Seth Kulick wrote (in response to a request for Springsteen references in this song):
I don't have the lyrics in font of me, so I may be missing a few, but:
1. "..long before he became a Jersey Girl" - "Jersey Girl" is a Tom Waits song that Springsteen has frequently covered.
2. "out on Thunder Road..." - "Thunder Road" is one of Springsteen's best songs, the opening track on the Born to Run album. Also a movie. Incidentally, Springsteen mentions Roy Orbison by name in Thunder Road.
3. "..Mansion on the Hill" - Springsteen wrote a song with this title on the Nebraska album. Hank Williams Sr. also did a song with this title (that really should be the other way around), although I don't remember if he wrote it.
Once, when asked about Tweeter and the Monkey Man in an interview, Roy Orbison said that "Mansion on the Hill - that's Hank Williams" - which of course it is, but I think clearly in the context of the song it's an allusion to Springsteen, and Orbison was just joking,
And, in general, all the references to highways, Jersey, and so on, are standard Springsteen territory. I think that Tom Petty also contributed to this song, and they were just having some fun.