Classics Pack Preston Park

WAITSBURG - Standing over the engine of a 2012 Mustang with his young son Race, Reece Hubbard was melancholy for the car he was recently forced to sell.

"It was a 2008 Mustang Bullitt, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the '68 version," he said, recalling the movie Bullitt with Steve Mc- Queen, who helped make the model famous. "They only made 5,800 and my mine was #5,780. "

With his wife out of work for a year following an injury, he had no other choice, but he still pines after the car while dreaming about the next one.

"We're seeing what Mama likes," Hubbard said. 'She gets to pick the next one."

Those kinds of hubcap dreams, fulfilled and unfulfi lled under the leafy shade of Preston Park, is what Waitsburg's Classic Auto Show is all about, organizers said.

Hubbard was one of the closest visitors at a show of dozens of vehicles that drew owners and dreamers from throughout the region.

"It's been every bit as popular as in the past," former Classic Auto Show chair Lupe Torres said. "Waitsburg seems to draw people who like small town environments and keep coming back."

Torres counted at least a dozen new cars at the show this year, while five more cars participated in the Friday night cruise, making that total 28 (see page 7).

With three new businesses opening in town, the car show couldn't have happened at a better time, he said. "That helps everybody."

Meanwhile, Hubbard, a fan of late '60s muscle cars, was admiring a '68 Camaro Rally Sport.

"I like it," he said. It's clean, it has a big block, lots of horsepower, torque and hidden headlights. This one's been well taken care of."