Oil and Whiskey with Roadster Shop

This week on Oil & Whiskey, we’re joined by Bret Voelkel, founder of Air Ride Technologies, now known as RideTech.Bret takes us back to the beginning, from putting truck air springs under his own Pro Street Mustang to turning the idea into a company that helped change the way people thought about air suspension and performance.He talks about bootstrapping the business with his wife Sharon, developing the ShockWave, the rise of Pro Touring, competing alongside guys like Kyle Tucker, and some of the moments that completely changed the trajectory of RideTech, including the early Street Machine Nationals, helping launch Goodguys autocross, and the 48 Hour Camaro.We also get into the business side of it: hiring the right people, taking care of customers, surviving 2008, rebranding Air Ride Technologies as RideTech, dealing with the old print magazine world, and eventually realizing he had gone from playing to win to playing not to lose.Bret also tells the story behind selling RideTech to FOX, what that transition looked like from the inside, why corporate decision making didn’t always agree with him, and why some of his best ideas probably never would have survived a spreadsheet.Plus, there’s bourbon, old industry stories, autocross carnage, Aerosmith, bad decisions at car shows, and plenty of the usual Oil & Whiskey detours.

This week on Oil & Whiskey, we’re joined by Aidan Donald of Aidan’s Design & Illustration, all the way from Australia on his first trip to the States.

Aidan talks about growing up drawing cars, reaching out to Roadster Shop designer Chris Gray when he was still a teenager, studying industrial design, and teaching himself the 3D modeling and rendering skills that eventually turned into a career designing cars.

We get into what actually goes into one of his renders, from 3D scans, stance and wheel fitment to interiors, custom parts and the tiny details that have to translate from a screen into something a fabricator can actually build. Aidan also walks us through some of his recent projects, including the wild ’59 Cadillac interior for Vinnie’s Hot Rods and several builds currently coming together in Australia and the U.S.

The conversation also gets into how quickly CAD, 3D printing and CNC machining have changed the custom car world, where AI fits into the design process, and why having the tools still doesn’t replace taste, experience and knowing what actually looks right.

Plus, we talk Australian car culture, his first Holden Commodore, Street Machine’s Expression Session, dream builds, Linkin Park, Triple Crown, and plenty of the usual Oil & Whiskey side quests.

This week on Oil & Whiskey, we’re back on location at the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis better known as The Big Go.The guys sit down with Tony Stewart, Leah Pruett, and Matt Hagan inside the Elite Motorsports compound for a conversation about drag racing, Top Fuel, Funny Car, Indy, and why this event is one of the biggest weekends in motorsports.Tony and Leah talk about what makes the U.S. Nationals different, from the history of the race to the championship implications, the pressure of qualifying, track conditions, and what it takes to get a nitro car down the track when the weather, surface, and points all matter.Matt jumps in to talk about winning Indy, the mindset it takes to show up at a race like this, and why NHRA needs more personality, more access, and more ways to show fans what actually happens behind the scenes.The conversation also gets into why drag racing has to be experienced in person. The sound, the smell, the flames, the pit access, the motor rebuilds between rounds, and the kind of fan experience you just can’t recreate on TV.Tony and Leah also talk about racing as husband and wife, Leah’s return to Top Fuel after having Dominic, how they support each other while still wanting to win, and what it’s like being part of the larger Elite Motorsports and Tony Stewart Racing family.Add in Matt’s EDM/rave confession, Leah’s Eminem era, Tony’s classic rock lane, law enforcement stories, Lake Havasu life, side-by-sides, wake surfing, and the usual Oil & Whiskey derailments, and this one is exactly what happens when you put microphones in the middle of a race weekend.

This week on Oil & Whiskey, we’re joined by Kirk Brown, better known as Crafty B.Kirk is the guy behind some of the coolest handmade hot rod jewelry, gas caps, switch panels, bottle openers, shift knobs, and sand-cast parts in the game. If you’ve ever seen one of his pieces, you know the deal — it feels old, handmade, weird, imperfect in the right ways, and cooler because of it.The guys talk with Kirk about growing up building BMX bikes, minibikes, go-karts, and anything else he could cut apart and weld back together, his years in tool and die, building dies for parts like the Viper clutch pedal and PT Cruiser radio trim, and how that background eventually turned into Crafty B.Kirk gets into the process behind his work, why he still prefers carving patterns by hand, what he loves about sand casting, why making the pattern is the best part, and how one-off parts, gas caps, bomb antenna toppers, and handmade details became his thing.They also dig into the Beeline Special, the Scorpion dune buggy, the Doom Bug, the houseboat, the Quonset hut, Florida boating disasters, Cushman scooters, drag boats, weird project ideas, and the creative chaos that comes with a guy who always has to be making something.Add in custom gifts for the guys, a Sade-and-E-Type-Jag road trip, a Cushman scooter police bust, boat patrol drama, Rick Dore dream builds, a ninth-grade toolbox, Jesse James stories, and the usual *Oil & Whiskey* detours, and this one goes exactly where it should.

This week on Oil & Whiskey, we’re doing things a little differently.

The guys went on location at the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis and sat down with Elite Motorsports inside one of the biggest hospitality setups in drag racing.

Richard Freeman joins the show to talk about how Elite Motorsports grew from family roots in drag racing into a full-scale operation with multiple teams, dozens of people on the road, national event wins, world championships, and drivers like Erica Enders, Aaron Stanfield, Greg Stanfield, Jeg Coughlin Jr., and Tony Stewart all under the same umbrella.

We get into the business of modern Pro Stock, what it takes to scale a race program, why people are still the hardest part of any operation, and how Elite has built a program where racers can show up, plug in, and compete at the highest level.

Erica Enders and Aaron Stanfield also jump in to talk about getting behind the wheel of a Top Fuel car, the difference between Pro Stock and nitro racing, pressure, nerves, race-day focus, and why Pro Stock is still one of the purest hot rods in motorsports.

There’s also plenty of talk about the future of NHRA, making drag racing more accessible, pit access, the chaos behind the scenes, law enforcement stories, life advice, 1969 Camaros, no-blue race cars, and the usual Oil & Whiskey detours.

Watch or listen now wherever you get Oil & Whiskey.

This week on Oil & Whiskey, we’re joined once again by our friend Shawn Davis and this time with Kyle Simon from Autotopia LA.It’s been a few years since Shawn first sat down with the guys, and a lot has changed since then. The Autotopia LA channel has kept growing, the team has evolved, the podcast has launched, and the guys are now closing in on that next big YouTube milestone.We get into what makes an Autotopia video work, why the car and the owner always come first, and how their approach feels more like a modern video magazine than traditional influencer content. Shawn and Kyle talk about finding the right cars, the right characters, the right builders, and why the best videos usually come from people who actually use the cars they built.The guys also dig into sketchy ride-alongs, bench-seat burnouts, 2,500 horsepower street cars, naturally aspirated vs. boosted power, the Ruffian Fox Body, Ringbrothers, Roadster Shop chassis, ergonomics, car sounds, and the difference between a car that looks good and one that actually feels right from behind the wheel.They also talk about YouTube comments, AI, social media’s effect on the car world, the Autotopia LA podcast, the Roadster Shop SEMA booth and party, and why giving builders more visibility matters.

This week on Oil & Whiskey, we’re joined by Kenny Davis of Kenny Davis Hot Rods.Kenny has been around the Roadster Shop crew for a long time, long enough to remember picking up some of the first RS chassis back around 2008/2009, including the one still under his dad’s ’55 Nomad.

We get into Kenny’s history with Tri-Fives, growing up around his dad’s cars, road-tripping Nomads and ’55s all over the country, and why those cars still have such a hold on him.

The guys also talk about the evolution of Roadster Shop chassis, Kenny’s current builds, Suburban and Blazer projects, the collision side of the business, hot rod shop realities, customers, craftsmanship, and how much the industry has changed over the years.

And because it’s Kenny, there are plenty of stories: the coma, the steamroller, body shop conferences, Arkansas vs. Yankees, Kenny Davis jeans, American Graffiti, Ferrari 308 dreams, music comparisons, and a whole lot of ball-busting between old friends.

This week on Oil & Whiskey, we’re joined by Josh Wallace of Reviving Relics.Josh made the trip from Lebanon, Tennessee to talk about how he went from diesel trucks, Peterbilt quality control, and working on Matt Hagan’s NHRA crew to starting Reviving Relics and figuring out what it actually takes to run a hot rod shop that can survive.We get into the early days of taking on service work, learning how to quote jobs, tracking time, finding the right customers, building relationships with vendors, and why making a business profitable in this industry is a lot harder than just working harder.Of course, we also dig into Terry’s ’59 truck, the SEMA push, the Roadster Shop booth, the custom tailgate, the big-window conversion, the thrash to get it done, and why that build became Reviving Relics’ first real business card.Josh also talks about building for repeat customers, the importance of the experience, current shop projects like the ’70 Challenger, the LT4/T-56 Camaro, the Viper-powered Power Wagon, and what’s next for the shop.Add in a ’72 F100 first car story, Eagles Greatest Hits, Wild Turkey, work ethic debates, Lebanon pronunciation lessons, and the normal amount of Oil & Whiskey nonsense.

This week on Oil & Whiskey, we’re joined by Josh Shaw.Josh is one of those names that seems to show up everywhere once you start paying attention. Hot rod art, concept drawings, custom paint, flame work, vintage race cars, Indy cars, Miller restorations, Firebirds, old Roadster Shop shirt designs, and about a thousand stories in between.We get into his early days drawing cars, how napkin sketches at the right lunch turned into real work with some of the biggest names in the industry, the Ohio deep-flame era, working with guys like Bobby Alloway and Jesse Greening, the Dynamat coupe, and the road that eventually led him deep into restoring vintage sprint cars, Indy cars, and historic Miller race cars.Josh also talks about the research side of restoring old race cars, why accuracy matters, how taking the customer’s opinion out of the equation can actually make a build easier, the Firebird hood art that earned him the “Fire Chicken Facilitator” title, and a hilarious full-circle moment involving some very old Roadster Shop artwork.Audio note: we had a rare issue with this episode’s audio, but the conversation was too good not to share. Turn it up, turn on captions and enjoy this one.

This week on Oil & Whiskey, we’re joined by the crew from Revamped Rides.Dalton, Scott, and `'Diet' Dalton sit down with the guys to talk about how Revamped Rides came together, how the shop has grown in just a few short years, and what it takes to build cars at a high level while still figuring things out the hard way.We get into the Thunderbird that put Revamped Rides on a lot of people’s radar, the metalwork, fabrication, bodywork, paint, customer expectations, and the reality of building the kind of cars that don’t need to be over-explained when they roll into a show.The guys also talk about shop culture, learning through mistakes, taking criticism, building a body of work, SEMA, Roadster Shop chassis talk, car show etiquette, and why sometimes the best thing you can do is let the car speak for itself.