HOME > INSIDE NASCAR

March 4, 2007

On the Road to San Antonio Day Two
Boogity, Boogity, Boogity Edition
By Dennis Michelsen

Snow falling, forty-five mile per hour gusts to the winds, and cold temperatures back home but seventy-five degrees and sunshine in San Antonio? Yes indeed it seems that I made a wise decision going to work this weekend! Do you call this work? The stars and cars of the ASA Late Model Series hit the track for their first practice of the season and it only took a few laps for the first wreck. But the other story was the adventure in getting to the track. They do everything bigger in Texas including traffic jams! So goes day two on the road to San Antonio.

Starting Point: Ardmore, Oklahoma
Best Western-Free breakfast and the waffles tasted great!

Different Taboos for Different States
Over the years as I criss-cross the country covering all sorts of racing I have been amazed at how much some states allow certain vices. The amazing thing is it seems that the state of Oklahoma is not big on smut stores but they are huge on Native American Casinos. On the flip side Texas isn't big on casinos but they are huge in smut stores. (No I didn't visit either but the mammoth signs make it hard to miss either) The border area along Interstate 35 was hilarious with Oklahoma cramming in one last mega-casino and Texas welcoming visitors with DW's Adult Shop. While I am fairly sure the REAL DW is not involved in this business venture I am left to wonder out loud if the patrons scream boogity, boogity, boogity when a new feature begins. Then again that might be classified as TMI and I am not about to do the research!

Where is My Spotter?
In most places I have traveled and back home in Illinois when there is a backup on the highway due to an accident the traffic slows down in a somewhat orderly fashion. Not so in the BIG T! People seem to like to wait until the last minute to slam on their brakes. Where is my spotter when I need him? There is a sign at the border that says, "Drive friendly the Texas way." Drive friendly the Texas way? I don't know what these guys are smoking that made up this sign but Texans are hardly friendly drivers! My research has shown two types of Texas drivers. The first kind is the mossier. They seem to occasionally forget that they need to push down the accelerator and turn into rolling roadblocks, too often in the fast lane! The other kind is the banzaier. These folks drive way too fast and abruptly change lanes at what seems like a random pattern. Combine the two and it makes for some good old-fashioned Texas driving fun!

Hey Texas How About Building More Roads
It has been many years since I have driven down I-35 between Dallas-Ft. Worth and San Antonio and has it ever changed! The roads are pretty much the same but the towns all blend one into another now, which leads to massive traffic jams in every sizeable town. In most parts of the country you have bypasses around the big cities. While there are some in Texas they are not plentiful enough. Washington DC and many super large metro areas even have outer and inner loops to spread out the traffic. Not so in Texas where everything is bigger including the traffic jams!

Final Laps
Nissan named their ultra large SUV accurately…the ARMADA is just that huge!

Seeing a four by four pickup truck low rider with ultra dinky wheels was another first on my journey through Austin.

Just south of Austin is a shop called "Dollar Tile" that lists tile for sixty-nine cents apiece! I am not making this up but I do suggest the guy change his sign. He can still call it "Dollar Tile" but he should add "31% Off Hurry In" to the sign to convey the right message!

Final Destination-San Antonio