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Mike Finnegan (Roadkill, Hot Rod Magazine, Finnegan's Garage) sits down at Roadkill Nights to talk about what 13 years of Roadkill really cost him, how his YouTube business actually makes money, and why he has no interest in becoming the next Cleetus McFarland.Mike breaks down his path from mini truck magazine freelancer to Hot Rod associate editor under David Freiburger, how a junkyard road trip turned into Roadkill, and what happened when Motor Trend pulled the show off YouTube. He shares honest numbers on YouTube revenue vs. merch, the one audio mistake that cost him viewers when he launched his channel, and his advice for anyone starting an automotive YouTube channel today.In this episode:- How much Roadkill really cost: every shoot for 13 years added up to one full year away from his kids- How Finnegan's Garage makes money: roughly 60% merch, 40% YouTube- Why a million-view car video pays far less than a 1-page print ad used to- What gear Mike uses: GoPros, an iPhone, and a DJI mic pack (bad audio will lose viewers, grainy video won't)- The biggest content gap in automotive YouTube right now: short, accurate how-to videos- Why "companies aren't cool, people are," and what brands should do about it- The Roadkill Cuda road trip where the crew nearly suffocated from exhaust fumes...CHAPTERS0:00 Cold Open0:43 Mike Finnegan at Roadkill Nights1:31 "I Don't Watch Your Podcast"3:38 The 13-Year Bowtie V6 Engine Block Deal5:50 Automotive ADHD & Why Roadkill Worked7:06 Storytelling Tips for New Creators10:03 From Mini Truck Magazine to Hot Rod14:57 How Roadkill Started16:20 YouTube vs. Cable TV Fame17:47 Why Creators Should Think Like Journalists20:32 Working With Brands & Sponsors22:29 YouTube Money vs. Print Ad Money23:38 Mike's Revenue Split: Merch vs. YouTube24:39 Why He Doesn't Want to 10x His Business25:42 What It Takes to Be Cleetus McFarland28:16 Clickbait vs. Authentic Content31:27 The ZF 8HP Transmission Swap Craze33:00 Roadkill Nights & Woodward Dream Cruise38:32 The Aftermarket Brands That Have His Back43:48 Companies Aren't Cool. People Are.45:21 How Dangerous Was Roadkill?48:09 Mike's YouTube Camera & Audio Setup50:07 Launching His Channel When Roadkill Left YouTube50:53 Gaps in Automotive YouTube Right Now52:41 The State of the Car Industry57:20 Who Inspires Mike Finnegan59:42 What's Next: Wheelie Cars, Jet Boats & the Roadkill C10Subscribe to Automotive Advantage for more conversations with the people building the automotive aftermarket.#MikeFinnegan #Roadkill #AutomotiveAdvantage
Most automotive events fail for the same reason: the people running them forget the attendee is the customer. Tom Zielinski has spent decades on both sides... as the vendor getting squeezed and as the operator building Detroit 4Fest, Cars at the Station, and OEM launches for Jeep, Toyota and Stellantis brands. In this episode he breaks down what separates an event that compounds year over year from one that quietly dies.If you run events, sponsor them, activate at them, or you're just tired of writing checks that don't return anything, this is the one.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
→ How to tell a good event from a bad one within 30 seconds of walking in
→ Why you should never build an event around a sponsorship dollar target
→ The mistake that makes 90% of events feel hostile to the people attending
→ How to build relationships with OEMs and why the 11th-hour panic call is an opportunity, not a burden
→ Why the A/B/C sponsorship package is costing you renewals
→ How to work with content creators instead of fighting them
→ Where the money actually is in the events business
→ What the second half of 2026 looks like for the automotive aftermarket
ABOUT OUR GUEST
Tom Zielinski is the founder of Z Performance Group, producing consumer events, OEM media programs, and brand activations across the automotive and powersports industries. He is a co-creator of Detroit 4Fest, a partner in programming at Holly Oaks ORV Park, involved with Cars at the Station in downtown Detroit, and serves as Secretary of the Board for Tread Lightly. His career runs from dealership sales manager to Pit Bike Nationals, Supermoto, X Games and Red Bull productions.
CHAPTERS
0:00 "You're making it suck"
0:26 Meet Tom Zielinski: Z Performance Group, Detroit 4Fest, Tread Lightly
2:27 From AutoRama kid to dealership sales manager at 24
5:53 Pit Bike Nationals, Supermoto, and the X Games years
8:08 How to spot a good event vs. a bad one
10:13 Why auto shows are struggling
13:10 Live events vs. social media: "but will they do anything?"
15:12 Don't build your event around sponsor dollars
17:33 The hardcore 10% vs. the 90% who've never tried it
20:29 Working with brands: listen first, then push
22:25 The chicken-and-egg problem brands vs. attendance
24:42 Landing Jeep, Toyota and the OEMs
26:31 How to actually build an OEM relationship
29:05 Solve the customer's problem, not your budget
31:07 Why so many events treat attendees like a nuisance
33:51 The event checklist: front gate, vendors, follow-through
36:26 Kill the A/B/C sponsorship package
38:52 How media and content creators fit into events
45:03 Inside Z Performance Group: where the money actually is
51:12 "No, you don't want this job"
55:59 The teacher who thought his daughter was making it up
58:12 Tread Lightly, land use, and paying it forward
1:02:30 Support your local events... or lose them
1:07:24 Brands that do events right
1:12:58 Events that should be on your radar
1:19:36 Goodwood, the Quail, and stealing good ideas
1:23:57 What the second half of 2026 looks like
1:26:47 Closing thoughts
ABOUT AUTOMOTIVE ADVANTAGE
Automotive Advantage is a business-first automotive podcast for owners, operators, builders, marketers and decision makers. Not bench racing, not horsepower numbers... real conversations about growth, leadership, marketing, sales and the long-term health of the automotive aftermarket.Grow your business and get smarter in just one hour.
Year one is in the books. In this one-year anniversary episode of Automotive Advantage, Jamie and Justin lay out five practical ways to use AI in your automotive business in 2026, share hard numbers on where the aftermarket actually stands at the halfway mark, and pull the marketing lessons hiding inside the World Cup.
This is the business side of the automotive aftermarket. Real strategy for shop owners, builders, manufacturers, and marketers who want to grow. From using Claude to read contracts, spot revenue trends, manage Shopify catalogs, and audit Google Analytics, to the Midway Plus Wholesale Index showing the industry up 12.3% through the first half of 2026, this one is packed with things you can use Monday morning.
5 ways to use AI in your automotive business
1. Spot revenue and market trends in your own data
2. Read contracts, flag your exposure, and prep pitches
3. Lock in brand voice, tone, and style-guide compliance
4. Connect Shopify + Google Analytics to run catalogs and reporting
5. Write copy — press releases, emails, social — that doesn't sound like AI
State of the aftermarket, first half of 2026 (Midway Plus Wholesale Index)
- Wholesale revenue up 12.3% year-to-date vs. 2025
- Wholesale order volume up 52% year-to-date
- June-over-June sales up ~28%
- 32% of all wholesale transactions happen after business hours
What the World Cup teaches the aftermarket about marketing
$10.5B in global ad spend — and the brands that won didn't always have the biggest check. Nike, Gillette, Levi's, and the Dodge Demon on how constraints become campaigns.
Plus: our first-ever sponsors — welcome Spec Coffee and Midway Plus — and a tribute to Brian Loundsbury, founder of Midway Plus.
Chapters
0:00 Cold Open: The Great AI "Slop" Debate
0:41 One Year of Automotive Advantage
1:58 Year One by the Numbers
6:50 First-Ever Sponsors: Spec Coffee & Midway Plus
10:19 Taking the Podcast Live (Cars at the Station, SEMA)
13:02 State of the Industry: First Half of 2026
17:26 Midway Plus Wholesale Index + Tribute to Brian Lounsbury
37:56 5 Ways to Use AI — #1 Trend Spotting
41:22 #2 Reading Contracts & Pitches
46:17 #3 Brand Voice, Tone & Style Guides
50:47 #4 Connectors: Shopify & Google Analytics
57:37 #5 Writing Copy That Doesn't Sound Like AI
1:05:53 AI News: Ford Recalls 300+ Engineers
1:07:39 Automotive News: EPA Pardons & 7-Year Car Loans
1:10:22 World Cup Marketing Lessons for the Aftermarket
1:18:42 Here's to Year Two
Automotive Advantage is a business-first automotive podcast for owners, operators, builders, and marketers in the performance aftermarket. Grow your business and get smarter in about an hour.
Subscribe for a new episode every week(ish).
Hosted by Justin Cesler (Driveline Studios) and Dr. Jamie Meyer (6757 Consulting).
#AutomotiveAftermarket #AutomotiveBusiness #PerformanceAftermarket #ShopOwner #AutomotiveMarketing #AutomotiveAdvantage #AITools #SmallBusinessGrowth
New vehicle recalls just doubled... 21.7 million cars recalled in the first half of 2026, up from 10.7 million last year. Justin Cesler and Dr. Jamie Meyer break down what's actually driving the crisis, then pull hard-won lessons from three completely unrelated industries (watches, firearms, and grocery deli counters) that every automotive business needs to hear.In this episode:
Timestamps:0:00 – Cold open: the recall that started it all1:25 – Welcome to Automotive Advantage3:13 – What's on deck this episode6:44 – Woodward Dream Cruise guest lineup tease9:43 – The full story: Jamie's Colorado gets bricked13:06 – Why recalls have doubled industry-wide19:01 – Ferrari, Porsche, and the return to pre-COVID cars23:08 – The "turn it all off" button pitch26:09 – Business lessons from other industries26:50 – Rolex, Omega, and managing scarcity34:55 – What the firearms industry gets right (and wrong)43:44 – Shadow banning and building on someone else's platform50:29 – The deli meat lesson: cross-selling and related products59:03 – Woodward Dream Cruise: activation strategy1:09:23 – How new client relationships actually start1:19:08 – Wrap-up and where to find the showAutomotive Advantage is the business-first podcast for owners, operators, builders, and marketers who take the automotive industry seriously. No hype. No bench racing. Just the real mechanics behind businesses that grow.Hosted by Justin Cesler (Driveline Studios) and Dr. Jamie Meyer (6757 Consulting).Subscribe for new episodesLike, comment, and share if this helped your businessMore at TheAutomotiveAdvantage.comAlso on Apple Podcasts and Spotify
Is the automotive industry actually slowing down? Not even close. In this episode of Automotive Advantage, Justin and the team break down three very different events from one stretch of "car summer" 2026 — the High Performance Expo (HPX) in Charlotte, Streetcar Takeover, and Hot Rod Power Tour — and answer the question most brands never ask: how do you actually measure whether an automotive event was worth it?This is a business-first look at the performance aftermarket: B2B vs. B2C strategy, event ROI, brand activation, content that converts, and why showing up the right way is now non-negotiable. From a JEGS distribution deal closed on the trade-show floor, to Tom Peters sketching a future Corvette live, to three Chevrolet Performance reels hitting 3 million views in a week — this is what the modern car business actually looks like.What you'll learn:How to set a goal before an event so you can measure real ROI afterwardThe difference between measuring a B2B trade show and a B2C consumer eventWhy "business development" — not booth traffic — is becoming the point of HPXHow big brands like Chevrolet Performance and Tremec activate authentically (and why engineers driving the cars matters)How event content turns into millions of views and real salesWhy being "culturally relevant" beats legacy reputation in 2026Chapters:0:00 — "No one's into cars anymore" — the Tesla Robotaxi myth0:30 — Three very different events in two weeks2:11 — High Performance Expo (HPX): Year 2 recap3:12 — Why HPX became a B2B business-development machine5:10 — Education & Power Talks at HPX5:33 — Building Cadillac's F1 powertrain from zero7:09 — State of the industry: where the market is headed in 20268:23 — The AI panel: Amazon Quick, agentic AI & MotorMia10:08 — When Gridlife & Streetcar Takeover met on stage11:35 — Inside the HPX Leadership Conference ($99 vs. $10K seminars)12:51 — How Greg Fornelli acquires companies (banker in the room)17:08 — Tom Peters draws a "secret" future Corvette, live21:46 — Live podcast + the new AutomotiveAdvantage.com24:05 — The networking trick that changes how you work a show25:48 — Streetcar Takeover takes over Concord (100 cop cars!)29:17 — Roll racing a 1,000-hp Trans Am at zMAX33:17 — Protecting your brand at the track (Vengeance Racing)36:32 — Hot Rod Power Tour & the 100th anniversary of Route 6641:38 — How big brands should activate (Chevrolet Performance & Tremec)42:52 — 3 reels, 3 million views: content that converts45:25 — How to measure a B2C event (leads & sales)47:39 — How to measure Streetcar Takeover48:42 — How to measure a B2B trade show (business development)53:55 — Looking ahead: Woodward Dream Cruise & Q354:16 — The CanCon × automotive crossover nobody expected56:12 — Why the industry has momentum heading into Q3Questions answered in this episode:How do you measure the ROI of a car show or automotive trade show?What's the difference between a B2B and B2C automotive event?How should brands activate at Hot Rod Power Tour or Streetcar Takeover?Is the automotive aftermarket growing in 2026?How does event content turn into sales?About Automotive Advantage:Automotive Advantage is a business-first automotive podcast for shop owners, operators, builders, marketers, and decision-makers who take this industry seriously. We explore the real mechanics behind successful automotive businesses — growth, leadership, brand positioning, sales, marketing, and operations in the performance aftermarket. No hype. No bench racing. Just real conversations that help serious automotive professionals build real advantage.🎧 Full archive, transcripts & key takeaways: https://automotiveadvantage.com▶️ Subscribe for new episodes and turn on notifications.#AutomotiveAdvantage #AutomotivePodcast #PerformanceAftermarket #HPX #HighPerformanceExpo #StreetcarTakeover #HotRodPowerTour #ChevroletPerformance #CarBusiness #AutomotiveMarketing #Route66 #CarSummer
What does it actually take to build one of the most influential
organizations in grassroots motorsports?
Chase Lautenbach got his start with 1320 Video — traveling the
country, covering races, and watching the machine Kyle Loftis was
building in real time. One phone call later, Street Car Takeover
was born in a Sonic parking lot.
Now it's an 18-race season, an $8M+ operation, a car dealership
specializing in 1,500-3,000hp builds, and one of the most
authentic communities in the automotive aftermarket.
In this episode, Chase breaks down:
→ How 1320 Video quietly pushed BILLIONS through the automotive
industry (and why nobody realized it until now)
→ Why Street Car Takeover has a spot for the broke 17-year-old
with an F-body AND the guy running 3-second passes
→ The business model behind a race series where the promoters
race their own cars
→ How Chase sells 2,000hp modified cars without Autotrader,
Bring a Trailer, or CarGurus — and why dealerships are calling
him to move cars they can't
→ The used supercar market forecast: which platforms are rising
in the next 12 months (R8, Huracán, GTR, Porsche)
→ The "Dreamer, Numbers Guy, Processes Guy" partnership
structure that makes it all work
→ Why going to events — not going viral — is how you actually
build reach
→ "Those who can't, teach" — Chase's take on real education
vs. business coaches
→ What Street Car Takeover is bringing to Charlotte for HPX
week — and why this might be the most car-guy week of the year
This is a business conversation. Real numbers. Real frameworks.
Real talk from someone who built something most people in this
industry are still trying to figure out.
Street Car Takeover: @streetcartakeover
Chase Lautenbach: @chaselautenbach
1320 Video: @1320video
High Performance Expo (HPX) Charlotte — June 2nd
Street Car Takeover Charlotte — same week
⚙️ Automotive Advantage is where the automotive industry comes
to think bigger, build smarter, and grow faster.
Subscribe and leave a review if this episode gave you something
to work with.
——— CHAPTERS ———
0:00 Cold Open — How Street Car Takeover Was Born
1:02 Welcome / Intro
1:25 Chase's Background & the 1320 Video Origin Story
3:23 What Kyle Loftis Built — Billions With a B
6:47 Why 1320 Always Put People First
7:58 Organic Reach & The Secret to Social Media
10:07 "Have Just Enough Fun to Not Get Sued"
11:06 Find Fun Friends — Advice for Struggling Creators
13:22 What Is Street Car Takeover, Really?
15:48 The Numbers: 18 Events, $8M+, 20,000 People
18:04 Why They Still Go to Small Events
19:37 The Promoters Who Race Their Own Cars
21:19 How Chase Called Out All of Charlotte (Organic Reach 101)
22:51 Advice for Small Promoters Just Starting Out
24:40 Race Ready Auto Sports — Selling the 1% of the 1%
26:57 How to Actually Sell a 2,000hp Modified Car
28:02 Margins on Modified vs. Stock Cars
29:38 Used Supercar Market Forecast — What's Rising in 2026
31:44 "How Did Everyone Get So Rich?"
33:00 The Black Z06 Nobody Will Buy (And Why)
36:31 How to Attract and Keep Great Talent
37:42 What Chase Actually Looks for in a Hire
38:29 The Dreamer, the Numbers Guy, and the Processes Guy
39:43 No Ego at the Top — Why SCT Has Never Been One Person
41:19 Nobody's Too Good to Fold Merch
43:12 HPX + Street Car Takeover Charlotte Same Week
45:22 Trade Shows, Handshake Deals & Real Relationships
45:43 What Chase Is Teaching at HPX
48:30 How to Handle Failure (And Why It Ain't That Deep)
51:27 The Cars Coming to HPX — 3,000hp GTR + 50 Shades Fox Body
52:51 Why SCT Draws Everyone — 20-Year-Olds, Women, Every Background
55:32 How to Build a Culture Where Nobody Feels Left Out
56:40 Where Chase Finds Inspiration
58:17 "Race Car Go Fast. It Ain't That Deep."
58:56 HPX Week Preview — What to Expect in Charlotte
1:01:15 How to Find Chase & Street Car Takeover
No guest this week, just Jamie and Justin working through what's actually going to happen in the automotive industry in 2026.
We introduced a new segment: a live prediction market where we debate five real automotive questions and put our takes on the record. New vehicle sales, Detroit Big Three moves, the Camaro's return timeline, NASCAR manufacturer titles, and aftermarket revenue. One of us had to legally abstain from a question. You'll know which one when you get there.
From there we recapped some of our recent guest episodes — Donnie Walsh Jr., Les Rudd, Ty Damon, and Johnny D — and what's been sticking with us since those conversations. We got into automotive photography as a brand strategy tool, the event season that's ramping up, what we're planning at HPX, and our ongoing AI Watch segment including shop robots, Claude throttling, and what $10,000 a month in AI spend actually looks like for a real business.
Drop your own automotive prediction in the comments. We want to build this market out.
Automotive Advantage | Where serious automotive professionals come to think bigger, build smarter, and grow faster.
#AutomotiveAdvantage #AutomotivePodcast #AutomotiveBusiness #AftermarketIndustry #HPX
What does a manufacturer's rep actually do and why does your shop need one? If you've ever been to SEMA, PRI, or HPX and wondered who those guys wearing branded shirts are covering every aisle, this episode is the answer.SEMA Hall of Famer Les Rudd of Bob Cook Sales joins Justin and Jamie on Automotive Advantage for a masterclass on the manufacturer's rep model. Nearly 50 years of relationships, territory, data, and deal-making that most shop owners and small manufacturers never fully tap into.What you'll learn in this episode:* What a manufacturer's rep is and how the model works in the automotive aftermarket* How new manufacturers should approach finding and working with a rep agency* Why a bad program is harder to recover from than a defective product* What shops are missing by not leveraging their reps (market intel, event support, product access)* How to read the aftermarket economy: fuel prices, consumer confidence, and why "flat is the new up" in 2026* The role of private equity in the aftermarket and why passion can't be managed by spreadsheet* Why Les thinks HPX will fill the Charlotte Convention Center within five years* The give-back culture of industry associations — SEMA, HPX Advisory Council, North Carolina Motorsports AssociationLes Rudd is the President of Bob Cook Sales, a manufacturer's rep agency covering the Southeast and Southwest and a SEMA Hall of Fame inductee. Bob Cook Sales has represented brands like ARP, Edelbrock, Comp Cams, DZ, Headman, and dozens more over nearly five decades.Contact Les: [email protected] | bobcooksales.comAutomotive Advantage is a business-first automotive podcast for shop owners, brand leaders, and operators who take this industry seriously.New episodes drop weekly! Subscribe so you don't miss one.#automotiveaftermarket #manufacturersrep #automotivebusiness #performanceindustry
How do you build a performance shop that lasts 36 years? Donnie Walsh Jr. of D&D Performance in Wixom, Michigan has the answer and it starts with a dad, two slicks, a jack, and a trunk full of nitrous bottles in the late 1980s.
In this episode of Automotive Advantage, Justin sits down with one of the most respected names in Mustang and performance transmission history. Donnie and his father started D&D Performance out of their basement building T5 transmissions running a single print ad with hours from 6 to 9 PM. Today, D&D is a full-service performance shop specializing in Tremec and BorgWarner transmissions, driveline builds, supercharger and turbocharger installs, and dyno tuning — and they're up 20% year over year.
In this episode:
D&D Performance is one of the most trusted names in Ford performance and Tremec transmission builds in the country. If you're a shop owner, performance enthusiast, or automotive business operator this conversation is a masterclass in staying relevant, staying profitable, and staying true to why you started.
Subscribe to Automotive Advantage the podcast built for serious automotive business professionals.
New episodes every week on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
#AutomotiveAdvantage #PerformanceShop #DDPerformance #DonnieWalsh #FoxBodyMustang #TremecTransmission #MustangDragRacing #NMRA #AutomotiveBusiness #PerformanceAftermarket #BorgWarner #T5Transmission #SuperchargerBuild #DynoTuning #AutomotivePodcast #ShopOwner #AftermarketBusiness #MustangPerformance #CarBusiness #PerformanceAftermarketPodcast
The Tremec Manual Transaxle stopped SEMA cold. Phones are ringing off the hook. And yet... the Corvette world isn't sure what to believe.In this episode of Automotive Advantage, we sit down with Mike Kidd, Aftermarket Business Unit Manager at Tremec, to get the straight story on the manual transaxle that became the most talked-about Corvette product and why the internet's assumptions about it being a factory C8 option were dead wrong.Mike sets the record straight, breaks down what this transmission actually is, who it's built for, and when you can get your hands on one. We also dig into why manual transmissions are dying in production vehicles but why the aftermarket demand has never been stronger.What We Cover:* The C8 Manual Transaxle: How fake is it?* Why Tremec built it (and what it's NOT)* When can you actually buy one? (The 2027 timeline)* What else can it fit? GT500, GTD, and beyond* Manual transmissions are down to 2% of production vehicles — here's why that's a lie* Why a C7 Grand Sport manual is worth $10–15K more than an automatic right now* Tremec's full product lineup: TKX, Magnum, T5, and the new aftermarket DCT* How Tremec uses vehicle registration data to spot market opportunities* 37 shows a year: how Tremec wins the floor at SEMA, Power Tour, and Mustang Week* How to get a Tremec sponsorship (and what actually gets you renewed)🔗 Find Tremec:Website: tremec.comTech Line: 800-401-9866Automotive Advantage is the podcast for automotive aftermarket owners, operators, and builders who take the business side of this industry seriously. New episodes drop weekly.🔔 Subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next.👍 If this was useful, leave us a like, it helps other serious automotive professionals find the show.#C8Corvette #ManualTransmission #Tremec #CorvetteGrandSport
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