Author and Route 66 expert Michael Wallis, who portrayed the Sheriff of Radiator Springs in the hit Disney-Pixar movie “Cars,” provided some interesting news to me this week via e-mail:

This week I spent several hours in studio recording a brand new CARS video game featuring the Sheriff, Mater, Lightning and many of the other film characters. I cannot say too much about it, but we were able to do the work from a Tulsa studio, hooked up to Burbank and Emeryville (Calif.). From the gist of the script I worked from, I can tell you the action takes place after Lightning is comfortably settled in Radiator Springs and there is more Ghost Light material, etc.

All of us on the hookup had a great visit about this Sunday night and our joint hopes for an Academy Award victory! Not too cocky, but I for one am feeling pretty good about our chances.

We’ll report more details on this video game as soon as we get them.

Wallis has quite a few other irons in the fire.

An Oklahoma Centennial edition of his book, “Way Down Yonder in the Indian Nation,” has just been updated and reprinted by the University of Oklahoma Press.

Wallis’ newest book, “Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride,” is shipping to bookstores now and will be on sale March 19. A second printing has already been ordered. And for you roadies, Wallis says much of the action takes place “in Route 66 country.”

Six major book clubs have purchased the book, foreign and audio rights have sold, Diane Rehm of NPR fame and severlal other major national radio/TV shows have booked me, big pieces coming in American Heritage, True West, NY and LA Times.

A 20-city book tour for the Billy the Kid book will begin next month and continue through April. Wallis says stops will include Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

His next book, “The Lincoln Highway: Coast to Coast from Times Square to the Golden Gate,” with photographer Michael Williamson, will be out in July. There will be a book tour for that volume as well.

(Photograph of Wallis by Redforkhippie.)

Scott Cherry, food writer for the Tulsa World, stopped by Al’s Route 66 Diner in Sapulpa, Okla.

Al’s is gaining notice for its Big Daddy — a 66-ounce burger, three pounds of french fries and a 32-ounce milkshake. If you have a big enough appetite for it, call a day ahead and it will cost you $35.

But if you eat it all in 66 minutes, it’s free. Only four people have taken the Big Daddy challenge so far, and all have failed.

Today, I was sent this link to a video produced by Webster High School students in Tulsa and broadcast on a local TV station. The film is about the Red Fork Main Street revitalization program, and Route 66 plays  a prominent part in those plans for Tulsa’s west side.

The fledgling program is giving Red Fork a shot of optimism and a chance for a rebirth after years of decline.

It’s been reported for a while that Hualapai Indian tribe is constructing a Plexiglass-rimmed Skywalk that juts out 70 feet into the Grand Canyon, over the Colorado River. The fantastical project sounds like a scenery-lover’s dream (or a nightmare if you have problems with vertigo).

Anyway, the Skywalk seems so improbable that Snopes.com, a site that debunks urban legends and e-mail rumors, has devoted a chapter to it. And, yes, Snopes reports that the reports about Skywalk are definitely true, and has construction photos from the project to buttress the evidence.

In addition, Grand Canyon Skywalk has its own Web site. According to the site, the official opening date of Skywalk will be March 28.

This thing is going to be a monster tourist attraction.

For years, I’ve told my friends that if I were an automobile executive with a new vehicle model, I’d take it down Route 66.

First, a cross-country trip would expose any weaknesses of the vehicle so they be corrected before hitting the showroom floor. Second, driving the model down America’s most famous highway would generate buzz.

Well, it turns out that an automaker already has done that. And it wasn’t an American company. It was Toyota in 2001 when it was about to roll out its wildly popular Prius hybrid model.

According to BusinessWeek Online:

The group also held a cross-country trek along Route 66, hitting towns and cities from Chicago to Los Angeles. The drive-and-tell seemed to work wonders. Says Becker: “Someone at Toyota told me that a phenomenal percentage of people who tested the car bought one.” By 2004, Toyota had passed Honda and had the greenest image. “They just blew past us in the surveys,” said John German, manager for environment and energy analysis for American Honda Motor Co. “They’re in first place now.”

This helps show why Toyota has gone from 6 percent of the retail market share to over 17 percent in less than 25 years.

A fellow named Shadetree blows a mean blues harmonica while jamming with guitarist Harley Russell of the Mediocre Music Makers a block south of Route 66 in Erick, Okla. There’s plenty of goofing around, but it’s apparent that both are pretty good musicians.

The Consumatron Minute takes an irreverent look at the beginning of Route 66 and Mother Road souvenirs — all in less than 60 seconds.

I advise a genuine road trip over cheap trinkets to gain a true Route 66 experience, however.

Joe Bonwich of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reviewed B. Donovan’s, the former Big Chief restaurant at 17352 Manchester Road (Route 66) in Wildwood, Mo., that has been extensively refurbished and reopened.

The Big Chief’s presence on the Mother Road dates to the 1930s.

It’s a somewhat mixed review, with Bonwich remarking that the restaurant is mostly “putting its history behind it” and its “clunky” service. But the portions are big for the price (most entrees are under $15), and the chef has some interesting ideas with preparing the ribs and wings.

The Route 66 Marathon, which held its inaugural event in November, gave a $24,000 check Wednesday to the Tulsa Area United Way, reports KOTV in Tulsa.

Apparently the check was more than anticipated:

Because organizers had never tried it in Tulsa before, Jack Wing says he kept his hopes for Tulsa’s first big-time marathon small. “Y’know, in my experience putting on race and stuff, I thought, man, if we get 1,500, I’ll be happy.” So he was ecstatic when 3,000 people entered the race. “They came from every state, 3 different countries, and 45 percent of the runners came from outside of Oklahoma, which is really fantastic.” […]

Jack Wing says they’re in this for the long run and they are already planning for next year. He says they will be tweaking the course to get rid of the final hill that rubbed some runners the wrong way and finish instead down 18th Street toward Veteran’s Park. “And now you’re going to finish downhill coming up 18th, which is still tough on the legs, but it’s still not going to be as bad as finishing that last mile-and-a-half uphill,” says Jack Wing.

Next year’s course will also feature more stretches of Brookside and Cherry Street. Wing says they want to give out-of-towners a look at some of the city’s most scenic neighborhoods.

The second annual Route 66 Marathon is Nov. 18.

In the past few weeks, I’ve read a fascinating bunch of comments from people who collect toys from the Disney/Pixar “Cars” movie. It appears there is a rumbling of demand for a die-cast toy of Frank, the enraged harvester that chases Tow Mater and Lightning McQueen out of the pasture after they get their kicks tipping over sleeping tractors.

Mattel has seen fit to make die-casts of a slew of “Cars” characters, but for some reason it has not made a Frank die-cast. The only official Frank toy I’ve found is in the Tractor Tippin’ game, and the harvester contained inside bears little resemblance to the one in the movie. The image of Frank at right is a screen capture from the “Cars” DVD.

So no official Franks are for sale. That hasn’t stopped some folks from custom-making their own Franks and selling them on eBay. Here’s one:

Here’s another one:

Here’s another:

There are others, but you get the idea. As of Wednesday afternoon, there were at least 15 custom-made Franks for sale on eBay. The bidding for many was vigorous, and prices weren’t all that cheap, either.

One reader to Route 66 News suggested that if you do a Google Image search for “siku4251,” you’ll find a toy Massey Ferguson harvester that can be modified into a Frank. Alas, it appears that many of these toys are available only in Europe.

As someone who grew up on a farm, I thought Frank resembled a red International Harvester, and there is a swell-looking toy IH harvester for sale here about halfway down the page.

Frankly (no pun intended), it wouldn’t take a lot of effort to buy a toy Massey or IH, paint some eyes on the cab and — viola! — you have Frank.

Perhaps Mattel will eventually make an official Frank die-cast. But it looks like an opportunity is being missed now.