoted to the Pro Class along with the other winners in their respected class. Talking with Bill and his win he felt the technical course suited the short wheelbase Bronco he pilots better than if he had run the NMCA event which offers higher speeds and less hairpin turns. Bill’s T-Rex appearance is part of what makes Del Mar at can’t miss event for so many. It’s not just about the fun on course, but the fun off the course too!
The Fun Run class consists of vehicles that for whatever reason don’t meet all the rules and regulations to enter one of the other three classes that Goodguys offers in Autocross. Mike Ahlstrom and his super cool VW Dune Buggy took the top time of the weekend to earn him a first place award. Unlike the other categories, the Fun Run does not offer a Pro category, therefore, he’s not offered a chance to compete in Scottsdale like the other class winners.
Hot Rod Results:
1T 1026 Dennis Russel Ford 0:49.030
Truck Results:
| Position | Driver | Car | Best Lap |
| 1 | Bill Kinsman | 1972 Ford Bronco | 00:45.7 |
| 2 | Scott Nelson | 1956 Ford Panel | 00:51.5 |
| 3 | Jacob Kidwell | 1966 GMC K1000 | 01:06.2 |
Fun Run Results:
| Position | Driver | Car | Best Lap |
| 1 | Mike Ahlstrom | VW Dune Buggy | 00:43.6 |
| 2 | Ray Thompson | 1955 Chevy | 00:54.1 |
| 3 | Francisco Preciado | 1966 Ford Mustang | 00:57.3 |
Overall, it was a great weekend of autocross, amazing friends and awesome cars and trucks from the west coast that make this event a must attend in my book. I’ m already looking forward to the 2018 Goodguys Del Mar show.
