Thank you for your interest in Americruise. We are sorry but pre-registration is now closed. Late registration will be available at the event beginning Thursday from 2pm-6pm, Friday from 8am-6pm and Saturday 8am-6pm, the cost will be $35.
Just in case you haven't already heard or read about it in the magazine, Rod & Custom will be heading back to the Nebraska State Fair Park in Lincoln, Nebraska, the weekend of June 29 to July 1 for the 2007 Americruise.
During the event, we'll once again have driving activities that'll keep you entertained. The first driving event will be an autocross course set up with cones in the parking lot. Each driver will be timed on each lap through the course, and, not surprisingly, the fastest time wins bragging rights and a trophy. If it's anything like last year, it'll be as much fun for the spectators as the drivers, as we're sure there will be plenty of tire smoke and wild action.
The opportunity to test your car's acceleration and braking will be available during the Go & Whoa contest. Your reaction time will be important as you accelerate in a straight line (we hope) and brake just in time to stop within a preset area marked with two lines. The car and driver who can do this in the quickest time wins. Smoking the tires right up until the time you have to slam on the brakes is optional but will bring the most response from the crowd. If participating in these two events sounds like something you need to do, your car must have seatbelts and go through a quick inspection to make sure it has stuff like working brakes and throttle return springs. If you have a roadster or convertible and want to participate, you'll need to bring a helmet (you know how insurance companies get).
Painless Performance Products will be leading a tour out of Fort Worth, Texas, leaving the morning of Monday, June 25. After a snack and a quick tour of the Painless facility, the group will drive to the Texas Motor Speedway for a tour and maybe a surprise or two. The group will cruise through Elk City, Oklahoma, and stop for a tour of the Route 66 museum. The next major stop will be Dodge City, Kansas, for a tour of Boot Hill and the Long Branch Saloon. Many other stops will be planned at local side-road sites. The Painless Performance Products tour will cover about 800 miles, cruising on two-lane roads as much as possible, and arrive in Lincoln Thursday evening. Contact Dennis Overholser at Painless Performance (817-244-6212, x1008) if you're planning to attend so he can help you make the proper hotel and trip arrangements.
Sacramento Vintage Ford is sponsoring the West Coast tour being lead by the R&C staff. We'll be meeting at our headquarters in Placentia at 9:00am Friday, June 22 and hitting the road after some snacks. We'll be heading north to Sacramento for the official kick-off at Sacramento Vintage Ford where we'll get a tour and some grub in their very cool diner. After a good night's rest, we'll be heading east, winding our way through the mountains along Lake Tahoe and through Carson City, Nevada, and ending up for the night in Winnemucca, Nevada. Winnemucca is the future home of the America's Car Collection museum and we'll be treated to a tour of their restoration shop and a glimpse of a few cars in the collection. Over the next couple of days we'll eventually work our way by the Bonneville Salt Flats and through Wyoming into South Dakota to check out Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse monument. From there we'll be cruisin' through Nebraska and into Lincoln on Thursday. If you're interested in making the trip with us send me an email kevin.lee@sorc.com.
Stay tuned right here for more details as they become available. We're looking forward to another great cruise across the country and winding up back in Lincoln. Hope you can come along.
Rod and Custom of the Year Awards
When we decided to hand out a Rod of the Year and Custom of the Year at last year's event, we knew we wanted the winners to have to earn it. The two winners last year did just that. Jim Karls and his '32 Ford roadster and Gary Kuck and his '60 Corvette weren't afraid to push their rides through the performance tests, as the final results showed. The Rod & Custom Rod of the Year is open to pre-1949 vehicles and the Rod & Custom Custom of the Year is open to cars manufactured from 1949 to 1964. For the Custom class, a '62 Bonneville with an injected LS1 is as equally welcome as a '51 Merc with whitewalls; we're looking for anything built to perform.
When our sister publications Classic Trucks and Custom & Classic Trucks saw the success we had with these awards they wanted in on it too. So if you have a truck but felt that it didn't fit one of the Rod & Custom classes you're in luck because there will be a Truck of the Year (early - pre-49) and Truck of the Year (late - 1949-1972).
Entrants who want to participate will need to be at the Americruise on Friday by noon and will be parked in a specified area. The R&C, Classic Truck, and Custom & Classic Trucks staff will go around and select the Top Five in each of their respective classes based on the following judged categories:
Exterior Design
Fit and Finish
Interior
Engine Compartment
Undercarriage
Once the Top Fives have been selected, it'll start getting interesting. They will each be ran through a safety inspection, and then they will make some timed runs through the autocross course, do a 0-40-mph acceleration test and a 40-0-mph brake test on Saturday. The best car in each event will be awarded 100 points and the rest will be awarded a percentage of points based on how close they were to the best time. On Saturday night, these 10 cars will be required to participate in a cruise (Reliability Test) to somewhere in Lincoln. The cruise will be pass or fail--if you make it, you get 100 points, if not, you get none.
Such a Deal!
Where else can you have this much fun for just $20? That's right, pre-registration is only $20 and includes a vehicle, a driver and co-pilot credentials (kids 15 and younger get in free), a goodie bag, and your chance to take part in any of the activities listed.
Americruise Tours?
Go & Whoa
Autocross Course
Rod & Custom Rod of the Year Competition
Rod & Custom Custom of the Year Competition
Manufactures' Row
Super Prize Giveaways
Thank you for your interest in Americruise. We are sorry but pre-registration is now closed. Late registration will be available at the event beginning Thursday from 2pm-6pm, Friday from 8am-6pm and Saturday 8am-6pm, the cost will be $35.