✖ DRAG ILLUSTRATED ROUNDTABLE ✖

After 15 seasons of the original show, plus countless spinoffs, many of the drivers are at a crossroads: with no television deal currently in place and fewer contracts being offered, they must decide how to proceed moving forward.

Drag IllustrateD sat down with Love, Woods, Whitley, and Bonnett during the 405 Shootout to discuss the early days of the show, how it evolved over time, and what the future holds.

Looking back on when the original 405 show first started, did you ever believe it would blow up and become as popular as it did? SEAN WHITLEY: Oh no, we definitely thought they were cops. We thought it was a sting operation. And whenever they sent the guys out to film the sizzle reel, I thought,“ They’ re going to film us racing each other for how long? Eight weeks?” I thought they’ d never air a single episode. The first season was eight episodes, and I really thought we weren’ t going to make it out of our first season. For it to go 12 years, and we’ re still recognizable, that blows me away. Everyone recognizes the truck. That’ s just an old crappy truck that we built in my garage. We worked on it on weekends and started racing it, brought it out of town and it was a great sleeper, it worked. But yeah, I’ m still blown away that we can go to a track and have a line. see the track. The stands were completely packed, and he and his wife were standing on top of the bathroom, just so that they could see the races. That’ s when I realized,“ Holy cow, we’ ve lit a fire in something that I honestly didn’ t think was possible.” I was just happy as shit that I’ m on the list of the baddest dudes on the street at the time. I had no clue that it was going to become what it became.

JAMES LOVE: Yes and no. Yes because what we did was frigging cool as hell. You can look around at the spectators now, just to watch some idiots going out there and doing burnouts and street racing. In that aspect, how could it not be a hit? Then it’ s like,“ I’ m just a diesel mechanic nobody from Oklahoma City. This can’ t be happening to me.” We’ d never had a camera in our face, and most of us, myself included, sucked at the beginning of it. You just tense up and don’ t know what to say. Everywhere you look, there’ s a camera guy and a sound guy, and everybody’ s watching you and they’ re wanting you to just be normal. From the aspect of a camera crew filming some stupid, redneck, backward-ass guys doing stupid shit on the streets at 2:00 in the morning, did I think that was going to make a hit? No. But at the same time, I believed in it, and that led to 12 years of awesomeness.

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You all have done this for quite a while now. Looking back on the show, what’ s either a favorite memory or accomplishment that each of you had over the course of Street Outlaws? LOVE: It’ s no secret that me and“ Big Chief” [ Justin Shearer ] never really got along.“ Murder Nova” [ Shawn Ellington ], being best friends with Chief back in the day, it was kind of always me against them. Probably the first moment that really sticks out – besides taking the Crown away from Murder Nova – was when I raced Petey Smallblock in an out-of-town race, and everybody got behind me and put their own money up. Chief told those guys from New York,“ You put your pot together, we’ ll match it.” I believe the pot ended up being 21 grand, so winning that race and winning 21 grand for Team 405, having all my boys stand behind me, put their own money on me, it’ s just a great feeling. You beat the out-of-towner. Everybody believes in you, and it was the biggest money race of the night. Besides winning the Crown, that’ s probably my second-highest achievement, right there. WOODS: I never actually had the Crown in my possession. Three weeks before we started filming, I was racing Murder Nova for number one. I had to race on a budget even back then. The whole reason I started racing with these guys on the street was because I couldn’ t afford to race

“ OH NO, WE DEFINITELY THOUGHT THEY WERE COPS. WE THOUGHT IT WAS A STING OPERATION.”- SEAN“ FARMTRUCK” WHITLEY

JEFF BONNETT: I think Farmtruck says it all. Farmtruck, he was just a friend. I had all but sold my car. I was helping my buddy get his truck down the road, talk crap, and getting races. But the moment the film crew came and legitimately started filming the show, we knew our lives were going to change. We just didn’ t know what direction, for good or bad. But we said yes, we committed, and I think every guy or gal on the show in the very beginning was committed. We were all ready to do the job, and that’ s the big coincidence in it. All eight to 10 of us were ready to say yes and commit to the entire filming.

JOE WOODS: No, I truly didn’ t think it was going to be that big of a deal. We were just doing some silly, stupid teenage stuff in our adulthood. We filmed the first three seasons in the first year, and right after season one aired, Thunder Valley put on Outlaw Armageddon. I didn’ t even take my car. At that point in time, I didn’ t realize we had become anything. I got down there, and they were 15 feet off the fence. My brother couldn’ t

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