[dirtnonwingfan]

After years of going from Springfield IL to Tampa and then Ocala the last few years, I have given up on Atlanta completely. I-24 to Nashville where I hit I-65 on the west side of town and take it south all the way to Montgomery. In the southern part of Montgomery I exit onto South Boulevard which is several routes, including US 31, 80 & 82. Take that a few miles east to US 82/US 231 south. (NOT US 331). The only bottleneck on that whole route is Dothan AL, but it only takes 20 or so minutes. US 231 goes all the way to I-10, then I-75 to Ocala. US 231 from Montgomery is 4 lane and most of it has a 65 mph speed limit. Normal traffic speed is usually (much) higher. You trade going through Nashville, the mountains, Chattanooga and the Atlanta mess for what is mostly relatively open interstate and rural driving. Mapping services say this way may take about an hour more, but I am not sure when you take into consideration some of the bad traffic you see the other way. And it is way more relaxing.