John Cassidy got his life’s calling five years ago. He decided to work in a car dealership and that changed the direction of his life. A chance conversation with a colleague who admired John’s poetry asked him to write something about the showroom. At his desk he wrote “Showroom Wonder”. Copies spread like wildfire across the midlands UK earning the label the Motor Trade Poem that was loved and recited by car sales and service staff. The video footage went viral across 200 sites of the motor group. That day his hidden talent as an actor and performer launched him as the Car Showroom Performance Poet.

Colin Weatherwax is the Chief Executive Officer at America Can! - Cars for Kids, a non-profit charity organization operating nationally in all 50 states. They have been changing lives and helping children graduate since 1992. All vehicle donations help kids build a better future by providing them with the tools necessary to succeed. With over ten years of experience in the non-profit and auto auction industry, he brings an understanding of the fundamental functions of both operating a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and navigating the used car world all while making a change in your lives.

Neil Ferrier is the Founder and CEO of Discommon, an Industrial and Design manufacturing firm. Some say, he has gasoline in his veins. Discommon proudly pulls inspiration from the world of cars. In addition to analog vehicles, Neil is has a love for analog watches—particularly TAG Heuer — and so it was only natural that his entrepreneurial endeavors take the horological path at some point. In 2019, he co-founded Blok, a Swiss made watch company for kids.

James Egozi is a 15 year old Formula 4 racer who is backed by Giovanni Minardi of the Minardi racing family racing PHM. James is a mentally tough, rising star who is from Miami, Florida and currently living in Brescia, Italy competing in the F4 Italian Championship and driving for PHM Racing. He started in karting winning multiple U.S. National Championships prior to moving to Europe where he won two European Championships in the World Series of Karting. James is a first-generation, self-taught racer who has overcome many challenges including a broken femur at the age of 10 and he started training at SPMI back in 2014 when he was only six years old and today he has his eyes set on Formula 1.

Paul Ehrmann is an author whose book, Arc of Triumph, a novel about courage, cars, and love. It is emphatically a novel with automobiles at its beating heart. His book is the culmination of a passion for motorcars Paul has embraces throughout his life. This novel is about the French Grand Prix drivers and their involvement in the Resistance during World War II. Arc of Triumph is based on the true story of these brave and selfless efforts to defeat the Nazis during their occupation of France. This was Paul’s first novel and the publisher is Donald Toms at Dantes Press in Florida.

Tom Nault’s passion for entrepreneurship, management, and turnarounds began when he was in college. Along with his fascination for companies that did great things, Tom also had a fascination with failures, how they happened and more importantly, and how they could be fixed. When COVID struck Tom wrote a book titled How To Not F*ck Up Your Own Company: Lessons I Learned by Screwing Up. Today we have a unique show to talk about the current state of EVs.

Mike Narx is the creator of Drag-N-Drive Addiction, a source of news and entertainment from the drag and drive community. It’s a weekly Live Stream covering events, racers, and stats from events world-wide. He began selling cars at 19 years of age and in 2013 he hosted his first car event, something he’s done more than 40 times since, raising more than $60,000 for local Northwest Arkansas children’s charities. In 2016 he and his brother began wrenching for customers and opened Narxoleptic Customs. They created YouTube content, with over 400 videos, and a podcast. Today his brother has a full-time auto shop building a variety of vehicles from LS Swaps to 4 wd conversion.

David Silberkleit is the CFO (that’s Chief Frogeye Officer) of the Bugeyeguys, the world leader for Bugeye Sprite sales, restoration, and parts. In 2022 he purchased the first production Bugeye Sprite, a car he imported from Australia. David and his team have sold their 400th Bugeye Sprite this week, an amazing milestone when you consider that in 2007 he started this business from his tiny home garage. Today, Bugeyeguys is a team of seven people in an 11,000 square foot restored Quonset Hut full of classic British sports cars and lots and lots of Bugeye parts. David added the Bugeyeguys parts business in 2017, and has now shipped more than 15,000 boxes of Bugeye bits around the world. Every one of the 400 Bugeyes built by David and his team has been unique and different, from completely stock to fire breathing, plus a recent electric conversion with Tesla Batteries.

Jay W. Pennell has been a part of the NASCAR industry for over fifteen years. His career path has taken him from that of an independent journalist, to social and digital marketing, to team public relations, and to NASCAR gaming. Jay has written for outlets including FOX Sports, NASCAR.com, Playboy, and Athlon Sports, and was one of NASCAR’s first citizen journalists. He also worked with Richard Childress Racing (RCR), handling public relations, content creation, and partnership management. Jay also served as the General Manager of the eNASCAR Heat Pro League, later moving to Brand Manager, NASCAR and INDYCAR with Motorsport Games. His new book is titled Start Your Engines, from Sports Publishing, contains 34 chapters describing different inaugural accomplishments that have taken place throughout NASCAR history.

Igor Polegkiy is a Sales Executive at Classic Recreations located in Texas. They build licensed and authentic 60s Shelby Mustangs with modern technology, some with full-carbon fiber bodies. His career path has been in the automotive industry and ranged from photography to consulting services in the exotic and hypercar industry, connecting people with the cars they loved. Today at Classic Recreations he works in a family-owned company and with a team of dedicated professionals who are fulfilling enthusiast’s dreams.

Jeffrey O’Neill is the Founder of The Velocity Invitational, an auto racing event that showcases the evolution of motorsports technology and ingenuity. The event started in 2019 at the Sonoma Speed Festival and after the COVIC-forced pause in 2020 the vent came back with a vengeance and new name. The new event took place at Laguna Seca as a three-day weekend filled with hundreds of iconic race cars, historic racing, special exhibitions, food, wine, and more. This year’s event returns to Sonoma Speedway on November 10, 11, and 12 and expects to attract over 10,000 visitors. Jeffrey has always had a passion for race cars alongside his passion for wine and distilling. He is the Founder and CEO of O’Neill Vintners and Distillers located in California’s Central Valley.

Jerry Cox is a Washington-DC based lawyer and crisis communications advisor with 40 years of experience with airbags in automobiles. He played a substantial role in implementing the airbag requirement and has represented numerous auto industry organizations, including the used car dealers’ association, auto auctions, Carfax and state motor vehicle administrators. Takata Corporation hired him in 2014 to help explain a problem the company was having with its airbags. They were blowing up in driver’s faces, shooting shrapnel, killing and severely injuring people. Jerry wrote a book titled, Killer Airbags: The Deadly Secret Automakers Don’t Want You to Know, how that turned into the biggest recall of any consumer product in history. Today he returns for some potentially life-saving updates on this airbag disaster.

Karen Brown is the Vice President of Events and Experiential Marketing for the Motor Trend Group, part of Warner Brothers Discovery. She is a powerhouse communicator, collaborator, innovator, and ideator. Karen continues to cultivate an expansive variety of events and initiatives while leading the internal team in development and execution of high-level events and sponsorship activations. She has had an extensive career in account management, experiential marketing, sponsorship activation, digital account management and program creation within such organizations as The Garage Team Mazda, Deutsch, David & Goliath as well as Disney ABC Television Group prior to joining the Motor Trend Group.

Dr. David Whyley is recognized as the world’s leading authority on Austin pedal cars. His previous book on Austin pedal cars has become much sought-after and his new book titled The Austin Pedal Car Story is a fascinating history of Austin’s J40 and Pathfinder from 1946 to present day. David has owned and restored several classic Austins and is an acknowledged expert and advisor for the rare Austin A40 Sports and Austin Atlantic Convertible. He has also written a number of books about the Austin Counties cars, such as the A40 Dorset, Devon and Somerset models, from 1945–54 and writes regularly for the Austin Counties Car Club magazine. 

Brian Jones is the Vice President of Engineering at Hennessey Special Vehicles and Hennessey Performance Engineering. He oversees all engineering and development applying his experience and expertise to advanced Powertrain development integration, testing, regulatory certification, and manufacturing of the Hennessey Venom F5 hypercar plus the range of high-performance vehicles modified by Hennessey Performance at the company’s Texas production facility. 

Colleen Sheehan is the Sales Manager at Ferraris Online, a company her father Michael Sheehan founded in 1972, 49 years ago. They offer decades of experience as specialty brokers of exotic cars including Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Maserati. Colleen’s passion for cars started at the age of 8 when her father gave her a 1930 BMW 3/15 DA2 that they restored. In 2003, when she was 11, that car was accepted onto the lawn at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and she drove it across the podium to accept an award setting a record as the youngest to ever do so. Today she shares her passion for cars while helping clients achieve their dream car or selling to the next caregiver.

Don Weberg and Eric Monterestelli have both been in the automobile industry for years. Don launched Garage Style Magazine in 2008 and Eric has been involved in motorsports and automobiles founding Gran Touring Motorsports in 2014 and his Break-Fix podcast. Both men have teamed up to create an affiliate network with five digital publications and are working toward creating a single company that will house all their business entities under one roof. The plans include publishing  specialty books and cultivating new clients to help facilitate their marketing and PR needs providing a multitudes of services.

Jasper Drengler is a racer who last spring became the first driver to race in all 50 states. Since he could crawl, Jasper has been infatuated with cars and the first 17 years of his life he attended the Indy 500. He spent most weekends at Wisconsin short tracks watching races and after finishing school he hopped into a race car and started racing himself, sometimes as much as 5 times a week. Over the last 23 years he’s earned some championships at local tracks, touring series, and an SCCA conference championship. Jasper also spent several years racing professionally.

RJ de Vera is the Vice President of Marketing for the Specialty Equipment Market Association, known as SEMA. It’s a nonprofit trade association founded in 1963 that represents the $51.8 billion specialty-automotive industry. RJ joined SEMA in 2022 after 12 years at 3M Company, a multi-national Fortune 100 organization, helping lead the Meguiar’s Car Care Brand under various roles, including Global Leader of Communications & Digital Marketing, Leader of Customer Engagement Group, Associate Director of Public Relations & Event Marketing, and Business Development & Product Marketing Manager.

Luiz Veiga is an automotive designer, fine artist, and a musician. His long career includes working at General Motors Brazil, Volkswagen, Chrysler, and he worked as a professional marketer, illustrator, stylist, senior designer, director of design, and as a member of the Volkswagen Design Group in Germany. Luiz has worked in numerous design studios around the world including Sao Paulo, Wolfsburg and Berlin in Germany, Detroit, Italy, China, Mexico, and the United States. He was awarded with the IF Design Award in Germany and today, among other projects, Luiz is developing exotic electric vehicles for AQUAM, a United States startup.

Nathan Hecht is the Founder and CEO of Cario, his latest venture that recently spun out of Rodo, another company he founded. Cario as a transformational platform to digitize and transfer the vehicle title in a matter of minutes on a blockchain infrastructure. Nathan founded Rodo after his first attempt to lease a car from a dealership. Nathan’s past projects and roles include Founder and CEO of Dstrux, acclaimed platform for self-destructing files on the web, as well as Kurrenci, the internet’s first virtual currency platform. 

Alex Qi is the Chief Executive Officer at Pontosense where they are at the forefront of driving innovation through cutting-edge sensor technologies that enhance your driving experience and can save lives. Pontosense was founded with a mission to fundamentally change everyday technology by expanding the relationship between humans and machines. Pontosense is the first company in the world to adhere to EuroNCAP regulations. 

Dan Palatnik is a graphic artist whose career included freelance illustration for ad agencies in the 80s. What began as a new technique evolved into a full time occupation. Since 2003 he has been creating classic car 3dmodeling for restoration projects, real builds, scale models, and custom cars plus visualizations for clients worldwide. He made renders for various local classic car chapter events and contributed with visual information creating cars that became extinct along the course of History. A passion turned into business, having created more than 300 US, European, Brazilian, and Japanese car models, in stock, custom and phantom concept form.

Craig Blake-Jones is the Founder and CEO of Paddock-Life magazine and Paddock-Speedshop TV show. A born petrol head whose career started in fashion, turned a corner into music, which in turn landed in film & television. Criag created Paddock Life magazine in 2014 as a lifestyle journal and into the wonderful world of racing, classic cars and all things automotive. Designed to be a cool coffee table collectable, Paddock Life is 180 pages of gloriously printed and presented petrol hedonism. In 2020, working with his 2 sons Ethan and Harvey, they brought petrol head Lucy Busby on board and built the Paddock Speedshop to create a TV series restoration show that appealed to a younger audience. They are using the Speedshop to bring a new generation of petrol heads into our established brand.

Judson Dayton is one of this year’s Willard J. Marriott Ferrari Club organizers at the fourth annual Chattanooga Motorcar Festival. Jud’s been an automotive enthusiast his entire life and has participated in many automotive events including the Cavallino, numerous Ferrari Club of America avents, Wheels of Italy in Minneapolis, and his Ferrari 250 SWB won best of show at Amelia Island Concours Festival of Speed. Jud shares some great stories abouthis Ferrari.

Ken Gross is the Concours Director for this year’s Fourth Annual Chattanooga Motorcar Festival, a three-day festival that includes multiple events including a wheel-to-wheel race car exhibitions, and a Concours d’Elegance and more. Ken’s career in the automotive world includes time as the Executive Director and Guest Curator for the Petersen Automotive Museum. He’s curated numerous highly acclaimed exhibitions across the country. He’s authored over 25 automotive books on a wide variety of historic vehicles, and is a member of ICJAG, the International Chief Judge Advisory Group. Ken has judged in most of the finest Concours d’Elegances in the world and had received the Automotive Hall of Fame Distinguished Service Citation, the Lorin Tryon Trophy at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, The Ken Purdy award from the International Motor Press Association, and the Dean Bachelor Lifetime Achievement Award to name just a few.

Corky Coker is the Grand Marshal Emeritus for this year’s Fourth Annual Chattanooga Motorcar Festival, a three-day event that includes a Rallye, multiple events, and Concours d’Elegance. Corky assumed the leadership role in the Coker Family’s BF Goodrich tire dealership in 1974 and for the next 45 years he and his team helped define the collector-car hobby. Coker tires solved the challenge of finding the right tires for your collector cars. The company grew to the largest supplier of collector vehicle tires with distribution in over 50 countries. He sold his business in 2018 and retained the Honest Charley Speed Shop in downtown Chattanooga where he shares over 180 vintage cars and motorcycles. 

Luigi Chinetti Jr. is this year’s Grand Marshal at the fourth annual Chattanooga Motorcar Festival. His father’s pre-World War II life in Milan and Paris with Alfa-Romeo as well as Talbot-Lago, led to his becoming the exclusive North American importer of Ferrari automobiles and the founding of the North American Racing Team. NART gave Luigi the opportunity to fulfill his own ambitions of racing and designing automobiles. He has done both, finishing 5th overall at Le Mans as well as winning his class at the Daytona 24hour Endurance race in a 312P Ferrari with a body he designed himself. He has also overseen the restoration of a number of highly significant Ferrari racing cars several of which required complete restorations. Luigi has distinguished himself both as a driver and designer.

Donald Osborne is the Chief Executive Officer at Audrain in Newport, Rhode Island where he oversees the Audrain Automobile Museum, Audrain’s Newport Concours d’Elegance & Motor Week, and Linkage, a quarterly automotive publication and website. With their tagline “Geard for the Automotive Life” Linkage is all about the automotive marketplace, driving, restoration, collecting, events, and discovering the passion for vehicles. You’ll recognize Donald from his appearances on Jay Leno’s Garage and the Audrain videos and you’ll find him walking the lawns of numerous concours events around the world.

Jeff DeMarey is a passionate auto enthusiast, collector, and insurance agent. Nearly twenty years ago, he started Stonewall Insurance Group, to specialize in protecting classic cars and getting them the coverage they deserve. He currently serves on the National Board of Directors for the Classic Car Club of America. He also serves as a judge at some of the most prestigious auto events in the country, such as The Amelia and Greenwich Concours d’Elegance. Recognizing the aging crowd at classic car events, he has recently, started the Springfield to Boston Education Foundation, a charity aiming to inspire, educate, and motivate students, while providing them with the necessary tools to learn about the world of classic and collector cars.

Alec Harrell is the owner of Harrell Engines Los Angeles. At 27 years old he is the fourth-generation member to carry on the family business. Alec’s great Grand Uncles, Jim and Nick Harrell, started Harrell Engine LA in 1932 in the heart of Los Angeles. Today, Alec carries on the tradition building nostalgia style Hot Rods among other classic car restoration services, in addition to bringing back the old family speed parts. 

Mike Marsh is the Founder and Director of the Renaissance Euro Fest and Classic European Auto & Motorcycle Show. His passion for European automobiles led him to collect Mercedes-Benz automobiles. Mike founded and directed the Natchez Euro Fest, L’Auberge Euro Fest and his latets endeavor has been the founding of the MS Section of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America being elected their first President.

Jeff Zwart is a commercial film director, racer, photographer, cameraman, and author. He’s shot commercials for Porsche, BMW, Cadillac, GM, Huyndai, Ford, and many others. He’s a graduate of the Art Center College of Design and has enjoyed an exceptional life and career around automobiles. He’s traveled all over the world shooting, directing, racing, and photographing cars. Jeff speaks and lectures and has driven in numerous races and rallies including: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, the Panama-Alaska Rally, the Baja 1000, and the TransSyberia Rally, to name just a few. Jeff is one of the Creative Directors for Porsche Cars North America at the Rennsport Reunion 7 this year

Brian Redman is the co-originator of the Rennsport Reunion, the celebration of Porsche Motorsports, past, present, and future. Brian participated in 358 races in his professional career. He haled from Great Britain and was victorious, outright or in his class, in 94 of those races. He finished in the top three 177 times. His tally of classic long-distance victories included the Targa Florio, Daytona 24 Hours (three times), Sebring 12 Hours twice, Nürburgring 1000Km twice, and at the Spa 1000Km four times. He won four long –distance road racing team championships and five individual road-racing championships, the list goes on and on and on. Brian also raced Formula 1, Formula 5000, and today Brian promotes and participates in historic race car events throughout the world.

Patrick Long, along with his mentor and friend Alwin Springer, are co-Grand Marshals of this year’s Porsche Rennsport Reunion 7. Patrick has become the personification of the spirit of Rennsport Reunion, the celebration of Porsche Motorsports, past, present, and future. Patrick started racing at 8 years old, starting with karting and moving up through the ranks, living and racing in Europe. After a run for F1 and landing in a Porsche Supercup as a Junior, he got his taste for GT cars and he became a Porsche factory driver in 2004 until his retirement. But that didn’t mean hanging up his helmet. Today his calendar is filled with vintage racing, motorsports events around the world, a Porsche brand ambassedor, and his co-creation of Luftgekühlt which has become a huge success with events across the country.

Frank Wiesmann is the Manager of Product Communications at Porsche Cars North America. He was obsessed with cars from an early age, uttering his first car-focused words before the names of his parents, and identifying specific models from the comfort of his stroller at age 2. An avid collector of magazines, brochures, and model cars, he went on to become a test driver and editor for a European car magazine before transitioning to Porsche Cars North America in 2014 as the Product Spokesperson for the 911, Boxster and Cayman. Six years later, Frank assumed the managing role on the product communications team at Porsche Cars North America. He and I will be at Rennsport coming up in few weeks.

Sam Webster is an automotive enthusiast, fabricator, and podcaster and the Founder of Webster Auto Collective. His goal is to build cool cars and share what he learns with other enthusiasts through social media platforms. Sam’s currently working on one of the biggest projects of his life. He is building a Baja race truck. Sam’s goal is to transition to all of this as a full-time career, living a life as a car enthusiast to the fullest.

Kelly Dietrick is the Exceptional Car Broker, Brokering Historic Competition Cars Worldwide at Historic Competion Services. While most people are retiring at her age, Kelly got the hare-brained idea to get on the road. And she’s not regretted it for one single moment. Kelly has been traveling between the UK, Europe, and the USA for the last 14 months. She sold all her worldly belongings and left the US with one suitcase and a plan to travel from car destination to car destination, guided only by the desire to see more, talk more, and experience more through automotive events both  large and small. If you are buying or selling – anywhere in the world, Kelly will be there. Simply call her.

Michael Schneider is the President of McPherson College where he graduated in 1996 with honors. McPherson College also boasts one of the largest endowments of any private college in Kansas. When Michael was named president in 2009, he was one of the youngest college presidents in the United States. With niche degree programs including as automotive restoration, McPherson is reinventing itself as a significant contributor in higher education. McPherson College garnered recent notoriety for having a student-restored 1953 Mercedes Benz 300S win 2nd in the Post War Luxury Class at the Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance, the most prestigious car show in the world, and for securing a $1 billion endowment commitment, which is the largest philanthropic commitment in the history of higher education.

Pete Vicari is the President of Vicari Auctions where they conduct numerous auctions across the southern USA. Pete’s bought and sold over 500 collector cars over the years. Vicari Auctions longest running event is in Biloxi, Mississippi that takes place yearly during Cruisin’ the Coast event that’s been voted Best Cars Show in the Nation by USA Today. With six events annually you’ll be offered hundreds of collector cars to choose from and all of the events are filmed for the Vicari Collector Car Auction TV shows.

Jasper Fedders is one of this year’s 10 Inaugural recipients of the Piston Foundation’s recipients from 2022. He’s a 21 year old, soon to be senior at McPherson College who grew up on a farm in Sioux Center, Iowa, where he was introduced to automotive tinkering and restoration with his dad’s 1998 Dodge Ram 1500 that was sitting idle and in need of some love. Today he works at No Coast Customs installing engines, working on brakes, and more. Oh, did I tell you about the ’69 Caddy and ’68 Dodge Charger he’s also restoring? The car hobby is in good hands indeed.

Tim Stevenson is a YouTuber and produces Decent Garage where he works on automotive projects in his home garage. The show’s focus is on 12 valve Cummins trucks. The underlying mantra on Decent Garage is “If I can do it anyone can.” By day, Tim is a Doctor of Physical Therapy with a national board certification in orthopedic physical therapy. His mechanical knowledge is all self-taught from years of reading on forums, watching plenty of Youtube, and seeking advice from other mentors in the industry. It was 1st gen Cummins trucks that sparked his passion for mechanical work and these trucks are still the focus of this hobby of wrenching.

Jared Gastineau is the owner of Mile High Muscle where they restore and modify classic vehicles. Mile High is also an authorized dealer/distributor for high end parts. Jared is a seasoned classic car restoration expert with years of performance upgrade. He founded Mile High Muscle in 2017 and recently built a 1969 Chevelle that’s the first streetcar featuring the ZZ632 motor. He owned a ’69 Chevelle in high school and that car is being restored in his shop as their third Chevelle project.

Ryan Remington is the Founder and Managing Director at Elliot Remington Auto Studio. What started out as a concept to provide DIY working space and equipment to auto enthusiasts, the plan quickly became something larger. At Elliot Remington they offer premium automotive detailing, quality asset management storage, paint preservation, paint restoration, and paint protection from ceramic coatings to film and window tinting. Originally from West Point, NY Ryan grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Tim Silvey is the voice behind MotorMouth Media and podcast. He has worked for over 18 years in Formula One and more recently Formula E on the sponsorship side. He’s the host of The MotorMouth Podcast where he interviews a multitude of racers and he also has the OMG!Moto GP Podcast hosted by former super bike racer Keith Huewen. Tim’s also the podcast host for The Race Aramco F1 Focus podcast.

Neville Boston is the Founder of Reviver, pioneers of a digital license plate. Embracing cutting-edge technology, Reviver has emerged as an example of modernizing government in a public/private partnership. They have surpassed the milestone of selling over 55,000 license plates in California alone. The success of Reviver in California serves as a testament to the company's commitment to revolutionizing the government landscape by harnessing the power of digital innovation. New states that have come onto the platform include Arizona and Michigan, with Georgia, Illinois, and Colorado following next. Reviver’s mission is to modernize the driving experience.

Brian Bossone is the founder of Boss One Media where he’s launched POWERtube TV. He has over 35 years in the automotive industry with a background in custom and race car fabrication. Brian's experience led to his involvement in the Fox-owned SPEED channel franchise PINKS. Brian’s newest venture into the FAST TV network world rolls out in 2023 with classic Speed shows and over twenty new content partners all producing shows and shorts for the POWERtube TV Network. 

Mikael Wallin is the originator of Customikes. He is a highly recognized and respected personality in the Kustom Kulture segment of the car community. He is routinely invited to events as a special guest and presented awards for his incredible restoration and customization work. Mikael grew up in Sweden in a little town east of Gothenburg and was influenced by the American Graffiti love circle of friends cruisin’ “The Avenue”. He came to live in America in 1984 and embraced the car culture here. It’s all about fun, photography, and film for the Kustom Kulture Enthusiasts.

Joey Andrews is a young racer whose motorsports journey started when he was just 11 years old when he began watching Top Gear. That’s when he came up with the nickname “The Stiglette”.  He won a trip to the US Grand Prix which further ignited his racing bug and he quickly started racing karts. He earned podium spots, making his mark, and attending as many racing events as possible. He raced in the CalSpeed Sprint and Super Series in addition to Tri-C Karters in his LO206 kart. He currently competes in the National Auto Sport Association’s Teen Mazda Challenge driving a Spec Miata for Hicks Motorsports.

Carey Rouse is a race car driver and a racing fan who travels around the United States in his RV, full time. He interviews racing fans and shares them on his Driven to Compete podcast, YouTube page, Blog, and website. Carey combines his nomadic lifestyle, RV life, love for racing and meeting individuals in the automotive world in a unique and exciting way. 

Jonathan Ornstein is a vintage racer who has enjoyed lapping tracks for 20 years. After riding sport bikes for over 30 years he began vintage racing in a 1973 Porsche 911 running his first race at Phoenix International Raceway. Since that first race Jonathan has raced a wide variety of vintage race cars including a B Sedan Datsun 510 to a Mario Andretti Formula 5000 Lotus 70. While racing primarily in California at Laguna Seca, Sonoma, Fontana and Willow Springs, Jonathan has also raced at road America, COTA, Sebring, Daytona and Watkins Glen. 

Tom McIntyre is a vintage racer who has enjoyed lapping tracks since 1961. However, he’s really more a conservator. Tom carries other titles including “successful businessman”, who was an entrepreneur in every sense of the word before the noun became a commonplace moniker. But, in the automotive realm, even though his business acumen is primarily auto-bound, he is a caretaker entrusted with protecting, preserving, and, more importantly, enjoying some of the finest racing machines that world’s craftsmen and artisans have made. 

Evan Ide is an automotive historian, author and restorer specializing in automobiles built prior to WWII. He is a Vice President, Senior Specialist with Bonhams Cars auction house and is the founder and principal of Historic Vehicle Services restoration shop. Evan is on the Selection Committee for the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. An avid collector himself with a largely pre-war collection.

Egon Zweimüller is the owner of Egon Zweimüller Automobile & Restauration. Since 1964 the company has been passionate about classic, vintage, and competition automobiles. Their profound knowledge, practical experience, trust, and a true passion for cars has made for lasting relationships with their partners and clients. This summer Egon will bring a very special McLaren M1A to the lawn at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Created by Bruce McLaren and McLaren Racing while Bruce was still driving for Cooper in Formula 1, this was the first car to wear the McLaren name and logo. The car was raced extensively and was later eventually found its way to debut in the movie Spin Out featuring Elvis Presley.

Dr. Mark Brinker is a world-renowned orthopedic surgeon with a lifelong passion for helping others and the automobile. Mark is an automotive enthusiast, collector, vintage racer, historian, and journalist. Mark’s current car collection includes 35 carefully curated postwar sports cars primarily from Italy, the U.S., and Japan. He will have two cars on the lawn this summer at Pebble Beach.

Amanda Stretton is the new Master of Ceremonies at the 2023 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Amanda is the UK’s leading female motorsport, classic car, and automotive TV broadcaster. She is renowned for her passion and knowledge of contemporary and classic racing and her understanding of the international car industry. But Amanda is more than a presenter, unlike her peers she has raced competitively in historic GT and Le Mans prototypes on the world’s most famous racetracks and is still the only British female racing driver to have won an International long distance GT race. 

John Hennessey, founder, and CEO of Hennessey Special Vehicles, Hennessey Performance, Tuner School, and Lonestar Motorsports Park, has been making fast cars faster for more than 32 years. Hennessey is well known for building powerful cars and trucks that deliver astonishing horsepower and neck-snapping acceleration. Constantly pushing the performance envelope, John Hennessey's most recent debut is the $3 million Venom F5 – the world’s most powerful pure-combustion hypercar with 1,817 horsepower and an engineered top speed in excess of 300 mph!  

Alois Ruf is a legend in the world of unique, tuned Porsche automobiles. The name Ruf has stood for competence in the automotive world for more than 80 years. Ruf Automobile is a family-run automobile manufacturer based in the heart of Bavaria, Germany. Ruf is not only the family name of the company's founder, Alois Ruf Sr., who brought the company to life in 1939, but also a name that stands for technical excellence, authenticity, passion and driving pleasure. The family business is characterized not only by its powerful and elegant vehicles manufactured in-house, but also by the attention to detail and the craftsmanship that goes into every single Ruf car that leaves the Pfaffenhausen plant. 

Dave Amantea is the Chief Design Officer at Automobili Pininfarina where for almost 90 years, this iconic design house has shaped the automotive world giving countless luxury and sport vehicles a distinctive shape. They have been the pioneers of a world of purity and innovation. Dave’s career includes being a professor at the IAAD University of Design, A Senior Exterior Designer and Team Leader at Jaguar Land Rover, and Senior Exterior Lead Designer at NIO. In 2018 he returned to Italy to join Pininfarina and their Battista Hypercar presented him with a completely new and exciting design challenge. Dave will be with his colleagues on the lawn at this year's Quail, debuting the new Battista. 

Jeff Jennings is the Director of Marketing and Customer Service at Velocity Restorations where they build classic vehicles for the modern driver. Integrating contemporary parts and components with vintage design. Get the vehicle of your dreams with a guaranteed production timeline– that’s the Velocity pledge. 

Patrick Kelley is an author with a fascination for all things automotive. Years ago he expanded this passion and started collecting original automobile concept art. Today he shares his new book, Imagine Too! Towards the Future, published by Dalton Watson Fine Books. It takes the reader back to a time when the sky was the limit, dreams and visions were encouraged and restrictions were few with over 600 never-before-seen automobile concept images and over 130 artists. This is a wonderful companion to his earlier IMAGINE! book.

Bob Barber is an automotive painter who has been laying down color for decades. He started at Molin Body where he stayed for 27 years. There he painted Ferraris, Aston Martins, and exotics learning his trade along the way. They also painted Penske race cars including 2 Indy winners. In 1998 Bob started his own business, working on high end cars, race cars, and more. Today he works with his son, laying down paint, improving their work, and making vehicles look fantastic.

Ronald Ahrens is a freelance writer who contributes to Hour Detroit, DBusiness, Detroit’s Premier Business Journal, and Palm Springs Life. A centerpiece of his career is having written for the late and much-lamented Automobile magazine, lead by the late David E. Davis, over a 33-year period. The June issue of Palm Springs Life will feature Ronald’s words covering IndyCar, Hour Detroit, and others. 

Mitch Scher is a dentist who is also an automotive enthusiast and the Co-Founder of Drivedowncars.com. It’s a boutique website for enthusiasts aiming at simplifying the car buying process. Instead of the usual ‘wait till the last minute’ buying frenzy Mitch and his Co-Founder Taylor Davis have come up with a unique and easier process. 

Alan Galbraith is the Founder of Concours d’Lemons where they celebrate the oddball, mundane, and truly awful of the entire automotive world. You’ll find his events embedded around well-known concours nationwide including Amelia Island, Monterey Car Week, and other more formal automotive gatherings. Concours d’Lemons was born highlighting a worldwide series of car shows that highlights the worst of the automotive world in a fun and humorous way.

‘Nitro’ Joe Morrison is a drag racer who has been on the track for over 15 years. In 2011 he was the North-East Timing Organization Comp Eliminator Season Champion. After 3 seasons of racing part time in Top Fuel, Joe is making the change to Nitro Funny Car this season and plans to make his debut in his second NHRA pro class later this year. Mike made it his mission to honor his friend’s legacy along with inspiration to his father Chuck who was diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). He created Right2Breathe to build awareness about the disease and strive to help others with the affliction. 

Paul Ward has been a professional photographer for over 30 years and recently won his category at the British Photography 2020 Awards. He works closely with Limited 100 and Paddock Speedshop where you can enjoy his images. Over the years his photography has been published in many books and magazines both in the UK and internationally and his architectural images currently adorn the walls aboard Cunard’s flagship Queen Mary 2. 

Mark Hutchison is an automotive enthusiast with a love for station wagons. His on-the-road career in the athletic footwear industry has including time at Adida and Fila plus Foot Locker, Coleman Sporting Goods, and Athletic Attic. This combined with having a family, four boys, dogs, and a need for a ‘family’ style car, has put vehicles like minivans, Jeeps, and Suburbans in his driveway. His  latest ride has elevated the fun of his time on the road. Mark has a Mercedes-Benz, AMG E63 wagon so he’s probably the only sales rep in the country combining his work car with his love for sportiness. 

South African-born Glen Smale is a professional motor journalism and photographer. He’s authored eighteen books covering sports cars and motor racing, and founded the photo agency Virtual Motorpix, specializing in sports cars and motorsports racing. His newest book is titled Le Mans: 100 Years: A Century at the World’s Greatest Race published by Motorbooks. It is a compilation of the history of Le Mans packed with photography, narrative, and much, much more. Glen has been a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers since 1994.

Brandt Fuqua owns Graphic Disorder, a screen print, embroidery, and design business. He has 14 employees and largely serve the automotive community with designs and apparel. Brandt’s passions are in the realm of customs and the lowrider community. He had a 1994 Toyota pickup on hydraulics when he was 18 and later moved on to the more custom truck scene with air bagged and body dropped custom trucks and cars. Today he drives a 2019 Ram 3500 that lays frame on 26's. Brandt is also into supercars. He has owned 2 Corvettes, 2 Ferraris, a McLaren, and 2 Porsches including his current 2022 Porsche GT3 in PTS Ruby Star. 

Mitch Williams is the President of Rigid Industries, the leader in off-road performance lighting, specializing in LED technology. His career has included being on a race team pit crew, he raced in SCCA and IMSA and ran the Baja 1000. He worked for four of the leading lighting brands including Cibie, Marchal, Hella, and now Rigid. He was the CEO of APR and Dinan Engineering - the premier tuners of Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, and BMW vehicles. Mitch served six terms on the SEMA Board of Directors, including one as Chairman of the Board, and was selected as SEMA’s Person of the Year in 2001. This year Mitch will be inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame.   

Kennan Rolsen is the Managing Editor of Cars & Bids, an online auction platform where people can buy or sell unique, enthusiast-focused vehicles. Kennan has overseen over 13,000 listings for Cars & Bids, having been with the company since its inception, and he has previously worked as a content and marketing consultant for other automotive brands.

Thatcher Keast is the Consignment Department Manager and Auction Coordinator at RM Sotheby’s where he oversees consignments and the logistics of making an auction come to life. He began working in the automotive industry at just 14 years old when he started his own automotive detailing business in Salina, Kansas. He is now a licensed auctioneer, a great addition to the RM Sotheby’s roster.

Jamie Little is a veteran Motorsports Reporter with more than 20 years in the industry and she is one of the most recognizable people in motorsports television. In 2023, she added to her play-by-play duties with the addition of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series, becoming the first woman lead announcer for NASCAR. Jamie has joined Lucas Oil as its newest brand ambassador and she is part of an exclusive group of brand ambassadors and key partnerships across several different sports including NFL, NASCAR, NHRA, INDYCAR, Monster Jam, PBR and others.

Stuart Rowlands has worked in the PR business for over 35 years managing public relations and publicity for a wide range of companies and individuals. His focus included creative thinking, strong personal relationships, and relying on his vast experience in the automotive industry. He’s worked with many major players in the field including: Bridgestone Tires, Honda Motorcycles, Lucas Oil, MAVTV, Colgate Palmolive, Chevrolet, Suzuki, and many other notable companies. 

Gord Duff is Global Head of Auctions for RM Sotheby’s, the world’s premier automotive auction house. He and his team conduct auctions around the world and this summer they return to Monterey for the 26th time with an amazing selection of vehicles including the iconic Steve McQueen Ferrari 275 GTB/4, and a significant private collection of rare European-designed cars. Plus RM Sotheby's unveils a once in a generation collection of "barn find" Ferraris, aptly named The Lost & Found Collection. And if that's not enough they'll offer the estate of notable collector Terence E. Adderley, a collection that brings a blue-chip Duesenberg, Bugatti, Cord, and Rolls-Royce to name just a few. 

Michael Ledwitz is an automotive artist and car collector whose professional career in automotive art began after he was involved in a near fatal car accident in 2005. Creating art was a therapeutic way to recover and relax and his talents progressed as people began commissioning his paintings. 

Simon Wright is the Founder of Limited100, an online store that specializes in exclusive handcrafted automotive wall art. Being an automotive enthusiast from a very young age, Simon was inspired to start Limited100 because he felt that there was a gap in the market for the world's car enthusiasts who have a love for imagery. Limited 100 grew from one artist (Paul Ward) to six artists including Tim Wallace, who was at one point McLaren's official photographer. More recently Johan Wedenström who was Saab's official photographer was added . 

Jason Hart is a race car driver running in SRO GT4 America with NOLASPORT. Jason was the 2022 GT4 America Pro-Am Cup Champion and the 2021 SRO GT4 America Champion. Jason has years of experience with IMSA GTD, IMSA ST/GS, World-Challenge GT/GTS, SRO GT4, TransAm TA2, and various other sports car racing series. 

Michael Good is the President of Dynamat. The company manufactures and markets acoustic environmental solutions for a broad range of industries including automotive and home acoustics. The brand is represented in over 50 countries and is found in over 3,000 storefronts in the US alone. In the automotive world the Dynamat brand is recognized as quality products for solutions for unwanted noises and vibrations. 

Actor Luis Da Silva Jr. is best known for his memorable roles in the blockbuster films, "Fast Five" and "Fast X". He will be the Grand Marshal of the Sixth Annual Philadelphia Concours D'Elegance on June 23-24, at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia. Luis drives a bright, lizard green Porsche 911 GT3 (997) street racer in "Fast X," the most recent film in the "Fast and Furious" franchise, now playing in theaters and streaming on Amazon Prime. 

Prescott Kelly is a past National President of the Porsche Club of America. He is the only person ever to be awarded lifetime achievement awards in both PCA and the 356 Registry. Today, he’s better known as Contributing Editor, writing the Porsche Profiles for Sports Car Market. He also writes 5,000-word by-model market analyses for Porsche Panorama, and the “MarketWatch” column for the 356 Registry Magazine.  Prestcott will be a panelist at this year’s Philadelphia Concours d’Elegance.

Jack Atkinson had an amazing career and a key part of it was with Brumos Porsche. Between the dealerships and race team, Jack was with Brumos for 24 years. He guided Brumos to 7 IMSA GT titles and 4 Trans-Am titles in the 70s with legendary wins at Daytona and Sebring. Innovative, adaptable, and unflappable,  Jack will be a panelist at this year’s Philadelphia Concours d’Elegance along with yesterday’s guest Woody Woodard, tomorrow’s guest, Prescott Kelly, and past Cars Yeah guest Hurley Haywood.

John ‘Woody’ Woodard spent twenty years with Penske Racing. He started working for the company on January 14, 1969 as a full time Mechanic, Chief Mechanic, and Crew Chief. In 1977 his role changed to Penske GM Power, then to Penske Power Systems, and again to Penske Truck Leasing in 1983. In his spare time he was a weekend warrior on Penske Indy Cars in the CART series. He was Chief Mechanic on three different National Championship teams, Trans Am with Chevrolet and Can Am with the Porsche 917s. He’s worked with a number of championship drivers including Bobby Allison, Mario Andretti, Mark Donohue, George Follmer, Al and Bobby Unser, and David Hobbs to name just a few. Woody will be a panelist at this year’s Philadelphia Concours d’Elegance.

Rick Barnett is the Director of Monterey Motorsports and The Concours at Pasadera, an event that kicks off Monterey Car Week in August. This year they welcome the 60^th anniversary celebration of the Porsche 911, the Ferrari GTO, and the Ford GT. The event takes place at the beautiful Club at Pasadera. To learn more go to The Concours at Pasadera website.

Taeler Coverdale is a graduate from Salem County Vocational Technical School and attends the Universal Technical Institute. She is the 2023 TechForce Foundation’s Grand Prize Winner of the Future Techs Rock Awards. 

William ‘Bill’ Walker is an author who early on was enthralled by open-wheel racing and the Indianapolis 500. He was introduced to the sport by the broadcasts of Sid Collins and became entranced when he discovered the tombstone of his cousin, Pete Kreis, who was killed at the Speedway in 1934 during practice for the Indy 500. Bill spent many years researching Pete’s accident that was at the time called “the strangest death in all racing history.” Bill starting writing books. Published by Octane Press of Austin, Texas, The Last Lap is a history of his cousin’s career on the Indy-car circuit and on the Grand Prix track at Monza, Italy. 

Ryan Fielding is the Fabrication Shop Manager at Ring Brothers where he has had a massive hand in shaping several of Ringbrothers award-winning builds including the SEMA 2022 Battle of the Builders winner “Enyo.” Ryan is a third-generation fabricator, car and motorcycle builder, with over 20 years of experience. 

Sarah Lassek is an innately passionate automotive enthusiast who recently became the Chief Brand Officer for The PerTronix Performance Family of Brands. She now oversees Brand and Marketing for PerTronix Ignition, Aeromotive Fuel Systems, Waterman Racing, Taylor Cable Products, JBA Performance Exhaust, Doug’s Original Headers, Patriot Exhaust, Compu-Fire, and Spyke Inc. Sarah is most happy on the track or on a canyon run.

Gary Yamamoto is the Executive Director for LeMay America’s Car Museum and Vice President at America’s Automotive Trust. Gary has over 30 years of experience helping private, nonprofit, and public sector organizations successfully manage high growth opportunities. Gary is a direct Samurai descendant and in his spare time enjoys playing soccer and golf.

Steve Rendle is a freelance writer and editor, with a passion for all things featuring engines, wheels, and/or wings, and in particular Formula 1 cars. He is the author of Evro Publishing’s book titled Formula 1 Technology: The Engineering Explained. He has been a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers for over 20 years.

Peter Barba is the CEO and Co-Founder of Lectrium, an electric vehicle technology company with a mission to make every person and their home, EV-ready by 2040. 

Matthieu Tardy is the Vice President and Managing Director of Constellium’s global Automotive Structures business. Matthieu has held crucial positions in finance including Business Unit CFO and VP Group Controller before taking up his current position. Automotive Structures is a tier one supplier of innovative aluminum automotive safety and structural components, suppling automakers all over the world. 

Rick Love is the President at Vintage Air in San Antonio, Texas and he’s been with Vintage Air since 1998. Known as the “World’s fastest air conditioning company” since 1976, their goal has been to provide owners of street rods, sport trucks, and performance cars with the finest air conditioning components available. 

John Starkey is a self-confessed racing fanatic, works as a consultant, researcher, author, and has written over twenty four books including his new book titled Lola GT: The DNA Of The Ford GT40, published by Veloce.  His love for cars led him to write his first book on sports and racing cars.

This is a very special Mile-Marker show because today I celebrate 9 years of producing and hosting the Cars Yeah podcast. I am honored to have brought you 2,325 shows and shared the stories of so many Inspiring Automotive Enthusiasts™. I thank you for riding along with me and giving me your time by listening. One of my past Inspiring Automotive Enthusiasts, Gregg Blue, after appearing here on Cars Yeah, asked if he could interview me. So today I am in Maui with a friend by the name of Gregg Blue who’s going to be flipping the mic and giving me what he calls a Hawaiin “Gregg’s Grilling”. So buckle up and perhaps you’ll learn a thing or two about me, the story behind Cars Yeah, and my life-long passion for cars and people’s stories. Like an un-chartered road trip, who knows where this will go…

Andy Chatham is the Founder and Co-CEO of DIMO. DIMO = Digital Infrastructure for Moving Objects. DIMO helps you get more from driving, saves you money, and teaches you how to better take care of your vehicles. You’ll contribute to a future where driving apps work for vehicle owners, not the companies that build them—simply by sharing your data. 

Stefan Johansson spent most of his life racing cars, with a 10-year career in Formula 1, driving for Ferrari and McLaren Formula 1. He won the prestigious Le Mans 24 hour race for Porsche, spent 5 years racing Indy cars, raced sports cars and all told spent over 30 years racing at the highest levels of Motorsport. In parallel he has always had a strong interest in art and design and in 1986 when his close friend and driving colleague Elio De Angelis was killed in a racing accident, Stefan decided to pick up a canvas and a brush and paint something in his honor. Thirty-four years later his art and life have evolved into a new reality and today he spends the same time and focus on perfecting the craft of being an artist that he did when he was professionally racing.

Lt. Col Jordan Smith is the Director of Operations, 89^th Attack Squadron, in the United States Air Force. He leads MQ-9 pilots, sensor operators, and intelligence professionals in worldwide combat operations. His active-duty assignments include three operational tours with the 432d Wing and Training Tour with the 12^th Flying Freedom, Enduring Freedom, Freedom’s Sentinel, Inherent Resolve, and Resolute Support. Jordan has more than 5,500 hours flying and has piloted MQ-9A, MQ-1B, T-1, and T-6 aircraft. Did I mention he is also a die-hard automotive enthusiast and a photographer for Linkage magazine? Jordan’s call-sign is ‘Joker’.

Michael Milne is an automotive writer, author, and nomad. In 2011 he and his wife Larissa quit their jobs, sold their house, gave away their possessions, and took off from their hometown of Philadelphia to travel around the world. After twelve years, they are still on the road as full-time global adventurers, sharing their journey on their website, Changes In Longitude.