It’s almost like something straight out of a movie.
Four former high school buddies buy a school bus, turn it into the ultimate hangout spot on wheels and hit the road in search of good times.
Their destination — of course — is Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, the home of one of NASCAR’s most iconic races, screaming V-8 engines, and a rowdy party scene.
None of them had ever bought a school bus, much less driven one a long distance with their best friends along for the ride.
What could possibly go wrong?
Well, thankfully nothing.
It wasn’t a Hollywood script, it was just an unforgettable week in the month of October for Pillow Academy graduates and now Mississippi State University students Brock Makamson, Hayden Pillow, JC Garrard and Hayes Bennett.
Last summer, the group bought a school bus, previously in service for the Grenada School District, and remodeled the inside for more casual seating. With the bus procured and outfitted, a gang of 10, including six other friends from State, hit the road to experience an event Garrard called “uniquely American.”
“It was interesting, but we had a lot of fun,” said 20-year-old Garrard, who is studying agriculture at State.
The trip, though, went just as planned. No crazy side mission that created a funny storyline. The crew had an uneventful drive down there and back in the bus, which is really the star of the show.
The whole thing got started when Garrard was scrolling around on Facebook and saw a listing for the bus. It was a true impulse purchase.
“One day, (Garrard) was like, ‘Let’s go get a school bus,’”said 20-year-old Makamson, who is studying business administration at State. “And we went and got a school bus. I really don’t know. It sounded like a fun idea.”
“I don’t know. I just thought it would be a good idea for the winter, and it turned into this, I guess,” Garrard said. “We were just bored.”
The guys weren’t sure what to do with the bus at first, he said. “We just really wanted it.”
Two thousand dollars and a firm handshake later, the buddies were driving the bus back to Greenwood, shaking off some nerves of operating it for the first time, but everyone couldn’t wait to get behind the wheel.
“It’s not very different (from a normal vehicle), just a bit bigger. That’s all,” Garrard said.
After some deliberation about the future of the bus, the idea of turning it into a mobile hangout spot and taking it to Talladega was brought up. The group had bought tickets a few months earlier for the October race, and it didn’t take much for the gang to come to agreement about the idea. But there was one problem: The interior was just not their style.
The first order of business was to take all of the seats out. There needed to be room for incoming updates. They cut and shaped plywood to put on the floor and installed three couches, one on the left side of the aisle and two on the right.
In the back of the bus, they crafted wooden frames for two bunk beds that can — with the right amount of padding — comfortably sleep four people. They even built a wall to give the beds some privacy. There were no plans to book a hotel. The school bus was going to be home for the week.
Also added was a generator to power the TV — that’s right, a flat-screen TV that hangs from the left wall on a swivel mount — and an air conditioner. It didn’t take long for Garrard to figure out they wouldn’t need a heater.
“With 10 people in here, it can get real hot,” he said.
More plywood was used to cover up the windows. Flags and posters were hung from the walls, and stickers were placed in other open spaces to complete the vibe.
All that was left was to build a platform on top of the bus, so there would be a high enough place to sit and watch the race, and the bus was ready to go.
After a quick stop in Starkville, the crew was headed to Talladega. The distance between the two cities is around 180 miles, and by car, it takes around three hours to get there. But by school bus, which has a top speed of 55 miles an hour, it took them about four hours. So, there was plenty of time to hang out or take a nap in one of the beds.
When they got there, they soon realized that they were not the only school bus at the race. Some other people had also had the idea of turning one into a mobile hangout spot. They parked in the infield of the stadium and sat atop their platform to witness the races and the scene.
“It was wild,” Garrard said of Talladega with a laugh. “It really was. I don’t really know how to describe it. It’s what you think, but we had a really good time, though. We are all going back (in 2025). We’ve decided that.”
When asked if anyone was a NASCAR fan before the trip, Garrard said, “We are now.”
Makamson said using the school bus made the trip much more special.
“It’s weird,” he said. “We’re all riding together with 10 of our friends. It’s pretty fun.”
They have also thought about taking the bus on an even longer trip, perhaps to Daytona, Florida, for the Daytona 500, another legendary NASCAR race.
“That’s kind of a long drive, though,” Garrard said.
The bus isn’t just for long trips; they use it for shorter excursions, as well. Sometimes, they just go for a ride around town.
“We get a lot of looks riding around, but we just laugh, too,” Garrard said.
The bus has even come in handy during hunting season. A couple of times, Garrard has driven it near where he duck hunts and stays the night inside. He said it beats early morning drives of 40 minutes to go hunting. And somehow, yet thankfully, the bus hasn’t experienced any major mechanical issues, Garrard said.
“We had it for this long, you’d figure that something would have happened; we would’ve wrecked it or something. But we’ve all gotten pretty good at driving it, and we take care of it.”
The bus has been an investment of time and money, but Garrard said they were both well spent.
“A lot of memories have been made,” he said. “Just riding around in it. We won’t even go anywhere. We’ll just stay right here and enjoy it.”
- This article first appeared in Leflore Illustrated, a quarterly magazine published by The Greenwood Commonwealth.
