The MOONEYES Christmas Party Show & Drag 2025 brought one of Southern California’s most recognizable hot rod traditions to a new home on December 20, 2025. After two decades at Irwindale Speedway, the annual Christmas gathering moved to the Pomona Fairplex and In-N-Out Burger Drag Strip, putting a new backdrop behind a show that has always been unmistakably MOONEYES.
Gauge Magazine photographer Cheri Delgadillo was there to capture the move to Pomona, and her photos tell the story better than any list of attractions could. Traditional hot rods, chopped customs, lead sleds, classic pickups, Volkswagens, lowriders and muscle cars filled the grounds, with the event’s Christmas personality mixed in everywhere.
Moving an established event after 20 years at the same venue is a big change. For 2025, the Pomona Fairplex and In-N-Out Burger Drag Strip gave the MOONEYES Christmas Party a new setting while keeping both sides of the event together: the show field and the racing.
The rules kept the vehicle lineup rooted in the traditional scene, with show vehicles limited to 1972 and older. Cheri’s gallery shows just how broad that can be. Early Ford hot rods sit alongside chopped Mercurys and lead sleds, while Chevrolet C10s, Advance Design pickups, Impalas, Bel Airs and other classics share the grounds with vintage Volkswagens and traditional customs.
One of the things that stands out in the 2025 coverage is the variety. This wasn’t a field where every row looked the same. Traditional rods and customs were mixed with lowriders, classic trucks, muscle cars and a particularly strong Volkswagen presence.
Split-window Type 2 buses, Beetles, a Baja Bug and a Karmann Ghia all made appearances. Some of the buses were dressed for Christmas, adding exactly the kind of personality you’d expect at a December MOONEYES gathering.
The American iron was just as diverse. Cheri’s camera found everything from Ford Broncos and Model A hot rods to Chevrolet Novas, Chevelles, Camaros and rows of classic pickups. There were polished builds, patina-covered survivors and customs where the bodywork and stance mattered more than shine.
The chopped cars and lead sleds were another reminder of what separates a MOONEYES event from a typical all-makes car show. Long, low profiles, chopped roofs, period-influenced paint and custom bodywork were scattered throughout the grounds.
That traditional side of Southern California car culture has long been tied to MOONEYES. Gauge readers saw more of it earlier in 2025 when Cheri covered the MOON Eyes Open House 2025 in Santa Fe Springs. The Christmas Party takes that same hot rod and custom-car attitude and expands it into a much larger year-end gathering.
The move to the In-N-Out Burger Drag Strip was especially fitting because the Christmas Party isn’t built around parked cars alone. Drag racing was part of the day, giving spectators something very different from simply walking rows of show vehicles.
A pinup girl contest, pinstriping demonstrations, vendors and live music rounded out the event. Cheri even caught the band in action, another small piece of the gallery that helps show why the Christmas Party feels more like a gathering of automotive culture than a conventional judged car show.
The December date also gives builders an excuse to have some fun. Christmas decorations showed up throughout the show field, from decorated Volkswagen buses to Santa displays and holiday-themed trucks. Those details kept the event from feeling like another Southern California show that just happened to land on the calendar in December.
The Pomona chapter isn’t ending with the 2025 show. MOONEYES has announced the 2026 Christmas Party Show & Drag for Saturday, December 12, 2026, once again at the In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip. The announced program includes hot rods and customs, drag racing, vendors, live bands, pinstriping and a pinup contest, with the show again centered on 1972-and-older vehicles.
For more MOONEYES information and event updates, visit the official MOONEYES website.
Check out Cheri Delgadillo’s complete Gauge Magazine coverage from Pomona below.
Photos by Cheri Delgadillo for Gauge Magazine.
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