There are few roads that capture the romance of American travel quite like Route 66. And there is no automotive event larger or more central to the performance automotive industry than The SEMA Show. Bringing the two together for the first-ever Pavement Pounder Events road trip felt bold, maybe a little crazy and exactly right.
Because this was our inaugural event, we had no idea what the turnout would look like. Would anyone join us? Would we be overwhelmed with cars? Would the Mustang we just bought that Patrick was driving behave? That sense of the unknown for us and our participants added to the adventure.
Before we go any further, we want to thank our sponsors because they are not an afterthought. This event would not have existed without their support. Every company was personally invited to be part of Route 66 to The SEMA Show 2025, and each one contributed to making this first-year experience unforgettable. Heatshield Products stepped up to be our presenting sponsor. Gold Level Sponsors included Centerforce Clutches, Flex-A-Lite and TREMEC Transmissions. Our media partner was BangShift.com, and our Sliver Level Sponsors were ABC Performance, CQ Marketing, Murphy Auto Group and National Parts Depot (NPD). We appreciate the support of these companies, and they appreciate your support: choose them for your next project or upgrade!
And without further ado, here’s the story of the first-ever Pavement Pounder Events road trip: Route 66 to The SEMA Show 2025, presented by Heatshield Products.
Route 66 to The SEMA Show 2025
The route we penned stretches 2,200 miles and would carry the group from the farmland of the Midwest into the wide-open deserts of the Southwest. We climbed above 7,000 feet, chased two-lane blacktop through towns the interstate forgot, and rolled across landscapes where cell service fades and GPS is borderline worthless. It was real-deal, old-school road tripping—long days, unpredictable pavement and just enough grit and mystery to make every mile memorable.
This year’s event could not have turned out better. We had a total of 15 vehicles registered including two Pavement Pounder Events cars: Cole Quinnell’s 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle and Patrick Hill drove a 2005 Mustang GT that we purchased just a few weeks before the start of the event. This created a nice sized group that guaranteed that everyone received VIP parking, we would be able to drive together as a group, and everyone would have the same experience at every stop. Participants came from all over the U.S. including North Carolina, Florida, Missouri, Arizona and more. Cole’s co-pilot, Mike Lane, flew in from Alaska to join the trip.
Here’s something you don’t admit often: on a trip like this, there are usually one or two folks you secretly hope don’t show up the next time. Not this group. Every single participant was engaging, helpful and genuinely fun to spend time with. Almost everyone arrived as strangers but left as lifelong friends.
Day 1: Gathering in Pontiac, IL, and Credential Pickup
We started our Route 66 trip a little short of the official start of the famous highway. Instead of convening in the crowded, busy and fairly bland intersection of Adams St and Michigan Ave in Chicago, we kicked things off in the historic town of Pontiac, IL. Pontiac is the first town along Route 66 heading from east to west with a significant amount of preserved and celebrated Route 66 history. Throughout the downtown there are a variety of painted murals both commemorating Route 66 and the Americana that the Mother Road represents.
Brent and Sharon Casteel, Bob Church and Tim and Precy Ritchey were eager-beaver participants, arriving a day early so they would have time to check out the Route 66 Museum, Pontiac Oakland Auto Museum and make the short trip to Odel, IL, to see the restored Standard Oil gas station.
The gracious and friendly staff at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Pontiac allowed us to host our check-in process in the hotel lobby where participants received a windshield banner, participation windshield sticker, participation sign and two t-shirts. People who opted for Premium Registration also received a limited-edition Route 66 to The SEMA Show 2025 embroidered jacket. The unofficial dinner destination was to explore the Wally’s next door, appropriately claiming to be the “Home of the Great American Road Trip.” The BBQ did not disappoint, nor did the people who worked there. Genuine Midwest hospitality and service.
Greg Csernai and George Fulesi arrived in Greg’s 1967 Ford Mustang which he built decades ago as Shelby GT350 tribute car. Jason and Lucia Taylor brought a cool-looking and rowdy sounding 1986 Chevrolet C10. Celia and Ray Marks arrived later than they planned. They started off in their Pontiac Bonneville ragtop, but had mechanical issues and returned home to swap it out with their 1964 Plymouth Valiant Station Wagon.
We had a last-minute invite for the group to meet John Wargo at The Custom Shop to see some of the vehicles he and his team were preparing for The SEMA Show. John was great, giving the Pavement Pounder Events group a private tour of the shop and details on two builds that were being buttoned up before shipping to Las Vegas for the show.
After check-in and welcome-package distribution, we headed to The Custom Shop in nearby Flanagan, IL. Owner John Wargo showed us several of the vehicle he was wrapping up to ship out to The SEMA Show including this beautiful early 1950s Chevrolet with endless details that the group kept discovering. Another eye-catching Custom Shop build was this 2nd-gen Pontiac Firebird. The car has a stereo system that can rival the sound levels of the 1,000-plus horsepower LS engine.
Day 2: Pontiac, IL, to St. Robert, MO – 350 miles
We started with a driver’s meeting, explaining the plans for the day and the rules of our trip. We were a small enough group to all drive together, but everyone was free to drive on their own and do what they wanted. The guidebook had all the stops listed including gas stops, directions and helpful tips. Ultimately everyone decided to stick together, so we lined up the vehicles in front of the hotel and set out on our Route 66 adventure.
Something that was not in the guidebook was the cold rain that would wet us on and off throughout the day. It didn’t dampen spirits though. We headed southwest on Route 66 for our first stop; Atlanta, IL. This small town is home to a Paul Bunyan Statue and the American Giants Museum. These American Giants, or “Muffler Men,” are giant fiberglass statues, made mostly during the 1960s and 1970s by International Fiberglass for roadside advertising, especially along Route 66. Originally, these held mufflers, tires or tools to attract travelers to Route 66 businesses.
From Atlanta, we merged onto I-55 to Route 66 Motorheads Bar & Grill to explore the automotive memorabilia and eat lunch. Ron Metzger of Route 66 Motorheads Bar & Grill showed us parts of the collection that many visitors don’t take the time to explore.
Through St. Louis, Route 66 travelers have a choice: continue near I-55 and the Gateway Arch or head west on I-270 east to stop at the less visited Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, which is what we did. The bridge was Route 66 from 1936 until it was closed to vehicles in 1970. It is 5,353 feet long with a 22-degree bend at the midway point; one of the unique features of the bridge. The rain stopped long enough for us to walk the bridge – with a few of our group making it to the half-way point.
Our next stop was the Devil’s Elbow Bridge in St. Robert, MO. Located in Pulaski County, Devli’s Elbow Bridge was built in 1923. It’s an often bypassed landmark along Route 66 because it is on an older alignment.
We welcomed new participants to the event at this scenic stop. Michale and Kayla Murphy joined us with their 2015 Camaro SS. Stephen Sandberg intended to bring his 2003 Chevrolet S10 Xtreme with us on the rest of the Route 66 to The SEMA Show 2025 trip, but unexpected work kept him from joining us. Gary Patterson also joined us in St Robert. He was trailering his 2017 Mustang GT350 to SEMA to be on display in the Toyo Tire booth and asked if he could participate even though he was towing.
Our final stop for the first day of driving was the town of St. Robert. The Pulaski County chamber of commerce left welcome packages for all of us, and we sloshed through the rain to the Route 66 Diner for dinner.
It was very cool having Celia and Ray’s Plymouth wagon with us on the trip. It’s an ultra-rare combination between the body style, red exterior and interior and the 273cid V8-powered, 3-on-the-tree.
Day 3: St. Robert to Yukon, OK – 409 miles
The next day immersed us further into Route 66 culture as the route moves away from the interstates. We were now in towns that you don’t make a quick side-trip to or accidentally drive through.
Our first stop was Spencer Station in Miller, MO. It’s located on one of the few untouched original stretches of Route 66, on a side spur of the Mother Road that you will only travel if you mean to arrive here. Crossing over a classic Route 66 steel bridge, you are welcomed to this landmark with a view of three surviving buildings. The general store was opened in 1926 with a garage added in 1927 and café and barbershop opening in 1928.
From Spencer Station, we traveled through the Missouri back-country to Carthage; the “Crossroads of America.” A stop at the Boots Court Visitor Center let us take in some history, check out the Boots Court Motel which is the oldest operating motel on Route 66. When it opened in 1939, the owner charged the high nightly price of $2.50 to discourage unsavory guests.
We left downtown Carthage to head to the 66 Drive-In just west of town. About this time, Cole received a “Houston, we have a problem” text from Patrick. The hydraulic throw-out bearing in the Mustang had left the conversation, leaving Patrick on the side of the road. The group retreated to Braum’s in Carthage for lunch while Cole and Patrick figured out what to do about the injured Pony.
By the time the burgers and fries were being distributed at Braum’s the decision was made to tow the Mustang to the local Ford dealership for repairs. We didn’t know it then, but what should have been a 24-hour repair turned into days, and we wouldn’t see Patrick again until the SEMA Show.
The rest of the group motored down Route 66, crisscrossing the countryside to stay on various segments of Route 66 to the town of Galena, KS. There are only about 13 miles of Route 66 in Kansas, and being a fair distance from the interstate, many people make the mistake of not stopping here. Our first stop in Galena was the Kan-O-Tex gas station where Director John Lasseter and animator Joe Ranft of Pixar movie, CARS, saw the rusty old tow truck that became the inspiration for Tow Mater. That tow truck is on display in addition to other vehicles you’ll recognize from the movie.
A little way down Galena’s wide and somewhat deserted Main St is Gearhead Curios. Kass greeted our group in this restored Texaco gas station and gave us the tour with automotive trivia knowledge that rivaled most of ours. Her enthusiasm for automobilia and Route 66 was inspiring.
The next landmark was a quick drive over the unique and distinctive Rainbow Bridge near Baxter Springs, KS. It is the sole surviving bridge of this style along Route 66. From here, we continued on Route 66 to Crosstar Flag and Tag Museum in Afton, OK, Al Childs personal collection of automotive, U.S. and movie memorabilia that he loves to share with visitors.
The Rainbow Bridge in Kansas is unique architecture because it’s the only bridge of this style left on Route 66. It is a single-span Marsh arch bridge built in 1923. There were originally two other bridges of this type, also located in Kansas, but the Rainbow Bridge is the only one surviving today.
Dinner on Day 2 was served up at the Rock Café in Stroud, OK. It’s hard to ignore the CARS movie references inside and out, but if you make it past those, you’ll find Betsie the cast-iron stove cranking out American favorite meals served up by people with a genuine interest in every person who stops in.
Our last stop of the day was at the famous Rock Café in Stroud, OK, for dinner. In addition to being a great place for lunch or dinner, Rock Café co-owner, Dawn Welch, is the person that the character Sally Carrera in the movie CARS was developed from. After dinner, we motored down I-40 for another hour to our hotel in Yukon, OK.
Day 4: Yukon to Tucumcari, NM – 353 miles
Each day of this trip was different from the previous with the scenery changing from the heart of the Midwest into the panhandle and now pushing into the desert of northern New Mexico. Another difference for this day’s driving is that Route 66 runs next to I-40 and in some places is covered by the interstate. Because of this, most of our driving was on the interstate, but our three primary landmark visits today made up for the lack of two-lane traveling.
Our first stop was the Conoco Tower Station in Shamrock, TX. This is one of the most iconic gas stations along Route 66 with distinctive art deco architecture. It’s also one of the larger gas stations and, while the pumps no longer flow Ethyl (or any gasoline), there is a café and gift store, as well as a Tesla charging station which seems oddly out of place.
After another hour on the interstate, we exited in Amarillo for lunch at the Big Texan Steakhouse. No one opted to take the “free 72-ounce steak” challenge, but we all enjoyed the rustic old-west dining experience.
Cadillac Ranch is just a few miles west of Amarillo and was our next top. Some of our group brought spray paint to leave their mark on the row of finned and planted Americana sheetmetal. Interestingly, we visited just a couple of weeks after all of the Cadillacs had been painted red in memory of Charlie Kirk, but most of the red had already been covered by new visitors.
Cadillac Ranch is just a few minutes west of Amarillo, located on the southern frontage road. We were lucky when we arrived that there was enough parking for our group to line up near the entrance.
The official midway point of Route 66 is Adrian, TX. There’s not a lot there, but we posed for photos on the stripe painted across Route 66 and made a friends with Jason Snyder at Dream Maker Station Route 66.
The official midway point of Route 66 (halfway between Chicago and Santa Monica, CA) is Adrian, TX. We stopped for the obligatory photos at the white strip across Route 66 and happened upon Dream Maker Station Route 66. The owner, Jason Snyder, had just received a shipment of replica Cobra and GT40 body panels which caught our attention. We had a great time getting to know Jason and his friends, checking out their cars and buying some souvenirs before getting back on the road.
Our destination for this day was the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, NM, where Kyle Quinnell and Marco Silva joined the group for a day in Kyle’s 2023 Dodge Charger Scat Pack.
Tucumcari is one of the original neon capitals along Route 66, and the Blue Swallow has been hosting visitors since 1939. Although it has been restored, it has never been renovated, meaning that the rooms and garages are just the way they were in the 1940s and 1950s. This was the first of two very different historic hotels that we would stay in on this trip. Current owners, Robert and Dawn Federico, greeting us like old friends, gave us a tour of the hotel and explained nuances of staying in the historic property such as how to use an actual room key and the fact that the door will lock behind you when you close it.
Day 4: Tucumcari to Winslow, AZ – 483 miles
Today’s drive across northern New Mexico and Arizona would be a mix of Route 66 and interstate. From Tucumcari to Albuquerque, most of Route 66 is just a frontage road shadowing the interstate. West of Albuquerque, there are a few spurs that we took advantage of. One especially noteworthy one is at Exit 177 (heading west on I-40) where Route 66 takes a meandering loop north. This stretch includes one of the “Deadman’s Curves” on Route 66. The desolate, winding 5-mile stretch gives travelers a good idea of what it was like following the Mother Road before the interstate existed.
Most of the drive across northern New Mexico was on the interstate, but we did venture off on a loop of Route 66 through the rocky landscape and past ancient lava flows.
We stopped for lunch in Grants, NM, where our group of classic cars caught the attention of a local photographer who was working on a New Mexico tourist book. She took photos of our cars and followed us to our next stop, the Continental Divide on Route 66.
Hunter Armstrong had planned to join the event on this stretch, but mechanical issues with his 1968 Chevrolet Impala Fastback kept that from happening.
Our next planned stopped was a drive through the Petrified Forest National Park. But as we pulled into the parking lot, we were reminded that the U.S. government shutdown (remember that?) had the gates to many National Parks gates locked, including this one.
This meant that we had some extra time for the day, so we made an unplanned stop at the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, AZ. Not only are the teepees still available for overnight accommodations, but the parking lot has a dozen or so permanent cars from 50-70 years ago to make sure the property always has an authentic vintage feel. Brent and Sharon were staying here for the night so we got to see the inside of one of the teepees as well.
Our official host hotel for the evening was the La Posada in Winslow, AZ. This oasis in the desert is one of the best examples of Fred Harvey’s series of luxury railroad hotels. Built in 1930, it was located at the Winslow train station (which is still an active train station and accessible via Amtrak). The rich and famous from California would arrive at this luxurious resort for festivities, rest and rejuvenation.
Our early arrival in Winslow gave us time to explore and enjoy the property and greet our last new participants to this year’s trip: Jenna and Roger Runyon with their 1981 Camaro Z/28. We convened at the Relic Road Brewing Company for dinner and to celebrate two Halloween birthdays: Michael Murphy and Greg Cscernai.
Day 5: Winslow to Las Vegas – 365 miles
Today was bittersweet, as it was the last official day of the event for all of these new friends. But it was equally exciting as some of the best Route 66 desert stops lay ahead.
Our first stop was the long abandoned Two Arrows, AZ, now down to only one arrow. This was a trading post first established in the 1940s and its trademark was two 25-foot wooden arrows paying homage to the Hopi and Navajo tribes that once inhabited the land. The trading post fell into decline with the growth of traffic on I-40 and was abandoned in 1995. One of the arrows broke or was broken (which we suspect, based on the graffiti on the buildings) in 2022.
We continued along I-40 to Seligman, AZ. This Route 66 town has grown, and much has been brought back to life over the past 20 years. Being a reasonable tour bus ride from many large Southwest cities, the town is very popular and full of souvenir shops yet still retains authentic charm.
We stopped in Kingman, AZ, for lunch at Mr. D’s after taking a loop through one of the many Route 66 drive-through photo-op signs that have been installed over the past few years.
From Seligman, we hopped back on the interstate to our lunch spot at Mr. D’s and explored the Kingman Visitor Center. From Kingman, we left I-40 and ventured into the desert. Until arriving at Cool Springs Station at the eastern base of the Black Mountains of Mohave County, AZ, it felt like we were driving through a scene of The Hills have Eyes.
Cool Springs Station sat abandoned from 1966 through 2004 when it was restored and rebuilt. It was the perfect spot to take pictures, shop and stretch or legs before the curvy drive over the mountain to Oatman, AZ. We had some excitement on that drive – and by “we,” we mean Bob Church and George Fulesi – who had some brake issues on the curvy mountain road. Luckily, nothing other than blood pressure was injured.
Oatman is what we like to picture in our heads as an authentic old-west town. The wooden structures complete with wood-plank sidewalks give it that feel, as do the wild donkeys wandering the streets looking for handouts. It was a fitting last stop on Route 66 for our group and cap to the great history we had enjoyed over the past 2,000 miles. From Oatman, we drove the remaining miles down the mountain and made our way to US Highway 95 to head toward our final destination of Las Vegas.
The sun was setting as we crested the hills in Searchlight, NV, and we were treated to our first real city traffic during the entire trip. Making our way through southern Las Vegas, we pulled into Shelby American for our farewell dinner and private party. We had the Shelby Heritage Center all to ourselves, and Mike Kidd from our sponsor, TREMEC, joined us. In addition to a great catered dinner, we enjoyed a tour of the facility including vehicles from Carroll Shelby’s storied career in the automotive industry and racing, as well as the facility where current Shelby vehicles are built.
Want to see more photos from this year’s event? Check out the Pavement Pounder Events Facebook page, the Participants’ Page and our Instagram channel.
What’s Next?
This may have been the end of this trip, but it is only the beginning for Pavement Pounder Events. Plans for the next trip are already in the works. You can sign up for emails (scroll to the bottom of this page) to be among the first to learn about and sign up to join future adventures.
Meet the Participants of the Route 66 to The SEMA Show 2025 Event
We joked before this trip that you have to come on the first event if you want to be able to say you’ve been on every one of them 10 years from now. Here are the people who took us up on that challenge:
Not pictured:
- Hunter Armstrong, 1968 Chevrolet Impala Fastback (Registered but wasn’t able join due to mechanical issue)
- Chris Hahn, 2017 Ford F-150
- Stephen Sandberg, 2003 Chevrolet S10 Xtreme (Registered but wasn’t able join due to work)
