If you are like most car enthusiast or have ever dreamt of a certain car you would like to own one day, you are bound to have seen a commercial, at the very least, for one of the better car shows on cable. Some of you get to see the occasional episode when the wife is busy for a while, and the lucky few get to binge-watch every episode they can get their hands on.
With that said, there are many men and women, too, believe it or not, that can hold their own in a discussion about the world’s best sports cars, the classics, and automobile modifications thanks to the automotive experts on these shows. Let’s take a moment to get to know them and the shows they have made popular.
Danny Koker
Mr. Koker was born January 5, 1964. As a young man in Cleveland, Ohio, Danny’s father was an executive for the Ford motor company. His father’s love for automotive knowledge led him to purchase a motorcycle for Danny at the age of 8 years old. As 8 year old boys will, Danny spent his days teaching himself how to take it apart and put it back together.
As he did, his affinity with mechanics took off. Over the years it gradually became his favorite hobby. This celebrity claims to own about 60 cars and 80 motorcycles. On August 13, 2012, Counting Cars, a reality tv show in which Danny stars debuted in the slot after Pawn Stars. It is the third spin off from Pawn Stars and is what most people know Danny for. For seven seasons, now, he and his crew have spent their days restoring and customizing classic rides.
Each show opens as follows: “Vegas is a gambling town. Most people bet with chips. I bet with rides. And I always go all in. I’m Danny, a.k.a. the Count and this is my all-star team. We find ’em, fix ’em, flip ’em and sometimes, I keep ’em. For my crew, every job is high stakes, and we can’t afford to lose. This is Counting Cars.”
Jeremy, Richard, and James
If you love anything on wheels with over 500 hp, then you are already well acquainted with Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May. Famous for their involvement in the show, Top Gear, they have spent the past 16 years teaching us everything we ever wanted to know about the world’s best sports cars.
They have also shown us why some cars should have never made it out of the drawing room. If anyone could tell you the best alignment and suspension combination for a Mclaren P1, it would be them. Born in 1960, 1969, and 1963 respectively, all these gentlemen got their start as local English journalists.
Each man joined the show at different times, with Jeremy Clarkson being the first in 1988 in the original layout for the show. Over the years, the spunky tongue-in-cheek humor and the bonds developed in world travel have taught us to love and respect the ingenuity behind past and modern mechanics.
Richard Rawlings
Richard Ray Rawlings was born in Fort Worth, TX March 30, 1969. As a young boy, Richard’s father took him to a ton of car shows and father/son time was spent constructing cars. At 14, Mr. Rawlings bought his first car.
Over the next several years, he spent time as a paramedic and a firefighter and had a eventful couple of bouts with love. In 2002, this budding entrepreneur opened Gas Monkey Garage in Dallas, TX. This shop is all about creating custom built automobiles for customers worldwide.
In 2012, the Discovery Channel took interest in the concept and now follows the daily routine of the shop on the show we know as Fast N’ Loud. Richard’s arrogantly comedic personality along with some of the most knowledgeable mechanics in the United States make this show worth watching for hours on end.
As you might have noticed, the 60’s were a great decade for the automobile and apparently for creating gifted mechanics, as well.
