The Americruise has taken some licks the last few years. In the past, being moved at what seemed like the last minute didn't give people enough time to plan vacations to make the event. It was even reduced to just a driving event that ended at another event for two years. Well, this year we got it off and running again with enough time to promote and plan a better event. After spending the weekend in Lincoln, it's safe to say the Americruise is off to another good start.
The Nebraska State Fairgrounds was packed with hot rods, customs, street rods, classic trucks, musclecars, and just about any other massaged pre-'72 car of which you could think. The weather held out, although it was hot just like the rest of the country, but thankfully there are plenty of shade trees on the grounds.
We set up our driving events, and after a slow start, we got a few curious rodders out on the courses. After a few passes, most of the adventurous ones were hooked and kept coming back for more. Thankfully we're not aware of any breakage, but then again we had the course set up pretty tight to help keep spends down.
The two new awards we were handing out (Rod of the Year and Custom of the Year) brought out some stunning examples that filled the special parking area and gave the staff plenty to mull over when it came time to narrow it down to just five in each class. On Saturday, the spectators were treated to the action as these 10 hot rods and customs showed that they were more than just rolling art. Some of the owners pushed their cars harder than others, but each one walked away with a little better appreciation of what their car could do.
We're already starting to plan next year's event, but we're still finalizing a date, so stay tuned. Now all the R&C staff needs to do is to try to get some time away from the office and spend some time in the garage getting a couple rides ready to make the trip.
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Mason Eggleston joins the family rodding fun with his '38 Chevy coupe done up in true Gasser style. |
Robert Frizzell's '58 Chevy Impala is a trip right back to the early '60s with its perfect stance and tasteful scallop accents. |
Try to find a part newer than 1950 anywhere on Greg Jahn's Flattie-powered '29 Ford Model A sedan. |
Another one in the "engine's taller than the vehicle" club is Russ Eggleston's mile-high Hemi-powered '28 Dodge pickup. |
The history on Jim Meyers' highly customized '57 Chevy goes all the way back to when it was a brand-new car damaged in transport to the dealer. It was first customized in 1957 and became a huge hit on the custom circuit for nearly a decade. Jim had always loved the car and tracked it down a few years ago and brought it back to show-stopping condition. |
Multiple styles come together on Norm Kyle's '33 Ford pickup with the original accessories covering the resto rod slot, a chopped top filling in the hot rod territory, and large American Racing wheels making the street rod statement. |
The look that's back and growing in popularity has already been picked up on by Larry Bettenhausen with his bad-to-the-bone '55 Chevy Gasser. |
A visual stunner that relies fully on the paint and zero body modifications is Daniel Olsen's '37 Ford Tudor. The sweet sedan sits just right on a set of chrome reverses decked out with spider caps and big 'n' little wide white skins. |
The car of your dreams was just a hammer's throw away at the indoor auction. This 440-powered '71 Cuda would make any musclecar fans deepest dreams come true. |
Ted Ziemba's '34 Dodge coupe keeps it clean and simple with a factory fresh body mated to forever-popular whitewalls and full hubcaps. |
Sometimes it just takes a nice set of wheels like these Intros on David Rathbun's '61 Chevy Impala to make the transition from stocker to shocker. |
Gary Spangler blends old and new in the driveline of his '30 Ford Model A coupe with a Flattie-to-T5 combo powering the chopped highboy. |