Top Gear (US) s05e01 Episode Script
American Muscle
Ferrara: Now on "Top Gear" Aah! Aah! We test three great American muscle cars.
Ohh! But only two of us get a chance to face off in a real drag race.
[birds chirping.]
[Vehicle approaching.]
Wood: Muscle cars Aggressive, stylish, and built to race.
[Tires screeching.]
[Western-themed music plays.]
What you need to win a drag race is a great car with a lot of horsepower Insanely quick acceleration [Exhales sharply.]
And a perfect reaction time.
[Wind howling.]
[Laughs.]
See ya! Oh, my God, that Camaro's fast! But Adam's just a little too much on the right! Come on! Oh, damn it! [Wood laughs.]
How insane was that? I am so glad that road was closed.
We could never do that normally.
I know.
We have to write gainesville a thank-you note for letting us do that.
Wood: Muscle cars have been at the heart of American car culture for decades.
Designed as Detroit's response to the hot rod, their purpose to this day is simple To go fast in a straight line and to look cool doing it.
We were told to pick our race-worthy muscle cars and meet in gainesville, Florida, home to some of the fastest car racing in the world.
And to pack in even more muscle, we all chose resto mods that have been upgraded with as much power as modern technology could provide.
Ooh! [Laughs.]
These are fast.
- Big girl can run.
- Oh, yeah.
I mean, that's what makes a resto mod so great.
You know, it's restoration and modification.
It's making an old car better than it ever was at the beginning.
Absolutely.
I mean, look at this.
Foust: 1967 g.
T.
500 mustang, immortalized by nic cage in "gone in 60 seconds.
" This beauty was immaculately restored and modified for a mere $149,000, sanctioned by the late and great carroll shelby.
It's got a brand-new fuel-injected 5-liter coyote motor, bringing it from 350 horsepower up to a monstrous 500 horsepower.
[Engine revs.]
Doesn't have a key fob, but it still looks bad In its '67 skin.
It's purdy.
I mean, how about the '72 dodge charger s.
E.
? Originally came with 280 horsepower.
Now a little more.
Wood: They chose a charger for the bad guys in Steve McQueen's "bullitt," probably because of the menacing hammerhead front grill.
This one was lovingly built by a guy named Bill from Tennessee for 90,000 bucks.
It's got a 6.
4-liter fuel-injected hemi that bumps the horsepower from 280 to 560, not to mention the insane road-hugging 18-inch tires, and my favorite part [Chuckles.]
What's under the hood of that? You mean under this beautiful '68 Camaro? Ferrara: A red-hot Camaro.
I wouldn't have it any other way.
This was Chevy's ultimate muscle car.
And this little heart-breaker was restored to the tune of 150k.
Originally, if you got it with the 396 350 horsepower.
This has an lS2 in it.
Guess how many horsepower.
You're never gonna guess.
I'm gonna tell you 720 horsepower.
What? 661 pound-feet of torque.
It has a roll cage in it.
Yeah.
You're gonna die.
Why should this episode be any different? Look, gentlemen, the point is this We all picked resto mods, so we all kind of cheated.
I just cheated better, that's all.
So, what are we doing? "You've been entered in a professional-level drag race, taking place tomorrow" Good God.
"driving the quickest production vehicles ever made, capable of zero to 60 in less than two seconds.
" That is really fast.
And dangerous.
[Clears throat.]
"On your way to the race, "you'll compete in a number of challenges "to determine which of you has the skills it takes to be a successful drag racer.
" [Imitates engine roaring.]
Reaction time.
Just like that.
That's it right there.
"Only two of you will have the chance to compete.
Your first challenge is 10 miles away.
" Oh.
It's a knockout race.
Only two of us get to drive.
What do you do to prepare for that? Drive fast? Okay.
I can do that.
Yeah.
I can do that, too.
I got a pretty good reaction time.
You've seen me at Taco Tuesday.
I know.
I dropped a cheetah once.
He grabbed it before it hit the floor.
[Laughs.]
[Engine turns over.]
We were on our way to the first challenge just 10 Miles away, but in these cars, we would have happily driven 100.
Wood: Have you ever seen a better-looking '72 Charger that didn't have the number 43 for Richard Petty on the side? I don't think so.
They told us to show up with cars that were race-ready, and that's why I picked this charger.
It's perfect to do almost any kind of racing Drag racing, road racing, you name it.
This car could do it all.
[Engine revs.]
Ferrara: This is the best of both worlds.
I get a cool-looking car that works.
It's got 720 horsepower.
It's got 14-inch brakes.
It handles.
Recaro seats, six-speed transmission.
It's a racecar! Foust: This is a great car.
It's fast.
It's got the right gear ratio.
It's got good engineering in the differential, good reliability in the engine.
And it sounds freaking awesome.
[Engine revving.]
Yeah! Gentlemen, I really want to start talking trash about your cars, but I love them both.
But Adam's car is wicked-fast.
[Laughs.]
Wow! That Camaro has 220 horsepower more than this car.
It's unbelievable.
Listen to this.
[Engine humming.]
It sounds like Chewbacca.
[Engine humming.]
What is it, chewy? Our first challenge had brought us to a place that had seen more than its fair share of powerful machines moving quickly The keystone heights airstrip.
Yeah.
Check this place out.
Vintage power and vintage muscle together.
How great is this? I feel pretty American.
What are we doing here? Wood: We were going to test our reaction speed by racing a quarter-mile runway while stopping and starting three times.
A red light would tell us when to stop, and after a five-second interval, the green light would appear.
If we were to run the green light, we'd get shocked by an electrified steering wheel.
Fastest time would win.
Electrified steering wheel? So if we jump the light, we get a shock.
When you're at a drag strip with a pro tree, if you leave early, you're gonna get a red light and your time won't count.
It's all about getting the fastest reaction time.
Condition us.
Like pavlovian dogs.
You're the closest thing to a St.
Bernard we have, so you go first.
[Scoffs.]
Gladly.
I'm gonna show you guys how a man does it.
Okay.
You gonna go pick one up on your way? Tanner and Adam were equipped with a remote control to signal when I had to stop.
But avoiding electric shock That was all up to me.
Feels weird holding a steering wheel that has bare wire exposed on it.
So I've got a box in front of me with a green light, a red light, and a huge red light.
I'm gonna go on the green, stop on the little red.
If the big red's going off, that means I left early, and I'm gonna get electrocuted.
The question is how tight on the green light can I get without being shocked? Ferrara: The first shock hits him He's gonna pee in his seat.
And then the second shock hits worse, right, if you're sitting in liquid? Everything's just gonna come out of him.
What I don't know is how bad this shock is gonna be.
By the third time, the beard's gonna fall off.
You think? It'll just flake.
Everything just comes right out.
It'll turn gray, and then, poof, down.
Adam, I don't think, has ever seen a drag strip.
Tanner's probably been around some before, but I really think this is my event right here.
All right, you ready, pal? I'm ready to show you how good my reaction time is.
Oh, my gosh.
This is gonna be awesome.
Three, two, one! Go! [Tires squealing.]
And stop! [Tires screech.]
Come on, come on, come on, come on.
Okay, wait.
It's gonna be five seconds.
Five, four, three, two, one.
[Electricity crackles.]
Ohh! It smells terrible.
Foust: Adding insult to injury What's buzzing? We're given a little box of horrors.
Ohh! And later You will believe a car can fly.
Ferrara: We were screaming across Florida in three mighty muscle cars, competing to see which two of us can outgun the other and face off in a drag race.
And stop! Our first challenge was a test of our reaction time with a quarter-mile run involving three stops and an electrified steering wheel.
[Electricity crackles .]
Ohh! Ow! That hurt! Son of a that's hard! [Laughs.]
Man! There's the red light.
Stop, stop.
[Tires screech.]
Go, go, go.
[Electricity crackles.]
Ow! Geez, that hurt! Holy crap! And stop! [Tires screech.]
This close?! Really?! Oh, that's funny.
Wait, wait, wait.
Wait for it.
[Laughing.]
What's wrong with you guys? I'm two feet away! He wants to hit the steering wheel, but he knows it's just gonna shock him.
Big girl's mad.
He still has the beard.
You look like someone just stole your hot rod.
I was like two feet away! It's not us.
That was the third one.
Yeah, we had three.
I think it's just this car is so fast you guys couldn't even hit the red light.
Yeah, that must be it.
Wow, that is exciting.
[Laughs.]
I don't know what that thing's hooked up to If it's a car battery or an aircraft carrier.
When that thing goes off, it really jolts you.
Does it hurt? It really, really hurts.
Okay.
Well, 53 seconds is where the counts are.
I've got a pretty good reaction time, so you guys are in trouble.
[Scoffs.]
You kidding me? Oh, you should go next, then.
Hey.
You just put your life in my hands.
This is the best day ever.
No, because I'm not gonna jump the start, so I'm not worried about a thing.
I got this in the bag.
I have the most horsepower.
Get a good launch, get up, stop, don't jump the light.
I'll be fine, unless, of course, all this electricity gives me a heart attack.
That could severely hurt my time.
You've ridden in a car with him just recreationally.
He will run almost any light he sees.
So I don't know.
He might just get shocked the entire way down.
It's like he's got those swollen hands, like big mitts, and he just doesn't get anything through them.
He's like the incredible hulk out there.
Yeah, he's just big mitt hands.
Here we go.
How do your hands feel? You know what? They're a little sweaty, and that makes me nervous because I think that conducts electricity.
So let me just dry them off a minute.
In three, two, one [Tires screech.]
- That thing's fast.
- And stop! [Tires screech.]
Okay, here we go.
Now, green light, green light, green light, green light.
[Electricity crackles.]
Aah! Ow! Oh, that hurt! And stop! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Red light, red light, red light, red light.
[Electricity crackles.]
Aah! Ohh! Three, two, one, stop! There's the light.
[Tires screech.]
[Electricity crackles.]
Ow! Ohh! Aah! Ow, that hurt! [Sighs.]
Oh, yeah.
57 seconds there, shocker.
How many times did it get you? Uh, three.
Did it actually hurt your hand? No, I punched the steering wheel.
What? Why'd you punch the wheel? 'Cause it pissed me off.
Okay, it's a reactive I don't think I don't think you can explain it.
How much time did you have? 53.
Another reason I hate you both.
You're worried, aren't you? You're nervous.
You got a pacemaker, anything we should know about? Did it leave marks on your hand? Just when I punched it.
Oh.
I don't resort to violence like that.
[Foust sighs.]
Well, it is really, really tight.
I mean, those guys both jumped the starts.
They took a little bit of a shock, but I'll be honest with you You almost have to jump a start or two in order to win this one.
He's the smallest one out of all of us.
So gonna cause the most damage with that much electricity going through his tiny, little body.
Hey, I just don't want to develop some sort of conditioned response to fear the steering wheel 'cause the steering wheel's my friend.
I've made a life just around this single piece of hardware.
You know that car, I think, has less power than these two.
It does.
That's the best part.
But it's got him, which is annoying.
Here we go, in three, two, one, go.
[Engine revving.]
Stop.
That's red.
That's red.
And green.
Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go! And stop.
That's red.
Come on, green.
I'm going.
[Electricity crackles.]
Ow All right, we got one more.
One more stop.
Get him close.
And stop.
[Tires screech.]
Green, green, green, green, green, green, green.
[Engine revs.]
There it is! Whoo-hoo! Yeah, that had to have been less! [Tires squealing.]
That's good right there.
That's good right there.
[Coughing.]
What was my time? You're not gonna believe this.
It's 54 seconds.
You're right.
I don't believe that.
Sorry.
I mean, this stopwatch doesn't lie.
Nope, it's right here if you want to see it.
- 54 seconds.
- Right there.
That means I won.
No, it doesn't.
Yeah.
And it means you beat me by three seconds.
And you're a racecar driver.
- You should be ashamed of yourself.
- Ooh.
A racecar driver.
- I'm gonna do some more donuts.
- Three seconds.
For our next challenge, the steering wheel of death was removed, and cute little cones with brightly colored flags were added.
Wood: A lot of flags.
Foust: That is a lot of flags.
Ferrara: Three lanes, three cars.
Do you guys have a box in your car? Yes.
I do, as well.
I'm almost afraid to ask what we're doing here.
[Insects buzzing.]
Do you hear that? Do you smell that? Was that you? No.
I didn't eat dairy, did I? "Super-high horsepower and lightning acceleration "means even a small mistake "could result in losing, or worse.
"To see which of you can stay "the most composed under pressure, you and your passengers" Sweet.
"will compete on an obstacle course.
The lowest heart rate wins.
" Passengers? Heart rate? Please, lord, let that be a box of kittens.
[Insects buzzing.]
God.
What's buzzing? Oh, oh, and it smells terrible.
I don't know what's in this box next to me, but it is buzzing, and the car smells putrid.
Okay, so I think we all have buzzing and stinking going on, right? It clearly smells like poop, and it is buzzing like crazy.
There is something mad in there.
[Beeping.]
You hear that beeping? That's my heart.
I'm hooked up to a heart monitor.
I have to drive this slalom course, spin around, and come back after I open this box.
Inside it could be bees.
They could be a bunch of angry crickets.
Now, I have, in a formula car, had a bee get into my helmet, and I will say it's very easy to crash a car if one tiny little bee flying around your helmet.
This sounds like more than one bee.
I got in a rental car in Arizona once, and there was a scorpion in my car.
That is not an easy situation to drive.
My heart rate's gone up because of the buzzing, I think.
I don't like I don't like These could be poisonous bugs.
[Flute plays.]
The key here is to keep my heart rate down.
It's just another wonderful day here on God's green earth.
[Flute plays.]
And I'm gonna Easy, heart beat.
I'm just gonna run this race.
I'm gonna cruise on down.
I'm gonna spin around.
I'm gonna come on back.
I can hear the heart rate going up a little bit.
Still 61.
Okay.
If we can keep it in that range, I think I got this nailed.
[Exhales.]
Foust: In three Oh, gosh.
Hand on the box.
Hand on the box.
Fingers wrapped around the corner.
One.
Peel the corner.
Pull the box.
Ohh! Never gonna know what hit it.
Wood: A quiet little town [Engines roaring, horns blaring.]
Gets a "Top Gear" wake-up call.
[Laughs.]
This was a bad idea.
Whose idea was this? And later The race of a lifetime.
Ferrara: We were driving our amazing muscle cars through Florida on our way to the famous Gatornationals in Gainesville.
Two of us would get to race at the drag strip.
[Electricity crackles.]
And to everyone's shock, rut had actually won the first challenge.
In three Oh, gosh.
Now we were about to test how calmly we could drive under pressure by navigating an obstacle course after releasing whatever buzzing filth was in these boxes.
One.
Peel the corner.
Pull the box.
Ohh! Ohh! Ohh! Oh, God! Oh, my God, there's a ton of them! [Yells indistinctly.]
That's it.
Ohh! Count off the race! [Flute playing.]
[Humming.]
Everything's fine.
Oh, God! Here we go, in three, two, one, go.
Ohh! Wood: These guys could rush all they wanted, but I was taking a less heart-pounding approach.
There we go.
Okay, I do have one little advantage.
I have power windows.
Ohh.
Get out of here.
[Insects buzzing.]
Oh, God! [Beeping.]
Ohh! Ohh! Wood: Ohh, I mean, the entire passenger seat is covered in flies.
That is the worst thing I've ever seen.
Get me the out of this thing! I got a fly in my ear! There's a fly in my ear! There's a fly in my ear! Ohh! Where is Rutledge? [Slow jazz plays.]
Wood: This is great.
I'm having a lovely day.
I'm so sorry, guys.
I was just back there being totally cool with my heart rate.
Ugh! Wow.
Well, that was pleasant.
That was nasty.
That was just disgusting.
How was your heart rate, though? Highest was 108.
That was when I was going fast.
My highest was 111.
Okay.
What? I drink a lot of coffee.
Mine was 94.
Get no, it wasn't.
And it looks like you guys each hit a cone.
How do you have a heart rate of 94? You get excited when you see a Ferris wheel.
I was just out on a Sunday drive, just me and some flies.
What? You know, it wasn't about how fast you can go.
It was about keeping your heart rate down Being focused, not being distracted.
That's what it's like on a drag strip.
Yeah, there's always flies on a drag strip.
And it's always about how fast you can go.
Pretty much.
For the record.
Hmm.
Concentration.
Yeah, that's right.
"Did you win the drag race?" "No, but I was really centered.
" Do you know how fly hearts work? It's really interesting.
The muscles that actually flap their wings move fluid through their bodies.
They got these five little sacs around their wing muscles, and that's what pumps the fluid around.
I'd rather be in here with the flies than listening to him.
To the drag strip we go.
Let's go.
Ferrara: Unbelievably, our large-headed friend had just won two challenges in a row and secured his place in a pro drag race.
So we hit the road in search of a tiebreaker for Tanner and me.
I really want to race in this drag race in a real drag car.
I'll be honest when I was a kid, I had a crappy car.
When everybody else was racing, I really couldn't.
I had an '81 Dodge Aries "K.
" Where am I going? But now I have the opportunity to race in a real drag car at an nhra drag track.
[Chuckles.]
Vengeance is mine.
Tanner, how are we gonna break this tie? Name it.
How about who can put stuff away on the top shelf? That's not funny.
How about a car-alarm challenge? We go through a street.
Whoever can set off the most car alarms wins on one street.
I am in, my friend.
We're gonna have ourselves an old-fashioned showdown! Oh, boy, look at this, huh? This is a great little town.
Foust: We came upon the lovely, unsuspecting town of High Springs, Florida, the perfect place to let our monsters roar.
Never gonna know what hit it.
Okay, hold up here.
This is perfect.
This is perfect.
We found a quaint street filled with sleeping automobiles.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
This is it.
It was time to wake them up, but we had to act fast.
Pretty nice little patch here.
So here's the deal, you're the judge.
Okay, we'll count how many he sets off.
All right, fellas.
I'm letting the big dog growl.
All right, Adam, let it rip.
[Engine roaring.]
That hurts my ears.
It does hurt my ears.
[Roaring continues.]
[Alarms blaring.]
There's one.
There's one.
[Chuckles.]
There's two.
- Where? - Oh, the van, okay.
Three.
[Laughs.]
Even with 720 horsepower, Adam only got 3.
Maybe this was harder than it seemed.
[Engine roaring.]
Oh, my God.
I feel like we should get out of here.
This was a bad idea.
Whose idea was this? It wasn't my idea.
We got away from Adam's three-alarm ruckus as quickly as we could to let the alarms settle.
And by the time we came around again, it was standing room only.
Are you ready, Tanner? Are you ready? You got to beat three.
All right, gents, here goes.
Horsepower alone didn't work for Adam, so I had to get creative.
There was no way I was gonna let him drive in that drag race.
What did you say? You're gonna let the big girl growl or something? Big dog growl! Whatever.
Wood: Here we go, in three, two, one, go.
[Engine roaring.]
Wait a minute.
Here we go.
Ferrara: Rut's driving blind.
I can't get out.
And later One of us takes flight.
Wood: Whoa! Foust: Adam and I were in a tiebreaker to see who could set off the most car alarms.
If I could get more than three, I'd be facing rut in a bona fide drag race.
Wood: Here we go, in three, two, one, go.
[Engine roaring.]
Wait a minute.
[Roaring continues.]
Foust: Yeah! Wood: Go, baby, go! [Alarm blaring.]
Oh, yeah! There's one! Funny thing is I actually don't see them.
I can only hear them 'cause you see all that tire smoke? [Roaring continues.]
[Cheers and applause.]
I see one, two, three, four, five.
[Alarms blaring.]
How many did I set off? Shut up.
I'm going to a drag race! Whoo-hoo! Tough break, kid.
I hate you.
Those marks will be there for a year.
Wood: Tanner's second-gear burnout and the raw power of the mustang had prevailed.
And like two kids on Christmas Eve, we couldn't wait for the next day.
So after a restless night, Tanner and I headed off to the gatornationals to fulfill our drag-racing dreams.
Announcer: Gainesville has seen an awful lot of history here, but here's a little history that even the gatornationals has never before seen.
Head-to-head match race between Rutledge Wood and Tanner Foust.
Wood: The auto plus speedway in Gainesville, Florida, home to the national hot rod association's 45th annual running of the Gatornationals Where countless speed records have been set in top fuel, funny car, and pro stock racing.
It was here that we would be put to the ultimate test of mind, mechanics, and muscle, as the loser, Adam, headed to the spectator stands and Tanner and I went off in search of our racecars.
Wood: Oh, wow.
What we discovered were two drag machines more glorious and powerful than we could have ever imagined.
Foust: Holy crap! Oh, this is it.
That's the real deal right there.
That's a 2011 Dodge Challenger drag pack.
Drag pack? Really? Yeah.
Isn't that a carry-on piece of No, these are drag-pack cars.
That means you can't drive them on the street.
They're just made for guys like us that want to go drag racing.
That's from the factory 845 horsepower out of a viper v-10, 720 pound-feet of torque.
It's got a two-speed power glide.
I bet that thing will do a quarter mile in nine seconds.
- Is it turbocharged? - No.
It's normal 845 It's naturally aspirated, just raw, 10 cylinders of fury.
Wow.
Okay, well, the original is the supercharged 5.
4-liter, 750 horsepower Ford mustang cobra jet.
Zero to 60 in less than 2 seconds.
That's faster than a Ferrari.
It's faster than basically everything.
And you can just buy it from the factory.
These are scary-fast.
The scary part is I got to drive right next to you the whole time.
Oh, that's real funny.
Real nice.
No, but seriously, that's You know, for me, I'm scared because you're used to turning, and this, you just go straight, that's it.
You just go straight, and then you're done.
But you get to do a burn-out.
You do get to do a burn-out.
Have you been practicing your burn-outs? We're in the South.
You know I have.
Everywhere I go.
When you do the burn-out, you can't put your arm up on the roof like you normally do.
Like, "hold my beer!" Yeah.
Foust: Rut and I were gonna go head-to-head in a best-of-three drag race in less than two hours.
And since we've never driven beasts quite as bad as these, it was probably a good idea to give them a test run.
This thing is crazy.
I mean, it looks like a regular challenger in here, except there's a roll cage.
It's missing the back seat, and it has sport seats up front.
I have a complete set of switches here.
Okay, here we go.
Here goes nothing.
Firing it up.
[Engine purring.]
I'm just gonna give it a little bit of Holy kill.
[Engine roaring.]
Now, this, unlike a normal mustang, has a giant tachometer, a giant shift light because everything's happening so fast you can't even look at the numbers on the tach.
You have to see the shift light.
I got four switches to fire it up Fan, inner cooler, fuel pump, ignition.
Fire in the hole.
[Engine roaring.]
Oh, that's rich.
That is rich.
It may have been rich for me, but how would Rut handle all that power under his delicate right foot? [Engine humming.]
Do you hear that? [Imitates engine humming.]
[Laughing.]
Whoa! This thing is so insane.
It's so angry.
I'm just gonna see how the gas works.
[Engine revs.]
Ohh! Wood: Tanner and I were at the Gatornationals, test-driving the monsters we were gonna be racing in a real drag race in a matter of hours.
I'm just gonna see how the gas works on this.
[Engine revs.]
Ohh, this is gonna be awesome! Did you see that?! Did you see that?! This isn't, like, we're just at a drag strip.
No, this is a for-real drag race in a really fast car.
I'm gonna be honest I'm a little bit worried.
[Engine roaring.]
Whoa, that's what I'm Oh, my God! This is gonna be gnarly.
Foust: That driving around was just a tease.
Rut and I decided to take our test drive further with a challenge.
As part of a rigorous safety test, pro drivers must be able to escape their cars within 10 seconds with their eyes closed.
So we were gonna do our own timed blindfold test.
All right, Tanner, you know what you're doing? I'm sitting in a drag-race car with a blindfold.
Perfect.
When I say "go," put the blindfold on, do your seat belt, start the car, go 50 feet through the flags, stop it, undo the seat belt, get out, and then I'll stop your time.
You know, under normal circumstances, the nhra would probably ban us for doing this.
Well, this isn't the actual NHRA test.
This is just, you know This is for us See who's more awesome.
Fine.
Okay.
And you know what, I've stood in better places before.
Ready? All right, here we go.
Drop the blindfold in three, two, one, go! Okay.
Harness is in.
That's one.
Probably fumbling with the belts right now.
And that's two.
And finding switches.
One, two, three, four.
Start button.
[Engine roars.]
First gear.
Here we go! There he goes.
One, two, three, stop.
He's through the flags.
Okay, all right.
Switches down.
Get out of the car.
Get out of the car.
Get out of the car.
And, oh, having a little trouble.
I'm stuck! Oh, can't get out? I'm stuck! It was perfect distance, right? - What happened? - It went 50 feet.
Did you fall? No, I'm fine.
What was the time? 30 seconds.
Beautiful.
I can do that with my eyes closed.
Ha, ha, funny.
Oh, that's good.
That's funny.
That's funny stuff.
I thought I was gonna run him over, but I made it halfway.
[Laughs.]
Oh, the thing's loud.
And it is proud.
Having been able to throw myself from my mustang while setting a respectable time of 30 seconds, it was down to rut and his challenger to do their worst.
I'm almost completely blind without my glasses, so I really think it's an advantage.
I just hope that he buttered up a little bit to squeeze out of that thing.
All right, rut.
Say something again.
I can't find the walkie.
Sorry, I took my glasses off.
I couldn't find the walkie talkie.
I'm ready.
Wait.
Are you buckled up already? Nope, nope.
Not buckled.
I'm ready.
In three, two, one.
Cover your eyes.
Okay.
Come on, seat belt.
He is not moving.
Pushing buttons.
Two, three, four.
Hasn't started yet.
[Engine roars.]
It started.
Crap.
All right.
Here we go.
Holy crap, he's going fast.
Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop! [Brakes screech.]
Rut! What the hell was that?! Where's the handle? I can't get out! Stop the clock! You were like a foot! Stop the clock! No, your thing's still on.
All right, I'll stop the clock.
Wow, this thing is fast.
I mean, I feathered it, just [Whistles.]
and then sorry.
Yeah, that was probably pretty scary for you.
[Laughs.]
Yeah.
Can you see me right now? How many fingers am I holding up? No clue.
32 seconds, by the way.
You lose.
Funny thing is I put my glasses on the console, and when I hit it So you can't find your glasses right now? I'm gonna need your help.
I see exactly where they are.
I really am gonna need help.
I'll come back after lunch and find your glasses for you.
Wood: With the fun and games over, it was time to get down to the serious business at hand.
Time to separate the men from the boys in our head-to-head drag race.
The winner would be decided in a best of three.
Drag racing is all about lightning-fast reaction times, having the focus of a sniper, and the testicles of an extremely large bull.
As Adam lacked all of these qualities, he was stuck in the stands.
This is bull [Engines roaring.]
Announcer: And here we go.
We're gonna line up for the showdown.
The folks at "Top Gear" here at the 45th annual Amalie motor oil Gatornationals.
All right, best out of three, fellas.
Let's see it.
Foust: Rut and I were about to put ourselves to the ultimate test.
Holy crap, I got nerves right now.
Wood: As we were getting ready, i tried to remember to keep my heart rate under control, which, oddly enough, was easier with a car full of flies.
Foust: You almost ready, Rut? I'm ready, brother.
Hey, I just want you to know I love you, and I miss Adam.
Gonna be okay, buddy.
Just wait till you see green, then go.
No pressure.
Just don't red light.
Announcer: Rutledge Wood in the Lucas oil lane.
Tanner Foust here in the summit lane.
And Adam Ferrara in the stands! Drag pack vs.
Cobra jet.
Here we go.
Take a deep breath.
[Heart pounding slowly.]
[Beeps.]
Wow! Wood: Tanner and I were facing off in a real drag race at the famous Gatornationals in Florida, and we were about to take our first run of three.
[Beeps.]
[Engines roaring.]
Oh! Oh, my! The sheer power had lifted the front wheels, forcing me to take my foot off the gas, handing Tanner, whose eyes had almost popped out of his head, the advantage.
Announcer: And there goes Tanner Ffoust.
9:09.
5, 150.
And Rut goes 11.
80 with a 3 at 93.
Holy Whoo! Whoo! Foust: Run was over in less than 10 seconds.
Despite all the races I've done, you never quite get used to that first shot of adrenaline.
That's what I'm talking about! This car was awesome, and I couldn't wait to line up again.
Announcer: You saw in the last run it was Tanner foust that got down there and lit the scoreboard up.
Now we'll find out if Rutledge can get even.
Wood: After the humiliation of the first run, i had to win the second to stay in the game.
Burn 'em up, rut! [Beeps.]
Announcer: Rutledge gets off the starting line first.
Is that gonna be enough to hold off? Ford is coming.
Holy And not gonna get there.
Check it out.
On a hole shot.
Oh, rut got him! Rut tied it up! Holy That was awesome! Wood: I had beaten Tanner Foust.
Yeah! Announcer: So Rutledge Wood picks up that one in the match race, and I do believe that makes them one apiece.
Wood: The last run.
A chance to finally silence Tanner.
Oh, man, this is it.
[Choir chanting.]
Come on, boys.
[Beeps.]
Announcer: And the wheels get Whoa, Rutledge is on the bumper! Wood: Whoa! It came down like a ton of bricks.
Holy That thing's dead hooked and stood straight up.
Wow.
Holy Foust: Rut's giant wheelie meant that my cobra jet and I were victorious.
And my honor had been saved.
All right.
That's it.
What the [Grunts.]
Get me out of this thing.
[Adam laughing.]
Holy crap.
Oh, my Yes! [Laughs.]
I'm so sorry about that.
Dude, that's the craziest thing we have ever done.
Wow! I'm in the stands.
That's the biggest wheel stand they've ever had here in the history of the Gatornationals.
What? Yes.
No way.
Let's break it down.
Obviously, on the first run, I got a little bit of a jump, okay? So, yeah, congrats, you won that.
I was barely there.
The second I was guessing you burped and launched accidentally, but it timed out perfectly.
The second, you might have noticed, I was a rocket ship.
And on the third, I went for a scenic tour of the skyline.
Did you see my car? Everyone saw your car.
You scared the hell out of me.
Why do you guys call me the crazy one after what he just did? I saw in the peripheral vision I saw [Imitates engine roaring.]
like this.
I think I dragged the rear bumper.
All I saw was, "hey, what's up?" I should get down.
" Dude.
So, the first two races were really good, though.
I mean, these things are so fast.
The fact that you can buy them is unbelievable.
Your front wheels were never on the ground.
That's how it felt in my heart, too.
Dumbest thing I've ever done.
When they came down on the ground, how did it feel in your heart? Real hard.
Good.
And you know what? And they were straight and you didn't eat the wall.
Anyway, I'm glad you're okay, also.
But in summary You won.
Great.
Oh, my gosh.
Say it again.
Do you guys want to go watch some real racing now? Yeah, I want to see the top fuel guys.
Let's do that.
Those guys are nuts.
I don't know if you guys remember I did win the skills challenge.
And so, kind of, I won.
That was just a build-up to the big finale.
Okay, first of all, no drag racer trains with 60,000 flies in their car.
Ohh! But only two of us get a chance to face off in a real drag race.
[birds chirping.]
[Vehicle approaching.]
Wood: Muscle cars Aggressive, stylish, and built to race.
[Tires screeching.]
[Western-themed music plays.]
What you need to win a drag race is a great car with a lot of horsepower Insanely quick acceleration [Exhales sharply.]
And a perfect reaction time.
[Wind howling.]
[Laughs.]
See ya! Oh, my God, that Camaro's fast! But Adam's just a little too much on the right! Come on! Oh, damn it! [Wood laughs.]
How insane was that? I am so glad that road was closed.
We could never do that normally.
I know.
We have to write gainesville a thank-you note for letting us do that.
Wood: Muscle cars have been at the heart of American car culture for decades.
Designed as Detroit's response to the hot rod, their purpose to this day is simple To go fast in a straight line and to look cool doing it.
We were told to pick our race-worthy muscle cars and meet in gainesville, Florida, home to some of the fastest car racing in the world.
And to pack in even more muscle, we all chose resto mods that have been upgraded with as much power as modern technology could provide.
Ooh! [Laughs.]
These are fast.
- Big girl can run.
- Oh, yeah.
I mean, that's what makes a resto mod so great.
You know, it's restoration and modification.
It's making an old car better than it ever was at the beginning.
Absolutely.
I mean, look at this.
Foust: 1967 g.
T.
500 mustang, immortalized by nic cage in "gone in 60 seconds.
" This beauty was immaculately restored and modified for a mere $149,000, sanctioned by the late and great carroll shelby.
It's got a brand-new fuel-injected 5-liter coyote motor, bringing it from 350 horsepower up to a monstrous 500 horsepower.
[Engine revs.]
Doesn't have a key fob, but it still looks bad In its '67 skin.
It's purdy.
I mean, how about the '72 dodge charger s.
E.
? Originally came with 280 horsepower.
Now a little more.
Wood: They chose a charger for the bad guys in Steve McQueen's "bullitt," probably because of the menacing hammerhead front grill.
This one was lovingly built by a guy named Bill from Tennessee for 90,000 bucks.
It's got a 6.
4-liter fuel-injected hemi that bumps the horsepower from 280 to 560, not to mention the insane road-hugging 18-inch tires, and my favorite part [Chuckles.]
What's under the hood of that? You mean under this beautiful '68 Camaro? Ferrara: A red-hot Camaro.
I wouldn't have it any other way.
This was Chevy's ultimate muscle car.
And this little heart-breaker was restored to the tune of 150k.
Originally, if you got it with the 396 350 horsepower.
This has an lS2 in it.
Guess how many horsepower.
You're never gonna guess.
I'm gonna tell you 720 horsepower.
What? 661 pound-feet of torque.
It has a roll cage in it.
Yeah.
You're gonna die.
Why should this episode be any different? Look, gentlemen, the point is this We all picked resto mods, so we all kind of cheated.
I just cheated better, that's all.
So, what are we doing? "You've been entered in a professional-level drag race, taking place tomorrow" Good God.
"driving the quickest production vehicles ever made, capable of zero to 60 in less than two seconds.
" That is really fast.
And dangerous.
[Clears throat.]
"On your way to the race, "you'll compete in a number of challenges "to determine which of you has the skills it takes to be a successful drag racer.
" [Imitates engine roaring.]
Reaction time.
Just like that.
That's it right there.
"Only two of you will have the chance to compete.
Your first challenge is 10 miles away.
" Oh.
It's a knockout race.
Only two of us get to drive.
What do you do to prepare for that? Drive fast? Okay.
I can do that.
Yeah.
I can do that, too.
I got a pretty good reaction time.
You've seen me at Taco Tuesday.
I know.
I dropped a cheetah once.
He grabbed it before it hit the floor.
[Laughs.]
[Engine turns over.]
We were on our way to the first challenge just 10 Miles away, but in these cars, we would have happily driven 100.
Wood: Have you ever seen a better-looking '72 Charger that didn't have the number 43 for Richard Petty on the side? I don't think so.
They told us to show up with cars that were race-ready, and that's why I picked this charger.
It's perfect to do almost any kind of racing Drag racing, road racing, you name it.
This car could do it all.
[Engine revs.]
Ferrara: This is the best of both worlds.
I get a cool-looking car that works.
It's got 720 horsepower.
It's got 14-inch brakes.
It handles.
Recaro seats, six-speed transmission.
It's a racecar! Foust: This is a great car.
It's fast.
It's got the right gear ratio.
It's got good engineering in the differential, good reliability in the engine.
And it sounds freaking awesome.
[Engine revving.]
Yeah! Gentlemen, I really want to start talking trash about your cars, but I love them both.
But Adam's car is wicked-fast.
[Laughs.]
Wow! That Camaro has 220 horsepower more than this car.
It's unbelievable.
Listen to this.
[Engine humming.]
It sounds like Chewbacca.
[Engine humming.]
What is it, chewy? Our first challenge had brought us to a place that had seen more than its fair share of powerful machines moving quickly The keystone heights airstrip.
Yeah.
Check this place out.
Vintage power and vintage muscle together.
How great is this? I feel pretty American.
What are we doing here? Wood: We were going to test our reaction speed by racing a quarter-mile runway while stopping and starting three times.
A red light would tell us when to stop, and after a five-second interval, the green light would appear.
If we were to run the green light, we'd get shocked by an electrified steering wheel.
Fastest time would win.
Electrified steering wheel? So if we jump the light, we get a shock.
When you're at a drag strip with a pro tree, if you leave early, you're gonna get a red light and your time won't count.
It's all about getting the fastest reaction time.
Condition us.
Like pavlovian dogs.
You're the closest thing to a St.
Bernard we have, so you go first.
[Scoffs.]
Gladly.
I'm gonna show you guys how a man does it.
Okay.
You gonna go pick one up on your way? Tanner and Adam were equipped with a remote control to signal when I had to stop.
But avoiding electric shock That was all up to me.
Feels weird holding a steering wheel that has bare wire exposed on it.
So I've got a box in front of me with a green light, a red light, and a huge red light.
I'm gonna go on the green, stop on the little red.
If the big red's going off, that means I left early, and I'm gonna get electrocuted.
The question is how tight on the green light can I get without being shocked? Ferrara: The first shock hits him He's gonna pee in his seat.
And then the second shock hits worse, right, if you're sitting in liquid? Everything's just gonna come out of him.
What I don't know is how bad this shock is gonna be.
By the third time, the beard's gonna fall off.
You think? It'll just flake.
Everything just comes right out.
It'll turn gray, and then, poof, down.
Adam, I don't think, has ever seen a drag strip.
Tanner's probably been around some before, but I really think this is my event right here.
All right, you ready, pal? I'm ready to show you how good my reaction time is.
Oh, my gosh.
This is gonna be awesome.
Three, two, one! Go! [Tires squealing.]
And stop! [Tires screech.]
Come on, come on, come on, come on.
Okay, wait.
It's gonna be five seconds.
Five, four, three, two, one.
[Electricity crackles.]
Ohh! It smells terrible.
Foust: Adding insult to injury What's buzzing? We're given a little box of horrors.
Ohh! And later You will believe a car can fly.
Ferrara: We were screaming across Florida in three mighty muscle cars, competing to see which two of us can outgun the other and face off in a drag race.
And stop! Our first challenge was a test of our reaction time with a quarter-mile run involving three stops and an electrified steering wheel.
[Electricity crackles .]
Ohh! Ow! That hurt! Son of a that's hard! [Laughs.]
Man! There's the red light.
Stop, stop.
[Tires screech.]
Go, go, go.
[Electricity crackles.]
Ow! Geez, that hurt! Holy crap! And stop! [Tires screech.]
This close?! Really?! Oh, that's funny.
Wait, wait, wait.
Wait for it.
[Laughing.]
What's wrong with you guys? I'm two feet away! He wants to hit the steering wheel, but he knows it's just gonna shock him.
Big girl's mad.
He still has the beard.
You look like someone just stole your hot rod.
I was like two feet away! It's not us.
That was the third one.
Yeah, we had three.
I think it's just this car is so fast you guys couldn't even hit the red light.
Yeah, that must be it.
Wow, that is exciting.
[Laughs.]
I don't know what that thing's hooked up to If it's a car battery or an aircraft carrier.
When that thing goes off, it really jolts you.
Does it hurt? It really, really hurts.
Okay.
Well, 53 seconds is where the counts are.
I've got a pretty good reaction time, so you guys are in trouble.
[Scoffs.]
You kidding me? Oh, you should go next, then.
Hey.
You just put your life in my hands.
This is the best day ever.
No, because I'm not gonna jump the start, so I'm not worried about a thing.
I got this in the bag.
I have the most horsepower.
Get a good launch, get up, stop, don't jump the light.
I'll be fine, unless, of course, all this electricity gives me a heart attack.
That could severely hurt my time.
You've ridden in a car with him just recreationally.
He will run almost any light he sees.
So I don't know.
He might just get shocked the entire way down.
It's like he's got those swollen hands, like big mitts, and he just doesn't get anything through them.
He's like the incredible hulk out there.
Yeah, he's just big mitt hands.
Here we go.
How do your hands feel? You know what? They're a little sweaty, and that makes me nervous because I think that conducts electricity.
So let me just dry them off a minute.
In three, two, one [Tires screech.]
- That thing's fast.
- And stop! [Tires screech.]
Okay, here we go.
Now, green light, green light, green light, green light.
[Electricity crackles.]
Aah! Ow! Oh, that hurt! And stop! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Red light, red light, red light, red light.
[Electricity crackles.]
Aah! Ohh! Three, two, one, stop! There's the light.
[Tires screech.]
[Electricity crackles.]
Ow! Ohh! Aah! Ow, that hurt! [Sighs.]
Oh, yeah.
57 seconds there, shocker.
How many times did it get you? Uh, three.
Did it actually hurt your hand? No, I punched the steering wheel.
What? Why'd you punch the wheel? 'Cause it pissed me off.
Okay, it's a reactive I don't think I don't think you can explain it.
How much time did you have? 53.
Another reason I hate you both.
You're worried, aren't you? You're nervous.
You got a pacemaker, anything we should know about? Did it leave marks on your hand? Just when I punched it.
Oh.
I don't resort to violence like that.
[Foust sighs.]
Well, it is really, really tight.
I mean, those guys both jumped the starts.
They took a little bit of a shock, but I'll be honest with you You almost have to jump a start or two in order to win this one.
He's the smallest one out of all of us.
So gonna cause the most damage with that much electricity going through his tiny, little body.
Hey, I just don't want to develop some sort of conditioned response to fear the steering wheel 'cause the steering wheel's my friend.
I've made a life just around this single piece of hardware.
You know that car, I think, has less power than these two.
It does.
That's the best part.
But it's got him, which is annoying.
Here we go, in three, two, one, go.
[Engine revving.]
Stop.
That's red.
That's red.
And green.
Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go! And stop.
That's red.
Come on, green.
I'm going.
[Electricity crackles.]
Ow All right, we got one more.
One more stop.
Get him close.
And stop.
[Tires screech.]
Green, green, green, green, green, green, green.
[Engine revs.]
There it is! Whoo-hoo! Yeah, that had to have been less! [Tires squealing.]
That's good right there.
That's good right there.
[Coughing.]
What was my time? You're not gonna believe this.
It's 54 seconds.
You're right.
I don't believe that.
Sorry.
I mean, this stopwatch doesn't lie.
Nope, it's right here if you want to see it.
- 54 seconds.
- Right there.
That means I won.
No, it doesn't.
Yeah.
And it means you beat me by three seconds.
And you're a racecar driver.
- You should be ashamed of yourself.
- Ooh.
A racecar driver.
- I'm gonna do some more donuts.
- Three seconds.
For our next challenge, the steering wheel of death was removed, and cute little cones with brightly colored flags were added.
Wood: A lot of flags.
Foust: That is a lot of flags.
Ferrara: Three lanes, three cars.
Do you guys have a box in your car? Yes.
I do, as well.
I'm almost afraid to ask what we're doing here.
[Insects buzzing.]
Do you hear that? Do you smell that? Was that you? No.
I didn't eat dairy, did I? "Super-high horsepower and lightning acceleration "means even a small mistake "could result in losing, or worse.
"To see which of you can stay "the most composed under pressure, you and your passengers" Sweet.
"will compete on an obstacle course.
The lowest heart rate wins.
" Passengers? Heart rate? Please, lord, let that be a box of kittens.
[Insects buzzing.]
God.
What's buzzing? Oh, oh, and it smells terrible.
I don't know what's in this box next to me, but it is buzzing, and the car smells putrid.
Okay, so I think we all have buzzing and stinking going on, right? It clearly smells like poop, and it is buzzing like crazy.
There is something mad in there.
[Beeping.]
You hear that beeping? That's my heart.
I'm hooked up to a heart monitor.
I have to drive this slalom course, spin around, and come back after I open this box.
Inside it could be bees.
They could be a bunch of angry crickets.
Now, I have, in a formula car, had a bee get into my helmet, and I will say it's very easy to crash a car if one tiny little bee flying around your helmet.
This sounds like more than one bee.
I got in a rental car in Arizona once, and there was a scorpion in my car.
That is not an easy situation to drive.
My heart rate's gone up because of the buzzing, I think.
I don't like I don't like These could be poisonous bugs.
[Flute plays.]
The key here is to keep my heart rate down.
It's just another wonderful day here on God's green earth.
[Flute plays.]
And I'm gonna Easy, heart beat.
I'm just gonna run this race.
I'm gonna cruise on down.
I'm gonna spin around.
I'm gonna come on back.
I can hear the heart rate going up a little bit.
Still 61.
Okay.
If we can keep it in that range, I think I got this nailed.
[Exhales.]
Foust: In three Oh, gosh.
Hand on the box.
Hand on the box.
Fingers wrapped around the corner.
One.
Peel the corner.
Pull the box.
Ohh! Never gonna know what hit it.
Wood: A quiet little town [Engines roaring, horns blaring.]
Gets a "Top Gear" wake-up call.
[Laughs.]
This was a bad idea.
Whose idea was this? And later The race of a lifetime.
Ferrara: We were driving our amazing muscle cars through Florida on our way to the famous Gatornationals in Gainesville.
Two of us would get to race at the drag strip.
[Electricity crackles.]
And to everyone's shock, rut had actually won the first challenge.
In three Oh, gosh.
Now we were about to test how calmly we could drive under pressure by navigating an obstacle course after releasing whatever buzzing filth was in these boxes.
One.
Peel the corner.
Pull the box.
Ohh! Ohh! Ohh! Oh, God! Oh, my God, there's a ton of them! [Yells indistinctly.]
That's it.
Ohh! Count off the race! [Flute playing.]
[Humming.]
Everything's fine.
Oh, God! Here we go, in three, two, one, go.
Ohh! Wood: These guys could rush all they wanted, but I was taking a less heart-pounding approach.
There we go.
Okay, I do have one little advantage.
I have power windows.
Ohh.
Get out of here.
[Insects buzzing.]
Oh, God! [Beeping.]
Ohh! Ohh! Wood: Ohh, I mean, the entire passenger seat is covered in flies.
That is the worst thing I've ever seen.
Get me the out of this thing! I got a fly in my ear! There's a fly in my ear! There's a fly in my ear! Ohh! Where is Rutledge? [Slow jazz plays.]
Wood: This is great.
I'm having a lovely day.
I'm so sorry, guys.
I was just back there being totally cool with my heart rate.
Ugh! Wow.
Well, that was pleasant.
That was nasty.
That was just disgusting.
How was your heart rate, though? Highest was 108.
That was when I was going fast.
My highest was 111.
Okay.
What? I drink a lot of coffee.
Mine was 94.
Get no, it wasn't.
And it looks like you guys each hit a cone.
How do you have a heart rate of 94? You get excited when you see a Ferris wheel.
I was just out on a Sunday drive, just me and some flies.
What? You know, it wasn't about how fast you can go.
It was about keeping your heart rate down Being focused, not being distracted.
That's what it's like on a drag strip.
Yeah, there's always flies on a drag strip.
And it's always about how fast you can go.
Pretty much.
For the record.
Hmm.
Concentration.
Yeah, that's right.
"Did you win the drag race?" "No, but I was really centered.
" Do you know how fly hearts work? It's really interesting.
The muscles that actually flap their wings move fluid through their bodies.
They got these five little sacs around their wing muscles, and that's what pumps the fluid around.
I'd rather be in here with the flies than listening to him.
To the drag strip we go.
Let's go.
Ferrara: Unbelievably, our large-headed friend had just won two challenges in a row and secured his place in a pro drag race.
So we hit the road in search of a tiebreaker for Tanner and me.
I really want to race in this drag race in a real drag car.
I'll be honest when I was a kid, I had a crappy car.
When everybody else was racing, I really couldn't.
I had an '81 Dodge Aries "K.
" Where am I going? But now I have the opportunity to race in a real drag car at an nhra drag track.
[Chuckles.]
Vengeance is mine.
Tanner, how are we gonna break this tie? Name it.
How about who can put stuff away on the top shelf? That's not funny.
How about a car-alarm challenge? We go through a street.
Whoever can set off the most car alarms wins on one street.
I am in, my friend.
We're gonna have ourselves an old-fashioned showdown! Oh, boy, look at this, huh? This is a great little town.
Foust: We came upon the lovely, unsuspecting town of High Springs, Florida, the perfect place to let our monsters roar.
Never gonna know what hit it.
Okay, hold up here.
This is perfect.
This is perfect.
We found a quaint street filled with sleeping automobiles.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
This is it.
It was time to wake them up, but we had to act fast.
Pretty nice little patch here.
So here's the deal, you're the judge.
Okay, we'll count how many he sets off.
All right, fellas.
I'm letting the big dog growl.
All right, Adam, let it rip.
[Engine roaring.]
That hurts my ears.
It does hurt my ears.
[Roaring continues.]
[Alarms blaring.]
There's one.
There's one.
[Chuckles.]
There's two.
- Where? - Oh, the van, okay.
Three.
[Laughs.]
Even with 720 horsepower, Adam only got 3.
Maybe this was harder than it seemed.
[Engine roaring.]
Oh, my God.
I feel like we should get out of here.
This was a bad idea.
Whose idea was this? It wasn't my idea.
We got away from Adam's three-alarm ruckus as quickly as we could to let the alarms settle.
And by the time we came around again, it was standing room only.
Are you ready, Tanner? Are you ready? You got to beat three.
All right, gents, here goes.
Horsepower alone didn't work for Adam, so I had to get creative.
There was no way I was gonna let him drive in that drag race.
What did you say? You're gonna let the big girl growl or something? Big dog growl! Whatever.
Wood: Here we go, in three, two, one, go.
[Engine roaring.]
Wait a minute.
Here we go.
Ferrara: Rut's driving blind.
I can't get out.
And later One of us takes flight.
Wood: Whoa! Foust: Adam and I were in a tiebreaker to see who could set off the most car alarms.
If I could get more than three, I'd be facing rut in a bona fide drag race.
Wood: Here we go, in three, two, one, go.
[Engine roaring.]
Wait a minute.
[Roaring continues.]
Foust: Yeah! Wood: Go, baby, go! [Alarm blaring.]
Oh, yeah! There's one! Funny thing is I actually don't see them.
I can only hear them 'cause you see all that tire smoke? [Roaring continues.]
[Cheers and applause.]
I see one, two, three, four, five.
[Alarms blaring.]
How many did I set off? Shut up.
I'm going to a drag race! Whoo-hoo! Tough break, kid.
I hate you.
Those marks will be there for a year.
Wood: Tanner's second-gear burnout and the raw power of the mustang had prevailed.
And like two kids on Christmas Eve, we couldn't wait for the next day.
So after a restless night, Tanner and I headed off to the gatornationals to fulfill our drag-racing dreams.
Announcer: Gainesville has seen an awful lot of history here, but here's a little history that even the gatornationals has never before seen.
Head-to-head match race between Rutledge Wood and Tanner Foust.
Wood: The auto plus speedway in Gainesville, Florida, home to the national hot rod association's 45th annual running of the Gatornationals Where countless speed records have been set in top fuel, funny car, and pro stock racing.
It was here that we would be put to the ultimate test of mind, mechanics, and muscle, as the loser, Adam, headed to the spectator stands and Tanner and I went off in search of our racecars.
Wood: Oh, wow.
What we discovered were two drag machines more glorious and powerful than we could have ever imagined.
Foust: Holy crap! Oh, this is it.
That's the real deal right there.
That's a 2011 Dodge Challenger drag pack.
Drag pack? Really? Yeah.
Isn't that a carry-on piece of No, these are drag-pack cars.
That means you can't drive them on the street.
They're just made for guys like us that want to go drag racing.
That's from the factory 845 horsepower out of a viper v-10, 720 pound-feet of torque.
It's got a two-speed power glide.
I bet that thing will do a quarter mile in nine seconds.
- Is it turbocharged? - No.
It's normal 845 It's naturally aspirated, just raw, 10 cylinders of fury.
Wow.
Okay, well, the original is the supercharged 5.
4-liter, 750 horsepower Ford mustang cobra jet.
Zero to 60 in less than 2 seconds.
That's faster than a Ferrari.
It's faster than basically everything.
And you can just buy it from the factory.
These are scary-fast.
The scary part is I got to drive right next to you the whole time.
Oh, that's real funny.
Real nice.
No, but seriously, that's You know, for me, I'm scared because you're used to turning, and this, you just go straight, that's it.
You just go straight, and then you're done.
But you get to do a burn-out.
You do get to do a burn-out.
Have you been practicing your burn-outs? We're in the South.
You know I have.
Everywhere I go.
When you do the burn-out, you can't put your arm up on the roof like you normally do.
Like, "hold my beer!" Yeah.
Foust: Rut and I were gonna go head-to-head in a best-of-three drag race in less than two hours.
And since we've never driven beasts quite as bad as these, it was probably a good idea to give them a test run.
This thing is crazy.
I mean, it looks like a regular challenger in here, except there's a roll cage.
It's missing the back seat, and it has sport seats up front.
I have a complete set of switches here.
Okay, here we go.
Here goes nothing.
Firing it up.
[Engine purring.]
I'm just gonna give it a little bit of Holy kill.
[Engine roaring.]
Now, this, unlike a normal mustang, has a giant tachometer, a giant shift light because everything's happening so fast you can't even look at the numbers on the tach.
You have to see the shift light.
I got four switches to fire it up Fan, inner cooler, fuel pump, ignition.
Fire in the hole.
[Engine roaring.]
Oh, that's rich.
That is rich.
It may have been rich for me, but how would Rut handle all that power under his delicate right foot? [Engine humming.]
Do you hear that? [Imitates engine humming.]
[Laughing.]
Whoa! This thing is so insane.
It's so angry.
I'm just gonna see how the gas works.
[Engine revs.]
Ohh! Wood: Tanner and I were at the Gatornationals, test-driving the monsters we were gonna be racing in a real drag race in a matter of hours.
I'm just gonna see how the gas works on this.
[Engine revs.]
Ohh, this is gonna be awesome! Did you see that?! Did you see that?! This isn't, like, we're just at a drag strip.
No, this is a for-real drag race in a really fast car.
I'm gonna be honest I'm a little bit worried.
[Engine roaring.]
Whoa, that's what I'm Oh, my God! This is gonna be gnarly.
Foust: That driving around was just a tease.
Rut and I decided to take our test drive further with a challenge.
As part of a rigorous safety test, pro drivers must be able to escape their cars within 10 seconds with their eyes closed.
So we were gonna do our own timed blindfold test.
All right, Tanner, you know what you're doing? I'm sitting in a drag-race car with a blindfold.
Perfect.
When I say "go," put the blindfold on, do your seat belt, start the car, go 50 feet through the flags, stop it, undo the seat belt, get out, and then I'll stop your time.
You know, under normal circumstances, the nhra would probably ban us for doing this.
Well, this isn't the actual NHRA test.
This is just, you know This is for us See who's more awesome.
Fine.
Okay.
And you know what, I've stood in better places before.
Ready? All right, here we go.
Drop the blindfold in three, two, one, go! Okay.
Harness is in.
That's one.
Probably fumbling with the belts right now.
And that's two.
And finding switches.
One, two, three, four.
Start button.
[Engine roars.]
First gear.
Here we go! There he goes.
One, two, three, stop.
He's through the flags.
Okay, all right.
Switches down.
Get out of the car.
Get out of the car.
Get out of the car.
And, oh, having a little trouble.
I'm stuck! Oh, can't get out? I'm stuck! It was perfect distance, right? - What happened? - It went 50 feet.
Did you fall? No, I'm fine.
What was the time? 30 seconds.
Beautiful.
I can do that with my eyes closed.
Ha, ha, funny.
Oh, that's good.
That's funny.
That's funny stuff.
I thought I was gonna run him over, but I made it halfway.
[Laughs.]
Oh, the thing's loud.
And it is proud.
Having been able to throw myself from my mustang while setting a respectable time of 30 seconds, it was down to rut and his challenger to do their worst.
I'm almost completely blind without my glasses, so I really think it's an advantage.
I just hope that he buttered up a little bit to squeeze out of that thing.
All right, rut.
Say something again.
I can't find the walkie.
Sorry, I took my glasses off.
I couldn't find the walkie talkie.
I'm ready.
Wait.
Are you buckled up already? Nope, nope.
Not buckled.
I'm ready.
In three, two, one.
Cover your eyes.
Okay.
Come on, seat belt.
He is not moving.
Pushing buttons.
Two, three, four.
Hasn't started yet.
[Engine roars.]
It started.
Crap.
All right.
Here we go.
Holy crap, he's going fast.
Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop! [Brakes screech.]
Rut! What the hell was that?! Where's the handle? I can't get out! Stop the clock! You were like a foot! Stop the clock! No, your thing's still on.
All right, I'll stop the clock.
Wow, this thing is fast.
I mean, I feathered it, just [Whistles.]
and then sorry.
Yeah, that was probably pretty scary for you.
[Laughs.]
Yeah.
Can you see me right now? How many fingers am I holding up? No clue.
32 seconds, by the way.
You lose.
Funny thing is I put my glasses on the console, and when I hit it So you can't find your glasses right now? I'm gonna need your help.
I see exactly where they are.
I really am gonna need help.
I'll come back after lunch and find your glasses for you.
Wood: With the fun and games over, it was time to get down to the serious business at hand.
Time to separate the men from the boys in our head-to-head drag race.
The winner would be decided in a best of three.
Drag racing is all about lightning-fast reaction times, having the focus of a sniper, and the testicles of an extremely large bull.
As Adam lacked all of these qualities, he was stuck in the stands.
This is bull [Engines roaring.]
Announcer: And here we go.
We're gonna line up for the showdown.
The folks at "Top Gear" here at the 45th annual Amalie motor oil Gatornationals.
All right, best out of three, fellas.
Let's see it.
Foust: Rut and I were about to put ourselves to the ultimate test.
Holy crap, I got nerves right now.
Wood: As we were getting ready, i tried to remember to keep my heart rate under control, which, oddly enough, was easier with a car full of flies.
Foust: You almost ready, Rut? I'm ready, brother.
Hey, I just want you to know I love you, and I miss Adam.
Gonna be okay, buddy.
Just wait till you see green, then go.
No pressure.
Just don't red light.
Announcer: Rutledge Wood in the Lucas oil lane.
Tanner Foust here in the summit lane.
And Adam Ferrara in the stands! Drag pack vs.
Cobra jet.
Here we go.
Take a deep breath.
[Heart pounding slowly.]
[Beeps.]
Wow! Wood: Tanner and I were facing off in a real drag race at the famous Gatornationals in Florida, and we were about to take our first run of three.
[Beeps.]
[Engines roaring.]
Oh! Oh, my! The sheer power had lifted the front wheels, forcing me to take my foot off the gas, handing Tanner, whose eyes had almost popped out of his head, the advantage.
Announcer: And there goes Tanner Ffoust.
9:09.
5, 150.
And Rut goes 11.
80 with a 3 at 93.
Holy Whoo! Whoo! Foust: Run was over in less than 10 seconds.
Despite all the races I've done, you never quite get used to that first shot of adrenaline.
That's what I'm talking about! This car was awesome, and I couldn't wait to line up again.
Announcer: You saw in the last run it was Tanner foust that got down there and lit the scoreboard up.
Now we'll find out if Rutledge can get even.
Wood: After the humiliation of the first run, i had to win the second to stay in the game.
Burn 'em up, rut! [Beeps.]
Announcer: Rutledge gets off the starting line first.
Is that gonna be enough to hold off? Ford is coming.
Holy And not gonna get there.
Check it out.
On a hole shot.
Oh, rut got him! Rut tied it up! Holy That was awesome! Wood: I had beaten Tanner Foust.
Yeah! Announcer: So Rutledge Wood picks up that one in the match race, and I do believe that makes them one apiece.
Wood: The last run.
A chance to finally silence Tanner.
Oh, man, this is it.
[Choir chanting.]
Come on, boys.
[Beeps.]
Announcer: And the wheels get Whoa, Rutledge is on the bumper! Wood: Whoa! It came down like a ton of bricks.
Holy That thing's dead hooked and stood straight up.
Wow.
Holy Foust: Rut's giant wheelie meant that my cobra jet and I were victorious.
And my honor had been saved.
All right.
That's it.
What the [Grunts.]
Get me out of this thing.
[Adam laughing.]
Holy crap.
Oh, my Yes! [Laughs.]
I'm so sorry about that.
Dude, that's the craziest thing we have ever done.
Wow! I'm in the stands.
That's the biggest wheel stand they've ever had here in the history of the Gatornationals.
What? Yes.
No way.
Let's break it down.
Obviously, on the first run, I got a little bit of a jump, okay? So, yeah, congrats, you won that.
I was barely there.
The second I was guessing you burped and launched accidentally, but it timed out perfectly.
The second, you might have noticed, I was a rocket ship.
And on the third, I went for a scenic tour of the skyline.
Did you see my car? Everyone saw your car.
You scared the hell out of me.
Why do you guys call me the crazy one after what he just did? I saw in the peripheral vision I saw [Imitates engine roaring.]
like this.
I think I dragged the rear bumper.
All I saw was, "hey, what's up?" I should get down.
" Dude.
So, the first two races were really good, though.
I mean, these things are so fast.
The fact that you can buy them is unbelievable.
Your front wheels were never on the ground.
That's how it felt in my heart, too.
Dumbest thing I've ever done.
When they came down on the ground, how did it feel in your heart? Real hard.
Good.
And you know what? And they were straight and you didn't eat the wall.
Anyway, I'm glad you're okay, also.
But in summary You won.
Great.
Oh, my gosh.
Say it again.
Do you guys want to go watch some real racing now? Yeah, I want to see the top fuel guys.
Let's do that.
Those guys are nuts.
I don't know if you guys remember I did win the skills challenge.
And so, kind of, I won.
That was just a build-up to the big finale.
Okay, first of all, no drag racer trains with 60,000 flies in their car.