HomeNews and Events‘Speed’ museum breaking ground on 90,000-square-foot expansion

‘Speed’ museum breaking ground on 90,000-square-foot expansion

Our weekly roundup of car museum news and notes

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The Speedway Motors Museum of American Speed in Lincoln, Nebraska, has announced a 90,000-square-foot, $10 million expansion to be done in two phases beginning this fall. The facility currently spans more than 150,000 square feet of displays that showcase the chronology of racing engines and speed equipment.

The expansion will provide space to display vehicles from the recently acquired Darryl Starbird Rod & Custom Hall of Fame Museum, racing vehicles from the Herzog Motorsports Collection, and cars from Eric Zausner’s E.Z. Spindizzy Foundation collection, among others.

“We are excited to expand upon the already popular Lincoln attraction and make it even bigger and better through the commitment from our owners and partnership with other museum supporters,” said Tim Matthews, museum curator.

“The new addition will allow us to add enhanced displays for NASCAR, off-road racing and growing our already popular land speed, drag racing and custom show car displays. We also plan to add more interactive displays for youth and families making it an immersive experience for the whole family.”

Groundbreaking for the expansion is scheduled for 9 a.m. October 16 as part of a cars and coffee cruise-in event. A special celebration of Herzog Motorsports and driver Jimmie Johnson also is scheduled this weekend at the museum. Herzog Motorsports is a Missouri-based racing team that has won in a variety of events, from off-road racing in Baja to Jimmie Johnson’s transition to stock car racing.

Watching the paint dry

1919 Ballot Type 5/8LC,
The 1919 Ballot Type 5/8LC is being restored at the REVS Institute, Collier Collection

Earlier this year, Jim Volgarino reported in ClassicCars.com on his visit to the REVS Institute, Collier Collection, in Naples, Florida, and noted that the restoration was underway on a 1919 Ballot Type 5/8LC, one of four built for the Indianapolis 500.

The museum has opened a special “Cars as Canvas” installation that allows visitors to see the car being painted and to learn about the techniques, materials and process of painting such a vehicle, using methods much as they were done a century ago.

The exhibit includes historical objects, images and a video, and will remain open for several months, the museum said, adding that it will take that long for the paint to dry completely.

Harley-Davidson founders going to Hall of Fame

Harley-Davidson founders
The four founders of Harley-Davidson

The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America has identified the final inductee in its Class of 2022. It’s the founders of Harley-Davidson — William S. Harley and the Davidson brothers, Arthur, Walter and William A. They founded the motorcycle company in 1903.

Previously announced members of the Class of 2022 are Pete Brock, Dick LaHaie, Banjo Matthews, Denise McCluggage, Raymond Parks, Jack Roush, Terry Vance and Bryon Hines, and Helio Castroneves.

Induction ceremonies are scheduled for March 7-8 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

An evening with Porsche prototypes 

Porsche sports-prototype racing cars at the Petersen

Organizers of the Luftgekuhlt gathering and the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles have a special event planned for the evening of October 21. “An Evening Among Legends” will focus on the Porsche 962 and 956 sport-prototype racing cars with a fireside chat featuring Patrick Long, racing driver and Luft founder, and Alwin Springer, co-founder of Andial and president of Porsche Motorsports North America for many years.

The event includes tours showcasing the Porsche racing cars in the museum.

Special events this weekend

National Bullitt Day will be celebrated October 16 at the Mustang Owner’s Museum in Concord, North Carolina. 

The Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan, concludes its car-show season October 16 with the Congress of Motorcars driving tour for vehicles produced before 1943. The event runs from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. and includes free rides in antique vehicles, vintage carnival games, and period-appropriate live music. A driving tour begins at 10:30 a.m. and concludes with a pass in review parade on the museum grounds at 1 p.m.

“Mille Miglia” is the theme for Demo Day activities October 16 at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia, where the museum’s Mille Miglia podium-finishing cars will be exercised. Those cars include a trio of 1930s-era Alfa Romeo 8C models and a 1956 Maserati 300 S.

Hemi Under Glass by Bob Riggle and Rich Truesdell will be featured from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on October 16 at Autobooks-Aerobooks in Burbank, California.

The Blackhawk Museum in Danville, California, hosts its 30th anniversary All British Motor Show from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. on October 17.

Mark your calendar

Studebaker‘s lesser-known models will be the subject of a presentation October 20 at 1:30 p.m. by Studebaker National Museum archivist Andrew Beckman. His talk in the Wiekamp Auditorium in South Bend, Indiana, will feature such vehicles as the Light Four, Commander Special, and Parkview.

The early years of the Canadian Grand Prix is the subject of the Third Thursday Zoom talk scheduled for October 21 and presented by the Canadian Automotive Museum. The speaker will be George Webster, who has worked a steward at Formula 1 events and has been a motorsports writer and photographer.

School half term in the UK means special youth-oriented programs October 23-31 at the British Motor Museum at Gaydon, where Professor Pickle and Doctor Pumpkin will share the science of lights and mirrors. 

The Mustang Owner’s Museum in Concord, North Carolina, hosts a Mustang Grabber car show October 23.

Autobooks-Aerobooks in Burbank, California, hosts Angels Savage and Ted Woperner and their book, Savage Angel, a biography of racer Swede Savage, on October 23.

Opening October 26 at MAUTO, the National Museum of Automobiles in Torino, Italy, is an exhibition titled “Those daredevils on the white roads.” The exhibit features 40 photographs by Adriano Scoffone of the 40-mile hillclimb race held in the Italian Alps in 1930 and won by Tazio Nuvolari in an Alfa-Romeo Grand Prix car. The exhibit was developed with help from Angelo Sala, former director of staging at the Theater alla Scala.

The Mustang Owner’s Museum in Concord, North Carolina, stages Foxtoberfest October 28-30, and a Fords on Sunday event October 31, with a chili and cornbread cookoff as part of the Fords on Sunday event.

Corwenna station is one of the model railway exhibits

The British Motor Museum at Gaydon stages the Great British Model Railway Show on October 30 and 31, featuring 30 scale-model railroad layouts in various gauges.

The Tunnels to Towers Foundation’s 9/11 Never Forget mobile exhibit will be at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, November 3-9.

“The Car Detective” is the theme for Demo Day at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum on November 6. At the event, Dr. Simeone will talk about the research involved in finding special vehicles and will demonstrate by exercising the 1933 Squire roadster, 1948 Talbot-Lago T25 Grand Sport coupe and 1958 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa. That program runs from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. At 3 p.m., the museum welcomes former racer Willy T. Ribbs to share the story of an American history maker.

The North East Motor Sports Museum in Loudon, New Hampshire, stages its Legends Day on November 7, this year honoring New England midget racing.

The new Savoy Automobile Museum in Cartersville, Georgia, midway between Chattanooga and Atlanta, has announced December 8 as its opening day for visitors. The museum is on a 35-acre site and includes three buildings with 65,000-square-feet of display space and a cafe. It is part of the Georgia Museums Inc., which includes the Booth Western Art Museum, Bartow History Museum and Tellus Science Museum.

Does your local car museum have special events or exhibitions planned? Let us know. Email larrye@classiccars.com

Larry Edsall
Larry Edsall
A former daily newspaper sports editor, Larry Edsall spent a dozen years as an editor at AutoWeek magazine before making the transition to writing for the web and becoming the author of more than 15 automotive books. In addition to being founding editor at ClassicCars.com, Larry has written for The New York Times and The Detroit News and was an adjunct honors professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

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