Fresh from a chance encounter with Kevin at the recent Rolex 24 at Daytona, Nicole McElroy of Recaro Automotive joins the podcast for an in-depth discussion about butts in seats. Not just aftermarket and racing seats, but OEM seats, commercial vehicle seats, stadium and swivel seats, 8-way power performance seats, and even haptic seats. They all fall under the company’s four pillars: quality, comfort, safety, and innovation. As Nicole tells the guys, “We’re making breakthroughs in things that we thought were gonna make a difference, but you don’t know until somebody actually experiences it.”
Kevin’s former Overhaulin’ pal-turned-politician Cherielynn Westrich joins the podcast direct from the Iowa State Senate Chamber for a frank conversation about her remarkable career trajectory. From a singer in The Rentals with Maya Rudolph (“If there was a band playing in ’96, we played with them”) to automotive TV (70 Overhaulin’ builds in 15 years) to politics (four years into her initial six-year Senate term) and automotive entrepreneur (manufacturing under-dash hydraulic swaps at MalWood USA), meet a bona fide renaissance woman with a true passion for building cars and grinding gears.
Things are getting serious in the EV performance, racing, and aftermarket spaces, and it’s only a matter of time until they morph in with the OEs. “There’s a large portion of us out there that is trying to fight this tsunami wave of electric power and performance, but I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” notes Willie, “you’re gonna lose!” Kirk Miller and Jake Hawksworth of Hypercraft USA join the podcast from King of the Hammers, where they’re pushing the boundaries of EV with their advance hybrid and all-electric powertrains. “Imagine being able to throw 100 hp or 200 hp virtually across the entire rpm range, and no impact on emissions,” says Jake. And that’s not including their 1967 Mustang all-electric, all-wheel drive Fastback, capable of delivering 1200 hp and a theoretical 0-60 mph in 1.2 seconds!
In 1995, “Speedvision was this new discovery,” Kevin says at the top of this week’s podcast. “It was like kind of discovering the Playboy magazine in your buddy’s dad’s closet and going, ‘What is this?’” As the first 24/7 national cable television network devoted solely to cars, bikes, boats, and planes, “It was home for so many of us for so many hours,” adds Willie. Flash forward to today, and the recent relaunch of the storied automotive brand for the streaming era. One of the original network founders and now CEO of the new FAST channel, Robert Scanlon, is in conversation with the guys about his extensive career in automotive television, the paradigm shift to free streaming, and the “universality of the appeal of the auto”.
Terry Fair of Vorshlag Motorsports is well known for swapping an LS engine into a 2015 S550 Mustang GT. “Trigger” can deliver 620 hp to the 200 treadwear-type rear tires on pump gas. A radical combination of engineer, builder, and driver, Terry “is on the forefront of just rippin’ and doing things that you would never believe is possible,” notes Willie, both for customers and himself. For his part, “I got a good crew, we’re making enough parts,” Terry tells the guys. “I’m living the dream, for sure.”
It’s estimated that roughly 70% of car repairs performed after a warranty expires are done by independent shops. However, if the manufacturers have their way, all this work would be restricted to dealerships, with drivers forced to sacrifice the convenience and affordability their local mechanics now provide. The stakes are high, as is the momentum to prevent this from happening. Ted Hughes of the Auto Care Association joins the podcast to discuss The Repair Act, legislation introduced in Washington to avert such a development. “This issue is truly mission critical,” he tells the guys. “It really is something that’s absolutely vitally important for anybody that’s involved with the independent aftermarket.”
Sterling Bakus is a scholar of 3D printing, having built his very own Lamborghini Aventador that “at least from five feet away, you wouldn’t be able to tell that it wasn’t real.” The internet took notice, as did Kevin and Willie. “For car guys and car enthusiasts and shop owners, this is something you should truly pay attention to,” says Willie. “This is great technology.” And best of all, it won’t bankrupt you. Far from it. For less than the cost of a decent welder, you can purchase a quality printer and scanner and be on your way. “I don’t have a large format printer,” notes Backus. “I print small sections on my printer and then glue them all together.” Sounds simple, right? Just wait until you hear what he’s working on now!
“There’s many things in life we want to be just like Willie,” Kevin pronounces at the top of today’s episode, “and this is one of them.” He’s talking about where to build and house our cars, where to put our tools, what our shops and garages look like. And Willie has a set of garages guaranteed to turn any car guy green with envy. But how do you find a house with a great shop or garage? Returning guest Brian McNamara started Gearhead Homes after identifying such a necessity. “I wanted a big garage myself and I couldn’t find somebody to help me out with that,” so he’s created a way to “dig those up and find those based on software and some other things that we’ve got proprietary to us.”
The 2023 SEMA Show continues to loom large on the guys’ minds. “It is so massive, it’s hard to even wrap your brain around,” marvels Kevin, while Willie exclaims “it’s just filled to the gills with cool cars and wild things to see, watch, and witness.” It also provided occasion for Willie to reunite with his old “PINKS All Out” pal, 6-time World Champion NHRA Top Fuel Driver Clay Millican. Along with CRC Marketing Director Raquel Wenger, they discuss CRC ‘s “Build for the Future” scholarship program and the amazing story behind the 2006 bone stock GTO with only 1350 original miles on it they had at the booth.
As the hustle and bustle of the holidays recede in the rearview mirror, the guys finally get some time to trade notes on the 2023 SEMA Show. And there is a lot to talk about, including some of their favorite hot rods and show cars, as well as what wasn’t there (spoiler alert: it’s the Big 3). Perhaps best of all, Willie shares his sit-down conversation with 7-time Supercross and Motocross Champion Jeremy McGrath. The legendary racer, tire developer, and Maxxis brand ambassador says he continues to “have a lot of fun using a lot of great tires,” while reflecting that, “I didn’t race to be the Jeremy McGrath that everybody knows of now, it just kind of all happened.”
Kevin introduces this episode noting that “we have been looking for the last 50-60 years in automotive for somebody to give us the fuel system bits and parts and pieces that we need, and we keep asking for more; it’s a never-ending game.” Enter David Deatsch, whose namesake operation DeatschWerks has been in the game of going from mild to wild for 20 years. Starting from the grassroots level, “My mantra for the company was stay focused on fuel systems,” he tells the guys, “but let’s do everything within fuel systems,” including in-tank brushless pumps for generating 800-1500+ hp!
