Tegan Hammond holds two land-speed records at Bonneville having gone over 300 miles per hour. Going very fast on the salt isn’t the only adventure Tegan enjoys. She’s completed Rick Seaman’s Cars Jump class and launched a vehicle 60 feet through the air. She earned a win in the Vintage Spring circuit at Santa Maria raceway her second time in the driver's seat competing against an all-male group. She’s a stunt car driver having driven a Ferrari 2019 Pista Spider being the first woman to appear in a Ferrari campaign and has been a movie stunt double for Higgins doubled as Jordan Brewster in Magnum PI and for Heidi Klum, to name a few. Tegan was also a commercial stunt driver in numerous ad spots. Tegan is on her way to being a well respected and highly sought-after professional female stunt driver when she’s not ice climbing, skiing, skateboarding, water skiing, or training in her BMW M3.

Natalie Tackett is the artist and creative spirit behind a decorative and restoration art and design business called B R U S H E D, based in Bristol, Tennessee. Most of the time Natalie works close to home but travels for special commissions all over North America and has taken on restoration projects worldwide. She has been working on and off in the field of restoration and decorative arts for the past 20 years but didn’t start her business until 8 years ago when she built up the courage to work for herself full-time. She credits both of her parents for her creative and artistic genes—and, for passing on a love for cars, design, and attention to detail.

Rhonda Madden started her company, Creative Automotive Consultants, in 1977. She is a trained appraiser and works for estates, individuals, and she is a licensed California DMV agent working as a vehicle verifier. After college, Rhonda moved to Los Angeles and worked as a fashion model, an actress, and a dancer and appeared in many movies and television shows. She often purchased collector cars filling warehouses with her acquisitions and she supplied vehicles to the entertainment industry to be used in movies and television and she still provides vehicles to the visual arts industry today. Rhonda collects model cars and trucks and an occasional collector car or two.  

Jamei June owns a professional marketing and business consulting firm specializing in medical facility needs. She is also the producer and host of Beauty & Keys, a video format show dedicated to the automotive industry and women who are influencing the car community. The show has a cosmetic and automotive focus. Jamei is a licensed cosmetologist, award-winning beauty writer, a model, and is one of iStock Photography’s number one internationally sold commercial print models. By combining her passion for cars and cosmetics, she shares how women can be beautiful and bold on and off the asphalt. She contributes as a media Coordinator for the North West Ferrari Club of America and was the first female mistress of ceremonies for the North West Ferrari Concours. Jamei is one of Seattle’s most sought after Event Emcees and hosts and was nominated Top 10 for King 5s Best of Western Washington’s TV Personalities for 2015 and 2016.

And a shout out to past Cars Yeah guest William Howard for introducing me to Jamei. 

Jody DeVere is an internationally recognized speaker, trainer, often quoted industry pundit, and spokesperson for the automotive industry on the women's market. She has been featured by the New York Times, NPR, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox Business, Forbes Women, Oprah Magazine, and Parenting Magazine, to name a few. As CEO of AskPatty.com, she provides automotive education to women consumers and an interactive online Certified Female Friendly® certification training program for automotive retailers on how to attract, sell, retain and market to women. Jody is a champion for women in the automotive industry and her company serves as the first point of contact for women seeking the very best experience when purchasing a vehicle.

Lynn Kehoe is the Founder and CEO of Shift Up Now. Her goal is to use motorsports to show girls and women how to develop courage and confidence so to succeed in achieving their personal and professional goals. She manages drivers for speaking engagements with groups to share their racing experiences and help to build leaders in the industry. She started racing in 2015 after spending 3 years moving up the ranks in a High-Performance Driving Education program. She earned her first competition license through the Sports Car Club of America and holds a Time Trial license with the National Auto Sports Association. She has ice raced with the Adirondack Motor Enthusiast Club and she trained at Le Mans, France, attending a Porsche Driving School Stage GT3 RS. Before Shift Up Now Lynn had a successful career spanning three decades in financial services, real estate investing, business development, and consulting.

Crystal Snow is the Founder and Director of Car Kweens Association located in Oklahoma. Her goal was to create a nonprofit organization whose mission is to support and encourage women in the automotive industry and hobby. Crystal’s goal is to support women through sponsorships, by supplying replacement parts, pay for continuing education and drivers training courses. She wants to provide women unique opportunities in the industry that is often dominated by men. She organizes meetups, exclusive educational events, and an all-female driving event she titled the FastHer Road Rally. Crystal is the mother of two boys, wife to a mechanic, and a lifelong automotive enthusiast.

Cindi Lux is a race car driver who has won thirteen road racing championships, more than 80 victories, and over 160 podium finishes along with 50 pole positions. Her 13 career road racing titles include the American Le Mans Series, Women’s Global GT Series, SCCA and Trans Am Northern Cub events. She earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oregon Motorsports Museum Association, was the Oregon SCCA National Driver of the Year, and Pro-Driver of the Year to name just a few of her awards. She figured out how to balance her busy race schedule with a demanding business schedule. She is one of the leading program managers in the world, a managing partner of the Hahn Automotive family of dealerships, and manages Lux Performance group with her husband, Fred.

Lisa Clark is a race car driver who was born in Phoenix, Arizona. She grew up participating in desert motorsports from a young age. Being raised by a single father, she spent weekends riding dirt bikes, playing in the garage, and working around cars with her dad. Today, a mother of two daughters, Lisa continues to have a passion for motorsports but being a mother took up most of her time. It wasn’t until later in life that she began racing. She’s worked her way up the ladder in the racing world and currently drives as an amateur in the Ferrari Challenge series.

Margaret Palango is the Executive Vice President at Autoshop Solutions. She has overseen and been a key catalyst in Autoshop Solutions’ growth into the award-winning website design and Internet marketing agency it is today. Margaret leads all of their corporate marketing initiatives, as it continues to be the industry’s gold standard for online marketing solutions. She joined the company in 2006 when she began establishing its brand position for quality customized website design and progressive Internet marketing. Margaret started by handling direct customer interface and then on to managing the entire website production. She now spends her time working with industry partners to bring innovative solutions to the automotive aftermarket. On the weekends she is often found driving her cars to a local PCA event and she is an active member of the North Carolina Hurricane Region Porsche Club.

A shout out to past Cars Yeah guest Deb Pollack for introducing me to Margaret.

Jessica Fickenscher is a 19-year veteran of Speedway Motorsports where she facilitates capital improvement and property development projects across all eight of Speedway Motorsports' premier NASCAR facilities. She also explores New Fans First Initiatives and supervises the company's relationship with food services partner, Levy Restaurants. Jessica also oversees business and operations for Speedway Motorsports' subsidiary, U.S. Legend Cars International, the world's largest producer of fun and affordable racecars, as well as INEX, the sanctioning body for U.S. Legend Car racing worldwide. She served for seven years as Vice President of special projects and previously worked as Director of Special Projects, Director of Client Services, and Manager of Client Services. 

Amelia Dalgaard is the woman behind the edgy and often hilarious blog Motorhead Mama. She is also the President of the Motor Press Guild and the Director of Content for CarLabs.ai. Amelia started her career as a TV writer and producer. She was a part of VH1’s hit show Pop Up Video & Bloomberg’s colossal flop The Morning Music Wire. Amelia also led the Southwest team for Design Within Reach as the company went from one store to 25 and through its strong IPO. Since launching Motorhead Mama, Amelia has test driven over 100 vehicles and crashed very few. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, two dogs, two kids, and roughly 4 million other automotive enthusiasts.

Kim Kuzma grew up in a racing family watching her Grandpa Kuzma, her father, Bob, and brothers race circle tracks in the Pacific Northwest. Her Uncle Eddie Kuzma built FIA, USAC, and Indy Car and midget chassis and was inducted into the Indianapolis Hall of Fame posthumously in 2003. Kim is active with three Portland, Oregon based amateur race clubs and serves with Cascade Sports Car Club as Active Chair and their Race Official Division representative. She is an on-track marshal, Assistant Chief Starter and her professional race marshal series experience includes Formula 1, IndyCar, American Le Mans, NASCAR, and Champ Car World series duties. She has been on the Start Team for the past two years at Circuit of the Americas USGP and she is the Team Manager for Lucky Dog Racing Series team Worker’s Revenge. In 2014, Kim was awarded SCCA Worker of the Year for outstanding performance.

Cindy Sisson is a sports marketing professional with decades of experience building major sports properties. She is the former partnership Director for the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California. She served as a Board Member, Senior Advisor, and Director of Development to the National Foundation of Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, a congressionally chartered foundation. She was the Co-Founder of ConnectTivity, an agency that assists nonprofits and schools to raise funds through creative fundraising solutions and she served as President of HOPSports, a global health, and wellness network dedicated to fighting childhood obesity. Cindy has worked with the Olympics, the LPGA, NASCAR, the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and PGA and youth sports programming. While in NASCAR, she worked with Roush Racing and Kyle Petty’s Charity Ride Across America.

Rachel Blatt is the Founder of Royalty Logistics, an automotive transport and shipping company located in Ferndale, Michigan. Royalty Logistics is a certified, woman-owned company that specializes in moving vehicles for auto auctions, rental car companies, and dealerships. Growing up in Michigan, she was a huge fan of classic cars and attended the Dream Cruise and North American Auto Show every year with her family. Rachel previously worked in the tech sector and decided the auto transport business would be her way into the auto industry, where she could share her passion and love for cars. Rachel excelled as the top transport broker at Wholesale Inc. and United Road before venturing out to start her own company. She is a huge fan of continual self-improvement and is on a mission to help her customers and make everyone around her a huge success. 

Valerie Thompson is the Team Owner and Driver at Valerie Thompson Racing. She is the first female motorcycle rider to go over 300 mph, earning her the title of “World’s Fastest Female Motorcycle Racer.” She posted her best top speed of 328 mph in 2018 at the DLRA Speed Week competition in Southern Australia, piloting Denis Manning’s Team “7” Racing streamliner. Valerie is an 8-time land speed record holder with membership in seven different 200 MPH Clubs, one 300 MPH Club and she is a lifetime member of the famed Bonneville 200 MPH Club. She was inducted into the Sturgis Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2018. Valerie’s current quest to become the world’s fastest motorcycle racer is the subject of P-51 Pictures’ and MN8 Films’ upcoming feature documentary, Rockets and Titans. Her many racing accomplishments have earned Valerie the moniker of “America’s Queen of Speed.”

A shout out to past Cars Yeah guest for introducing me to Valerie, a very fast racer in her own rights, the great Lyn St. James.

Karen Salvaggio owns and operates Thunder Valley Racing. She is a builder and racer who began her career in 1985 at NASCAR dirt track events in California. She moved to road racing with the Vintage Auto Racing Association and competed in the Women’s Global GT with the American LeMans Series. She’s earned over 200 first place finishes in driving competitions including Top Eliminator at the Pomona Drags in 1999 and the 2011 Western Endurance Racing Championship. Karen served nine years in the U.S. Air Force as an aircraft mechanic and earned a Bachelor’s Degree, a Master’s Degree, and a Doctorate. She’s served as a Select Committee member on the SEMA Businesswomen's Network and has appeared on TV shows as well. She is also a personal driving coach at the track. Today, Karen builds and races Factory Five Racing Daytona Coupes with SOVREN and continues to develop Thunder Valley Racing as a premier source of racing equipment and support for women Racers.

Jay Quail is the Executive Director of the Classic Car Club of America, known as the CCCA, where he has been a member for over 35 years. Jay has held this position since his appointment in 2008 and oversees the day-to-day operations from its Chicago headquarters. Jay also sits on the CCCA and the CCCA Education Foundation Board of Directors, Ex Officio. He is a member of numerous automotive organizations including The Lincoln Owners Club, Society of Auto Historians, Worldwide Automotive Professionals, and the Association of Non-profit Executive Directors. Jay’s passion and year of expertise is pre-war cars built prior to 1939. He is the Master Judge in the CCCA and judges at numerous concours events around the country. A majority of his career, prior to the CCCA, was in investment banking and financial equities, where he retired in 2003.

Matt Teske is a Marketing Director and Brand Strategist with 20 years of experience in the automotive industry. His talents caught the attention of General Motors when he was just 19, which lead to a career managing numerous special projects and marketing campaigns for automotive OEM clients including Chevrolet, Toyota, dealerships, and aftermarket companies. His work has been featured in publications including Forbes, Motor Trend, Newsweek, The Verge, and at major shows including Sema and NYIAS. Matt developed Chargeway after years of research into the electric car industry. His conclusion: in order for electric cars to move beyond early adopters, there needs to be an easier way to explain and enjoy “electric fuel”. Chargeway replaced the technical and engineering based language to a more simple, visual explanation. 

Alex Littlewood is the Founder and CEO of Motoroso.com, a website for enthusiasts to plan, build and share everything that powers their lifestyles. Alex launched the beta version of Motoroso's site in late 2015, and in January of 2019, he launched the "Motoroso Marketplace", which is the worlds first dedicated auto parts marketplace. The site has over 250,000 products available at launch, sold by hand-selected vendors, and they offer free shipping on all purchases with no minimum. Alex led a 10+ year startup career in the Silicon Valley, including Wildfire which was acquired by Google. He then started Motoroso, and after selling his house to fund the company and going through the TechStars accelerator in Detroit, he decided to move the company to the beautiful Central Coast of California. In conjunction with Motoroso's marketplace launch, they have also begun creating video content in their 2,000 square foot video studio in downtown San Luis Obispo. Alex raced a motorcycle in the AFM and WERA road racing series, and can often be found on the track at Laguna Seca, Sears Point, and Miller Motorsports Park.

Jim Krouskop is Managing Partner and Founder of 360Sonar, a boutique recruiting and talent search firm located in Seattle. He has over 20 years of technology management and recruiting experience, primarily for high-tech organizations across the US. Jim is also co-founder of 3 Pedal Posse, a growing community of car enthusiasts who enjoy 3-pedal driving and hanging out with like-minded car enthusiasts. He received a Bachelor of Arts and Master’s degree in Urban Planning from UC, San Diego and the University of Washington. Originally from Southern California, Jim is an avid car and Porsche enthusiast, amateur photographer, aspiring writer, and Scotch drinker. His 3 Pedal Posse Co-Founder, Mauricio Bendana was yesterday’s guest here on Cars Yeah.

Tina Smith is a 27-year veteran in the automotive industry. She is a true barrier breaker overcoming adversity and all the stigmas around becoming an automotive technician, especially a woman technician. She was the only female in her high school auto mechanics class and was the first woman to graduate from the Chrysler Apprenticeship program in Automotive Technology.  She has held positions ranging from service, parts, engineering, and sales. Tina is passionate about the automotive industry and now is giving back through her work with the TechForce Foundation. Tina is "paving" the way for tomorrow's technicians. TechForce Foundation is a nonprofit, 501 c3 that champions students to and through their education and into careers as professional technicians. 

Mike Finnegan was born and raised in southern California and heavily influenced by the vibrant surf, snow, skate, music, and car culture. He spent the last 15 years as an automotive journalist. The consummate do-it-yourselfer, Mike taught himself how to wrench, weld, fabricate, and build engines so he could go racing. From lowered mini-trucks to hot rods to over-powered drag boats, he has won national championships as both driver and crew chief of many drag boats. Today he is also the host of the TV show Roadkill on YouTube and Motor Trend on Demand. His shop, Finnegan Speed and Marine, keeps him busy creating and building dreams for himself and others.

Big Mike has grown to become a household name and icon in the import automotive culture. As a show judge and event emcee, he travels across the United States and around the globe participating in major events. As a journalist, he contributes to a multitude of online and print automotive publications representing the Compact Tuner industry. He sits on SEMA educational panels, inspiring a new generation of enthusiasts. He was born and raised in southern California and in 2005, his first feature appeared in print. Since then he’s built numerous cars earning awards and placement on renowned magazine covers and within their pages. He competed in the SEMA Battle of the Builders and earned a top 10 finalist position. You’ve seen him on Discovery TV in front of the camera and behind the scenes as an integral part of the import culture.

Big Mike will be one of the enthusiasts I get to interview on the Celebrity Stage at this year’s Classic Auto Show in Costa Mesa, California, March 16 and 17. 

Steve Gibbs has been an integral part of the National Hot Rod Association, known as the NHRA, for over 50 years and his career began back in 1961 at the old San Gabriel Drag Strip where he became a Drag Strip Operator. He operated Irwindale Raceway beginning in 1966 and then went to Fremont Raceway, then Corpus Christi Raceway, and was hired by the National Hot Rod Association, later appointed as the NHRA Competition Director. All told, he directed nearly 400 NHRA National events in over two decades with his duties stretching worldwide. Recipient of numerous awards and accolades, he was instrumental in the development of the Wally Parks Motorsports Museum and the California Hot Rod Reunion. Steve’s involvement in the sport knows no bounds. Steve will be with me at this year’s Classic Auto Show in Costa Mesa, California, sharing his history of drag racing as part of his Nitro Revival with the Classic Cackle Cars.

The fearless Jessi Combs was born for everything automotive. Her passion to get in the driver seat and behind the wheel of nearly anything with a motor has led her through some amazing and unusual achievements. With a degree in custom automotive fabrication, Jessi has reached out to millions with her build skills on TV shows such as All Girls Garage, Mythbusters and Overhaulin’ to name a few, as well as through community and educational outreach. As the fastest woman alive, unofficial ”Queen” of the Hammers, Ultra4 National Champion, and a Baja 1000 podium finisher, she empowers many through the act of simply leading by example. Her desire to show more women (and men alike) that they, too, can build their ideas, go fast, get dirty, have fun, and still be feminine shines through everything she does in life.

Mauricio Bendana is the co-founder of 3 Pedal Posse and SoDo Speed. 3 Pedal Posse is a growing community of camaraderie-based automotive enthusiasts who share good times and great adventures with like-minded people. He is also the Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Project Planning Partners, a commercial real estate consulting firm that specialized in corporate services and foundational planning in the greater Puget Sound Region. He has over 25 years of experience in headquarter and portfolio management within the commercial real estate space. Mauricio shares his automotive passion with his wife Jody, a winemaker and Porshefile, their two minions, and a dog. They are avid classic Porsche fanatics who enjoy driving and hosting shows, tours, and builds. 3 Pedal Posse debuted their first build at the Rennsport Reunion last summer at Laguna Seca.

Stuart Sobek is the Founder and Chairman of the Las Vegas Concours d’Elegance. This inaugural event will debut on October 25 through the 28 at the exclusive Dragon Ridge Country Club. Stuart has been in the car collector world for more than 31 years. Fueled by his first visit to Pebble Beach in 1987, he has been collecting and showing cars ever since. His passion began and still remains in exotic cars. Being a long-time member of many car clubs, including the Lamborghini and Maserati Clubs, enabled him to learn and increase his knowledge and passion for these unique automobiles. As a collector, he has personally owned and logged many miles behind the wheel of some fantastic rides, both on the street and the track, so he knows first- hand, many of their favorable traits and idiosyncrasies. Stuart is a member of the CCCA and Checkered Flag Lifetime Member of the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles, California. You can learn more the Las Vegas Concours d’Elegance on the website lasvegasconcours.com.

Rick Case and his wife Rita are the founders of the Boca Raton Concours d’Elegance that takes place on February 22 through the 24. Rick and Rita have been partners in business, life, and in their humanitarian efforts since 1980, and they have helped to raise over $50 million to support their local communities over the years. Together they have built an award-winning automotive dealership group, 16 strong, located in Cleveland, Atlanta, and South Florida. The Boca Raton Concours d’Elegance, now in its 13^th year, will take place at the Boca Raton Resort & Club and will feature world-class automobiles including a celebration of Bentley Motorcars and its 100^th Year Anniversary, collector of the year, Mr. Robert Jepson’s vintage automobile collection, and car collector and comedian, Jay Leno, will be on hand. The event is the world’s largest Concours d’Elegance owned by a charity, and it fully benefits the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County.

Trent Campbell is the President of Car Buff Network. His business is a searchable network based on products, services, events, and more. Companies can manage their own pages allowing them to feature projects, list events, endorse other brands and services, and to be listed as either a dealer or by the brands they sell. Professional accounts can offer a news feed that works as a clearinghouse for content within their network. He knew that finding businesses online is a challenge, so Car Buff Network focuses on the strengths of both the internet and social media platforms. Trent has spent 18 years insuring classic cars, exotics, and hot rods, and he has managed 40 plus automotive events. 

Sean Kiernan has over 20 years of experience in the automotive industry as both a professional and an enthusiast. Before moving into paint and specializing in sales, management, and consulting, Sean cut his teeth in collision repair as an advisor, restorer and service expert in Nashville, Tennessee. Among the cars in Sean’s collection is the most iconic movie car in history; the 1968 Mustang Fastback, the ‘559 Bullitt Mustang, driven by Steve McQueen in the iconic 1968 film Bullitt. The story behind how Sean ended up with this car is fascinating. When it comes to cars, Sean is respected by many and considered an expert in his field.

I had the pleasure of meeting Sean at the LeMay – America’s Car Museum a few months ago, where he shared his Bullitt Mustang. Getting to see the car up close and personal and hear the story, I knew I had to bring this to you, the Cars Yeah listeners. 

Carly Starr is the curator of the California Automobile Museum in Sacramento, California. She is a museum enthusiast with a diverse background in marketing, administration, and history. Her career includes work in Boston as a marketing coordinator for an engineering firm and at the Otis House Museum where she was formally trained by Historic New England in historic housekeeping and preservation techniques. She worked as a docent for the California State Railroad Museum, as well. Since becoming the curator of the California Automobile Museum over 5 years ago, Carly has loved becoming a gear head and the never-ending joy of discovering the wide world of automobiles. She also works with the local community by judging for History Day competitions, speaking at local schools, and being the judge for the local “Italy on Wheels” car show.

You can also enjoy Carly on the Cars Yeah TV show on MAVTV as I had the honor of visiting the museum and interviewing Carly on the show.

Christian Krahenbuhl is the Director of Operations at COBB Tuning. Cobb is an automotive engineering company dedicated to developing solutions that improve vehicle performance and the driving experience. They offer solutions for a wide variety of platforms including VW, Subaru, Porsche, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Ford, and BMW. Christian was born in an era of awkward clothing, but pretty awesome music… Rocky was the movie of the year. He happily participated in the Generation X personal computer revolution and he eventually saw his way through college graduating in Business Management. He started his first aftermarket shop when he was only 18 and he’s had the honor of helping COBB grow form a 5-person company to the benchmark organization that it is today.

Alex Johnson is an automotive photographer who is 26 years old and lives in Seattle, Washington. His love for automobiles goes back to the first grade. While photography is his side-preneur passion, his day job is as an Assistant Operations Manager at a manufacturing facility that builds detection sensors and custom radio-frequency equipment. When he’s not doing that, you’ll find Alex at car shows and events working to turn his hobby-business into a full-time career as a shooter for automotive magazines, websites, television shows, and commissioned projects. A recent trip took him to Monaco during the F1 race where he shot on the wall at the Grand Prix race.

David O’Hara is the CEO of Block Chaser, a website that monitors the collector car auction market. He also provides digital sales and marketing services to various leading websites. He began his career marketing recording artists at Virgin Records, Sony Records, and Elton John’s Rocket Records label. From there, he migrated to print media working with companies from the luxury lifestyle venue including Robb Report and New England Home launching numerous new products, websites, and lead transformational initiatives to position companies for acquisition and or financial turnaround. From there, he moved into new media and served as EVP and Managing Director of a mobile marketing firm. He co-founded and served as CEO of Kokley, a tech development company and he launched Hubtabs, providing retailers with in-store interactive solutions. David is a member of numerous media, marketing, and technology organizations. 

David Neel is the Executive Director of the Murphy Auto Museum located in Oxnard, California. The Murphy Auto Museum is a collection of 90 cars, camping trailers, and Americana located inside a 30,000 square foot building. David has a lifelong love of cars, starting at a very young age where he collected Matchbox cars and later, Hot Wheels. As an adult, he started collecting real cars in 2005 and later added vintage travel trailers to his growing fleet. He keeps his collection partly at home and partly at the Murphy Auto Museum. David is married, the father of two boys, and when he is not at the museum, or at his real for-profit job, or camping, he is out driving one of his cars. Please visit the museum’s website at www.MurphyAutoMuseum.org

Shout out to Steve Ford.

Gaston Rossato is the founder and owner of The Barn Miami, Miami, Florida's most respected and recognized boutique specializing in exotic and classic automobiles. In addition to sales, he offers consulting services, consignments, and collection management for your dream car or an entire collection. Growing up and learning the automobile business from his father, Gaston honed his skills including customer care, relations, communications, sales, and most importantly, knowledge about the automobiles he sells. He has also served with IAC/PFA, the International Advisory Council for the Preservation of Ferrari automobiles. You’ve seen The Barn Miami featured in numerous publications and show including Velocity Channel’s South Beach Classics, Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, My Classic Garage, FIU’s Own, The Alumni Association Newsletter, and many others.

J Ryan and his wife Nicole produce and host on YouTube the ‘It’s Tonight’s Show’. Through the show, he combined his love for contemporary car culture and an obsession with the classic talk and variety show. J has worked in and around television in his career and he has been an automotive enthusiast his entire life. He threw Nicole a curve ball when he decided to combine these two passions and created the 'It’s Tonight Show'. Together, J and Nicole interview celebrities, comedians, musicians, automotive enthusiasts, and creative and inspirational figures to share their messages, lives, peace, love, and positivity.

Richard Starks is a sculptor who thinks big and works big; I mean really big! He grew up in Watsonville, California, attended San Jose State, and worked as a fabricator on boats, trailers, and rebuilding engines. He went back to school to get a teaching credential to teach high school metal shop. Remember that class, along with wood shop and auto shop? He spent 32 years teaching and started creating metal sculptures. He’s built a dragster, hot rods, and had a passion for cars since his high school days. After retiring, Richard began creating sculptures, with his focus being on very large objects. He works in Cor-ten steel primarily, and his works have included everyday objects he recreates in massive scale, as well as a variety of unique, modern sculptures and public installations.

I had the pleasure of meeting Richard at SEMA last year and enjoyed seeing some of his amazing creations.

Dave Dusick is the Founder and CEO of RaceTrack Engineering. He started his company as a solution to connect racers throughout the industry to the advanced technology systems that are revolutionizing the sport. His mission at RaceTrack Engineering is to invigorate the sport and the motorsport community. In 1978 Dave was diagnosed with a tumor in his right cheek that was said to be an incurable cancer. He was only 13 months old. After numerous surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation Dave was declared clear of cancer two years later. His illness, however, left him with long-term physical challenges. Dave turned his adversity into his strength and created the Dave Dusick Foundation to help children and their families who are suffering from life-altering illnesses.

Randy Leffingwell is a journalist, author, and photographer. He worked two years for the Kansas City Star, then nine years for the Chicago Sun-Times, and followed that with a year at AutoWeek before moving to Los Angeles and joining the TIMES, where he worked for 11 years. Since 1990, Randy has written and photographed a number of books including American Muscle, Porsche 911: Fifty Years, Mustang: 40 Years, Art of the Corvette and Corvette Seven Generations, as well as Porsche Unexpected, Porsche Turbo and in Porsche: 70 Years. Most of his projects are transportation-oriented, corporate, product histories focusing as much on the individuals who did the work as well as the vehicles they created. These range from John Deere Tractors to Hot Wheels to the Harley-Davidson Heritage Collection. Since 1995, he has been a full-time book author and magazine contributor. While those of us who love cars know Randy’s work well, he’s also ventured into photographing and writing about barns, lighthouses, California missions, horses, and the wine country.

Mark Worman is the self-made Mopar success story. From humble beginnings in Springfield, Oregon, he has managed to tirelessly carve out space for himself, not only as a respected authority, in the Mopar restoration and documentation scene, but also with a successful television show Graveyard Carz, first on Velocity and now Motortrend Network. Always a Mopar guy from the beginning, Mark, like most of us, is chasing that perfect car that he had when he was young. Painting, bodywork, assembly, there is no part of the process that Mark can't speak on, sometimes rattling off so many numbers and specs that it makes even a true fan dizzy! At the end of the day, Mark just wants to put more cars on the road by restoring more of these beautiful Mopars. After all, Mark is the Mopar Mortician. It's not called Graveyard Carz for nothing!

Will Cheek is the manager of the Southern United States Commercial Insurance Program for Hagerty Insurance Company, a premier classic car and vintage boat insurance company in Traverse City, Michigan. Hagerty was built by people who love cars and offers much more than insurance for collector cars. Hagerty provides valuations, a DriveShare program, automotive media, a great magazine, and they fuel car culture through their Hagerty Youth Program, their Historic Vehicle Association, and the RPM Foundation. Will was struck early in life with an obsession for anything automotive related, so it is appropriate that after college he landed at Hagerty and hasn’t looked back, but only at the road ahead.

I have had a number of Hagerty associates on Cars Yeah including McKeel Hagerty, Ashley Shoemaker, Brad Phillips, Diane Fitzgerald, Jonathan Stein, Larry Webster, Lauren Gusler, and Nigel Matthews.

Paul Brobson is the Founder and CEO of Trusted Sale, the first all-in-one platform for private party vehicle sales. Trusted Sale creates solutions that foster trust between anonymous parties involved in peer-to-peer transactions. As a serial entrepreneur and senior sales and marketing executive, Paul has over 20 years of practical, hands-on strategic marketing planning, implementation, and senior leadership experience. Paul has helped build start-ups from the ground up, emerging companies and has established market leaders alike to attract more prospects and to convert those prospects into profitable customers. Paul has extensive experience and thought leadership in the areas of digital and interactive marketing strategy, interactive marketing campaign management including functional expertise in campaign planning, development, execution, reporting, analysis, and optimization. 

Jon Dega operates Rare Classics Restorations in Florida where he and his team manage and care for Florida collectors, Kim and Stephen Bruno’s cars. Jon began his automotive career in New Hampshire while still in high school. After graduating with a degree in Automotive Technology, he worked for EG&G Automotive, then Ford, and then founding his first company, Springfield Motorsports. The company grew and was very successful, participating in NHRA, SCCA, and NASA racing events and remains in operation today. Jon sold that company and founded The Worx Garage where they maintained medium and heavy-duty trucks. From there, he met Stephen Bruno, and Rare Classics Restorations was born. His work has been seen at Pebble Beach, on Jay Leno’s Garage, and at the Petersen Museum. They have prepared vehicles to compete in the Colorado Grand, Cavallino Classic, and The Mille Miglia. Jon holds 27 ASE certifications including 4 master technician designations, and he holds a class A CDL driver’s license and several competition licenses as well.

Scott Pruett spent 50 consecutive years in racing and retired in 2018 after competing in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, where he had 5 overall wins throughout his career. His career highlights include IMSA, SCCA Trans Am, IROC, NASCAR, Grand American, CART, USAC, ALMS, and the Professional Karting Association to name a few. He started racing at the age of 8 and since then earned an enormous number of records, wins, awards, and championships. He has 60 combined American sports car victories, which is a record, and 88 combined victories throughout the many racing disciplines in which he competed. Today, he works as a brand ambassador for Lexus and Rolex. But Scott’s not slowing down. One of his latest ventures, along with his wife Judy, is winemaking, and their Pruett Vineyards produce some of the finest wines you can enjoy today.

Randy Elber is the owner of R&R Auto Restoration in Mount Kisco, New York, where their mantra is “Preservation, Restoration, Service." There he and his business partner, Robert Torre, work on a variety of exotic marques including Ferrari, Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo, Porsche, Mercedes, and Aston Martin. Randy’s love of cars began when he was 13 and purchased a Pontiac LeMans that he restored into a GTO clone just shy of his 17^th birthday. Randy majored in Automotive Restoration at McPherson College in Kansas and earned scholarships from Mercedes Benz and Hagerty Insurance. After graduating with honors, he was hired at Paul Russell & Company where he further honed his craft. A chance meeting over a Mercedes 300SL Roadster brought Randy together with his future business partner, Robert, and today they are preserving a 1955 Mercedes Gullwing that they found that had been sitting since 1974.

Todd Lewis is the Engagement Marketing Strategist for Lexus at their Corporate Headquarters in Plano, Texas. He works on customer-facing events where guests get to explore and enjoy the Lexus brand. Some of their events include the Lexus Performance Driving School at the Laguna Seca racetrack, ride and drive programs, the Lexus Golf – U.S. Open, Lexus Cycling, the AMGEN Tour in California, the Pebble Beach Concours, SEMA, and many others. Todd has been in the Motorsports and Automotive space since 1994 where he worked with Marlboro Team Penske. He has also worked with Toyota on Indycar, MA Supercross and a multitude of other automotive shows and events.

Diane Parker joined the Historic Vehicle Association (HVA) in 2013 as the Director of Operations. She is the lead strategist for the organization and produces the HVA’s annual exhibition on the National Mall. As a congenital optimist and connected leader, Diane approaches life with positivity and authentic purpose in order to cultivate relationships, promote mutual growth, and encourage personal development. Diane has spent the majority of her career in operations management, something she truly enjoys. Thanks to two loving (and tolerant) older brothers, she became a car girl at a very young age. Her role with the HVA couples her love of vehicles and her talent in leading operations. Ask anyone who knows her, and they will tell you that she lives and breathes her dream job!

I had the opportunity to spend some time with Diane at the LeMay America’s Car Museum last month at the unveiling of the Bullitt Mustang. That’s right, Steve McQueen’s old ride.

Laura Adams is a Safety and Education analyst at DriversEd.com, the number one online driving school. She is also a personal finance expert, consumer advocate, and award-winning author of multiple books, including Money Girl’s Smart Moves to Grow Rich. Her website, LauraDAdams.com, is filled with a treasure trove of financial help, tools, and guidance for a stress-free life when it comes to your financial situation. Laura has hosted the popular Money Girl Podcast since 2008 with over 50 million downloads by legions of loyal fans. No doubt you’ve seen her on NBC, CBS, ABC FOX, Bloomberg, to name a few television networks and in print including Money, The New York Times, Marketplace, Forbes, Consumer Reports, and many other publications. Laura’s mission is to empower consumers to live richer lives and to educate through speaking, teaching, and advocacy work.

Robert Ross is the Managing Partner at Ross/Madrid Group, a Los Angeles creative agency. He is also an editorial consultant and contributor to the automotive division of the Robb Report. Ross/Madrid Group helps luxury-brand clients in a variety of product segments, including automotive, general aviation, consumer electronics, jewelry, wine & spirits, and financial services segments. Robert Ross launched his publishing career in 1989, and from 2001 to present, has worked with Robb Report, regularly covering new sports cars and luxury vehicles, as well as the collector car market. A lifelong automobile and motorcycle enthusiast, Robert enjoys a few machines of his own and has a passion for tribal art, early music, and lunatic-fringe audio. However, a passion for 15^th century Old Master engravings eclipses all others. Robert is a native of Los Angeles, where he lives, works and drives.

Michael Satterfield is the founder of The Gentleman Racer, a website he started over a decade ago, where he shares his automotive and motorcycle adventures that have taken him around the world. He grew up in the automotive industry and contributes today to a number of automotive publications, websites, and books. At The Gentleman Racer you’ll find articles about people, places, travel, cars, motorcycles, racing, collectors, plus all things in the automotive world. The site has grown from a simple blog, where Michael would share his automotive related adventures, into a successful, award-winning platform. 

Cory Friedman is the Vice President of Autometrics Motorsports, a professional sports car racing team based in Charleston, South Carolina. He has over 20 years of racing and high-performance driving under his belt and is one of the most respected drivers in the paddock. He has raced at tracks across America, in Mexico, Canada, and the Middle East. Cory has competed and won at the highest levels of American sports car racing with multiple podium finishes including SCCA Pro World Challenge, Grand-Am, ALMS, and IMSA. He’s driven in the Daytona 24 Hour, Sebring 12 Hour, and the 6 Hours at Watkins Glen. Today, he competes in one of the team’s cars in Porsche Club of America national races and, a driving coach for their customers, and works as a test driver for a major race tire manufacturer. He holds over 30 PCA lap records at tracks across America.

Ernie Manansala is the Head Ninja in charge at KOLAB, a full-service digital marketing agency that builds brands by captivating and engaging online communities. He has been in the automotive sector for over two decades and helped launch NOS energy drinks and promotes them as well as other clients including AEM Performance Electronics, Borg Warner Turbo Systems, Pirelli, and many others. KOLAB is all about managing the brand and business along with management for a wide motorsport investment including events, Time Attack, Rally Racing, Drag Racing, Baja Racing, Drifting, and NASCAR. Ernie is also a seasoned racer and he has fabricated and built cars as well. His mantra is, "Formal education will make you a living, self-education will make you a fortune."

Dr. Srikanth Pilla is the Robert Patrick Jenkins endowed professor and Dean’s faculty fellow of automotive engineering at Clemson University. He is also the founding director of Clemson Composites Center and Director of the Automotive Engineering Certificate Program. Dr. Pilla also holds a joint appointment in the department of materials science and engineering and mechanical engineering at Clemson. His research interests are in the fundamentals and applications of sustainable and lightweight, functional materials and manufacturing. His aim is to create a crosscutting paradigm at the interface of polymer chemistry, polymer physics, energy resources, materials engineering, manufacturing science, and computational theories. He has co-authored over 100 widely cited, peer-reviewed archival publications. He edited the world’s leading handbook in bioplastics and biocomposites and four SAE-Progress in Technology Series books and he is the recipient of numerous awards in the industry.

Bernard Oliver is an automotive artist who grew up in Southern California. After attending Otis Parsons and Art Center where he studied illustration and design, Bernard became a Technical Illustrator for General Dynamics. From there, he went on to Nissan Motor Corporation where he created parts assembly drawings and cutaway illustrations. His freelance work has been with clients including Toyota, Honda, and Disney in addition to designing for the surf apparel industry. He has been an accessory designer for Adidas and he worked with past Cars Yeah guest Berry Meguiar on his Car Crazy television show. Today, he creates designs for a variety of clients from Barrett Jackson to hot rod builders and many others.

Mike Carlucci is the Senior Vice President of Revenue and Specialty Events at Clarion UX, a UK company that manages 37 events across 11 sectors of both trade and consumer events. Mike is here today to talk about their Classic Auto Show that takes place in Costa Mesa, California on March 16 and 17. They host a second show this year in Chicago on September 14 and 15. The Classic Auto Show is a two-day festival where the classic car community comes together for a celebration of all things on wheels. It is a must-attend event for classic car enthusiasts and collectors which features automotive celebrities, demos, vendors, and over 1,000 classic cars. You’ll see custom builds, hot rods, vintage cars, classic off-road vehicles, motorcycles, low riders, Japanese classics, and a whole lot more. 

And I am excited to say I’ll be the MC on the celebrity stage at this year’s Costa Mesa event, so be sure to attend so we can say hello.

Jeff Page is the founder and head builder at Heartland Customs, located in Purcell, Oklahoma. His custom builds have been featured on numerous television shows and in car magazines as well. He has earned multiple top Goodguys and ISCA awards. Jeff has formed a partnership with the National Corvette Museum where his builds are archived and authenticated by the Museum. Jeff also has a license to build authenticated restomod 1967 through 1969 YENKO Camaros and 1969 through 1970 YENKO Chevelles, using original bodies. I had the pleasure of meeting Jeff and seeing his GM Design Car of the Year award at SEMA for his 1958 Specvette that he designed and built. The car was on display in the Covercraft booth.

Jarrod Holland is the founder of Publicity Factory in Wilmington, North Carolina. He has over 20 years of automotive public relations experience arranging high-profile coverage in a variety of media for his clients. Publicity Factory implements strategic media campaigns and sees them through to completion working with clients on tradeshows, media interviews, news conferences, product and service debuts, and placement. He has worked with a number of industry leaders including Wide Open Baja, Fix-a-Flat, the Lane Motor Museum, Drive a Tank, and many others. Jarrod is a former automotive writer for a regional Southern California lifestyle magazine and of course, an automotive enthusiast.

Chad Hiltz, know as Bad Chad is the founder of Hiltz Auto Company and his is the star of the Discovery Channel’s new show, Bad Chad Customs. He runs a hand-built automotive customs shop in Nova Scotia and he is an artist like no other. Chad’s one-of-a-kind creations spring from his imagination using skills and resourcefulness to build cars using parts from boats, airplanes, and even an old locker. Part MacGyver, part Willy Wonka; if Chad can imagine it, he will find a way to build it. His neighbor once said, “Chad could build a Bugatti out of a chicken coup!” His new TV show, Bad Chad Customs will debut today, January 1, 2019, on the Discovery Channel.