Wheel Hub Live brings together car lovers for weekend event in Lincoln (2024)

Specialty cars cruised into Lincoln for the Museum of American Speed's second annual Wheel Hub Live event over Memorial Day weekend.

The two days of festivities brought cars previously featured in Wheel Hub magazine for an exciting weekend for car lovers.

On Friday, ticket holders were able to participate in the Wheel Hub Reliability Run. This full-day event had car enthusiasts cruising to local builders and shops that have been considered the best hot rod spots in the state. The 200-mile road trip included stops at the Cook collection in Lincoln, the Peter Fink collection in Omaha and Cal Automotive Creations in Bennington, followed by a dinner at the museum.

On Saturday morning, guests could visit the Wheel Hub Live car show and exhibit at the Museum of American Speed. The exhibit featured specialty vehicles that had previously been highlighted by Wheel Hub. Attendees could get a close-up view of the impressive vehicles and the opportunity to speak with some of their owners.

Keith and Jody Hill traveled from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, to show their 1933 Ford three-door coupe. The car that the couple has owned for four years had been featured in the magazine and was used in some of the promotional material for Wheel Hub Live.

“Everybody has been very friendly,” Keith told the Journal Star about his experience at Wheel Hub live. “The hospitality has been second to none. We've had huge crowds, and everything has been very well organized.”

The car show was followed by an after-party at Nebraska Innovation Campus featuring food trucks, live music and even more cars. The parking lot along Transformation Drive was filled with car lovers perusing a wide variety of specialty cars from Mustangs to Model Ts.

John Sanders enjoys bringing his 1967 Volkswagen Deluxe Microbus to car shows because he is able to connect with other car lovers.

“A lot of people will come up to me and tell me about how they’ve ridden in a VW bus, or that their parents or grandparents owned one,” said Sanders. “I’ll even have people telling me about their experiences with the VW Beetles. They all have stories, and I like to hear their stories.”

He had his own stories to share after his 40 years driving the bus. Some of these adventures include hauling firewood and pianos, cross country treks, and camping with his kids and dogs.

“It's been a fun vehicle.”

Alex Hageman’s Ford F-100 also carries some stories. The truck was bought by Hageman’s grandfather in 1960. His father restored the truck in 1982 while he was in high school. Hageman is carrying on their tradition to bring the truck from Ceresco for the car show.

Fred Gay, president of the Capitol City Ford and Mustang Club, was in attendance to show his 2019 GT Mustang, which he likes to go cruising with.

“We’ve got 10 people out here today helping,” said Gay of himself and his fellow CCFMC members. “It’s nice to get to be involved with the event and at the same time get to show our cars.”

Auto enthusiasts continued to converse and celebrate as they finished off a weekend of successful car showing.