veteran motorsports analyst Rutledge Wood.James Stack/NBC
Rutledge Wood and his scruffy beard that by no means appears to modify are as old as America – possibly even the planet – as a dynamic duo. The ever-jovial automobile guru is back with a new show, his initial on NBC, and he’s prepared for what could be his most significant gig however.
Not surprisingly, when discussed Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge, Wood is as entertaining as everyone who has watched him develop up in motorsports for practically two decades would anticipate. The surprising aspect of this conversation wasn’t Wood’s enthusiasm, but that he got choked up though discussing the show, which debuts on Could 30.
“I had no notion how emotional a show like this could be,” Wood, 43, mentioned. “The quantity of instances I saw individuals cry or that I cried was a lot a lot more than I could have imagined for a show primarily based on a toy or a automobile.” That is one particular of the items that tends to make it particular.”
The new ten-episode show Hot Wheels puts automobile collectors to the test with a true-life version of the toys they grew up with. “Superfans,” as they are coined on the show, will produce their personal decorated automobiles. To judge the winner amongst the two contestants in every single episode, there will be a rotation of celebrity guest judges, like Anthony Anderson, WWE Superstar Huge E, Terry Crews, Sung Kang, Jay Leno and Joel McHale.
Members of the “automobile” will enable turn every single contestant’s idea into reality. The winner of every single episode will obtain $25,000.
“This combines my two loves, which are individuals and automobiles,” Wood mentioned. “There are numerous a lot more approaches to connect us by way of items that are related than by way of items that are distinct.” This is exactly where I can use my know-how of automobiles and my really like of motor sports.
“The super fans that are in the show and the automobile collectors are taking all of their expertise and talents that they’ve worked on all their lives and placing them into this time capsule for a person else. The automobiles are so representative of the transformations these superfans have had in their lives, with how they overcame adversity to stick to their hearts and passions.”
For Wood, this show is an chance to combine his passion for automobiles, motorsports and his really like of bringing individuals with each other. The show could serve as a enhance for NBC as it kicks off the second half of the Nascar season, beginning June 25 with the Alli 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, in addition to continued coverage of the NTT IndiCar Series. It is dwelling to the Indianapolis 500 this weekend.
“I hope this show will remind everybody that everybody is connected,” Wood mentioned. “At the finish of the day, it is a race automobile and it is as technologically sophisticated as it gets, but it began as the identical point.” This is why producers continue to compete as they are. A person who operates on the show mentioned, “This is a thing that will get children excited about driving once more.”
Wheels: The Ultimate Challenge at the Zimmerman Motoring Museum. (Photo by Andrew J Cunningham/Getty Pictures) Getty Pictures
At the finish of the season, Leno, an avid automobile collector himself, will enable Wood choose whose automobile style from the complete season — amongst the 3 finalists — will be turned into a true Hot Wheels die-cast automobile. Ted Wu, Worldwide Head of Style for Mattel’s MAT Car Division, will also seem in the season finale to clarify the course of action of producing Һot Vһeels automobiles.
“This is the culmination of all the items I’ve ever accomplished,” Wood mentioned. “I did not know if I could be a judge or a host, and it turns out I have to be each.”
And Wood is not the only one particular who is delighted with the show.
“This is remarkable,” Crews mentioned. “To be a portion of a thing like this — bringing automobiles alive and turning them into Һot Wheels — this show is so emotional. To present a show that has a automobile as the star, it is a brilliant notion.”
Now, Wood’s life has come complete circle. He recalled driving about Peachtree City, Georgia, when he got his license just after his road test. in nine hours. He desires to convey this really like for automobiles and driving to everybody. Probably due to the fact of this, there will be new fans of motor sports.
“I loved automobiles every single day,” he mentioned.
Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge debuts on Could 30.
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I am a contributor to Forbes SportsMoney, focusing on telling the untold stories inside Nascar. Immediately after graduating from Stony Brook University, I went to Tel Aviv, operating for an Israeli Television station ahead of becoming a newspaper editor in New York. My news ranges from nearby news to sports, Israeli politics and a lot more. I am the author of two children’s books, like Grandmother: The Story of a Boy and His Grandmother. Head more than to my Twitter web page @JoeVolkin.
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