There are quicker ways to get from Pascagoula to Mobile. Interstate 10 will get you there in 30 miutes.
But if you want to experience the Gulf Coast the way generations of race fans have, take Old Highway 90.
Leaving Pascagoula, Old Highway 90 quickly settles into a slower pace.
The road passes through the tiny community of Kreole, once home to the International Paper mill that employed thousands and sustained the surrounding area for generations. After the mill closed in 1999 and was eventually demolished, Kreole became a quiet reminder of the Gulf Coast’s changing fortunes, with much of the once-thriving community now feeling like a ghost town.
Just down the highway sits Oak’s Gas Station where the famous hot dogs have fueled fishermen, shipyard workers paper mill workers, and race fans for decades. A few miles farther west are the site of the former Orange Lake Elementary School, destroyed by fire in recent years, and the longtime favorite Lakeview Catfish House.
Before reaching the Alabama state line, one final Gulf Coast landmark comes into view, the Gulf Coast Gator Ranch, a classic roadside attraction that lets travelers know they’re getting closer to another night under the lights at the Race Track.
Crossing into Alabama, Highway 90 rolls past old abandoned nightclubs, a longtime flea market, and quiet stretches of railroad that have paralleled the highway for generations. Then something begins to change.
Pickup trucks pulling race trailers become more common. The smell of race fuel replaces the scent of marshes and pine trees. Before long, you’ll find yourself in one of the richest grassroots racing corridors anywhere in the Deep South.
From Sunny South Raceway in Grand Bay to Mobile Dragway and historic Mobile International Speedway near Irvington, this stretch of Highway 90 has been the Saturday Night destination for generations of racers from Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle.
Around here, Highway 90 isn’t just another scenic drive. It’s the road to the racetrack.
One of the things that makes this drive so unique is the railroad. For mile after mile, Highway 90 runs alongside one of the busiest freight rail corridors on the Gulf Coast. Long freight trains rumble toward the Port of Mobile while race trailers head east toward another Saturday night under the lights. It’s a scene that has played out for generations and perfectly captures the blue-collar character of the region.
Many of the men and women who spent their week working in shipyards, paper mills, chemical plants, machine shops, and on the railroad have always spent their weekends building race cars in garages across South Mississippi and South Alabama.
Just beyond the Mississippi state line sits Grand Bay, Alabama, known for its watermelons and quiet country roads. Along Highway 90 stands a magnificent live oak estimated to be more than 300 years old. My grandpa told my dad that as a boy in the 1930s, his family would stop beneath its sprawling branches for a picnic, as it marked the halfway point between Pascagoula and Mobile. For generations, travelers have done the same, gathering beneath the giant oak while freight trains rumbled across the towering railroad trestles spanning the creeks beside Old Highway 90. Today, the tree remains a living reminder of the families who have traveled this historic road for centuries.
It is also home of the Gulf Coast’s true grassroots racing gems. Sunny South Raceway, now operating as SSR Motorsports Park, has served as the starting point for countless young racers, introducing generations of drivers to the sport since it opened in 1989.
As the sun begins to set, the quiet roads leading to the track come alive with pickup trucks and open trailers hauling Bombers, Legends Cars, Bandoleros, Street Stocks, Mini Cups and other divisions. The parking lot slowly fills as teams unload their race cars, people walk through the pits located outside the track, and the unmistakable aroma of food sizzling on the grill drifts across the speedway.
There are no luxury suites or million-dollar motorhomes waiting behind the grandstands. Instead, you’ll find families working side by side under pop-up tents, neighbors catching up between races, and competitors making last-minute adjustments before climbing into their cars. That’s the charm of Sunny South. It represents small town racing in its purest form, where passion outweighs budgets and the love of racing comes before everything else.
The competition is fierce once the green flag drops, but the sense of community never disappears. Drivers loan one another spare parts, rival crews pitch in to help repair damaged cars between races, and everyone shares the common goal of keeping as many cars on the track as possible. Winning is important, but at Sunny South, making sure your fellow racer gets back out for the next feature often matters just as much.
Continuing east through Downtown Grand Bay and the tiny community of St. Elmo, Highway 90 settles back into a slower pace. The road passes the old St. Elmo Airport, where a weathered runway, rusting beacon, and a handful of small hangars recall a bygone era of aviation. On many days, small propeller planes can still be seen lifting off above the pine trees. A couple of miles farther, travelers can’t miss one of Alabama’s quirkiest roadside attractions, the El Camino Chickens, where giant chickens have been perched atop colorful Chevrolet El Caminos since the 1970s, greeting motorists with a touch of Gulf Coast roadside Americana. Beyond the attractions, Highway 90 winds past railroad crossings, country stores, modest homes, and towering live oaks draped in Spanish moss, creating a scene that feels untouched by time. It’s easy to forget that just a few miles ahead, another race track is preparing to welcome a packed crowd..
This is the Deep South that rarely appears on postcards, a place that is simple, hardworking, and authentic, where generations of families still gather around local traditions and where the rumble of race cars remains as much a part of the landscape as the trains that roll alongside Highway 90.
Just beyond St. Elmo, in another tiny community of Irvington Highway 90 leads to another Gulf Coast racing landmark: Mobile Dragway. Originally opened as Mobile International Dragway in 1985, the quarter-mile strip has spent decades serving as a home for South Alabama’s drag racing community, sitting just down the road from Mobile International Speedway.
As darkness settles over South Alabama, the staging lanes begin to fill with everything from stock car racers and mini stocks to purpose-built dragsters chasing the perfect pass. The humid Gulf Coast air carries the unmistakable smell of burnt rubber as engines crackle, waiting for the signal to launch. Then the Christmas Tree flashes green, and in an instant two cars explode off the starting line, disappearing into the darkness at well over 100 miles per hour. The race itself may be over in just a few seconds, but for the drivers, crews, and families who spend their weekends at Mobile Dragway, the memories often last a lifetime.
Right next door to Mobile Dragway and one final destination awaits, Mobile International Speedway. Few short tracks in the Deep South can match the history that lives within its weathered wooden grandstands. Since opening in 1965, the speedway has welcomed generations of racers and fans, earning its reputation as one of Alabama’s most beloved short tracks. Later guided for decades by legendary promoter Lee Fields, the speedway became known throughout the Southeast for hard racing, loyal fans, and unforgettable Saturday nights. Away from the racetrack, Lee Fields was also a well-known professional wrestling promoter during the 1970s, helping bring wrestling stars to the Gulf Coast while building the speedway into a regional racing destination, and the Mobile area as a viable wrestling territory.
The grandstands themselves are as much a part of Mobile International Speedway’s character as the racing. Long before modern stadium seating, fans climbed steep, weathered wooden bleachers that have creaked beneath generations of race fans. The gaps between the seating rows and the open spaces at the top are wide enough to command your attention with every step. One misplaced foot while climbing those old wooden stairs feels like it could send you tumbling all the way down. They’re far from luxurious, but they’re authentic, a reminder of an era when race tracks were built by local hands and maintained through decades of hard use rather than corporate renovations.
Over the past 61 years, some of the biggest names in stock car racing have turned laps on this quarter-mile oval. Hall of Famers Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison, Red Farmer and Rusty Wallace all raced here during their legendary careers, Alongside those national names, generations of Gulf Coast favorites became hometown heroes under these same lights, giving local fans plenty of reasons to keep coming back year after year.
When the green flag drops, the entire place seems to come alive.. On a hot summer night, with the smell of racing fuel hanging in the humid air and the old wooden grandstands shaking beneath hundreds of cheering fans, it’s easy to understand why Mobile International Speedway remains one of the true treasures of Southern short-track racing.
Highway 90 is more than a road connecting Pascagoula and Mobile, it connects generations. For decades, families have loaded up race cars, packed coolers, and pointed their cars east toward another weekend at the Track.
Today, thousands of travelers speed overhead on the interstate, never giving the old highway a second thought. But those who choose the slower road discover a side of the Gulf Coast that can’t be experienced at 70 miles an hour. Trains still rumble alongside the highway, abandoned landmarks tell stories of industries and communities that once thrived, roadside attractions and small towns come alive as trailers loaded with race cars make their weekly pilgrimage to the track. From the kart racers at SSR Motorsports Park, to the drag racers launching down Mobile Dragway, to the Saturday night stock cars at Mobile International Speedway, the tradition continues much as it has for generations.
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