Retrieving the Zero – Katy to Austin

Posted on August 11, 2025 by dutcherstiles

This spring I noticed a decrease in the range of my Zero SR/F. Thanks to the internet, I realized I wasn’t alone. Most SR/F and SR/S from my model year suffered a similar issue. I contacted Zero HQ with my logs, and they verified that I had a battery problem, and gave me a case number with a recommendation to visit my nearest dealer for the work to be done (all within about 90 minutes on a Saturday!). Unfortunately, the dealer where I bought the bike in 2021 has since dropped Zero, so the nearest authorized party was the Wild West Motoplex 124 miles away in Katy, Texas. After careful wrangling with Plugshare and A Better Route Planner, I found it would be impossible to ride the bike to Katy with a range of only 25 miles or so (not to mention taking all day and most of the night). I enlisted the help of my motor friend with a trailer and we headed out to Wild West Motorsports of I-10. Dropping off the bike, I asked for a new set of tires(Michelin Road 6) and a spare belt.

The bike was finally ready, with new battery, ignition switch, tires, and belt. Around 11:30 I left the dealer with an 80% charge.

I had mapped it out several ways, and settled on a 3 stop strategy – at a Target in Katy 9 miles from the dealership to top it up to 100% on Highway 99. Pretty uneventful trip to the Target – the charging was free, and all four chargers were available, but three of the four spots were occupied by internal combustion cars. I snaked into the remaining spot, and charged up while eating crackers and cheese.

On the way to the next stop, I was startled by a pack of American V Twin enthusiasts, snorting and weaving and hooliganing on the tollroad. One of the pack was the assigned videographer and held out a phone recording them while riding on the shoulder. Sure, I was the dork on the electric bike with the mesh jacket, Shoei and boots, but I was still unsure of the range with the new battery so I was taking it easy within the limits (75 MPH) of the tollroad.

Free charging across from city hall in Brenham, Texas

I made it the 50 miles to Brenham after realizing I missed my exit. I’ve got a QuadLock on the handlebars, but I found it a dangerous distraction when I tried navigating with it before. I had spent my last charge trying to memorize the exit, but the heat must have scorched those neurons. I just followed the road signs for Historic Downtown Brenham, sniffed out the electrons, and was charging in no time at a steady 6 KW/h. I strolled over to the Mescalito Cafe for a Topo Chico and an iced latte. Cool place, friendly staff, tasty iced latte.

Topo Chico is a real luxury. Iced latte is a necessity.

I loitered around the town square until the Zero was up to around an 80% state of charge. I was reasonably unworried about out the navigation, since the next turns off 290 were into my neighborhood, but I did think I would need another charge.

I played around with ECO mode until I got on the highway, but once on the highway, the heavy region with ECO made it hard to maintain a steady speed at 75 mph. I made the easy calculation to charge up at the Austin Community College campus 66 miles away in Elgin. I stopped at a gas station to grab some cacahuetes japones, water, and a soda before hitting campus since ACC Elgin is a lonely place on a summer Saturday.

Lonely charging at ACC Elgin

Again with the loitering on the nice new facility (complete with nature trail clear of visitors since it was 95 F at least) and the exceptionally slow charging. And the only charge of the journey that cost me money. After topping up to around 40% SOC I headed the final 20 miles into Austin.

It took around 5 hours (as predicted) and three stops, but if I was starting from home on a full charge, I bet I could do it in one.

It cost $1.45 in fueling costs – the ChargePoint in the Target parking lot said they would add the cost of $3.00 if I charged for more than an hour, but Brenham was free and ACC was $1.45. The tolls were about three times the fuel costs.

The Michelin Road 6 tires felt planted and smooth, much more stable that the aging stock Pirellis.

First long travel in the summer in a long time, but reminded me of the joys of a mesh jacket. I figured the heat would fatigue me more than it did, but soaking my scarf in water, drinking plenty of fluids, the mesh jacket did its job.

With the new battery, and at highway speeds (mostly between 65 and 75 mph) I was getting about 1 mile per percent SOC. Not bad. Ready to explore more in the coming months now that I have a longer tether.

And thanks to Ryan at Wild West Motoplex for taking care of the Zero.

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2024 Top Eight

Posted on January 7, 2025 by dutcherstiles

The top eight things from the last year. 7 good, 1 sad. I might come up with two more in a forehead slapper post “post”. But eight works for now.

Cool hotels. Stayed at three cool hotels – the Magnolia in Dallas, the Blackstone in Fort Worth, and the Pontchartrain Hotel in New Orleans. All with their distinctive charms and would recommend. Honorable mention: the very friendly Holiday Inn Express in Opelousas, Louisiana.

The Pontchartrain Hotel from the street car stop on St. Charles.
Sundance Square Christmas lights from the Blackstone Hotel.

Going to see live music. Operas, SXSW day shows, jazz funk, the Wacos at the Whirly, the Old 97s, Storyville Mosquito. I just have to remember to stretch before extended standing periods and wear ear plugs when appropriate.

SXSW Daniel Johnston tribute band at the Carousel

Talking to music legends. Dinner and arcade time with Kid Koala and DJ Jester (the Filipino Fist), and a few casual words with Sally Timms were highlights.

Arooj Aftab’s Night Reign on purple vinyl.

Finally saying good bye to cigarettes after 42 years.

The state of Louisiana. Made two trips there and still may go again. Like New Mexico to the West, it can be as alien and intriguing as a whole other country.

Crossing the Mississippi

Comic books. I read a ton of comics thanks to working next to one of the two best comic shops in town, and living close to the other, compounded by a subscription to the DC Universe Ultra app. Standouts new and old include Helen of Wyndhorn, Wonder Woman, Planetary, The One Hand and the Six Fingers, the DC Absolute titles and tons more.

Saying goodbye to Chip. He was a good dog we thought was eternal.

Chip in his Giraffe Cosplay period

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Best of 2024 – Music and Related Events That I Was At and Have Pictures Of

Posted on December 30, 2024 by dutcherstiles

For the music category, performances by family members are specifically excluded and ineligible for consideration. Although they were terrific and will likely be in the next post.

Best Casual Dining with DJs: Kid Koala and DJ Jester at Chili’s at 45th and Lamar, October 31, 2024. Followed by a visit to an arcade where my son took on all comers in a typing/zombie battling game. Other highlight: Kid Koala talking about Dan the Automator’s lost album between bites of baby back ribs. We followed up by attending the Storyville Mosquito, Kid Koala’s live animation/puppet show that was unlike any other performance I’d seen (or at least since the last Kid Koala show).

Eric, another fan, Mikey, and the boy at the legendary Chili’s
Kid Koala battles the boy in game where the faster you type, the more zombies you can kill.

Best Weekend in Remote Compound in Rural Louisiana: Wacos at the Whirly, September 12 to 15. Exotic cocktails, cajun, creole, and insurgent country in an undisclosed location in the heart of the thicket. Renewed my appreciation for the music of the greater Wacoverse (Wacos, Bright Shiners, Deano & Jo) and introduced to considerable talent of the Lafayette and environs (Yvette Landry, The Revelers, Cedric Watson). And delicious food. Would do again, but maybe take the wife so Sally Timms doesn’t single me out as looking awkward and lonely.

Revelers!
Jon and Sally!
Cedric!

Best Music vs. Back Pain Experience: Kamasi Washington at the Empire Control Room, May 17, 2024. Kamasi pulled what seemed to be a capacity crowd at the standing only, partially outdoors dance venue. On the positive side, excellent sound, soulful performance. On the negative side, kinda sweaty, could not move once the show started, and the legs and back started to give out before my desire to hear more.

Kamasi Washington bringing it.

Best Show to Hang Back and Let the Youth Have Their Thing: Snow Strippers with Club Eat, Empire Control Room, April 18, 2024. Escorted the boy to the all ages (but really only some ages) undergound dance with generally positive vibes. Good sound, and not so crowded that I couldn’t sneak away to the patio side and chill whilst the youth engaged in sweaty revelry.

Kids these days what with their music and dancing and whatnot

Best Post Election Have a Beer and Don’t Think About Politics Show: Old 97s with Fastball at The Scoot Inn, November 7, 2024. Th prescription for my post-election malaise was a highly potent dosage of country rock administered directly to the forehead by experienced professionals. The show provided instant relief.

Keb, his pretty guitar and hi-fashion shirt brining it.

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Nettspend & Osamason in Dallas, November 4, 2023

Posted on November 10, 2023 by dutcherstiles
Smoky room lit by phones

e venue was a no name ballroom in a strip mall off  yards away from an interstate, sharing the location with a Nigerian yoga studio for the homeless, an insurance office, and a storefront church.   The Instagram flier just gave an address and the hours 8:00 – 12:00.  I let my son know that the headliners would not go on until 10 at earliest, but he insisted we stand in line at 8:00.  We got a brief frisk by some off-duty cops, my son bought a t-shirt from the sole harried youth who slowly pawed through a pile of unsorted merch examining each tag for the size.  The local supporting acts ran until about 11:15.  The crowd was predominately male and young (it was an all ages show) but about evenly split between black, white, and hispanic.

Youths in line. Was the venue called “DASPOT”? No one can say.

The sound really sucked, which was good for me since I forgot my earplugs.  Around 100 youths bounced around to DJ sets, but not DJs like my old self understands them. One person played a track on a laptop, the DJ sang along to the track and tried to entertain the crowd, with pleas to “Open that shit up” to facilitate moshing.  When a track was over there was dead silence, no transitions, very unlike a dance DJ.   It was hard for me to tell what was going one, since there were about a dozen other people on stage other than the performers. They weren’t really engaged with the music, but were mostly taking pictures with their phones for shining flashlight on each other.  During a brief break I asked my son why no one yelled or clapped after a track ended.  He said it was because the DJ sucked.  One rapper with green hair was the exception – he was good – I wish there were only about a dozen more of him.

Nettspend finally took the stage.  For a reason a wasn’t able to fully understand, Nettspend is the most hated rapper on Twitter.  I guess he’s 18, but he looked closer to 12, a  babyfaced blonde white guy in a red hoodie.  He tried to do his thing, but the sound sucked, and the microphone sucked, and the computer glitched, and roughly half the audience were spewing hate his way.  After a short set and some odd on stage heart-to-heart with DJ Phatt, he wandered off stage, hoodie pulled over his head.  

Osamason (who I accidentally called Obamason a number of times) marched on the stage and took charge.  The crowd loved it.  They opened that shit up, and Osamason whipped the crowd into a moshing fury.   Then it turned midnight- and all the lights went up, power was cut to the sound system, and the security guards started hustling people out the back door.  

Maybe because it was mostly a young crowd, the vibe was pretty chill.  I was easily three times the age of the audience, but was left alone to chill in the back.  Only one sharply dressed man who identified himself as “artists management” came to talk to me, and that was because he thought I owned the venue.  

I’m not plugged in to the social network that my son is, so I don’t know how the show was received by the fans. I did see a fan recording of the show on Youtube with comments to the effect the show was “shut down.” The timing of the shut. down at midnight lead me to believe the real enemy of fun is strictly enforced zoning standards.

The view from our room at the Canvas, not from a DC-9 at night.

Also, the Canvas Hotel was a friendly, comfortable place to stay, and the Opening Bell Coffee Shop had some of the tastiest kolaches I’ve had since the Kolache Shop shut down.

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Car Spotting – The Heatwave Years

Posted on August 13, 2023 by dutcherstiles

Just seems like years, but the advanced persistent heat and drought puts the warp on my mind like the ill routed exhaust on my Jeep Commando put on my collection of select LPs back in 1989. (I’d still weep for the lost items from the Slash, Celluloid, and Shimmy Disc catalogs, knowing that my still suit would recover the fluids)

None the less, exploring the hostile environment the past couple of weeks has lead to some thematic car spotting.

The Zs: New and Latest

This very shiny black with shiny black wing was headed west at sunset. Exposed trumpets, not too stanced, big ol wing, and vanity plate would may an easy mark for targeted anti-fun enforcement squads. Not my thing, but it looked too nice to be abused.

Days later, the sort of non-event of the new Z.

I guess I was expecting more presence from the new Z. I barely noticed it until were were right behind it. The grey blue color hides its shape well. This was the first one I’d seen in the wild, but it would be nice to see more.

Our robot friends have established a presence on the roads.

A pair of these unmanned Chevy econoboxes were jamming (Econo?) up Lamar in close quarters like a pair of motorcycle cops. The thousands (tens of thousands?) of dollars of sensing equipment were camouflaged enough to me that I really didn’t notice their exposed surveillance entrails until I looked at the pictures. I saw one of these, with a human in the front seat prowling the neighborhood where I take my walk. The block I walk is near a rehabilitation center and a school for the visually impaired, and is commonly used as a test track to learning to use a cane to navigate streets and sidewalks. This block also has two bus stops (a local and an express). At the end of the block is a three way stop drivers (even the bus drivers) take as a suggestion rather than an order. I’m not sure the robot could get what was going on – does it recognize the significance of a white cane? Will it make the left hand turn and not slow down? I don’t know. I remain a heavy skeptic of self driving cars. The world is a crazier place than most algorithms recognize. And outsourcing our responsibilities for safety to a machine seems like a step in the wrong direction.

This Italian/German sporting coupe was parked at the comic book store next to my Zero. I still think I had the higher ratio of cool to wheel.

While waiting to get inspected, I spotted this very clean Cadillac, but think the SLAB execution would been better on a Buick. I’m not even sure if that isn’t a Buick with just Caddy badges on it.

Not pictures – a Lucid Air (which my wife spotted) and a really clean red 1982 Camry.

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In the garage: Three months with the 2018 Volvo S90

Posted on September 20, 2022 by dutcherstiles

It’s been a while. And life with the Volvo has been as expected.

I bought the Mussel Blue S90 Momentum on June 28, getting an extension of the warranty just under the wire. I’ve taken it on a couple to trips (to Houston/Galveston, and to Waco) used it on my short commute, and on errands to repay my wife for having to drive us to the grocery when the Mercedes was ailing. My criteria included back seat room, good looking, safe, and reliable. The Volvo has met those criteria.

Mussel Blue, like a Swedish shark.

First, I think it’s good looking. Although Mussel Blue was the most color you could get in a S90 in 2018, it still beats the varieties of silver and grey. The amber interior looks great, and the interior is well laid out and supremely comfortable.

Amber interior, kinda classy, and not black.

Second, speaking of comfortable, the back seat is huge and comfortable. I can cross my legs sitting behind the driver’s seat when the seat is adjusted for me. From the passengers on the road trip, I heard mostly gentle snoring and no complaints.

Third, the Bowers and Wilkins was a worthy option. It sounds great and I hear things in music I’ve missed on other systems.

The engine is the base turbocharged 2.0 liter four cylinder, and is not really inspiring. It gets the job done, and seems happiest on the highway. Around town, the engine and transmission are mildly disharmonious, but sort themselves out. Good news on the engine front – I’ve been getting around 26 city and 35 highway which is the most efficient car I’ve driven, maybe ever. It does its thing without much drama, including fording near flooded roads.

View from passenger side as Arroyo Seco became Arroyo Mojado

Two downsides, but only mild downsides. The Sensus infotainment system is pokey when booting up and has a steep learning curve. I’ve learned to take a meditative moment when starting out in the car before driving away to let the system wake up, recognize my phone, and start playing my desired music. The system took a while to figure out, but I can now accomplish most of what I need pretty handily. It did take a while to figure out how to reset the TPMS warning, and how to use the automatic parking (which works).

Texas is Loading.

My brief commute takes me past a Volvo specialist garage, fully nested with 240s, 740s, 850s. In the last week, there were 2 P1800s – the coupe and wagon. And today, there was a yellow T5-R sedan – was it my old one?

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The frustration of trying to find a car

Posted on June 25, 2022 by dutcherstiles

I can define my needs.

  • Back seat room (more than 35″) – comfortable enough that I wouldn’t mind sitting behind myself on a long road trip.
  • Modern safety – radar cruise, lane keep assist, full suite of airbags, good safety rating
  • Not an SUV/CUV
  • Not white/grey/silver. Maybe black.
  • Wild card – maybe this car has something special (good stereo, excellent engine/driving dynamics, or just an odd but good car)

I initially thought I could find a K5 GT or Sonata N-line in my price range. Well, the only K5 GT in the area was white. The only N-line was the enuui inducing Hampton Grey. So I started checking out the used market.

I really wanted the K900, and tried hard to make a deal to buy it. After the third appointment to try to buy the car when either I waited over an hour, the person I made the appointment with had the day off, or I was left hanging for an hour while waiting for the finance guy, I gave up. The did put a set of Kuhmos on the car although different types front and back. One wheel remained curb rashed to hell with the chrome was flaking off. Maybe this was a sign that this K900 was not for me, but it was still a huge waste of time.

I test drove a Black 2018 Genesis G80 Sport. The G80 Sport had the same engine and transmission as the K900 (which is primarily a differently optioned Genesis G90) and the Stinger GT. It had a gigantic panoramic sunroof and copper accents on the inside and outside. It had enough power to be fun getting on the highway. The rear accommodations were not as plush as the K900, but roomy and comfy. The interior looked good, it had some scratches around the rear wheel, and smelled maybe too much of lemon scented air freshener.

Not a bad looking behind.

The let down was the infotainment – it projected more upscale Elantra than mid spec Genesis, and was nowhere near as nice as the K900s. It did have a CD player – is this the last factory spec auto CD player? The salesman and dealership experience was excellent, and the only thing holding me back was the price, which was at the upper range of my set limit, but if was red or blue, it would likely be in my garage already. The car has an open recall, though. According to the official NTSB guidance, two fuses need to be exchanged. Seems simple enough, but it may be a headache.

Carbon fiber and the infotainment is not a stapled on iPad.

The third car I tried to look at was a 2018 Volvo S90 T5 Momentum. Mussel Blue with Carmel interior, and the real kicker: Bowers and Wilkins stereo upgrade. S90s are handsome cars, with plenty of rear seat space, and the Bowers and Wilkins upgrade is praised for its excellence. The turbo charged 2 liter four cylinder is probably adequate, but efficient! I visited the dealership, and salesman was friendly, and sold the hell out of the car, but… the car was being used as a loaner and wasn’t there. He’d let me know. It’s been a week. I contacted again, with the same story.

I’m told this is Volvo Carmel interior. Which is nice.

After two price reductions, it looks like the K900 was sold. I still have some alerts up on Cars.com/Carvana/Autotempest for K900s near me. Right now, if the G80 sticks around, I may go for it next week – I even had the credit union bump up my loan amount.

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Automobiles of Goth Incompetence

Posted on June 9, 2022 by dutcherstiles

In Season 2 Episode 10 of the CW series Superman and Lois, Superman blasts through an interdimensional portal to Bizarro world. I sighed in canonical relief when he discovered Bizarro world was a cube, not a sphere, and was only mildly disappointed that people didn’t greet each other with “Good-bye.” The CW version of Bizarro world is not just the opposite of CW world, but has a whiff of Snyder/Capullo’s Dark Universe, where the version of you that made all the bad decisions lives. Only this time with general incompetence. And kind of Gothy.

The show is known for flights of top notch car placement (the non-Super boy’s girlfriend drove an AMC SC/Rambler last season – maybe), and this episode did not disappoint. To whit, the bank heist team used what looks to be Reliant Rialtos as their getaway cars.

Getaway Cars

The Bizarro version of Lois, the big city girl know trying to get along in Smallville, has traded her square body F 150 for a Dodge Rampage. There is a probability that this truck is the same as the one in the Hagerty article I just linked, because Smallville is in British Columbia probably.

Sweet ride, Lois
Superman in awe of the sport truck’s utility.
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Car Search Update

Posted on June 5, 2022 by dutcherstiles

Began the car search in earnest by getting off my can and visiting deanships to see what the situation is. It’s not as grim as I thought it might be.

I talked to sales folks at three Kia and two Hyundai dealerships. Two of the Kia salesmen said they had only been on the job less than a month. The supply story is pretty much the same across both Kia and Hyundai – what’s on the website is what they are getting. If you are interested, you can set up a $1,000 deposit with some paperwork outlining the purchase price of the vehicle. When it comes in, you have a couple of days to pick the car up, otherwise your deposit is refunded and the car goes to the next buyer. Of the three dealers, I only discussed price with two, and they both said MSRP, but one added that they require their “premium care package” (wax, tint, and scotch guard) which runs about $3,000. One dealer said they required financing through their banks, which struck me as mildly shady, but no real harm, as I could probably refinance through my credit union. The Hyundai/Kia special financing as of this month is reasonably competitive.

The bad news is that there are very few of what I am looking for – either a K5 GT or Sonata N-line in a color (i.e., not black, grey, or white). In the Austin area, there is one K5 GT in white inbound (probably sold by now), and three or four N-lines in various shades of grey and black. I spotted a Sonata N-line in Hampton Grey on the road yesterday, and was underwhelmed. On the other hand, I saw a K5 GT in Sapphire Blue and it was stunning.

And, of course, no test drives. I was able to sit in a base K5, and it fit just fine, with lots of room front and back.

I did test drive a used car – a 2019 Kia K900 VIP in Panthera Metal (which I read as Pantera Metal, thinking it’s like a limited edition commemorating the Arlington, Texas headbangers). The K900 is a rare (only 350 sold in US in 2019) Kia sedan that can the seen as either a stretch luxury Stinger, or a dressed down Genesis G90. I saw one rolling up Burnet a couple of weeks ago. It was like meeting someone that reminded you of someone you used to know, but couldn’t place – familiar, but new. I liked the taillight design looking little tubes of glowing red behind tinted glass. Iwas sufficiently impressed to do some research – it has the proven 3.3 turbo/8 speed automatic that is relatively ubiquitous in the Kia/Hyundai/Genesis autos, a gorgeously designed interior, and all the safety stuff that is now more ubiquitous across the platforms (including the blind spot cameras that come on when you hit the turn signal). This car had the VIP package, which includes heated/ventilated rear seats, and a rear console that comes between the rear seats for climate controls, audio, and “Rest” mode.

Dimebag Edition K900

This particular car just came off lease a day or so earlier. The interior did not disappoint, and would fully fit the mission as cross country road trip machine. Roomy, quiet, fast enough, and didn’t feel quite as porky on the road as I anticipated. Everything I tried seemed to work, but lord know I didn’t try everything. This car did have a couple of issues that would have to be either sorted before purchase or included as part of the negotiation. The rear tires were Michelin, the front were fresh-looking Ohtsu – never a good sign especially on an all wheel drive vehicle. The passenger side wheel was curbed, and the chrome treatment was flaking off. The CarFax showed a minor front impact a couple of years ago, the subsequent repairs, followed by routine service over its lifetime. It was leased and serviced at the dealership selling it.

Luxury VIP with open pore wood.

As a sidebar, looking at a CarFax in 2022 the “low average miles” shows up on nearly every one. Took me a moment to discover, no duh – no one was driving much in 2020 and most of 2021.

Thinking about the K900 on the way home, something seemed again familiar. Turbocharged V6 AWD sedan, in dark metal flake paint, with gizmos and doodads – yeah, that was my SHO Taurus. Also, used luxury car usually sets off alarms, especially low volume car. I dunno. Maybe I’ll just keep looking.

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Radwood Austin 2022

Posted on April 26, 2022 by dutcherstiles
Gangster SEC

Went to the Radwood at COTA last Saturday, with the boy and his friend. They have little interest in cars, so went off to explore the rides at COTAland, while I perused the vintage machines. I didn’t haul my Mercedes up there, although was a selection of W123s in various conditions and attitudes. There was a survivor S123 with extensive mods to the drivetrain (manual swap, Caterpillar fuel filter, ALDA delete, EGR delete, big turbo, and aftermarket fuel injection). I think I spotted a number of manual converted 300Ds, and a manual 240D. I’m not convinced that a manual makes everything better. Probably makes a 240 more livable, but an OM617A is well mated to the 722 auto transmission and (mine at least) has not problem in traffic. It’s not a sports sedan, but Mercedes even put automatics in their sports sedans. This iconoclastic stance did not cause either my son and his friend to look up from their burgers. Of course there was the one Mercedes there – a 190E 2.6 – that should have had a manual, considering how it was cosplaying as DTM racer, but had an automatic. There were a couple of SECs, which are creeping into my top most bad ass Mercedes.

Is this yours?

Walking past the dazzling white Countach, I was drawn to the Lotus Carlton. Forking amazing. Never thought I’d see one, and it’s stance and proportions met the expectations. Gorgeous and notorious. I was admiring it and someone came up and asked if it was mine. “I wish.”

Wheel arches.

There were some Alfas. A really nice black Milano Verde (if the badge is to be believed – if I had a 3 liter Busso under my hood, my hood would be up!) and an SZ.

Zagato?
Zagato!
Beautiful paint and interior. And a shape that looks better and better.

COTA is a great space for a race, but as far as a parking lot goes, it has parking lots. And most of the cars were in the parking lot. I enjoyed the wooded racetrack where the last Austin Radwood was held, but it is no more. And I know they postponed this once for the Delta Variant (at Auditorium Shores which would have been awesome), relocated to COTA, but had to delay because of nasty weather. It’s a shame that the track or pits weren’t available, just to show off the facility and the cars at the same time. Maybe even include a parade lap. But there were some Porsches tooling around the track that the Radwood folks could barely see, so that wasn’t happening. Just happening at the parking lot and the entrance to COTA made it feel more like a plain old car show, a step above the What-A-Burger parking lot in Round Rock on a Friday, but not quite the event it was at Driveway Austin.

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