Revving Up for the Hot Rod Tour of Texas 2025: A Joyride Through Lone Star Car Culture

Hot Rod Tour of Texas 2025

Speaker 1 0:01

Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast , a 30-minute mini version of the In Wheel Time Car Show that airs live every Saturday morning 8 to 11 am , central From the Sugar Shack Studios in Texas , usa . It's the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show . Just ahead , the brains behind the upcoming Hot Rod Tour of Texas . And they seem to be intact behind a lot of hair . This morning .

Speaker 1 0:28

I don't know Jeff has the cruise in and events calendars and I'll bring you stories making automotive news headlines this week . Howdy Along with Mike out of this world , mars . We always need more . Jeff Zekin . Chief Engineer David Ainsley . I'm , don Armstrong , so glad that you could join us today and you know there's been a lot of excitement , a lot of talk around the state of Texas because of the Texas' own Hot Rod Tour of Texas . It's being talked about around the world . Around the world , yes , exactly . And joining us now . Live from Victoria , texas , I assume . Yep , they're shaking their heads .

Speaker 1 1:04

Here they are , bobby Sparkman and Jeremy Taylor , and they had just gotten out of the insane asylum they did , and they're joining us this morning to give us all the details of the Hot Rod Tour of Texas 2025 edition . Gentlemen , this is the fourth year .

Speaker 3 1:22

Good morning . Good morning , yes , it is .

Speaker 1 1:24

Yeah Well , we're all excited about it . Gentlemen , this is the fourth year . Good morning , good morning , yes , it is . Yeah , well , we're all excited about it . I know that tickets went on sale last weekend . How are ticket ?

Speaker 3 1:33

sales going . We have less than 50 driver tickets left . It went very , very well , oh God .

Speaker 2 1:39

Man . So if my math is right , that means 300 people have already signed up Over 300 .

Speaker 3 1:45

Over 300 .

Speaker 1 1:46

Over 300 . Well , congratulations . Obviously , you struck a nerve with all of us , the car enthusiasts , and we all want to join you guys . I don't know why , but you know it's a fun time and it's a great three-day event . So let's talk about the event , because along with the ticket sales came the actual discovery of the stops along the way . So where are we going to go ?

Speaker 3 2:15

And to kick it off this year we're doing Thursday we're going to do a little garage crawl at a couple of local shops and we're at one of them right now . You can see this little Corvette behind us with a parachute on it . We're out at a couple of local shops and we're at one of them right now . You can see this little Corvette behind us with the parachute on it . Oh yeah , we're at Level X right now . Some young guys started this business up , a locally owned and operated business but we're going to hit a couple of hot rod shops opened up , a powder coater opened up and it's going to come and go from 1030 to 4 that Thursday , before the kickoff party happens Thursday night .

Speaker 1 2:45

So it's a little bonus add-on . It's a preview of the event's preview .

Speaker 3 2:51

Right , if somebody comes in early and they want something to do , they can come around and check out what these little shops do .

Speaker 1 2:58

They do some pretty cool stuff , and that's in the Victoria area .

Speaker 3 3:01

Yes , all of it's within Victoria .

Speaker 1 3:03

Very nice . Well , we're looking for .

Speaker 3 3:05

I believe we have five shops , oh five shops , and you're calling this the pre-tour crawl .

Speaker 1 3:13

I like it .

Speaker 3 3:14

Yep , that's the Hot Rod Tour . Texas Garage Crawl .

Speaker 1 3:16

And I'd imagine that there won't be any drinking involved until maybe 4 o'clock in the afternoon .

Speaker 3 3:22

Yeah , the Thursday afternoon party is where the party starts . Yeah , and that's at 4 o'clock in the afternoon . Yeah , the Thursday afternoon party is where the party starts .

Speaker 1 3:26

Yeah , and that's at 4 o'clock and that's going to be downtown at Town Square , right ?

Speaker 3 3:30

Downtown , the same place as we've done it before at De Leon Plaza , we're partnering again with the Victoria Symphony .

Speaker 1 3:36

That's fantastic , that's really cool . Listen , I have to tell you that I was quite surprised and that symphony , oh my God , they're awesome , they are great and it was a great event . I assume that you're going to have some food trucks down there .

Speaker 3 3:52

Food trucks and drink trucks and the whole nine yards . The city's going to open up downtown . All the vendors , all the local businesses . They'll be open as well .

Speaker 1 4:01

Very nice . As a matter of fact , I think that we wound up going down the street to some little cafe and stand there . They didn't even have gasoline .

Speaker 3 4:13

At the gas station . He asked if somebody could run his register so he could go look at the card .

Speaker 1 4:18

And the poor lady that was there . I asked her . I said you need some help . She says , oh God , can you help me ? I said sure , so I bagged some groceries and you know , it was kind of like a we'll help you any way that we can . But that's the whole , really the whole mindset behind everybody that goes on the tour .

Speaker 3 4:32

It is . It is so many lock-minded people and so many really great mechanics that come on and everybody's willing to help each other out .

Speaker 1 4:46

Yeah , help each other out . Yeah , if somebody has an amazing , that's right . You see somebody pulled over the side of the road and you're going to find five or six other cars pulling over there to help them out . That's right , go ahead .

Speaker 3 4:51

And that's a good point , Don . For the routing we're going to use the same mapping program that we used last year . We'll do a little Me and Jeremy talked about it last night . We're going to do a little video of it to kind of help people figure out how to navigate that mapping system , because if you do pull off , it will get you right back on path . It tracks where you are . It's a really , really cool app that we're using and it's free .

Speaker 1 5:16

Well , we're looking forward to it . It's coming up the weekend of April 26th and we'll be in touch with you and we'll have more discussions about it . And if anything comes up , be sure and call and let us know .

Speaker 3 5:27

Absolutely , and we want to thank you guys for supporting us since the very beginning in our local tourism group , as well as the City of Victoria and the Symphony . They've all been really , really fantastic supporters for us and all the participants .

Speaker 1 5:43

Yeah , it's a great time and a lot of fun and we really enjoy it . You guys , take care , We'll be in touch and we'll talk to you soon .

Speaker 3 5:53

All right , Thanks fellas . All right , y'all take care .

Speaker 1 5:55

All right coming up , jeff has the cruise in and events calendars and I'll have the stories making automotive news headlines this week . Thanks for joining us on the award-winning and real-time car talk show Back after this . The Tex-Mex dining experience is defined by Loopy Tortilla , your destination for Texas' best beef fajitas and frozen margaritas . Since 1983 , loopy Tortilla has served authentic and time-tested recipes made with the freshest ingredients . Atmosphere is part of the award-winning experience at Loopy Tortilla , all developed in a little house near Highway 6 and I-10 in West Houston . Visit any of the Loopy Tortillas and you'll see the same attention to detail in each and every location . Start your Loopy experience with queso flammeado and guacamole , along with a classic frozen margarita . Dine on famous Loopy beef and chicken fajitas or pepper shrimp brochette or a fish or vegetarian entree , and finish with a scrumptious flan for dessert . Find Loopy Tortilla in Houston , college Station , beaumont , austin , san Antonio and Dallas-Fort Worth . There's a Texas location near you . The recipes are authentic and time-tested , the ingredients always fresh . Loopy Tortilla , it's pretty good .

Speaker 1 7:06

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Speaker 1 7:30

Gulf Coast Auto Shield is where Houston's car people go . Curbed your wheels . Instead of buying new , why not have them repaired ? How about a professionally installed radar detector ? Gulf Coast Auto Shield does that too . Get a peek inside the shop and look at the services offered by getting online and heading to gcautoshieldcom . Better yet , stop by their facility at 11275 South Sam Houston Tollway , just south of the Southwest Freeway , and get a personal tour . Gulf Coast Auto Shield is your place to go for all things exterior . Call them today 832-930-5655 or gcautoshieldcom . Hey , we hope you'll join us on the upcoming Hot Rod Tour of Texas beginning April 24th in Victoria . You'll get all the latest from the tour all weekend long right here on In Wheel Time . Thanks for joining us today on the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show . Time now for the cruise in and events calendars , jeffrey .

Speaker 2 8:20

Yes , sir , what I've got here next week , the 15th . Well , let's not go too far ahead . The 14th is Valentine's Day , friday , don't forget . Don't forget , michael . I like flowers , so you can send me flowers . Okay , but that's the 14th Friday . I've got candy for you

Car Show Event and Lawsuit Update

Speaker 2 8:42

, the 15th .

Speaker 2 8:42

The 15th the tour of the hemi hideout . The tour of the hemi hideout events invites all corvette club and owners to a special cruising event on february 15th . Attendees can explore the impressive collection of cars , neon signs , artwork owned by mr john hovis . It takes place at 11 to 72 will pits road in Brookshire . It's a $10 entry fee . It's cash only because they're going to match those funds for the charities that the Hemi Hideout provides .

Speaker 2 9:06

That's Saturday the 15th . Saturday the 15th , it's from 10 am to 1 pm . Now you can buy snacks and drinks there . It's cash only , so beware that . Then on Saturday you've got Cars and Coffee at Redemption Square . They're going to host the Cars and Coffee . It's a monthly automotive showcase for the Lake Houston community . They come together and they witness some amazing automobiles . So join the Redemption Square . An array of cars classics , exotics . If you want to show your car , head to the Redemption Square at 250 Assez Street around 8 am to secure your spot . It goes from 9 am to 12 noon and then on Sunday you've got the Cars and Coffee in Corpus Christi . For folks down a little bit south of us , cars and Coffee Corpus Christi event is scheduled for the third Saturday of the month , taking place at Coffee Waves at the London Square . Okay , the gathering will be , Coffee , waves Coffee .

Speaker 1 9:58

Waves , I like it .

Speaker 2 9:59

At London Square . Okay , the gathering will be Coffee Waves . Coffee Waves , I like it At London Square . Down at Corpus it is at 1290 FM 43 , suite D , corpus Christi goes from 11 to 1 . Now , so far as all the other action we've been talking about we just met the boys from the Hot Rod Tour . That's all been confirmed . We've got some stuff coming up , possibly in Galveston , that we're going to still discuss , galveston , that we're going to still discuss , and then we've got Granbury coming up too as a road trip as well .

Speaker 1 10:20

So there , you go Granbury . Yeah , that's our June summer kickoff . We're all going to summer camp . Yeah , we've got to go to summer camp inside air-conditioned studios . Yeah , because after that it's like hunker down and get ready , hunker down , get your swimsuit together . There you go , yeah hunker down , get your swimsuit together . There you go , get your swimsuit together . I don't know , do you have a swimsuit ?

Speaker 2 10:44

I do . I have a nice pair of trunks .

Speaker 1 10:47

Do you really ? I can't even imagine you in trunks out by the pool .

Speaker 2 10:51

Oh man , Well , hang around . He didn't say that Stick around .

Speaker 1 10:54

Hang around , that's what I'm afraid of . Tr . Hang around , that's what I'm afraid of . Trunks . Mr Mars , you have a set of trunks , elephant trunks .

Speaker 2 11:01

I got some blue jeans that have got holes in the knees . Oh dear God , oh Lord , I just go ahead and rip them off .

Speaker 1 11:05

You know what ?

Speaker 2 11:05

Rip off the bottom part you know what that is some .

Speaker 1 11:09

That's a vision that I have that I really never had before .

Speaker 2 11:21

Do you wear a ?

Speaker 1 11:21

pair of days , well not quite from the night , from the 1970s we just lost a bunch of listeners him down at the beach . Oh , dear god , I saw elvis at the beach once , did you yeah ?

Speaker 2 11:30

I've seen .

Speaker 1 11:31

What you'll see , I've seen elvis uh in a lot of places throughout my life , mainly after he died , that was yeah , this was just a couple of years ago . Really , yeah , don't tell them what you'll see at the beach , especially down there at Crystal Beach or Walmart . By the way , are you signed up to do the Jeep Gotopolis weekend tour down there at Crystal Beach ? You know the police may have something to say about that .

Speaker 2 11:58

They have a new sheriff there's a new sheriff in town and he has let it be known that he's the new sheriff . Now a lot of people are waiting to see exactly what that means , but he says he's going to fix this problem . Yeah , yeah , it is a problem .

Speaker 1 12:12

It's a big problem . Well , you know , I think one of the things that in the car culture that we could ask him or suggest to him that he do , and that is get classic paddy wagons from all of the cities around Crystal Beach , including Houston , galveston , all the counties around , they all got a paddy wagon stashed away that they rarely use . Take it down to Crystal Beach and line them up right there . What highway is that ? 87th , 87 . Highway 87 . Just line them up and we could have a classic paddy wagon showcase . Well , right now they're using a bus .

Speaker 1 12:54

Well , I understand that and that's fine , but I'm thinking we're going to add a little excitement . Hey , look at that , there's a 1948 Ford paddy wagon .

Speaker 2 13:02

Yeah , yeah , yeah yeah .

Speaker 1 13:04

Of course , you need to have a couple of wreckers standing by just in case they break down , but that's another story . But just put them in there , open the windows , the caged windows , yeah , yeah , and I think that I think that's something we should submit to the sheriff . I don't know . No , just an idea . Yeah , what's his name ? Sheriff ? What ?

Speaker 2 13:23

well , I don't know what his name .

Speaker 1 13:24

I haven't seen much , I just sheriff vinnie boom bot , new dear dear sheriff vinnieots , you know we've got an idea and we'll let Jeremy and Bobby take care of that aspect of it . Bobby's police car , bobby's police car , would lead the way . Yeah , yeah , yeah , and we could get them all on the ferry from Galveston and bring them over on the ferry and have a paddy wagon parade . Wait a minute . Isn't there a Prince song paddy wagon parade ? No , that's not nice Strawberry parade .

Speaker 3 14:13

That's enough of our musical segment .

Speaker 2 14:16

No more musical history today , folks .

Speaker 1 14:18

You know those margaritas .

Speaker 2 14:19

last night they put my brain into a different you know that's the first margarita I had in a while we went to a different .

Speaker 3 14:30

Well , the same name different place A couple of verses of the paddy wagon parade .

Speaker 2 14:39

She was in a paddy wagon parade .

Speaker 1 14:44

And he was wearing his cut-off shorts . Somehow we're going to incorporate that . And he saw Elvis and we saw Elvis all at the same time . Yeah , I have pictures of Elvis though . Yeehaw , I want to see . Does Becky have any pictures of you in your cut-off jeans at the beach ? Not that she'll share , you don't know that . Well , that's true , all right . Some of the stories making headlines this week Well , that's true , all right . Some of the stories making headlines this week Well , there's one , thank goodness .

Speaker 1 15:10

A large group of Volkswagen and Audi dealerships in Florida filed a lawsuit against Scout Motors over the direct sales retail model and alleged the startup's reservation system violates state law . On behalf of VW and Audi dealers over Scout's plans to sell straight to consumers . Also challenges the brand's independence from parent Volkswagen Group and claims it is not properly licensed as a manufacturer in the state . Vw and Audi dealerships suing Scout Motors operate across much of Florida , from Miami to Tampa to Tallahassee in what is a top state for new vehicle sales . A Scout spokesperson said the brand does not comment on pending litigation . Of course they don't .

Speaker 1 15:55

Volkswagen Group of America and Scout maintain the electric vehicle startup is and will remain independent , something dealers have questioned and a lot of other people too , nissan seeking a new partner as it prepares to end negotiations to form a joint holding company with Honda . People familiar with the matter said the fresh ally would ideally be from the technology sector and be based in the US . The people said asking not to be identified because the information is not public yet , and they did actually kind of tease about who that might be . Nobody would know that name of the company . Although its sales are slowing globally , north America remains Nissan's most important market and the wider shift toward electrification and automation is pushing all carmakers to seek alliances with high-tech industries .

Speaker 2 16:44

Well , the leader of Japan was just here in Washington with Trump and they had a news conference and that was actually mentioned that Nissan and Honda were doing something . They didn't elaborate on it , but they said they were together . Yeah well , they're not Together .

Speaker 1 16:57

We'd love to hear from you . Shoot us an email . The address here is info at inwheeltimecom . We'll be back after this .

Speaker 1 17:03

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Speaker 1 18:03

The award-winning In Wheel Time Car Talk Show now reaches 5.3 million folks each year . Show now reaches 5.3 million folks each year . Check us out on InWheelTimecom , the Odyssey radio app , youtube , facebook and just about every other entertainment source out there , including our live broadcast every Saturday 10 to noon Central Time . The InWheelTime Car Talk Show has informative automotive guest interviews , new car reviews , along with popular features , including Jeff's car culture , the latest new cars , cruise ins and racing dates . It's InWheelTimecom . Join us . That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show . I'm Don Armstrong , inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning on Facebook , youtube , twitch and our InWheelTimecom website . Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts , spotify Stitcher I heart podcast podcast addict tune in Pandora and Amazon music . Keep listening and we'll see you soon .