Rawlings was arrogant before he got rich. He was well known in the Cannonball/Bullrun/Gumball 3000 scene. He once held the Cannonball coast-to-coast record (verified) and the time is tattooed on the inside of his right forearm. All of that being said, I still watch the show as it is entertaining if you don't get sucked in too deep. The thing that bothers me though, is that they lie when they don't have to or there is no reason to. For instance, on an episode 2 years ago when he was sponsoring Kebin Kinsley's Top Fueler, it showed them not qualifying at Vegas 2. Then Rawlings said he was going straight to Barrett Jackson in Scottsdale to get over not qualifying. Vegas 2 is in October, BJ Scottsdale is in January. Also, when they do the "2 week builds" that have to be ready for the auction. BJ will not let you enter a car in their auctions that late. They do a rigorous check to make sure the car is what you say it is (VIN checks, title searches, etc) and the cars are photographed for the sale catalog and sent to registered bidders weeks before the auction. Usually, you have to send the title to BJ before you can enter the car in their auctions. BJ is all about maximizing profits, and allowing people to show up with cars willy nilly without proper advertising doesn't do them any good, nor would they stake their reputation on a car that wasn't what it was supposed to be (like a Shelby clone or something). I usually just roll my eyes at the shenanigans and drool over the cars, and anything that could get someone into cars or drag racing on TV is a good thing. One thing that I don't think is faked, they love cars and they have fun at both Gas Monkey and Street Outlaws.
For this challenge, they will be racing at Fontana on the drag strip there.