So, I spent most of yesterday playing hooky in a sense. The Roadkill Takes America tour came through Bowling Green…how was I to pass that up? Having been a fan of Roadkill since the first video, and a fan of David Freiburger’s work since I was a kid reading 4 Wheel and Off Road magazines, I couldn’t help but make an appearance. I had my reservations about what would be happening, since I have seen how much of a spectacle similar events, like Drag Week and Power Tour are and I had seen pictures of the Silverdome race with Gas Monkey, where they were surrounded by tens of thousands of fans.
The deal for Bowling Green was simple: a tour of Holley, and afterwards a meet-and-greet style event at Beech Bend Raceway where if all went well, we’d see the Blasphemi ’55 Chevy run a familiar-looking Hellcat Challenger, and other vehicles from Roadkill would be present, including General Mayhem, General Maintenance (the Mayhem-like Hellcat Charger), Draguar, Vette-Kart and the MSD Atomic Van. All in all it was a good time had by all, but it had me thinking about the last few months of Internet ….well, bitching, complaining, trolling, shit-talking. You call it what you will, but it has to be one of the most infuriating things I’ve had to witness. Mercifully, the Roadkill vs. Gas Monkey Garage soap opera is over, but we will still hear the back and forth so long as it’s relevant. (Here’s hoping that the deal they struck with Mighty Car Mods doesn’t turn into a similar spectacle.) Lots of words were thrown around, and we all know what about: Diversified Creations building Mayhem, the smack-talk, and whether or not Roadkill had gone well beyond where they started out.
To be fair, I was a bit curious. I’ve only met Mike once before, and David twice before, and I’ve recounted how they helped me out in Oklahoma a couple of years ago. In my eyes, outside of the show and outside of the business, both of these guys are ok in my book. But did anything potentially change since December 2013? No. Nothing changed…sure, they have managers and one sincerely aggressive crew member keeping them going, but everyone, from the crew members to Finnegan and Freiburger themselves were polite, easy-going and conversive. Anyone who asked a question was answered. DF entertained the crowd at the fence while Finnegan was preparing to run the Chevy down the strip. The Q&A session under the tent was as you would hope it would be, with questions ranging from the cars present to Steve Magnante’s Bad Seed Chevette and David’s Jeeps. But the final straw for me was when I asked them to autograph a koozie for my wife when I had to bolt early. They remembered me, were polite, and were glad to see EVERYONE that appeared. They were trying their damnedest to make everyone feel like a friend hanging around instead of a fan watching the F&F Show.
They did alright by me, even after all of the drama and the sponsorship. Instead of pumping tons of money into the projects, they are using tons of the money to bring Roadkill to as many people as possible. These are guys like us, one of which was instrumental in starting what developed into BangShift! They are still the same guys you saw romping a Bronco in the dunes and having a cop-car battle in the desert. Enough with the keyboard warrior crap.
I attended the silverdome roadkill race. The boys hit one out of the park with that idea, it was like goin back in time when drag racing was just starting. I loved it!
I was there also, it was pretty cool. A car show/ drag race, put on by car guys. Even if you didn’t have a Dodge, everyone was cool.
yeah….I SO want to believe this. I have loved Roadkill from the start, thought the guys were 100% genuine etc. – right up until the Dodge sponsorship thing which is where its got a little strange…first off was that episode of Roadkill that was nothing like an episode of Roadkill….just an extended Dodge advert. Nothing made, no zip ties, just a couple of new cars getting thrashed. Then we’ve had the GMG debacle…. GMG have no idea who Roadkill/ Frieburger / Hot Rod are…what a total crock of shit., Car guys in the states that have never heard of Hot Rod….yeh, sure, totally believable. Then we get the `rules’ of how to build the cars…rule number one? Dodge motor, identical for both cars, no mods. Neither team could actually bolt the thing in and get it running , of course….they had to rely on techs from other shops for that. Who won the race? Who cares? Dodge won. I’m not saying I wont watch Roadkill again, but the backyard hacked together sense is gone, and I find that very sad.
I don’t know for sure but I *think* the point of the super-restrictive “rules” were to make the race so boring that GMG would be willing to agree to the original thing Roadkill challenged them to, which was thrashing on a junkyard car for 3 days, then driving it 1000 miles to see who’s car survived.
That would of be worth watching. I didn’t even bother to follow any of the smack talk. Basically tuned out as soon as it started or was brought up.
I agree with john t. If I were in Frieburger’s place I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same sponsorship deal, but it just does not feel like roadkill. I noticed it starting getting this way on the Subaru episode. At least that didn’t take hold. Like all good things, this will come to an end. I just hope that it does not happen soon and when it does that there will be a credible replacement. The last thing I want to happen go back to “hey let me show you how easy it is to install this $900 sponsored part that nobody needs” TV like what is so frequently on powerblock.
You hit the nail on the head. Both of you. RoadKill is awesome, or was awesome…or…I don\’t even know anymore. What\’s with all this Dodge stuff? I actually get it with those Ass Monkeys on Discovery Channel…they\’re all about making money and don\’t hide it or apologize for it. It\’s who they are. But RoadKill has always been about the ingenuity and the build…so the whole Dodge situation is taking away the \”Hot Rod\” aspect. I just can\’t see Finnegan or DF sitting around thinking
\”Hmmm, let\’s start a build war with Gas Monkey Garage…but…let\’s get someone ELSE to build our car and use unobtanium resources to do it!\”
\”YEAH! Meanwhile, we\’ll wrap a new $70K car and cruise it around!\”
I\’m sure this was more of a marketing idea from their managers/promotors/whatever, and they\’re probably boiling inside from having to go through with this….but I hope they\’ll grow a pair and stand up to the mainstream and get back to the roots that made them what they are.
And yeah, powerblock TV…ugh. \”Here, let us show you how to build a badass offroader/truck/racer/etc. First, get out your credit card…\”
For those of you complaining about the Dodge sponsorship and the GMG drama and all that. Was at the Silverdome event and it was awesome, all the Mopars that got into the FREE drag racing on the new “strip” they put in were timed for a runoff. The fastest Mopar won a new Hellcat drivetrain setup. I don’t mind the whole Dodge sponsorship, sure seems to me like F&F jump through some hoops to get access to way more resources and abilities to connect with fans. I sincerely doubt this road trip and the Silverdome event would happen without Dodge.
Freiburger has had a dodge since he couldnt spell his own last name…so they got hooked up with the most current badass v8 out…cool, put it in junk and blow it up… GMG? ohhh another frosted hair LA clown spending money and talking shhhh, while not having any part in the real work, or DRIVING what he paid for… FAKE diescovery hit?…f that guy, at least f&f drive their junk and smile the whole time… does gmg have a saltflat car, license? does he drag race? road race? do anything other than bs and comb his back alley porn director, mustache? ooooh wait… i just turned this into more troll flaming… ugh, sorry guys… long live roadkill and carcraft for that matter! even if its gonna be a dodge show for a lil bit…
I enjoy Roadkill and have from the start. All this whining about “Oh they got sponsorship and sold out to the man”… blah, blah, blah. Put on your man panties you vinyl record loving hipsters who are too good for the guys to make a little $ and increase their popularity and grow up. TEN is a corporation. It exists to make money. There is more money in a show that is more popular and has someone else picking up the tab. Sorry to ruin your day, but that is the way it goes. Don’t worry, Dodge will eventually pull the plug (as did Dickies??) and maybe they will be sponsored by Tampax. 🙂
Lighten up Francis and enjoy the stupidity.
“also, i dont like anyone touching me, so any of you homos….touch me….ill kill ya”
“You just made the list, buddy.”
The episodes they build something, or repair and drive something, are the best ones. Hands on stuff really. I hope that isn’t lost. It’ll be a couple months before I find out I suppose with their new “pay to watch early” business model.
I´m just glad to be seeing mopars back in the mainstream NOT powered by LS motors, hopefuly opening a market for easy late model HEMI engine swaps… it´s a shame a guy around here is doing a driveline swap out of a lincoln MK8 into his 73 charger! ugh!! we need viable and affordable engine swap kits! and if the roadkill deal helps us get there then thats fine by me! I´ve loved every episode Freiburger´s put out since the CarJunkieTV days, and if there´s a mopar involved, the that´s just the icing on the cake!! Love the general mayhem! love the BlastHemi, love the 70 super bee, even the crusher camaro is fine in my book! but you don´t see me bitching about holley sponsoring the LS they swapped in! or the suspension mods on Finnegans wife´s El Camino! so KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK ROADKILL!!!
the Crop Duster episode was pure (RoadKill )
its where F//F belong not tying 3 dodges together
I went to the Silver Dome show almost didn’t recognize Frieburger…
( he had shoes and socks on ) and it wasnt alaska
Im still in the ( Jury’s Out ) side on jumping the shark
the atomic van isn’t ( Road Kill ) either
I would have rather seen them grab a newer Hemi out of a 2010 (300 ) or (Charger) or (Ram) pickup and swap it into Mayhem
similar to the new LS swaps
ok enough babaling
later
For all the keyboard naysayers, who is or was paying for Roadkill? Someone has to and sponsorship like Dodge helps pay for expenses and keeps the show rolling. Otherwise the experiment runs out of money and Roadkill ends. Freiburger and Finnegan have done a wonderful job, they are genuine, they are entertaining, and human. Hopefully the show continues for many years.
I sincerely hope Roadkill runs out of money and dies…at least in the present form.
While the show started our as a “let’s show you how we built it and how it works by heading out on the road” it was really cool.
Somewhere along the line it morphed into “lets tear stuff up and wreck it for yucks” which might play well to the 14 year old demographic. I see that they’ve expanded that to “lets wreck supercars on a motocross track” at which point I hope someone pulls the plug quickly on this experiment gone bad.
What once was pretty cool, is now just crap with corporate sponsorship. They’re a parody of their own show.
Weld together a giant shark monstrosity and jump a school bus. Then we can talk about jumping the shark.
I don’t mind sponsorship. Hell I want Hurst to sponsor them replete with “Mrs. Golden Shifter #2 Kate Upton. I’ll watch every week!
If ever there were two people in the automotive entertainment world with a sense of who they are and where they’re going, it’s Freiburger and Finnegan.
While I do prefer the episodes where they wrench on stuff and avoid catastrophe and certain doom by a single zip-tie, anything they do will be fun, because their feet are firmly on the ground and they will never “sell out”. I’m looking forward to what they do with Dodge, and there’s no shame is repping a brand that makes your job possible. This isn’t the BBC.
Last night they rolled into Tulsa, and for me, it was the old ROADKILL! They had bent a control arm on the General Mayhem, so they set up cameras and filmed for the next episode, while they replaced the offending part right there in front of an adoring crowd! Then, at midnight, to the track with the General Mayhem and BLASPHEMI to wow the crowd! Well, sort of! lol BLASPHEMI wouldn’t respond, but the burnouts were spectacular, and the General ran a low 10. The guys were real, informative, and very approachable. Kudos to the whole gang for putting on a fun and memorable show!
I love roadkill my two favorite project cars are general mehem and blasphemi.
II would love to meet David and mike.