Revving Up for the Big Bend Open Road Race and Reviewing the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Platinum
In Wheel Time Podcast: Your Go-To Automotive Talk Show
Revving Up for the Big Bend Open Road Race and Reviewing the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Platinum
In Wheel Time Podcast: Your Go-To Automotive Talk Show · Feb 15, 2024
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Beaming around the globe from the Sugar Shock Studios outside Houston, texas, usa.
It's the Enwell Time Car Talk Show.
Just ahead, we talk to Crystal Lopez about the Big Bend open road race Right Plus, we'll have an in depth review of the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander.
Howdy, along with Mike out of this World, mars.
We always need more.
Jeff Zekin.
I'm Don Armstrong, glad you could join us on this Saturday show.
Let's just get right to it, shall we?
We have a guest that's waiting in the wings.
Her name is Crystal Lopez and she is with the Big Bend open road race.
Crystal, good morning.
Good morning.
How are y'all?
Well, we're doing pretty well.
Thank you, Crystal.
What is your, what is your function with the Big Bend open road race?
I'm actually the race coordinator.
The race coordinator.
Oh my gosh.
So in other words, you know how to do that.
You know how that works.
So you're the person that gets to.
Yeah, you're the juggler in all of this.
Absolutely.
Well, it's great to have you with us.
So I have never heard of the Big Bend open road race.
Tell us what it is.
Okay, so we're an open road race, of course, and we're talking to Sanderson.
We raced 58 miles from here to Sanderson, so this is going to be our 26th year.
We allow 160 cars with, of course, a waitlist of whoever we can get in.
We have now started doing it two times a year, in April and then another one in October.
It's just fun lots of turns, lots of you know straight.
So the racers enjoy it and we love having them here.
So where is it held?
Is it held on a public street?
Yes, city streets.
It's actually a highway.
We go through the process with Text and actually get the road closed from 6 am to 6 pm.
So from that time, starting at five, we usually get on the road.
At five we make sure that the road is clear and safe for our racers.
At six o'clock we completely set it down, so the road is ours from 6 to 6.
All right.
And what kind of cars do you race there?
We race all kinds of cars.
We have Corvette, horses, Mustangs, we have Beetle trucks I mean whatever you can bring out.
We even have some racers that'll break down, turn around, go get their car that they drive on the daily basis and then come back and race.
Do I mean?
Do they race side by side?
Is it a two-lane highway?
I assume?
It is.
It's a two-lane highway, but they do not race side by side, so we have to let them off in intervals.
We start with our limited cars with our limited cars, so maybe an average of speed of 200 miles an hour.
Okay, we're stopping at Sanderson in 22 minutes.
Those cars begin with a three-minute interval off the start line.
And you say and between those go ahead.
No, I was just saying.
You say it's 58 miles is the course 58 from here to Sanderson and then 58 miles from Sanderson, so it's a little over 150 miles.
So do you race them all to Fort Stockton, I mean to Sanderson park them and then get everybody going the other direction?
Reset, okay.
And so what do you?
What do you?
Is like noon, the cutoff time.
Usually, if it is a good race and we don't have any incidents, then by noon we're already all in Sanderson, or I say we.
Our tech crew is the one that follows the racers over there and they re-set and then they turn around and come back.
So this is a time, this is a timed event.
It is, and so you're trying to beat an off perfect time.
So say you're in the touring category, which is what our rookie Spartan, which is 100 miles an hour.
You have a tech speed of up to 124.
Meaning you can go up to that 124, but you can't break.
So you're trying to make it from Fort Stockton to Sanderson with an off perfect time of 0.00
.
Okay, so, in other words let me just use this as an example proudly, I have a 2001, basically stock Corvette's, not a zero six or anything like that.
So I start at Fort Stockton and I run it up to 124 miles an hour and I set the cruise control and then I make it to Sanderson and whatever that time is for my class, then I guess I'm up at the top of the class, is that correct?
Um, you may finish a little fast.
So like 120 boards.
So you're trying to beat your off.
Perfect time at 110 mile an hour.
So you average the 110 to make it there as perfect time.
Does the road?
Does the road have any turns in it?
What's the road course?
As several years.
It has several.
We'll spray here.
What, what cl Incline.
I got you.
Okay, what?
What class are you in and what are you driving in it?
I actually don't race.
I am at the start line.
Um, I help at the start line completely.
I give lots of props to these races.
Um, I'm honestly scared to race Well how did you get started in this?
Yeah, who suckered you into this thing?
Well, it's actually.
It began as a part of my job and then, after that, um, we just kept going.
So I've been doing uh, they've been open road race, helping and assisting with it Since I believe I was 18.
This is like my 17th race already.
Wow, all right, so I want to get.
I want to get back to this 124 and 110 thing he's thinking about it.
I know, I know.
I want to, I want to be, I want to, I want to be competitive, and it's a timed event, so I don't have somebody on my you know left door handle that I've got to worry about.
So and and as you said, there's three minutes between the cars as they leave the leave the starting line, okay, and the road does have twists and turns and hill climbs and descents, all right.
So 110 is what I'm shooting for, so I probably want to get it up to 124, which is the maximum Correct.
Yeah.
Okay, so I get it up to 124.
All right, so I see a big sweeping right hand turn.
Well, I've got to back it down, because then I don't feel comfortable doing 124 miles an hour and never stopped him before Shut up.
Well, I know, just close your eyes ago.
Yeah, well, that ain't going to happen, okay.
So now I've had to back it down, probably to under a hundred, to make this turn.
Now I need to make up the time that I'm losing in this turn and so I can bring it back up to 124 miles an hour to try to get it back up, and I'm going to hit that 110 mile an hour mark.
Yeah.
And that's the whole reason for the tech speed is you do have turns and straights and stuff that you are going to slow down.
So in order not to be disqualified, you can't break the 124 and you cannot go 30 miles underneath your target speed.
So your target speed is the one take.
So what is that?
Like 90, 80.
80.
You can't go under 80.
You can't pass the 124 to be disqualified, so you're going to.
Essentially, you would set your cruise control at the 110, but you're right, you do have turns and straights that you want to slow down at, or you know, see that that just to make up your time.
So that's the whole reason for the, it's still a race.
Yeah, in that regard.
It's still a race.
Yes, you're still racing.
When you're racing against yourself, just keep you get there at the time you want to get there and then, through your racing, against other people in your category.
So our hundred.
Can I take an observer with me?
Yes, you can have a navigator.
You can either have a navigator or a co-driver.
Your navigator actually helps you keep your time.
So we give a very registration.
We actually give a course seat that gives you your calculations.
How you figure in your category is up to you.
On our website we have a course calculation speech that you would go in.
You'd input the time that or the season you're trying to race and then it gives you where you need to be, at what second and what minute you know at your timing.
So if you are running a little slow, you're trying to catch up, see if you can make up that time.
Or if you're running a little fast, then you're wanting to slow down so that you can, you know, make up that time.
So a navigator could be real important?
No, that could be, they are yeah.
Well, I mean, I can imagine something.
Yeah, they are very yeah.
Some people are going to try and do this by themselves.
Because they're going to hold your beer while you're driving.
Somebody's got to hold it, we're going to that wide right hand sweeping turn Okay.
So that would allow some beer in the car.
So Don Don wins his event, don wins his class.
What does he get?
Cash, trophy vacation, a trophy oh okay, I get a trophy.
Okay.
So let's go back to Don starting.
So he comes up to the starting line in his Corvette in his class.
This is how do the clocks work?
Is it started zero and whatever you end up with, or it deducts?
Yes, Well, each time on timing crew actually goes out and sets up some race trees.
So when he leaves the start line it registers him, and then when he crosses the finish line it registers him.
So then our timing crew actually has to come back, figure everybody's time computer-wise and then we know the results from there.
So we don't know results.
We don't know who wins until probably a little bit towards the end of our work.
Yeah, because everything's in time, rather than a name.
Okay, well, I just didn't know if because you talked about earlier you mentioned something about coming across at 0.00
times and I didn't know if you started out you should be doing it in 44 minutes and you start losing time, or if you did literally start at 0.00
to hit that 44, if that's the target.
Yeah, so you start at your 0.00
, and then, by the time you get there, your time is worth.
Okay, okay okay, but of course each category has its separate.
You know time to get there.
Sure sure.
So we go anywhere from 100 miles an hour to our unlimited and, like I mentioned, our unlimited cars make it there in 20 minutes.
This sort of reminds me of like a Pikes Peak almost event where he was timed and twists and curves.
Richard Thomas would be interested in this.
Okay, so I've got another question for you.
Okay, my cheat sheet here from you shows April 24th through the 27th.
Yeah.
So is it, you're gonna have the highway closed for three days.
No, we actually only closed the highway for that Saturday race.
So we begin our week in Sanderson.
Wednesday and Thursday we start with registration and then towards the middle of the morning we do rookie school and then throughout registration we have tech going.
So the guys outside are touching the cars, making sure they have the right equipment and everything to the cars, and then practice is also going Okay, so if you're a veteran and you don't have to go to rookie school, then you have all day to practice.
You can go out to the practice course and you can practice all day.
Okay, so I have to interrupt here and ask you what is involved in tech.
Will my car pass tech?
Your car would probably pass tech in the touring category.
Only exception would be that you would need to add a fire extinguisher.
Okay, well, that's Helmet and all that stuff.
We do it regularly, so you would, of course, need your racing suit.
In a touring category, you can race in jeans, a long sleeve cotton t-shirt, leather top shoes, leather gloves and then your helmet.
Once you go up into your categories is where we require a lot more safety.
Yeah, the faster you go, the more you need to roll bar Well look, let's not put the horse before the cart or the cart whatever.
Let's not do that.
I'm just trying to get my 110 mile an hour thing.
And I'm trying to make it, for we need to get you down here to race Exactly and that's what I was gonna ask you.
You mentioned practice.
But wait a minute.
This is leading up to the weekend of the.
Hot Rod.
Tour of Texas.
Well, you just come back.
It is, and actually we sponsor.
We also help sponsor that Hot Rod Tour of Texas.
I think this is like an air response for you.
Our race advisor actually wanted to join the Hot Rod Tour of Texas, but it's the same time as our race, so maybe next year.
Well, what about the fall race?
Our fall race is the third week of October, so maybe he had time to do some stuff.
And in between time you could sponsor in wheel time to get going on that.
Here we go.
Sounds like a good idea.
Yeah, that's why we had you here.
So we're gonna put the sales push on you right now.
No, we're not gonna do that.
But practice I mean.
When you say practice, that's literally just going out on the road.
Highway 285 and just driving, you still gotta drive the speed limits and things.
You're just getting familiar with the road.
Well, actually practice is on a shorter course on highway, so it's a whole, completely different highway.
That we put down for 20 minute intervals.
We allow a certain amount of cars to go and race, that we have to stop and let traffic through, and then we can do another practice.
So practice really is at speed, not just the local speed.
Yeah, just like our rookies once we take them out to qualify.
So they do the rookie class in the morning at 11, and then they go out to qualify in the afternoon.
We actually have instructors that sit in the car with the rookies to push them up to the tech speed to make sure they can handle the speed that they're wanting to go.
So if, say the past, we used to do our rookie class at 125,.
If they couldn't handle the 125 or they were uncomfortable, we would ask them to drop down the class Because of course, safety is number one, so we wanna make sure everybody's safe and comfortable when they're racing.
What did we say?
The cost was to join to do this.
I averaged on a rookie with a navigator.
We averaged about $1,200.
$1,200, okay, okay, well, I guess that does me out.
But yeah, there's that.
I mean, there may be some special exceptions.
I just bought an $80,000 car, so you know you're on your own, Okay.
Mars, Mars, you're loaning him 80,.
All I need is 1,200.
Yeah, but.
I don't have that Now.
I don't need the 80.
We could use my $80,000 car to do it.
There you go.
There you go.
What kind of car did you get?
I just bought Michael Wooding's 58 Pontiac.
Yeah, pontiac, wagon, wagon, yeah.
No, I didn't.
It's a Risco mod.
It would look good going down that highway though.
Certainly would.
So yeah, very cool.
All right.
I'm thinking this would be so much fun.
I'm gonna tell Richard Tomlin about this.
Yeah, why?
Because he's got that little thing he takes from Mexico in races.
Yeah, I know, I've seen that thing too, that V8 mod yeah yeah, yeah, I've seen yeah.
I don't know what kind of cloud did he get?
I don't wanna be in it.
I can tell you that.
No, no, no, I just wanna watch it.
Yeah, but you know, if you're around it I'm gonna make you get in it.
Jeff and I are gonna tie you down and get you in the car and strap you in See.
I would probably If he's going screaming like a little girl.
Well, that's what I was gonna say.
You know, he's got the guy riding with you that's going to make sure you're qualified.
He'd probably, whenever you scream and put your hands over your eyes, he'd probably disqualify you at that point.
So this is do you have a lot of join men and women, I mean team drivers, husbands, wives, things of that nature.
So we have Several team drivers.
Of course, we have husbands alive, we have single drivers, so we have a variety of everything.
It's kind of a.
It's great to see it, sometimes the husbands alive, because you see them like big green-headed heather.
Yeah, they're the ones with the.
They leave the blinker on.
Yeah.
Yes, definitely All right.
So what's the youngest age can be part of this.
So you can navigate at 18, but you can't start racing until you're 21.
You can actually drive until you're 21.
And we have had several.
We do have a father and daughter team that she's been racing before.
We changed the rules, of course, because she was navigating at 15.
Oh, I can see that that would be a great.
It worked her way up, so it's been great.
How far has Ford Stockton from Houston?
About 10 hours.
I believe 9 to 10 hours.
I would say yeah, at least 10.
Yeah, because I mean it takes a whole day to get it to El Paso and we're kind of headed that way on I-10.
Okay, what are you ahead of this way?
Maybe you have to make a quick stop for the race.
Well, I'm just thinking in my head it's going to take a day to get out there at least, and then another day to drive back if my car is still working after this race.
Yeah, but that's the thing I think about this race is not like when you go to the drag strip because you're not banging gears.
I mean, you got to rev it up there and get up to speed pretty quick, but it's not like you know.
You're hammering on it hard for the whole line.
Well, let me just say this the car does 1,800 RPM at 70 miles an hour, so it's just kind of In high gear, yeah, in 6 gear, in 6 gear.
So I can only imagine you know what.
Maybe 3,000 RPM at 124 miles an hour, not even that.
Well, while they're calculating this, do you have any EV categories?
EV what is EV?
Electric vehicles.
Oh, we did have a couple, or we had one from Val, maybe last April.
He didn't join us back in October because, you know, we made one leg.
Oh, he's still charging.
Yeah, he had to charge again or needed some booze, so he decided not to do the return leg and I believe the following in October he didn't want to bring that car back.
Crystal, it's great to talk to you.
I'm fascinated by this?
Yes, and we're going to revisit this again after the April race.
Okay.
It would talk about it.
Okay and yeah, keep us in.
And then hopefully you'll be enjoying us for October.
Yeah, that's what I'm thinking.
An October run In West Texas, in West Texas?
Yeah, all right, that's great.
All right.
Well, thank you very much.
Stay in touch with us If anything changes or you got some extra news you want to tell us.
We'll get you on the air, okay.
Sounds great.
Thank you, guys for having me Thank you very much, crystal Lopez, with the Big Bend Open Road Race.
Yeah, there's that.
I don't know what the I forgot to ask her.
Hey, crystal, you still with us.
Yes.
Okay, what is there?
A website you got.
Yes, wwwbborrcom.
Okay, all right, perfect bborrcom.
Thank you, crystal.
You're welcome.
Okay, let's see Mars, would you like to do?
No, I need to take a break.
There you go.
Okay, so let's take a break, and then after the break we're going to have Mars review of the Toyota Grand Highlander.
I'm familiar with Highlander, I'm familiar with Toyota, but I'm not familiar with the Grand.
With my Mars, yeah, or Mars.
So a quick break now here on the In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show back after this.
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Well, they caught me off guard there.
I wasn't really.
I really wasn't ready to do this, but I'm going to do it anyway.
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Okay, so we got that out of the way, mr.
Mr Mars, are you ready?
Yes, sir, so he is going to review right now his ride of the week, the Toyota Grand Highlander.
Yes, sir, the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Platinum four-wheel drive hybrid.
Now this is new for 2024.
It is the Grand Highlander because it's bigger.
It's larger than the Highlander.
It comes in four trim levels the XLE, the limited, the max unlimited and the max Platinum.
Now the max is where you're going to find the difference in your drive train from the hybrid.
We'll get to that in a moment.
So this is a mid-sized SUV.
You get in it, you look at it, you get in it and you realize this is a big mid-sized SUV.
It's got a very distinctive front grille on it.
It's got LED lighting.
With the lighting, what they've done, it fits the high belt line of this vehicle.
It's got a really nice look to it because everything's up high with a narrow beam.
Headlights and tail lights all fit into it.
Really nice and well.
The got heated power outside mirrors, got a panoramic sunroof in it so you can get all the outside.
You want Hands free, power liftgate and we were rolling on the optional 20 inch wheels in this top of the trim level vehicle.
Now we get down into the interior.
You're going to find leather seating.
You're going to find the front seats are heated and ventilated.
We had the second row captain's chair.
So it was heated and ventilated as well, and the third row is 6040.
Now that's where you're going to see the biggest difference in the Grand Highlander, because there's more room in that third row.
Toyota calls it adult friendly third row sizing.
It has a 12.3
inch touchscreen where you're going to find all your nav controls, your convenience controls and the controls for the 1200 watt.
Jbl audio system Got a 12.3
inch digital instrument screen that also has the heads up display on top of that.
It makes a real nice combination.
You can see everything on it.
It also has the panoramic view inside the monitor in the center stack.
I wanted to point out there are 13 cup holders in this vehicle.
There are seven USB-C ports, no USB-A.
You've got to have a little C if you're going to be in this vehicle and you're going to plug anything in.
Now, under the hood we had the 2.4
liter four cylinder hybrid, because this is the max version of this Max Platinum.
The max limited has a 2.5
liter hybrid system.
It's a little bit smaller hybrid system, little less horsepower.
This has had a net horsepower of 362 horsepower At plenty of juice.
It's backed by six speed instead of the CVT that you're going to find in the other version of the hybrid.
Also, because this is the larger powertrain on it and it has the six speed, it will tow 5,000 pounds.
Didn't have the opportunity to try and do that.
It'd be interesting to see how well it works.
But I believe when what I found driving it, I don't think it would have any kind of a problem doing that.
Now the EPA says you should be looking for about 26 in the city, 27 on the highway.
Combined you should get about 27 on it.
I got the whole 26 on it across the board for the week I was driving it because, again, we had to do a lot of research on this vehicle and I really found that the hybrid gave it a really nice low end response.
As far as you want to get up and go, it'll get up and go.
Three drive modes sport, ego and normal.
It's like ego or ego Could be ego if you wanted to, if you want your ego to go ego, but I will say out on the highway it was a very pleasant drive.
It wasn't real noisy, it wasn't real firm.
There was a couple of bumps.
I hit out on the interstate of something, I'm not sure what it was, it was rather harsh but I kind of expected it because of the hit.
As far as just normal road, it was nice, it was a very nice driving.
Now the base model price on this vehicle, the base hybrid trim, is $44,670.
The base trim price for the premium that we were driving starts at $58,125.
Wow.
Now, as tested, we had just a little bit $59,953 MSRP.
Looking at the base level, you go across at the new Mazda CX90, which is their three row plug in hybrid, at $39,595, starting.
Kia Sorento hybrid A little bit smaller vehicle, I think, $38,365, but still a midsize.
And again the Hyundai Santa Fe hybrid.
Again, I think it's a little bit smaller physically but it's still considered a midsize $36,950 for the starting point.
So the Grand Highlander if you're a Highlander fan, it's a little bit bigger, got a few more things in it.
You really ought to go check that out if you're looking for an EV hybrid Highlander.
It's like the XL.
Yeah, in the SUV category.
Just added feet onto the back of it for the third row, yeah.
Yeah, so you just made it longer and it's got a lot more room inches wise I didn't get into those details, but inches wise the third row is a lot bigger.
Yeah, okay, all right, very well, thank you very much, sir.
All right, if you'd like to get in touch with us, shoot us an email.
The address here is info at inwieldtimecom, and be sure to follow us on Facebook.
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About this episode
Crystal Lopez joins the show to discuss the Big Bend Open Road Race, an exciting timed event held on a closed highway in Texas. With a history spanning 26 years, the race allows a variety of cars, from Corvettes to Beetles, to compete in a unique format where drivers race against their own time rather than head-to-head. The hosts also review the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Platinum, highlighting its spacious interior, advanced technology, and hybrid powertrain, making it a strong contender in the midsize SUV market.
Original notes
Gear up for a high-octane conversation with Crystal Lopez, the mastermind behind the Big Bend Open Road Race, and discover the exhilaration of a 44-mile time trial that transforms public highways into a racer's paradise. Crystal, with an infectious enthusiasm that rivals the roar of engines at the starting line, breaks down the essential elements of strategic driving and split-second timing that define this unique motorsport experience. Whether you're a Corvette enthusiast or a daily driver looking to test your skills, our chat offers a rare peek under the hood of what it takes to compete, from the thrill of navigating treacherous turns and inclines to the camaraderie among participants that fuels the event's competitive spirit.
Strap yourself in as we navigate the essential preparations and safety measures required for the rubber to meet the road. From fire extinguishers to racer attire, learn about the non-negotiables that keep drivers safe while pushing the limits. We zoom into the importance of practice sessions on alternate highways, the investment rookies should anticipate, and the unique dynamics of racing partnerships. Get a sense of the community that comes alive in the pit and the commitment required, whether you're a solo driver or part of a family team looking to claim bragging rights. This is where the passion for speed meets meticulous planning and a shared love for the open road.
Revel in the details of the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Platinum, a hybrid SUV that promises more than just a smooth ride for families and their gear. Our review shifts from the exhilarating race to the luxurious comfort of the Grand Highlander, with its plush third-row seating and the latest in connectivity for those long drives to the pit or the grocery store. We explore how this mid-size marvel is revving up to redefine road trips with an expansive suite of features, from a panoramic sunroof to a JBL audio system. Join us for a ride that transcends the race track and merges into the everyday journey, with the same pulse of adventure and attention to detail that makes every mile memorable.
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