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34:55
Term
hotrods
A “hot rod” is a car that someone has modified to be more exciting to drive. People usually change things to make it look cooler and drive better than a factory car.
Term
Lone Star Street Rod Association
The Lone Star Street Rod Association is a regional street-rod club that connects hot-rod and custom-car enthusiasts. These groups often organize events, shows, and community activities around traditional street-rodding.
Term
knockoff
A “knockoff” is a copy of something famous. In this context, it means the car is styled to look like a well-known custom, but it’s not the real original.
Term
street rotting
“Street rotting” here is basically talking about “street rodding.” That means people building and customizing cars for driving on regular roads, not just tracks.
Car
57 Buick
A 1957 Buick is a classic American car from the 1950s. The host is talking about a performance version of it, not a basic stock setup.
Term
nailhead
“Nailhead” is a nickname for a specific Buick V8 engine. People use it because that engine has a distinct design and feel compared to other V8s.
Term
fuel-injected six-pack
A “six-pack” is a performance setup that uses multiple carburetor-style intakes to feed the engine more air and fuel. “Fuel-injected” here means it’s using injection to deliver fuel instead of relying purely on traditional carbs.
Concept
redoing
“Redoing” means the car is currently being worked on and not finished yet. It usually means repairs or upgrades are happening before it’s back to how they want it.
LIVE
Goonline,Mark.
Soifyou'llwaitjustasecond,wewilldothislive.
Stayaway.
Okay.
Andgo.
Hello,everybody.
ItistheIn-WheelTimeCarTalkShowtodaycomingtoyoufromtheLoneStarStreetRodAssociationStateRunCarShowatHewlettParkinGranbury,Texas.
Justahead,guestsfromtoday'sevent,includingthechairmanoftheboardoftheLoneStarStreetRodAssociation.
Heisheretodaywithus.
Everybodystand,please,forRickNeely.
Thankyou,Rick.
Goodmorning,y'all.
Goodmorning.
Plus,we'llhavesomeofourregularfeaturesscatteredthroughouttheshow.
It'sathree-hourbonusprogramtoday.
Aren'tyoulucky?
Howdy,alongwithMikeoutofthisworldMars,wealwaysneedmoreJeffZeke.
ChiefEngineerDavidAinsley,I'mDonArmstrong.
Orinyourworld,I'mNodNortzmora.
Sowe'rehavingtheuhtheuhnationalanthemrightnow,anduhwe'rejusttalkingrightoveritbecauseyouknow,asmuchasIwouldliketostandandsalutetheflaganddoallofthegreatthingsthatweshouldbedoing,wehaveaprogramthatuhactuallywillultimatelygotoapodcast,anditjustdoesn'tworkallthatwell.
SoIunderstand.
Yeah,soIIapologizeaheadoftimeforanythingthatmayhappenwhileyou'reontheairwithusandeverything.
It'sadisclaimerupfront.
Itisadisclaimerupfront.
Nowyou'reathomewatchingonourlivestream,whichiscurrentlyonYouTube,Facebook,andinrealtime.com.
Well,uh,ifwelookalittleoff,well,that'sbecauseofthecameraissuesthatwe'vebeentryingtodealwithhere.
Soweapologizeforthat.
Weapologizeforlivingtoday.
Ofcourse.
Butuhthat'sanotherstoryforanotherday.
We'llgotochurchforthatone.
Ladiesandgentlemen,hereheis,RickNeely.
Goodmorning.
Okay,takeitaway.
Now,ifififififyouwerestandinginfrontofanaudienceofathousandpeoplehere,whichyoudooften,don'tyou?
Ido.
Yeah.
I'mIgotthepleasureofactuallydoingtheawardsanduhspeakingtoourmembershipeveryyear.
Uhit'sIenjoyit.
It'sapassion.
It'sgood,andIlovesharingmypassion.
UhIIappreciatey'allcoming.
Uh,overandoveragain.
Uhandgettingtospendsomesometimewithyou.
Thisisit'saneducationalexperience,isn'tit?
It'suhno,Irefertoitasalifelesson.
Lifelesson.
Yeah,yeah.
I'magluttonforpunishment,andherewegoagain.
Therewegoagain.
Yeah.
Well,it'sgreattoseeyou.
Goodtoseeyou.
Italwaysis.
Doyoulivehere?
No,IliveoutinMidland.
IliveinMidland.
300mileswestofhere.
Isthatallitis?
Justaboutthat.
Yeah.
Well,soinotherwords,thisiskindoflikethehalfwaypointbetweenHoustonandMidland,thestopoffhereinGranbury.
Oh,ifyougothroughGranbury,you'reyou'relost.
That'sreallynottoobadbecauseit'sliketwo250forustogetuphere.
Yeah.
It'saboutwhattakesgas?
Miles.
Yeah,it'smiles.
Alittleover250.
250.
Yeah.
Butittookusfivehourstogethere.
Yeah.
Well,that'straffic.
No,actually,it'snot.
It'suh,youknow,wedon'thaveabighighwaylikeyou'vegotfromMidlandtoGranbury.
Andwetakethewetakescenic.
WetakethebackroutethroughWaco.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Thatway.
Yeah.
71.
There'sacoupleofways,andevenalltheyallendupgoinglikethis.
Absolutely.
SoIwouldimaginethatuhalloftheparticipantsintoday'seventcomefromalloverthestateandbeyond.
Theydo.
WehavesomepeopleinherefromOklahoma,Arkansas,Louisiana,uh,NewMexico,aswellasTexas.
Socongratulations.
Yeah.
Wehaveawehaveaverydiverse,we'renotjustwe'reorganizedinthestateofTexas.
Therefore,theLoneStarStreetRoderAssociation.
Butwewelcomeeveryone.
Imean,weYouknow,itmustbeitmustbearealproblemtryingtoreadtheminuteseverymonthtoeverybodyfromallovertheworld.
Well,no,uhactuallywedoquarterly,quarterlymeetingsamongthedirectorsandsuch.
Anduhasfarasthemembership,theyjustwanttoknowwhatdaythetheevent'sgonnabe.
Yeah.
Youknow.
Isthistheonlyeventthatyouactuallyphysicallysponsor?
Thisisit.
Thisisit.
Thisisit.
Thisistheotherthing.
Soalloftheothereventsthattheseguysgoto,that'sacompletelydifferentthingthatyouguysreallyaren'tinvolvedin.
Absolutely.
Well,dowegowegotosupportthoseotherevents?
SodoImeandoyoupromotetheotherevents?
Wedo.
Yeah,okay.
Iftheygetustheinformationinourmonthlynewsletter,thenallofthatinformationissharedthroughoutourmembership.
ButHewlettParkoffersotherclubsaswell,notjustuhLomesar.
Correct.
Imean,becauseIseeflyersforit,IseethingsonFacebookthatyouknowcometoHewlettandit'smaybeacorporateplayerorChevroletspecific.
Yeah.
Correct.
SoIheardtherewasauhnastyrumorthatthey'regonnadoawaywiththegrassandturnthisintoagreatbigshowpieceonasphaltforallofthecarclubsweget.
Well,we'reactuallytheonlygroupthattheyallowtoparkonthegrass.
Ohwow.
Ifyou'venoticedaroundthepark,it'sdon'tparkinthegrass.
Yeah.
Don'tdriveinthegrass.
Well,lookaroundyou.
Yeah.
We'reallinthegrasssidewalk.
Icannotevenimaginehavingacarshowthissizeandnotparkinginthegrass.
No,Imean,uh,sowe'rewe'reafamilyChristianbaseorganization.
Yeah.
Andwhenitinitsearlytimes,itwaslikeatFortFisherinWacoforever.
That'sahugeparkrightthereontheBrazosRiver.
AndthenwewenttoFredericksburgtoLadybirdJohnsonPark.
Weweretherefor13years.
ThisisactuallyourtenthyearinGrandBridge.
Oh,really?
AndthatbringsupthethequestionishaveyouandIobviouslyyou'vebeenatotherplaces,butyoucontinuetocomebackhere.
Whowouldn't?
Whywouldn'tIuhtherethereisthat.
AnduhalsoTammyDooley.
Whywouldn'tyou?
Doesthattoo?
TammyDooleyisamazing.
UhIhadaauhfriendshipwithherandherhusbandMikewhentheywereinMidlandyearsago.
SowewerealreadyLoneStarwasalreadyhereinGranbury,andTammycametoruntheVisitGranberryoffice,thevisit.
FromMidland.
FromMidland,yeah.
Yeah,shewassmart.
Shecameandfoundsometreesandwater.
Anduhbutsheuhshecameoverandshetookoverthis,andthenwhenshefoundoutIwasinvolvedwithLoneStarandwhatwewerealreadyhere,oh,itwaslikeareunion.
Andthecityjustmakesitsmakesussowelcoming.
Uhtheyhonoreduswithadistinguishedadistinguishedhonortheyhandoutonceayear.
LoneStarreceivedthatfromthemoneyear.
AndTammywilltellyouthatwearetheirwe'retheirfavoriteeventofalltheeventsthattheyhold.
Andyourhourstoo.
Yes,ofcourse.
Well,IIbelieveher,Don.
Goodman.
Yeah,butno,uhbetweenthethecityandandthecounty,uhtheCVB,theyjusttheyliterallyrollouttheredcard.
Soyou'vebeentotheothereventsuhatothervenues.
Yes.
Whatmakesthis,otherthanwhatyou'vejustspokenof,whatmakesthisdifferent?
Thisfeelslikecominghome.
Okay.
Idon'tknowhowbettertoputit.
Wellyoucan't,becauseImeanthisisthisisyouronlyeventeveryyear,andclearlyyouhavetalkedtoyourmembership.
Howmanymembersdoyouhave?
Membershiprightnowisjustover500.
That'sgood.
That'sthat'sthat'simpressive.
It'suhyouknow,attritionhastakenitstollandthingslikethat.
Ourmembershipusedtobewellover2,000.
Yeah.
UhuhIhearatonetimeitwasapproaching3,000.
Butthroughattritionandwhatnot,sotobolsterthemembership.
LoneStarfoundedwasfoundedasapre-49organization.
Well,thatthatwasallrealwellandgoodinthe70sbecausethatwastheerror.
Correct.
Thegentlementhatuhtheemptynesters,thefolksthathadenoughuhmoneytotospendontheircars.
Theycouldgobackandtheycouldbuildthatcarthattheywantedinhighschoolthattheycouldn'tdoinhighschool.
Sothey'reuptherenow,theyhavethetimeandthemeanstodoso,sotheystartedbuildingthis.
Well,that'sallpre-49stuff.
Thatrockedalongformany,many,manyyears.
Thentheytheybumpeditpriortomebeingontheboard,theybumpedittopre-73.
Youknow,theendofwhenthegovernmentgotinvolvedinallofourvehiclesandstartedchokingthemallout.
Uhsowerockedalongthereforagoodlongwhile.
Uh,acoupleofyearsago,asaboard,weputitbeforethemembershiptowhatdoyouwanttodo?
Weneedtodosomethingbecauseifwedonothing,we'regonnaendupnotbeinghereanymore.
Butweneedtodosomething.
Sowelaidoutsomechoicestothemembership,sentballotstoeverybodythatwasonourmailinglist,andlikeyourlocalandnationalelections,about20%ofthemvoted.
Andtheyvotedforarolling30-yearcalendar.
Now,thisyear,ifyouhavea96modelvehicle,youcancomeintotheshow.
Soultimately,ifI'mstillliving,I'llbeabletobringmy2001Corvettehereandshowit.
Ifthat'swhatyouwanttodo.
Yeah,yeah,Idon'tseetoomanyCorvettesinhere.
Wehavetrailerparking.
Thankyou.
Ifyoucan'tgetthatguy,IIIgetitandIappreciatethehumor.
Yeah.
Butuh,youknow,wedrovetheCorvetteuphere.
JeffJeffwasmysidekick,myrideandshotgunonit,andyeah,anditdidquitewellandgot30milestothegallon.
Wow.
Yeah.
SouhII'mI'mdoingISIambragging.
Yes,asyouaswellasyoushould.
Yeah.
No,everybodyhastheircarpassion.
Imean,it'sjusteverybodyhastheircarpassion.
Andyouknow,it'sfunnybecauseyourcarpassion,atleastforme,hasevolvedsinceIgotintothisin1977.
Yes.
Andum,youknow,carshowwedidn'thavecruiseinsthatIwasawareof.
Wehadacarshow,andyes,itwasinapark,anditwasabigdealfortheclubthatIwasin.
Anditwasbasicallyforclubmembers.
Imean,ifsomebodywantedtocomeandshowtheircar,thatwasathatwasokay.
Yeah.
Butthewholeideaofcruise-insandcarshowshasevolved.
Ithas.
Youdon't,youknow,youthewehaveinHoustonathingcalledAutorama,I'msureyou'refamiliarwiththatgroup.
Andit'sagreatshow.
AndtheproblemthatIsee,andotherpeoplehaveseenitaswell,isit'sthesamecarsoverandoveragain.
BackinthedaywhenIwasexposedtoit,itwasdifferent.
Yougoandtherewasguysbuildingtheircarsandshowingthem,well,I'mnotgonnashowitthisyear,uhuh,andsomebodyelsewouldtaketheirplace.
It'snotsomuchthatwayatanAutoramaanymore.
It'sthesameguysprettymuchoverandoverwith,andlet'sfaceit,we'reallnoneofusaregettinganyyounger.
No,we'renot.
Andsoit'skindofstalledwhereitwhereitisrightnowwiththeshowcars.
Andthat'sashame.
Itis.
Butyoudon'tseeasmanyclubsshowingasaclubwithinAutorama.
Well,it'salsotechnologytoo,becauseourdayitwashands-on,bolt,wrench,turnthewrench,pullthemotor,shadetree.
Nowit'sallcomputerdigitized.
I'mgonnalookatYouTube,howtodothis.
Thecarsarealreadysetupcomputergeneratedorcomputeruhdriven,sothatiswhatyouhavetoovercome.
Well,andthey'renotinterestedinit.
Andthecarclubaspectofit,weweusedtodoafeature,trytofeaturecarclubstokindofhelpthemgrowalittlebit.
ButCOVIDprettywelldownourareakilledoutmostoftheclubs.
Mostofthem,ifthey'llevenanswerthephoneoranemail,willtellyou,no,wejustneverrecoveredfromCOVID.
Imean,theyjustaren'tasactiveanymore.
Well,no.
No,andthey'renot.
Thattomeisisanexcuse.
Thattomeisisanexcuse,andit'salameone.
ItI'mandokay,Jeff.
I'llpassthatalong.
Umbecauseifyou'reinterestedinitandyoureallyareacarenthusiastandyouwanttobuildacar,you'regonnadoit.
Well,no,no,I'mtalkingaboutasfarastheclubaspectofitgoes,theytheyjusttheyjustdon'tdothat.
Theremightbetwoorthreeofthemgettogether,butasfarastwentyorthirty,theyjustdon'tseemtodoit.
Well,Iwillsaythisthatuhweuhhavebeeninvolvedinuhseveraleventsthatthesecarclubshave.
Umanduhthere'soneinparticular,uhtheonedowninumthatWoodyusedattheendoftheyear.
Woody,yeah,yeah.
Yeah,waterfront.
Butitbutthecarswerelikethese.
Andtheguyswerepassionateaboutthecars.
Itwasn'taclubperse,butitwasacruiseinthatgainedpopularityamongstthese,whichI'msurethattheseguys,someofthemhaveprobablybeentothatevent.
I'msuretheyhaveawaterfrontcarshow.
Anyway,it'sabeautifulsettingrightthereonGalvestonBay,andumandthisrestaurantthat'skindofassociatedwithithasenoughroomfor,Idon'tknow,ahundredcarsorso.
Anduhitwasanicesmallevent,butit'snotaclubpersethatputiton.
ItwouldbelikeaLoneStarStreetRodAssociation.
Apromoterevent,yeah,yeah.
Whereuheverybodyuhbelongstotheclub.
Theygetwordthatthere'sgoingtobeaaneventgoingon.
AndIthinkthatthattooisananissueinthefactthatwhodoyoureachthathasthatgreenFordandheheheloveshiscarandhespendsalotofmoneyonitandalotoftimeonit,buthedoesn'tknow.
IrememberwhenIfirstgotintoCorvetteClubofHouston,thatwas1977.
Ididn'tknowanythingaboutit.
ItwasalittlebittyboxadintheHoustonChronicle,andgotothemeeting,andIwenttothemeeting,andtheywelcomedmeandmademepartoftheclubrightaway,andIpaidmy20bucksorwhateveritwas,andIwenttotheirevents,buttheywerefarandfewbetween.
Nowit'snowit'simports.
Yeah.
Well,andwhatIseethatreallyIguessbugsmetotheboneisthere'ssomany16,17,18,19,20yearoldboysandgirlsouttherethataren'teveninterestedingettingadriver'slicense.
Yeah,Iknow.
Andthat'strue.
AndImean,I'mthinking,well,uhthey'dwholelotrathersitinthebackseatorthefrontseatwhilemomanddaddrivethemaroundortheirbuddiesdrivethemaroundwhilethey'retalkingwiththeirthumbs.
Andtome,that'sIIIjustseethatasthisis.
Howoldisyourson?
Forty-two.
Yeah,forty-two.
Yeah.
Thetheonewiththelittleroadster.
Yeah.
Sohegrewupinthe80s.
Borninthe80s.
Butwellththatthat'sathat'satrickquestionbecausehegrewupwithhisdadhavinghotrodsandbeingpartoftheLoneStarStreetRodAssociation.
NowIhavetwogirls,soit'swell,yeah.
Sohewasautomaticallybornintoit,sotospeak.
AndIwasaswell.
Exposedveryearly.
Didyoueverhavehimwrenchonyourcar?
Absolutely.
Wewrenchonhistogether.
Yeah.
Mineruns.
Well,thatonethathewasdrivingheretodaylookslikeitrunstoo.
Itrunsreally,really,really.
It'saprettycar.
It'sabeautifulcar.
AndIsaidtoyou,andwe'vealltalkedaboutit,that'saBoydCoddingtoncar.
ItlookedlikeaBoydCoddington.
It'suhthereweresomecuestakenfromtheBoydCoddingtonerainthatcar.
SoI'mgonnasayIthinkit'saBoydCoddingtonknockoff.
Well,yeah,Imeanhonestly.
Ididn'twanttosaythat,butyes.
Well,no,Imean,BoydCoddingtonwasagenius.
Imean,hewashewastheHarleyEarlofstreetrotting.
Yeah.
Inmymind.
Yes.
AndIpickonHarleyEarl,fatherofyourCorvette.
Well,hewasalsothefatherofmy57Buick.
Youstillhavethe57Buick?
IbetIdo.
Isitanailheadifheateinit?
Thenailheadistheoriginalnailheadisstillinit.
Iloveit.
Andwedidgetafuel-injectedsix-packonit.
Oh,gosh.
SoI'vegotaBuickaswell,andIcarriedasix-packinit.
Well,lightweight.
Youbet.
Itislight,reallylight.
SoumtellmeabouttheBuick.
IIdidn'tknow.
Isithere?
No.
It'snothere.
Whynot?
Well,becauseI'mintheprocessofredoing.
Oh,Isee.
Okay,well,that'sagoodexcuse.
AndisitawhatwhatBuickbottleisitin57?
ItisaBuickspecialtwo-doorpost.
Postcarnice.
Yes,yes.
Supposedly74,000hardtopsbuiltandonly6,400postcars.
Anduhoriginalpaintonit?
Okay.
Ohno.
No.
No,no.
Originallyitwasohyeah.
That'sa56Oldsmobile,Ibelieve.
Thatisanunbelievablebuild.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That'sJeff,JeffKenzerbuiltthatcar.
Youknow,andandtheotherandthat'stheotherthing,too,isthereareguysherethathaveactuallybuiltthesecars,andthenthereareotherguyshereuhthathaveboughtcarsthatarepassionateabouttheircar.
Theysoldwhattheyhadandtheygotsomethingupgradedthatsomebodyelsedid.
I'mallintothat,especiallyatmyage.
Well,notonlythat,itityouyouguysgettoacertainage,okay.
I'vehadthisfor10years,20years.
Iwantsomethingdifferent,likeyousay,butIdon'tatthisagewanttogetintoatwoorthreeyearbuildandcrawlingunderneaththecarandjustgonnasitoutfromunderneathitbecausenobodywillhelpmegetup.
Andthat'swhatkeepscarbuildersinbusiness.
Keepstheminbusiness.
Andthatthatthatbusinessitselfhasexpandedtremendously.
Ithas,andbeautifulwork.
Imean,stuffthatIhaveneverdreamedof.
Right.
Showsup,andherethatitis.
Yeah.
Yeah,there'ssomeoutstandingbusiness.
TheonethingthatIIhavenoticedatthisshowthisyearisthatwegothere,MarsgothereonThursday,andthereweren'tverymanycarshere.
Andyesterdayuhwedrovebyandthereweren'tveryman.
Wegotherethismorning,weren'tmanycarshere.
TherearemorecarsthatareactuallycruisingintodaythatIthinkthatwerestationarylastnightwhentheymovedin.
Orinatrailerinahotelparkinglot.
Andthey'reparkedinthehotelparkinglotsandthisandthatandtheother.
Whenweshutdownregistrationlastnight,wehad152thathadpickedup.
Sotherewasalready152cars.
Someofthem,asyouwitnessed,werehereThursdaysavingtheirfavoritespots.
Yeah.
Andsoonandsoforth.
There'ssomeveryinterestingandcreativethingsthattheyusenowtouhsavethisspot.
Yeah,it'snotjustaconeoralawnchair.
Correct.
Theguyhadhismother-in-lawtiedtoatreeouthere.
Iwouldn'tdoubtit.
Armswereflappinglikeoneofthoseweeklythings.
Yeah,yeah.
Partleaveoneofthekidsouthere.
Sotellmeabouttoday'sevent.
Uh,howlongdoesitgoontoday?
Isitoverwithtonight?
No,thisisathree-dayevent.
Okay,soFriday,Saturday,Sunday?
Right.
Yeah,weweopenedupregistrationat10o'clockyesterdaymorning.
Okay.
Soyoucouldn'tpre-register?
Certainly.
Oh,okay.
Certainlydid.
No,butI'msayingbeforetheeventevenstarted.
Yeah.
Yes.
Okay.
Pre-registeredwaybackwhenthere'speoplethat'llpre-registerfornextyearduringthisevent.
Whereisitgoingtobenextyear?
Well,right.
RighthereathomeinGranberry.
Ihadtosayit.
Itwasthere.
No,no,no.
We'llberighthereatGranberry.
We'rehavingitatyourplace.
Okay,comeondown.
We'regoingtoparkonyourlawn.
Yeah.
Theoldfolkswillloveit.
Butuhno,andthentodayiswhenwegetthevastmajorityoffoottraffic,localtraffic.
Where'sfolkscomingoutoftheMetroplex,comedown?
Yeah,becausefolksworkFridayandtheywanttocomedown,theywanttoseetheevent,eveniftheydon'thaveawaytoparticipateintheevent.
Andthere'snochargetogetinforthis.
No,absolutelynot.
It'sopentothepublic.
Yeah.
Sowe'llrockalongheretillitgetsplentyhot,aroundthree,fouro'clock,andpeoplewillstartdriftingout.
Andweknowwhereseveralbarsare.
Wevisitedonelastnight.
Yeah,there'suhifyou'relookingforsomethinggoodtoeatordrink,you'reinGranberryandyougowithout,it'sonyou.
Imean,there'sthere'ssomuch,somanygoodrestaurants.
We'rethinkingaboutopeningthein-wheeltime,goodtimerestaurantandbar.
Whatdoyouthink?
Ithinkyou'llIthinkit'llwork.
I'llI'llpatronizeit.
Willyou?
I'llbethere.
You'llactuallybethere.
Onceayearwhenhecomesin,he'llstopinandno,atleastfourtimesayearI'llcome,I'llcomeseeyou.
Becausewe'reintownatleastfourtimesayear.
Everyquarter.
Rick,IIknowthisisalongdistancecallfromSarah,andshehookedusup,butuhdoyouthinkyoucoulddriveinfromMidland?
It'sonlywhatthreehours?
Fourandahalf.
FourandahalfhoursfromMidland.
300miles?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Pieceofcake.
I'vedoneitbefore.
Whatdidyouwhatdidyouwhatdidyoudoforalivinginyourreallife?
I'mstilldoingit.
Areyou?
Whatareyoudoing?
I'minhighwayconstruction.
Areyou?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Buildhighway.
Idon'tknowwhethertoloveyou,hugyou,orhateyou.
NotinHouston,wellno,it'satransition.
Wecanbefriendsandthenyoucanbemadatme,butwhenwe'redone,you'regonnabesohappy.
Well,okay,thenandnowthatwe'veopenedthatcanofwar,letmeaskyousomething.
Whyisitthatalloftheconstructionmanagestohappenduringafternoondrive,morningdrive,ortheyclosealanedownanditlastsforaweekandasopposedtodoingitinanovernightperiod?
Itonlyseemedthatwaytoyou,Dom,becausethat'stheonlytimeyougetoutofthehouse.
Thereyougo.
That'sagoodthat'sagoodenoughanswer,anduh,I'llbuythat.
Amen.
AndinlargecitieslikeHouston,SanAntonio,Dallas,FortWorth,alotofthatwork'sdoneatnightastonotinterferewiththeflowoftrafficduringthedaysopeoplecangettoandfromwork.
Sotheycanstillhavetheirthree-hourcommuteeachway.
Yeah.
Overthat12miles.
Insteadofitinsteadofitbeingafourhour,youcanstillkeepityourregularthreehours.
Igotthat.
Igotthat.
Yeah.
Allright.
Soletmeletmedigintothisjustalittlebitmore.
Iknowthisisnotcarrelcarshowrelated,butwellitisbecausewealldriveonroads.
Well,that'strue.
Umwell,howdotheyletthosecontracts?
So,inotherwords,okay,we'regonnarebuildthispartofthehighway,andwe'regonnagiveyoufiveyearstocompleteit.
Ihowdoeshowdoesthatwork?
Obviously,thepublic'snotconcernedoruhhasawordonthat.
No,thepublicdoesnot,becausethepublic'snotbuildingit.
Well,that'strue.
Okay,sowhywhywhydoesittakesolongtobuildaroadorahighwayorrepairitorfixitorwhatever?
Icantellyou,I'llcutitrealshortforyou.
Yes,thereissomuchmorescienceandengineeringthatgoesintobuildingaroadthanwhatthegeneralpublicwouldthink.
Theyjustseethatgroupouttherespreadingdirt,andthenthey'regonnaputsomeblackstuffupontopofit.
Well,thatdirthastomeetcertainspecifications.
Yes.
Soithastocomefromaqualitysource.
Soyou'vegottogofindthesource.
Thenyou'vegottomanufacturethematerialwithinspecifications.
Thenwhenyouplaceit,ithastobeplacedwithinspecificationstoreachdensities.
Andthenyou'vegottowaitfortheinspectortocomeoutandsay,okay.
Well,actually,theinspectorissupposedtobetherethroughtheentireprocess.
Oh,okay.
Sosoyou'renotjustyougoinganddiggingupsomedirt.
No.
You'rehavingtomakeit.
YouhaveyouhavetogrowdirtwhattheLordgaveus,andyou'vegottomakeitfitwithinthespecifications.
Andthat'swithwhatwethinkisright,notwhattheLordis.
Andthat'sonethingwe'renotmaking.
AndImean,there'ssomesomefantasticengineers,andthere'ssomethatshouldhavenevergottheirstamp.
Butregardlessofallofthat,soonceyougetthedirtdown,asy'allreferredtoit,thencomestheblackstuff.
Well,there'ssomuch,there'stenfoldamountofscienceincreatingthecorrectblacksurfacefortheenvironmentandthetraffic.
Sotheydotrafficstudiesforyearspriortowhatthey'regonnadoinacertainpieceofI-10or45or10.
Butyoureallyfindyoudorealizethatnoneofthatchangesmymind.
IIunderstand.
ButIyouknow,theshouldjustshowalittlebitmorecompassionwhenyou'regoingthroughthat.
Sodon'tbemadattheguysoutthere.
SothereisaPRissueinyourbusinesswhenitcomestopublicrelationseducationtopeoplelikemethatdrivebytheconstructionsitegoingontothesenumbers.
CallAustin.
That'sright.
Sohowmanyemployeesdoyouhave?
Wehavefour,justover400.
Wow.
Yeah.
That'salot.
Yeah.
Yeah.
AndareyoustillbasedinMidland?
Yes,basedoutofMidland,Odessa.
Sodoyoudomostofyourworkouttherearoundthatarea?
Yes.
Yeah,wetrytostaywithinahundred,hundredandfiftymileradius.
Yeah.
AnduhI'mfascinatedbythis,andIdon'tmeantotakeawayfromthecarshow,butI'veneveraskedthesequestionsforsomebodythat'saroadbuilder.
Thatknows.
Thatknows.
Sonow,Mars,wealwayslookingforguests.
Ding!
Thereheis.
Thereyougo.
Becauseseriously,Imean,talkingaboutPR,yougotTammyDooley,itseemstomethatyourindustrywoulddowellbyhiringsomebodytosay,hey,thisisthereasonthatit'stakingsolong,becausenobodyeverexplainsit.
Well,eacheachregionofTexdot.
TheTexasHighwayDepartment,eachregionactuallyhasaPRperson.
Yes.
AndumIt'snotevidentlytheydon'tthey'renotuptoyourstandard.
No,they'renot.
BecauseI'minthatbusiness.
SoIIcangiveyouacontactforstartyournextcareer.
Well,itwouldhavetobeatthestatelegislaturelevelbecausetheyneedtohireanoutsidePRfirmthatisn'tpaidforbythestatebecausethey'regonnagivethesamestateanswers,youknow,allthetime.
ButaoutsidePRfirmisgonnago,okay,likeyourroadconstructionthing,yougottadoalltheresearch,yougottaputoutallofthefeelers,doalltherightthingsaheadoftime.
Nowyouwantmetotellyoutherealthorninthebarrel?
Tellme.
Thewholehighwayconstructionindustrylivesanddiesbylowbid.
Yeah.
Well,IknowIImeanit'stheyoustillgottacomeuptothespecification.
Howwouldyouchangeit?
Ifyouhadcouldchangethat,Iwouldretire.
They'llfixthat.
Okay.
Soifthat'sthecase,there'sanopening,Don.
Okay,okay.
There'sanopening.
I'vegotover40yearsintheindustry,anduhI'vemadeagoodliving.
I'vemyfamily'sdonewell,andI'mgratefulforit.
UhwhenIfiguredoutthatIwantedasustainableincome,Ithought,well,goodsandservices.
Whatdoeseverybodyhavetohave?
Aroadtogetthere,buddy.
Everybody'sgonnaeat.
Ididn'twanttoworkinagrocerystore.
SoIendeduponahighwaycrew,andIstartedfromIstartedonashow,startedonapieceofequipment,andnowI'manuppermanager.
Letmeaskyousomething.
Americandrink.
Whatdoyouhearathing?
Fromaprivatelyowned,family-ownedcompanythat'sbeenaround.
We'refixingtocelebrateour75thanniversary.
That'sabrandnewroadgrader,andit'sgotallofthenewstuffonit.
Letmehavealittlebitoftimewithit.
Just30minutesorso.
Youeverfeelthat?
No.
Beenthere,donethat.
Beentheredonethat.
SoIconstantmostofmyconcentrationgoestowardstheenvironmentalnow.
Really?
Yeah.
Interesting.
Yeah,I'manenvironmentalspecialist.
UhItransitionedinintothat.
Soareyouthepersonthatsays,uh,thetoadfrogsoverthere,wewegottalayoffofthisforawhileuntilwefigurethatout.
I'mtheguythatargueswithatoadfrogpersonfromthestatethatsaysIhaveto.
Gotcha.
AndIgivemeplaws.
Tellmewhy.
Soweit'sfunnyyousaythat.
Ohman.
It'snotfunny.
Sothere'saparticularsanddunelizard.
Itwasontheendangered,butthenitsteppedoff,andit'sontheonebelowthat,andthis,andthat,andtheother.
Sowehaveaprojectoutinthesandhills.
ImaginethatinWestTexas,whereallthesandminesforfrackingiscomingfrom.
AndwehavetothestateofTexasactuallyhasontheirpayrollapersonthat'saIcan'tevensayit.
Afrogcounter.
Lizardcounter.
LizardWrangler.
LizardWrangler.
WhenIheardthat,I'mpicturingthisdudeinshaps,acowboyhat,oh,yeah,andarope.
Yeah,yeah,yeah.
AndsothebigSotheygo,hey,lizardlizards.
Soweaskedabigquestion.
Haveyouseenany?
No.
They'reendangered.
Theydon'tevenknowthatthey'reoutthere.
Butourprojectiscurrentlyshutdownfor30days.
Lookingforlizards.
Becausethey'restillhuntinglizards.
Sothataren'toutthere.
Theendangeredlizardthatmaynotevenexistanymore.
Theendangeredlizardthat'sthere'sachance.
No,hetheystillexist.
Oh,okay.
There'sathereisthislizard.
There'sapossibility,notprobability,possibility,hemightcomeintothatrangeofsanddunes,sowedon'twanttodisturbit.
Butweneedyoutowidentheroad48feetintothesanddunes.
Butlet'sdon'tdisturbthesanddunes.
Withoutdisturbingthesand.
MaybeyouneedtobuildsomethingliketheChaffalayaBridge,youknow,anelevatedthatgoesoverthedunes.
Believeme,somebodydidthere'ssomebodywho'salreadyofferedthat.
GodIwaskidding.
Well,youknow,they'vegonefrom60milesofconveyorbelt,elevatedconveyorbelttotransfersandtominimizethefootprintinthisparticularpartofthestate.
Sixtymilesofconveyorbelt.
Yourgovernmentatwork.
Sowhatisitlikethegovernmentdidn'tdothat?
Privateindustrydiditbecausetheycouldn'tgetaround.
Weoughttohaveasandwich.
Sowelcometothecarshow.
That'sit.
Uhitandititiswhat'sthenameofthatlizard?
Sandlizard.
Yeah,sure.
Wasn'titaBeetlejuice?
Isthatthethingthatcomesoutofthe?
Oh,yeah.
Idon'tknow.
We'veneverseenone.
Oh.
Well,justwatchout.
We'vegonefromcars,hotrods,buildingthem.
Wedidn'ttalkaboutengines,butwehaveaspecialsectionthatJeffhasgottodealwithwithengines.
Andwe'vegonerightstraightintothesand,thesanddudes,andthelizardwranglers.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Rick,it'sapleas,andI'mgoingtoendthere.
Inrealtimelizardwranglers.
Thankyouguyssomuch.
Thankyou.
It'salwaysapleasure.
Weblewrightthroughabreak,andweoverblueitby15minutes.
Ijustwantyoutoknow,becauseyou,sir,havecharmedallofusfor30straightminutes.
Well,it'sagoodthingIcan'tseetheclockbecauseIdidn'tnotice.
Yeah.
WellRick,thankyou.
Thankyouforinvitingusandthankyouforagreatevent.
Welovecominganduhweappreciateyou.
AndIhopetodothismany,manymoretimes.
Perfect.
Ustoo.
Thankyou.
ChairmanoftheLoneStarStreetRouteAssociation,RickNeely.
Hey,youcangettheInWheelTimeCarTalkShow24-7throughtheInWheelTimeapp.
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About this episode
Live from Hewlett Park in Granbury, Texas, the In Wheel Time crew sets up a three-hour bonus broadcast for the Lone Star Street Rod Association State Run Car Show. They talk travel logistics, parking rules (including who can park on the grass), and the “coming home” vibe—plus membership numbers and how the rolling 30-year calendar was voted on. The conversation then shifts into hot-rod culture and specific builds, including a 1957 Buick nailhead with a fuel-injected six-pack, and a rare Buick two-door post.
Original notes
A great car show isn’t just rows of shiny fenders. It’s the feeling that you’ve walked into a place where everyone speaks the same language, even if they drove in from three states away. We’re coming to you from Hewlett Park in Granbury, Texas during the Lone Star Street Rod Association State Run Car Show, and we sit down with chairman Rick Neely to unpack why this gathering keeps pulling people back year after year.
Rick tells us how the Lone Star Street Rod Association has evolved to stay strong, from its early pre-’49 street rod roots to a pre-’73 era, and now to a rolling 30-year eligibility rule that keeps the field fresh without losing the club’s identity. We talk membership trends, how car clubs and cruise-ins have changed, why some groups never bounced back after COVID, and the bigger challenge of getting younger drivers excited about licenses, wrenching, and showing up in person.
Then the conversation swerves into something every car person cares about: the roads. Rick brings his day-job perspective in highway construction to explain why projects take so long, what “specs” and inspections really mean, and how asphalt and traffic engineering are more complicated than most of us want to believe. He also shares the environmental side, including the kind of endangered-species rules that can pause a job for weeks and the now-famous “lizard wrangler” moment.
If you love Texas car shows, street rods, hot rods, and the real stories behind the scenes, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a car friend, and leave us a review with your take: what’s the right cutoff year for a rolling 30-year show?
Be sure to subscribe for more In Wheel Time Car Talk!
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