LINCOLN - Route 66 nostalgia will roll into Lincoln by the carload this week as the community prepares for two events honoring the city's role in the highway's history.

The Veterans Motor Car Club of America Lincoln Heritage Hub Tour will visit Lincoln on Wednesday and the Route 66 Association of Illinois annual motor tour's Route 66 Hall of Fame banquet will be Saturday.

The Veteran Motor Car Club of America will be making a stop Wednesday for lunch at Guzzardo's in Lincoln as part of its tour, said Wanda Lee Rohlfs, director of Main Street Lincoln. More than 60 vehicles from 1910 to 1949 will be parked around Scully Park for anyone to look at during the stop, which will begin around 10:30 a.m.

The club's Lincoln tour, which includes 62 cars with 145 people, concentrates on looping around the area's sites related to Abraham Lincoln, said Linda Ehinger of Mission Hills, Kan., who is co-director of the tour. It began Sunday in Springfield and will end there Thursday night.

"We've got members who will be taking part from 24 different states," said Ehinger. "It's really cool to see us rolling down the street."

After lunch, the group plans to stroll around the downtown square, she said. They will have name tags to identify them to anyone wanting to ask questions.

"Everyone's always happy when asked about their cars," said Ehinger. "They just love their old cars. They're pretty amazing."

The Veteran Motor Car Club of America was founded in December 1938 when 12 men met at the Hotel Statler in Boston, Mass. The club has grown to more than 5,000 members throughout the world.

For further information on the tours, visit www.vmcca.org.

The 80th annual motor tour for the Route 66 Association of Illinois will be Friday through Sunday and will pass through Elkhart, Broadwell and Lincoln, said Geoff Ladd, Logan County tourism director.

The event will start in Edwardsville. Participants will stay Saturday night in Lincoln and attend a banquet at After Shock that evening, he said.

On Sunday, they will complete the Logan County portion of the tour with breakfast in Atlanta and then make their way to Pontiac for the culminating events.

A complete schedule of events and application form can be found at www.il66assoc.org.