Following the success of the 30 Under 30 class at the Audrain Newport Concours & Motor Week, the Audrain Automobile Museum in Rhode Island will stage a “Youngtimers” car show July 17.
“Coming out of our Audrain Newport Concours & Motor Week commitment to expand access to automotive events, Audrain Youngtimers is all about reflecting and encouraging the growth of the world of automotive enthusiasm through the celebration of iconic cars of recent vintage, the fashion and the music that ties it all together.”
While the 30 Under 30 concours class was limited to car owners 30 year of age or younger who had invested $30,000 or less in their vehicles, the Youngtimers event is open to vehicles produced at least 20 years ago, in other words, pre-2022 models. (Youngtimers is the European term for what you may know as “future classics.”)
“What is a Youngtimer car?” the museum posed the question in its announcement. “It’s a vehicle not yet old enough to meet the traditional criteria of ‘vintage,’ but that speaks to its time in a compelling way and has in short time begun to resonate with both the people who remembered how much they loved them when they were new and a younger generation discovering the appeal they’ve never lost.”
“Every day we discover the magic in what used to be taken for granted — but we understand it’s worth celebrating,” Audrain Group chief executive Donald Osborne is quoted in the announcement.“The cars, the clothes, and especially the music of recent memory are in desperate need of an event that brings them all together.
“So, let’s get together so that we can revel in the nowness of the recent past and move forward into the future. Collecting never stands still — it keeps moving forward.”
Dallenbach, Sullivan gain more Indy fame
Racer turned safety-promoting administrator Wally Dallenbach and “spin-and-win” Indy 500 champion Danny Sullivan have been voted into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway hall of fame, the track’s museum announced. Induction is scheduled for May 26.
Dallenbach, winner of the Ontario 500 in 1973, competed 13 times in the Indy 500 and then became a race administrator pushing for improvements in driver safety as a chief steward.
Sullivan won the Indy 500 in 1985 after spinning between turns 1 and 2 while racing with Mario Andretti.
Bubba Wallace car displayed at hall of fame
The NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina, has added the No. 23 Toyota Camry driven to victory by Bubba Wallace at Talladega in 2021 to its exhibits. The car will be at the museum through August 1.
Also recently unveiled was a new exhibit featuring the Next Gen NASCAR race car.
Tacoma museums offer admission deal
The car museums in Tacoma, Washington — LeMay – America’s Car Museum and the LeMay Collections at Marymount are offering a special $30 admission ticket that grants a visit to both museum at a reduced price, as well as a discount at the gift shops.
The LeMay Collections at Marymount also announced several 2022 event dates, including the Lucky collectors Car Auctions, June 4-5 and August 27-28; Motorcycle Days, June 18-19; and the annual car show, August 27.
Model T Experience days are May 14, June 11, July 9, August 14 and September 11, and private garage tours are available the second Saturday of each month.
North East sets event calendar
The North East Motor Sports Museum in Loudon, New Hampshire, opens its outdoor event season April 16 with the inaugural New England Racers Reunion. The event, taking place at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, will include all eras of racing vehicles.
Other events planned include the AMA Gypsy Tour motorcycle ride, which begins June 12 and ends at the museum on the 25th. The “Hot Rods, Muscle and More” show is planned for August 27; and the 4th annual Nor’Eastern Pontiac Club’s Pontiac Day show is September 24.
Special events this weekend
One of the hidden gems among car museums, the Martin Museum in Phoenix, opens in its new location on March 5 with a car show. The museum’s new and much larger location is at the corner of 43rd Avenue and Thunderbird on the west side of Phoenix.
It’s “Free Museum Weekend” March 5-6 at the California Automobile Museum in Sacramento, and at the California Agriculture Museum in Woodland, though you need to pre-register for the automobile museum deal.
Jeff Bloom presents “Open Wheel Racing” on March 6 in Hickory Corners, Michigan, as part of the Gilmore Car Museum 2022 lecture series.
MAUTO, the car museum in Torino, Italy, in conjunction with the Local Film Festival, shows the documentary Enzo Ferrari: Il rosso e il Nero at 5:30 p.m. March 6. Those present for discussion of the movie include Ferrari biographer Luca Dal Monte.
Mark your calendar
The Route 29 Carolina Cruise begins the morning of March 12 at the Richard Petty Museum and ends later that day at the Mustang Owner’s Museum in Concord, North Carolina.
Fred Simeone resumes his role as “The Car Detective” at 11:15 a.m. on March 12 when Demo Day at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia features stories about how the museum found and acquired its vehicles. Featured cars will be the 1921 Duesenberg French GP racer, the 1936 Bugatti 57G “Tank” car, and the 1970 Porsche 917LH.
The Canadian Automotive Museum in Oshawa, Ontario, offers a special March Break Activities program March 11-19 for school-age children and their families. Also, at 7 p.m. on March 17, the museum hosts its Third Thursday lecture program, this month featuring Dale Johnson’s presentation on “General Motors Canada and the Star Blanket Cree Nation.”
John Oates and Guthrie Trapp perform March 26 in a concert in Newport, Rhode Island, to benefit the Audrain Automobile Museum.
“Drive-In Theaters: An American Institution” is the subject of a presentation March 26 at 11 a.m. at the AACA Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The program will be presented by Jeffrey Bliemeister, the museum’s executive director, and Tim Neal, manager of the Sky Vu Drive-In, which has been operating since 1948 in Gratz, Pennsylvania. The program will be presented live at the museum’s drive-in theater and via Zoom.
The Mustang Owner’s Museum in Concord, North Carolina, launches its car-show calendar on March 27 with a “Fords on Sunday” event.
The Canadian Automotive Museum in Oshawa, Ontario, offers Oshawa Automotive Walking tours on April 2, April 23 and May 7.
“Foundations of Photography” classes featuring Andrew Taylor begin April 9 and run through October 22 at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia.
National Mustang Day will be celebrated April 15-16 at the Mustang Owner’s Museum in Concord, North Carolina, with the opening of the museum’s newly expanded exhibit area and a driving cruise, car show, seminars and a Shelby panel presentation and more.
The Third Thursday Zoom program on April 21 by the Canadian Automotive Museum in Oshawa, Ontario, features “Lost Car Rescue: Behind the Scenes of a Canadian Car Show.”
The spring lecture series at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, England, continues April 23 with Alan Chandler discussing petroliana collecting.
A second wave of vehicles arrives September 22, 2022, and run through May 14, 2023, in “The Allure of the Extreme” supercar showcase at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
The AACA Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania, opens three new exhibits on May 21 — Orphan Cars, ATVs and AMCs.
The Revs Institute in Naples, Florida, hosts a combined meeting of the World Forum for Motor Museums and the National Association of Automobile Museums from November 9-12.
Does your local car museum have special events or exhibitions planned? Let us know. Email [email protected]
