Over the years, multiple guidebooks and websites from the United States and even the Czech Republic that give information on the road have mentioned him.

He witnessed the exodus of Okies due to the Dust Bowl in the 1930s, the movement of men and materials during World War II, and the rise and fall of the road.

As an adult, he ran a barbershop in town (founded May 22, 1950) and opened a souvenir shop inside his business, along the historic road.

While researching the history of Route 66 for the 2006 Pixar motion picture Cars, John Lasseter met Delgadillo, who told him how traffic through the town virtually disappeared on the day that nearby Interstate 40 opened.

[3] In the film, Sally Carrera (an animated gynomorphic Porsche 996 motorcar) serves as a vehicle to deliver that message in a 3½ minute flashback in which the town and the US Highway vanish literally from the map.