There aren’t many things in life that sound more exciting than going full speed in an amazing car, at least for any motorhead. However, while the concept of living life to the fullest on the drag track is attractive to say the least, there aren’t many people who actually dare to make that dream come true.

Although “Street Outlaws”, and its many spin-offs such as “No Prep Kings” do a good job at showing the audience the reality of street racing, only the drivers really know what it feels like to put life on the line for the sake of adrenaline, money and love for speed, even though it sometimes has drastic and lamentable consequences.

So is the latter the case for Kansas’ driver Robin Roberts? Keep with us to know what’s recently happened to him, his latest endeavors in the car racing scene and his future career.

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Did He Have An Accident?

It isn’t surprising that following a passion as dangerous as car racing has sometimes terrible consequences, and this time it was Robin Roberts’ turn to face these. As it happens, in October 2022 he suffered an horrific crash while in North Carolina, in a race against Justin Swanstrom for the show “No Prep Kings”.

Robin’s electric blue 1968 Firebird named “High Velocity” endured the worst damage, as its front was almost completely destroyed due to it crashing against a wall a couple of minutes after the race started. For his part, Robin was left unconscious in the wreck, but received medical attention right away, for which his team thanked “Street Outlaws” production company Pilgrim through social media, for the quick emergency response.

It’s unknown how much the crash affected Robin’s overall performance in “No Prep Kings”, but surely the financial cost of the wreck took a toll on him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0ccTP_gpXY

Will He Be Okay?

Robin Roberts’ October 2022 crash affected his health, but thankfully not in an irreparable way. According to site reports, Robin was airlifted to a Charlotte hospital from the crash scene while unconscious, immediately undergoing surgery to repair a collapsed lung and three broken ribs. He was completely unaware of these procedures though, as he confessed on an Instagram post a couple of days after the accident: ‘I still have no memory of the past or anything until I woke up this morning in the hospital, and Melody told me about it’.

According to Robin, he still had some time to recover, but even that won’t stop him from meeting with fans and attending non-driving events for “No Prep Kings”, as seen on his social media.  Hopefully, Robin’s recovery will be a safe and quick one.

Who Is Robin Roberts?

While most people might not be familiar with every “Street Outlaws” driver’s backstory, all of them have something which makes them stand out, and that also includes Robin Roberts. Born in Dodge City, Kansas, Robin’s has been racing the streets since his teens when he bought a 1972 Challenger.

However, street racing isn’t an activity which puts people on the right side of the law, so Robin’s early 20s were spent creating a not-so positive reputation with the state’s forces. At some point, he left his to establish himself in Arizona, where his knowledge of engine fixing landed him a job in a mining company, though he later joined a larger company of which he became a Chief Operations Officer.

Robin Roberts won Street Outlaws No Prep Kings – Who is he?#Street Outlaws #Robin Robertshttps://t.co/6jHsyDI7V6

— Discovery TV Shows (@ShowsDiscovery) August 9, 2021

Although Robin’s 9-to-5 work life was really thriving, his love for street racing never faded. After convincing a friend to modify a Pontiac Firebird for him, Robin took to Phoenix’s streets for the first time, and climbed to the top of the city’s racing scene.

Before returning to Kansas in 2015, Robin’s popularity in Phoenix was good enough to be featured in several race and hot rod magazines. Upon returning to his hometown, he bought his company Central Power Systems & Services, which currently sponsors the race escapades of his current rides, two 1968 Pontiac Firebirds named “High Voltage” and “High Velocity” respectively, as seen in “Street Outlaws”.

Who Else Has Crashed In “Street Outlaws”?

Although Robin Roberts’ crash was terrible enough for his fans, he wasn’t the first one in “Street Outlaws” and its spin-offs to endure a similar incident.

Tim Brown

While “No Prep Kings” has given many good racing moments to its audience, it has also been the center of many accidents. Such is the case of Tim Brown’s wreck in May 2022, when he and Mike Murillo were competing against each other for the show at a New England event.

Even though the race seemed to be going well for the first few seconds, Tim lost control of the car and crashed against a wall, missing hitting Murillo’s by only a couple of meters.

As announced by Tim’s Facebook team, he and Mike were both in good health after the wreck. However, Tim’s car was damaged both front and back, leaving him unable to join several events for the rest of the season.

https://www.facebook.com/OhioStreetOutlaws/posts/pfbid02H35Ujabsj1PxLe5VnbYfmeECgyTR2oFsAZW1UkzErt4t9Y4sGK3NFQKPnhVEjaU1l

Daddy Dave

Even veteran drivers have bad days from time to time, and Daddy Dave is no exception. Back in July 2021, the “No Prep Kings” racer whose real name is Dave Comstock, suffered a terrible accident when his 1963 Chevy Nova crashed into the track’s side wall just after a race against Bobby Ducote finished in Georgia.

The entirety of the crash was filmed by “No Prep Kings” cameras, which caught the exact moment in which Ducote was named the race’s winner only a second before Dave lost control of the car. Fortunately, Dave was safe and sound despite all that, but his Chevy, baptized as “Goliath 2.0”, was severely damaged, an unfortunate fact given how he’d renovated the car entirely just months prior.

Describing the situation to Dragzine, Dave admitted that controlling his car during the accident was out of his reach: ‘Right after the 1/8-mile it got loose, turned sideways on me really quick, I couldn’t recover it, and we blasted the wall’ he said, admitting he might have ‘run out of talent’, but that his return to the tracks would happen sooner or later. Making good of that promise, Daddy Dave was back on the road in October that year.

Prayers out to daddy Dave who just wrecked his brand new Chevy 2 nova pic.twitter.com/qe0QQTvbK2

— Codi (@codi_cooper) August 2, 2015

Justin Swanstrom & Super Dave

One of the most impressive crashes ever in “No Prep Kings” took place in May 2022, involving drivers Justin Swanstrom and Dave Adkins, also known as Super Dave. During a race at Maple Grove Raceway in Pennsylvania, Justin’s car “Prenup” blew up just seconds after starting the race, but became worst when Dave lost control and rear ended Justin.

The scene of the two motionless cars and the flames surrounding the track was terrifying to say the least, but Justin was able to get out of the car right away, however, as the emergency team arrived, Dave was worryingly showing no signs of getting out. It wasn’t until the flames were extinguished that Dave was fortunately taken to safety, though the extent of his and Justin’s injuries wasn’t well known. Fortunately, both men recovered well, and fixed their cars in time for the next “No Preps Kings” season later that year.

Mike Murillo

Despite avoiding a messy crash against Tim Brown’s car in May 2022, Mike Murillo couldn’t escape the next wreck coming his way. In September that year, Mike was unfortunately involved in a crash during the filming “No Prep Kings”, while racing against Ryan Martin at Summit Motorsport Park in Ohio.

Although there won’t probably be a video recount of the accident before “No Prep Kings” late 2022 season airs, the crash was evidently serious according to the pics he shared on Instagram: ‘I’m ok physically for the most part, and that is truly what counts but we shall discuss the content of these pictures and what we’re going to do about it’ he said, showing pics of his very damaged car front. Mike also thanked Justin Swanstrom and his father, who according to him played a big role in saving his life.

Although Mike’s recent wreck was apparently very messy, back in 2015 he had already gone through a similar situation, when his car became airborne and rolled over several times during a “No Prep Kings” race.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CdzZW7hIERi/

Brandon James

Despite being a new face for “Street Outlaws” audience, the young Brandon James has already made a name for himself by winning “Mega Cash Days” in 2021 along with a juicy prize of $600,000.

However, Brandon’s prowess behind the wheel hasn’t kept him safe from suffering a couple of serious accidents in his still young career. The first occurred in June 2021, when he lost control of the car during an “America’s List” race, rolling over the track before landing on the sideway, almost crashing against his competitor Lizzy Musi.

Thankfully, Brandon’s injuries weren’t very serious and more than anything, he was annoyed at seeing the damage to his car.

A far more serious incident occurred a year later, as he and Dennis Bailey competed against each other in “Fastest In America”. As the cars raced side by side, Bailey lost control and rear ended Brandon, forcefully pushing him to the side, leaving a frightened audience to watch Brandon’s car rolling over in the air as it caught fire.

Though Brandon didn’t lose consciousness, he was visibly disoriented as he was taken out of the car and transported to safety. Nonetheless, the messy conclusion of the race didn’t steal Brandon’s victory.

JJ Da Boss & Tricia Day

Another unfortunate incident took place while filming “Fastest In America” in early 2022, as JJ Da Boss and his wife Tricia Day were involved as they competed against each other. As seen in the show, JJ Da Boss’ car became engulfed in flames, and resulted in him losing control, unfortunately crashing against Tricia, who was sent flying over the side of the road as her car also caught fire.

Although JJ Da Boss was hurt in the incident, Tricia suffered worst damage and was taken out of the car in a bad condition. As seen in the show and on social media, the couple both underwent surgeries, and the next couple of months saw Tricia using a wheelchair before gaining the strength to walk again.

Regardless of the horrible accident, neither Tricia nor JJ left the tracks for good, and as soon as their health had improved enough, both took back their spot behind the wheel.

Carlos Sobrino

Another driver to face an unfortunate fate while on the tracks is Carlos Sobrino, whose race at Maple Grove Raceway in May 2022 took a sad turn. Despite taking the lead in the first seconds, Carlos’ Mustang “The Joker” messily crashed against the fence and sustained a huge amount of damage, though the impact partially damaged the concrete walls surrounding the track.

However, the worst part was the physical injuries Carlos’ suffered in the incident; according to a report by NMRA Nationals, Carlos spent several days in hospital recovering from a broken back, along with other non-revealed injuries.

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Jeff Lutz

Veteran drivers aren’t safe from suffering terrific incidents behind the wheel, and Jeff Lutz is proof of that. The most terrible of these took place in May 2021, when his yellow 1957 Chevy was completely destroyed during a “Street Outlaws” race.

As seen on the clip shared by the show, Jeff’s Chevy was apparently in good condition at the beginning, but as the finish line approached he lost control of the car, which rolled over  and almost hit its competitor in the process. Once the destroyed Chevy remained motionless on the sideroad, the astonished audience found that Jeff had been ejected from the car during the wreck and required urgent medical assistance.

Jess fortunately recovered from all his injuries after a couple of months, but the messy accident sadly left his beloved Chevy useless, beyond repair. However, not one to give up easily, the next couple of months Jeff succesfully put together a new but classy car to replace his old car for “No Prep Kings”,

https://www.facebook.com/dragcoverage/posts/pfbid0QsHSiw5p5yNoWGxGHHpaJ3HpTAjTNYThSbafU3p5mfhLzak6Z51zpYfEhXuDjY9wl

Ryan Fellows

Although most of the time those who have crashed their cars haven’t had a terrible outcome, the same couldn’t be said about Ryan Fellows, who unfortunately died during a “Fastest in America” race in August 2022.

The incident took place in Las Vegas, and according to online reports, was caused by losing control of his Nissan 240z as he was about to cross the finish line, and subsequently crashed. While Ryan’s medical condition in the wreck wasn’t revealed, the injuries he sustained led to his unfortunate death, as reported by Discovery: ‘We extend our deepest sympathy to Ryan’s loved ones as they process this sudden and devastating loss’, they wrote in an official statement.

This recent loss is a reminder of how dangerous street racing actually is, but how much this terrible event could affect “Street Outlaws” and the franchise is yet to be seen.

There’s no doubt that Discovery’s “Fast N’ Loud” was one of the most successful car-centered reality-TV shows from the network. That being said, besides the excellent car restorations and entertaining endeavors of its cast, one of the definitive reasons the show was so popular from its beginning can be pinpointed to Richard Rawlings and Aaron Kaufman’s dynamic, and how everything apparently worked out well if these two teamed up.

However, the audience’s joy of seeing the fan favorite Kaufman on screen ended when he exited the show in 2017, leaving more questions than answers upon his departure.

Now that several years have passed since then, it’s time that all the questions surrounding Rawlings and Kaufman’s relationship, the reasons for his exit and their current endeavors get answers. Keep with us to know all about them!

What Happened Between Them?

Despite how much people like to know more about the off-camera endeavors of their favorite reality TV stars, the audience are actually told the entire truth very few times, of what happens behind the scenes.

When it comes to Aaron Kaufman and Richard Rawlings, we can only have an idea of what really made them drift apart professionally through their own words. As Kaufman told Art Of Gears in early 2017, one of the reasons he left Rawlings’ business Gas Monkey Garage and the show associated with it, had to do with his unconformity with the builds featured in it, and the pressure to adjust time and budget-wise to TV’s demands, on top of ‘some growing personal issues and professional differences of opinions’.

Whether those aforementioned problems were directly related to his former boss is unclear, but Rawlings himself confirmed things had been difficult prior to Kaufman’s exit: ‘he was unhappy, because he had these other ideas, and I was unhappy because he was unhappy, which was making everything else miserable’, he told D Magazine in 2018.

While there’s apparently no bad blood between the men, they haven’t publicly worked together since Kaufman’s exit from Gas Monkey Garage in 2017.

Were They Friends?

One of the most common questions when it comes to Aaron and Richard is the nature of their personal relationship prior to Aaron’s exit from the show. However, much to the dismay of diehard fans of both men, they were apparently never friends to begin with.

In a 2018 interview with D Magazine, Rawlings directly addressed this issue by saying: ‘(he) was just my employee from the time he was 20 until two years ago. Fourteen years. But we didn’t hang out outside of work’.

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As Kaufman said in the same interview, he and Rawlings’s personal differences allegedly made them incompatible: ‘the deal is, I see the world very much differently than Richard does. I see how we interact with humans differently, what relationships with people are worth’.

While it might be disappointing to know that Kaufman and Rawlings weren’t ever friends despite sharing a workplace and TV screen for so many years, their personal statements regarding this topic not only shed some light on the reasons leading to Kaufman’s exit from Gas Monkey Garage, but also lets us see that taking separate ways was an expected conclusion to their acquaintanceship.

Why Did Aaron Leave?

While it’s certain that Aaron Kaufman’s resignation from Gas Monkey Garage was partially caused by interpersonal problems, the biggest reason he left was his desire for professional fulfillment.

Regarding this topic, Aaron opened up about his dissatisfaction with the projects featured in “Fast N’ Loud” in an interview with Art of Gears in early 2017. According to him, the project he worked on in the episode “Hot Off the Pantera”, was ‘the bottom end’ of the builds he wanted to work on, due to the limitations and pressure which ensued for him and his team professionally: ‘The difficulty level of the car; it surpasses what can be done on TV in time and budget’, he stated, emphasizing how adjusting to demands from producers were distancing him from his own creative path: ‘I wanted to build cars that were that big or bigger, and then TV needed cars that were much smaller than that’.

Not finding himself satisfied anymore with the route “Fast N’ Loud” projects were taking, Aaron established his own business, Arclight Fabrication, with which he provided technical service and parts for Ford trucks. Despite the fans’ disappointment at not seeing him working in Gas Monkey Garage anymore, Aaron’s then-new project was warmly welcomed by them.

https://www.facebook.com/GasMonkeyGarage/photos/a.421321434557863/1010362638987070

What Is Aaron Doing Now?

It might be a while since Aaron Kaufman set foot on a TV set, but life is looking great for him nonetheless. Nowadays, he’s quite active in the automotive world with his racing escapades. In 2022, Aaron joined Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Broadmoor, Colorado.

Being a Ford guy through and through, it’s not surprising that Aaron drove an F-100 truck, modified and usually driven by Scott Birdsall, who has been holding the competition’s time record since 2019. That being said, this was Aaron’s fourth time in the competition, having his best performance back in 2014 behind the wheel of a 1963 Ford Falcon which gained him a second place in the Exhibition Class.

While Aaron is proud of having accomplished a great deal in racing, his focus is still in the mechanics industry. Though it’s unknown if his shop Arclight Fabrication is still up and running, moving to Colorado has turned out well for Aaron, as his social media let us see he’s attracting sponsorships from brands, spends a good deal of time racing, and even made his return to Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) in late 2022.

For now it’s unclear what the future has in store for Aaron, but it’s evident how pleased he currently is by walking his own path, doing the things he loves.

What Happened To Arclight Fabrication?

The initial idea for Arclight Fabrication was very clear. As he explained in a 2017 video for “The Lowlife Show” on YouTube, he and his associate Jonathan Mansour wanted to ‘fill the gap’ of available parts for Ford F-100s models from 1957 to 1979.

As seen in his show “Shifting Gears with Aaron Kaufman”, he made good of his promise by focusing on Ford trucks, improving their performance in order to make every project worthy of races such as Pikes Peak Hill Climb. Following the show’s end in 2018, Arclight Fabrication kept its focus on high performance projects, and as seen during an interview with Kaufmann on the YouTube channel Ford Era, the business was still up and running in late 2021.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ckg55JZPuUq/

It’s unclear if Aaron’s move to Colorado in 2022 meant the end of Arclight. Although the shop’s social media and YouTube channel remain inactive since 2020, to date Aaron hasn’t announced a business relocation or permanent closing.

Beginnings

Anyone who has been following Aaron Kaufman’s projects over time, knows that he’s truly passionate and dedicated to his profession., but his love for everything automotive doesn’t come out of nowhere.

According to an interview Aaron gave to Restomod Films in December 2021, his father worked on hot rods and drag cars for a long time, but eventually left the business once his children were born. Nonetheless, Aaron remembers attending car shows with his father in his early childhood, a great start for what would become his biggest passion during high school, when he used his limited knowledge modifying car parts for his personal enjoyment.

Barely in his mid-teens, Aaron joined his friend Scot McMillan Jr’s family building shop, learning there all the basics of the construction profession such as welding and lathing. Once he achieved a high ‘success rate’ with his projects, he leveled up by being hired by a local air suspension shop, ultimately leaving a couple of years down the road to start his own shop.

Who caught the Sheriff cameo in Gymkhana TEN? Rad to have Aaron Kaufman, (from Shifting Gears and previously Gas Monkey Garage) visit the set of #GymkhanaTEN when we were filming in Texas!#sherriffofshamrock #justiceofthepeace #TheGymkhanaFiles pic.twitter.com/NdGR3059gm

— Ken Block (@kblock43) December 10, 2018

Life Before TV

Although Aaron Kaufman was always inclined to become a car builder, there was a time he thought that the academic route was for him. According to an interview his friend Scot McMillan Jr gave D Magazine in 2018, he and Aaron met in high school, when their passion for automotives was the fuel to modify their first Jeep Cherokee with only self-learned skills.

Once the completion of their Cherokee took place, McMillan and Kaufman would take on other projects by themselves, and sometimes travel across the country to attend car shows. It was during these years that Aaron was hired by a suspension service shop.

College time came sooner than later, and both friends enrolled into the University of Texas, though they abandoned it after only one semester, despite doing well academically: ‘After we realized we were going to be in debt, and we already knew more than the average person, we started our own business’, as McMillan said. Their joint association soon ended though, as obtaining financial support for their business wasn’t easy, due to their young age. While McMillan eventually joined the US Marines, in the early 2000s Aaron was hired by Richard Rawlings to work on his cars, as they traveled the country together for automotive shows.

TV Career

Meeting Richard Rawlings was definitely game changing for Aaron Kaufman. As he affirmed to Restomod Films, Rawlings had a clear vision of what he wanted from the beginning of their acquaintanceship: ‘He wanted to be on TV, he wanted to be famous, he wanted to have this big hot rod shop stuff. I thought it was pie in the sky’, he said.

Despite thinking Rawlings’ plan was unlikely to succeed, Aaron went on board his project, splitting his time working in Gas Monkey Garage, attending car shows all over the country, and filming a pilot for a show which never came to life. According to Aaron, Gas Monkey Garage eventually closed, and he was hired by another shop. A couple of years later, he was contacted again by Rawlings, who convinced him to film another pilot which was immediately given the green light by Discovery.

That was the start of “Fast N’ Loud”, in which Aaron appeared from its debut in 2012 to 2017, when its twelfth season aired. Later in 2018, “Shifting Gears With Aaron Kaufman” aired on Discovery for two seasons, followed by his second TV project “Aaron Needs a Job”, which premiered in 2019 but only lasted one season before Aaron left the entertainment world altogether.

Why Didn’t Aaron Want To Return To TV?

Although “Fast N’ Loud” is definitely Aaron Kaufman’s most popular TV project to date, it certainly wasn’t his first exploit in the industry. Back in 2005, he debuted in the entertainment industry in an episode of the popular hot-rod centered show “Overhaulin’”, a deed he repeated a couple of times in the following years, and appearing throughout the next decade in documentaries such as  “A Tribute to David Zaslav”, “Biketacular”, and “The Gymkhana Files”.

Given all his experience in the industry, it might be surprising for his fans to know that Aaron was actually hesitant to return to TV following his exit from Gas Monkey Garage. According to his interview with Art Of Gears, Aaron was offered a new show right away after leaving “Fast N’ Loud”, but he wasn’t quite on board for a variety of reasons: ‘If I do it I want to be ecstatic about it. I want to be very proud of the program and the parts that I make’, he said, also stating that he wanted his next TV builds to be driven by ‘imagination’ and ‘excitement’ and not by money.

Though the initial premise of his “Shifting Gears” was definitely too similar to what he did in his previous project, Aaron eventually achieved his goal when the show evolved to follow his passion for high performance trucks.

What Happened to “Fast N’ Loud”?

After eight years on air and 16th seasons premiered, “Fast N’ Loud” came to an end in 2020, much to the dismay of its fans. The news were announced by Richard Rawlings in a “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast episode aired late that year, in which he explained that he’d already achieved everything he wanted with the show, and wanted to start a new chapter in his professional life: ‘it was time for me to expand and grow a little bit’, he affirmed.

While the news expectedly took the show’s fans by surprise, Richard and his team didn’t stay away from the spotlight for too long. Although Gas Monkey Garage’s account on YouTube has been active since 2012, in 2021 the channel increased their audience by producing original content centered on cars, and everything fans loved about “Fast N’ Loud”, but with a more personal and less TV-ish approach.

Although many people miss seeing Rawlings and Kaufman together on TV, the fact that both of them are doing well on their separate journeys surely brings joy to their fans.