Benjamin Charles Watson Talks About Joining the Cast of AMC’s “The Killing.”
Benjamin Charles Watson recently joined the cast of AMC’s “The Killing.” Watson plays the character of ‘Rayna,’ an outspoken cross-dresser who longs to be loved and accepted for who he really is. He co-stars with actors Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman.
You might have seen Ben in the short lived, CW series “The L.A. Complex” that aired last year. He played the role of Tariq. Ben’s film credits include a lead role in “The Limits” and the short film “Pooka.” His other television credits include SyFy’s “Warehouse 13″ and the TV movie for CBS “Jesse Stone: Innocents Lost.”
Watson was nice enough to answer my questions about his new role on “The Killing” and his past TV experiences.
Art Eddy: You joined the cast of AMC’s “The Killing” this season. Tell me about your role and what your character brings to the show?
Benjamin Watson: I play ‘Rayna’ on this season’s “The Killing”. She’s an outrageous, full-of-life, transgendered teen trying to find acceptance and love in her world. What Rayna brings to the show is vital because she sees something she isn’t supposed to see, and ultimately could put her street credibility in jeopardy.
AE: Were you a fan of the show before landing the role of Rayna?
BW: Absolutely! I was a huge, huge fan of the show!! The writing is spectacular, I loved the clever bravado of the characters, and not to mention the story itself, plus the outcome of season two had me in tears.
AE: What type of research and preparation did you do this role?
BW: I read a ton of books and online journals to understand the psychological mindset of someone coping with being the wrong gender. I also watched several YouTube videos of individuals going through the same changes. They talked about the journey and how they were discriminated against, which was very important because Rayna had been hugely discriminated against and abused by her stepfather.
And let’s not forget that I had to walk in a lot of high heels, so that preparation resulted in lots of ice packs and soaking of my feet!
AE: How was it to build up a chemistry with the cast of “The Killing?”
BW: I found building a chemistry to be pretty easy, because being a part of the street kids felt like we were a family. We would also hang out and have dinner and movie nights together, which helped our bond show through naturally on screen.
Mireille and Joel are such talented and amazing actors, and actually make you feel as if you’re a part of the family. So from that aspect, it was like working with amazing old friends.
AE: We are a few shows into this season. Have you received any feedback from fans about your character?
BW: Everyone so far has said that they didn’t recognize me and that this character is so different from what they have known me to play. But so far all positive responses!
AE: You starred as Tariq Muhammad in the TV series “L.A. Complex.” Was that your first show as a regular cast member and if so what was that experience like?
BW: Yes, it was my first time being a series regular, and the experience was terrifying but also incredibly amazing and stimulating. It gave me the opportunity to grow with my character over a longer, sustained amount of time, and I understood and felt so much of Tariq and his desire to find love. It was truly a remarkable experience!
AE: Do you still stay in touch with the cast of “L.A. Complex?”
BW: When opportunity presents itself I do keep in touch, but with schedules and being in different cities it gets complicated.
AE: You also were on the SyFy’s “Warehouse 13″ which has a geek cult type following. What do you remember about doing that show?
BW: Wow!! I remember getting on set in downtown Toronto where we were transported to “Egypt” and I was simply amazed!
AE: Are you currently working on other projects?
BW: I’m currently working on a few of my own projects at the moment. I have been writing a script for the past 3 years that is close to my heart, and I’m getting closer to getting it on camera.
Jun 24th
Smell like a Comic Book Icon with Stan Lee’s Signature Cologne
There have been colognes made for actors, athletes, and singers. Now there is a brand of cologne that is perfect for the fanboys. Stan Lee, who is a living legend in the comic book world, now has his own signature scent. He was the president and chairman of Marvel Comics. He was the genius behind characters such as Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, Thor, and many more.
Stan also makes a cameo in all of the latest Marvel Comic movies like “The Avengers” and “Iron Man.” For a guy who has been a comic book writer, editor, publisher, media producer, television host, actor, and voice actor it was about time he got himself a cologne. Lee teamed up with JADS International to create the perfect scent for Stan.
Stan Lee’s Signature Cologne is as sophisticated as “Smilin” Stan Lee himself. The fragrance is as adventurous as Stan’s superheroes, yet it can make you feel a bit villainous. Stan himself wanted it that way for his beloved fans.
“Fans know me best as someone who creates superhero characters and stories for comics, movies, TV and the web, so this is a highly exciting step for me to expand into the cologne world as well,” said Stan Lee, Founder of POW! Entertainment. “Not only do I want fans to look sharp like their favorite superhero and their Generalissimo here, but I thought wouldn’t it be fun to offer them the chance to smell like one to whether they have a date or a rendezvous with an ally.”
It has Stan’s personal touch as it possesses crisp blends of bergamot, ginger, white pepper, basil, and violet layered in with accords of cedar, vetiver and musk. This enticing scent will make you a “True Believer”.
I spoke with JADS International CEO, Andrew Levine about working with Stan to create the cologne. He said, “We’re ‘true believers’ and deeply honored that the one and only Smilin’ Stan Lee teamed-up with JADS to help produce a signature cologne reflective of his talents, creativity and contributions to the awesome world of comics and superheroes.”
Andrew also told me that Stan was the one who approached him during a comic convention when they were showcasing the Avengers cologne line.
“Stan was very impressed with our products and wanted to get a scent of his own. He is a great guy and meant so much to the comic book world. We are happy to work with him every step of the way. The cologne smells great and more importantly Stan was happy with the end results.”
The scent was even put on display at the Philly Comic Con to see what fanboys and fangirls thought of Stan Lee’s cologne.
If you are looking for more comic book scents try the Avengers line. There is the Patriot which is the scent of Captain America. This is a cologne that pays homage to the confident, stand-up-to-bullies, hardworking average Joe in every man.
Next is the Mark VII, the scent of Iron Man, a resolutely sophisticated cologne forged from the sea, the sun, the earth, and a touch of devil-may-care whimsy. Transparent, aromatic, and modern in nature, Mark VII combines mandarin, neroli, nasturtium and jasmine layered with light patchouli to create a contemporary expression of “I don’t play well with others” confidence.
For those with a god complex you can try Worthy, the scent of Thor. This woody citrus cologne is a unique, meaningful combination of bergamot, frozen ginger and wheat grass blended with a hint of fresh natural grapefruit and layered deeply with aromatic cypress.
For those who have an angry side try out SMASH! This is the scent of the Hulk. Very unusual and rare materials have been brought together to create a woody aquatic cologne evoking both a serene sense of timeless freedom and a single-minded, unbridled passion for life.
Jun 24th
The Minimalist Wallet by Capsule
It’s hard to be a nimble and modern man with a George Costanza wallet. That’s why I was so thrilled when I got my hands on a Minimalist Wallet by Kickstarter success story Capsule.
This little beauty has become the centerpiece of my pocket downsizing movement. The high quality leather and practical design hit me right in the sweet spot of form and function. The CashStrap feature holds my money tight while the dual card pockets fit my essential plastic easily. Easily two thumbs up from the MANjr team.
$50-$65 USD
Jun 24th
“Under the Dome” Producer and Showrunner Neal Baer Talks About What Fans Can Expect From the Series
“Under the Dome”, which premieres Monday, June 24 10:00 ET/PT on CBS, is based on Stephen King’s bestselling novel about a small town that is suddenly and inexplicably sealed off from the rest of the world by a massive transparent dome.
“Under the Dome” stars Mike Vogel, Rachelle Lefevre, Dean Norris, Natalie Martinez, Britt Robertson, Alexander Koch, Colin Ford, Nicholas Strong, Jolene Purdy and Aisha Hinds.
One of the producers and showrunner of this series is Neal Baer. Neal has helped to produce hit TV series such as “ER” and “Law and Order: SVU.” Not only did he make a name for himself in Hollywood, but he also received graduated from Harvard Medical School.
I sat down to chat with Neal to talk about “Under the Dome” and how it was to work with Stephen King. Plus we talked a bit about his time on “ER.”
Art Eddy: “Under the Dome” is an adaptation of the 2009 Stephen King novel with the same name. Can you give me a brief synopsis of the series?
Neal Baer: Imagine living in some small town in the United States and one day inexplicably an invisible dome falls over your town. No one can get in and no one can get out. How would that change your life? That is the basis for the novel and the basis for our show.
We are trapped under the dome and life changes in ways that the citizens of Chester’s Mill never expected.
AE: Stephen King has been working with you on the production of the show. I know he has helped out on past projects that made his books into television series. How is it to work with him?
NB: No, I have never worked with him before. I’ve always been a huge fan of his work going all the way back to “Stand by Me,” “Carrie,” all these great books and short novellas that were made into films. It is really a thrill and honor to work with him.
He came to the set. We shoot in North Carolina for the first few episodes. That was really fun for everybody to see and meet him. He watches all of our episodes and reads our scripts. We chat with him about ideas. It has been really fun.
AE: Is there much difference to the show and your interpretation of the story compared to his novel?
NB: We really see the book as a stepping off place. It allows us to have this really unique format. We have the town of Chester’s Mill. We have a lot of the characters who appear in the book. We have the whole situation.
Then the television show can go week by week and explore in a different way than a novel can. What the lives of the characters are like through dialogue and behavior. Whereas a book is much more descriptive and tells of course what people are thinking.
There is a big difference between the two in that way. We are fortunate to be able to draw on many of the things that Stephen has in his book, but with his blessing we are able to go in other directions as well.
AE: Tell me about the process of casting for this series?
NB: We started casting in November. We cast Dean Norris from “Breaking Bad” as Big Jim Rennie. Rachelle Lefevre from “Twilight” as Julia and Mike Vogel, who was just recently on “Bates Motel” as Barbie.
We have some young actors Britt Robertson, Natalie Martinez, Colin Ford, and Nicholas Strong. A new actor, who literally came into audition for his first audition after college, a guy named Alexander Koch. We cast him as Junior. We cast him off his first audition for television, which really never happens. It must be Hollywood, you know. That is a Hollywood story.
We were so impressed with him. We just think that he is phenomenal. He was doing a lot of work in college and theatre. So he had a lot of training. It is really great to bring on someone who no one has ever seen before.
AE: What can viewers expect out of this series?
NB: There are a number of things that I think are fun about the show. One is that there are a lot of mysteries that we introduce in the first episode. We will give you hints and clues and take you through the mysteries and certainly solve a lot of them.
Then there is the mythology of the dome and what it means and what’s it about as our characters start to explore that. Then just the character elements of being in this hot house under the dome. It is very intense. Secrets that could have been easily kept where you could disappear or leave town. Now you are stuck and secrets start to leak out.
AE: I find it very fascinating on how you studied at Harvard Medical School to become a doctor and you have been the executive producer of hit shows like “ER” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” Can you tell me a bit about that journey?
NB: I am from Denver, Colorado. I used to go to movie as a kid. I would take a bus to go to downtown Denver to see movies. I thought I would end up being a doctor, but even before becoming a doctor I was a graduate student at Harvard in sociology. I started taking film making courses because I wasn’t really happy with sociology.
I fell in love with making documentaries. That led me to go to film school in California at the American Film Institute. That led me to start writing. The first show I wrote on was “China Beach.” I also did what was back then called an ABC Afterschool Special that I wrote and directed called “Private Affairs.” That was my first project.
I thought that was what I wanted to do, but I got cold feet when my son was born. I ended up going back to school to medical school at Harvard. When I was in my fourth year, my childhood friend, John Wells, hired me on “China Beach.” He then sent me the script for “ER.” He said ‘What do you think?’ I said it is like my life only it was outdated because Michael Crichton wrote it in 1969. This was 25 years later in 1994.
Stephen Spielberg owned it so he decided it would make a great TV show. John asked me to come back from Boston to work on it for a couple of months to bring some authenticity to it. I ended up staying seven years, but I finished my M.D. and I did residency at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles while I was on “ER” and part of the two years when I was on (“Law and Order) SVU.”
AE: I have always wondered while watching shows like “ER” if the medical jargon the actors are saying is really what a doctor would say. I read that you would help out shows like “ER” with that. Is that correct?
NB: I did the medical stories the first seven years. We always had two doctors on the set. So when Noah Wyle, George Clooney, Eriq La Salle or Anthony Edwards would sew up a wound it looked real. They actually learned how to suture on chicken parts. They would be sewing chicken pieces. Eriq and Noah got really into it. They were taught to make it look real by real emergency physicians who were always on the show from the very beginning.
AE: Speaking of the cast members of “ER.” I heard that George Clooney is known to perform pranks on some film sets. Did he ever do anything like that on “ER?”
NB: Oh yeah! He once took a latex glove and filled it with lubricant. Julianna Margulies had to put the glove on in the scene. It was amazing to see her expression when she grabs the glove and slides her hand in it. She was like, ‘Oh my God.’ That was one of the many things that George did.
To hear the entire interview click here!
Jun 21st
Transform Your Phone Pics into Wall Art
Have you ever taken a picture on your phone and couldn’t believe how great it turned out? These days some of us take pictures with our phone over a camera. If you ever wanted to immortalize a picture on your phone well there is an app for your iPhone and now your Android device.
Pixuru, a smartphone-to-wall art app, allows users to send photos from their phones to Pixuru’s printing facility, choose the type and size of print, and receive the order within a week.
The app is extremely user-friendly. Simply take a picture or choose one from Instagram or Facebook and the app guides you through the rest of the process, simulating size and style on a wall background. Once users select the size and style of their wall art, they are led to a simple checkout process. The app will remember a user’s information to streamline the process for subsequent orders.
There are four different types of wall art to choose from: canvas, metal, wood and framed. With the canvas, metal, or wood materials, you have the option of splitting one image into a three or four-panel split from one image. Each print is inspected before going out to ensure the professional quality Pixuru guarantees.
Pixuru has a patent-pending printing process and technology that can produce large prints while keeping the integrity of the picture. Pixuru produces professional quality wall art at consumer prices. The smallest print, a 6”x6”, is $20 and a 16”x20” is $55, all with free shipping.
Jun 20th
Rihanna Smacks Grabby Fan With Mic At Concert
I always wondered what would happen if a fan got to grabby with a performer during a concert. I now know what Rihanna would do in that situation.
During her stop in Birmingham, England on her worldwide tour a fan clung on too long for Rihanna’s taste. While singing “We Found Love” she was prancing around the stage and went into the crowd.
As she was giving high fives to her fans one member of the audience grabbed onto RiRi’s hand. As a result she hit him with her microphone. So next time you go to a concert don’t mess with Rihanna. Here are a few videos from people in the audience.
Jun 19th
‘The Third Date’ at the Hollywood Fringe Festival
‘The Third Date’, Written by Deborah Gross, Directed by Doug Hannah, is a funny and original one act play featuring Peter Cilella (Evan) and Megan Raye Manzi (Allie). The likable pair meet at Evan’s apartment for their infamous third date, filled with nerves and expectations for the night. The expected awkward banter is interrupted by the appearances of Barrie (Rebecca Mader) and Helmer (Antonio Alvarez). These ghosts of relationships past proceed to charm, distract and antagonize our young would-be lovers from each other’s arms while their fears and neuroses are revealed to each other and the audience.
Megan Raye Manzi and Peter Cilella do good work as Allie and Evan, portraying the clumsy early moments of a relationship without becoming caricatures. Rebecca Mader plays Barrie with enthusiasm, giving “the hot exotic ex girlfriend” character both charm and humor. Antonio Alvarez, who stepped in for Chris Wylde on our night, was convincing and likable as Helmer. Both Barrie and Helmer were written and played as likable yet pompous, finding camaraderie with their ‘competition’ while also sabotaging their efforts from within.
At 40 minutes, this well written and subtly directed piece deserved it’s full and raucous house. The one act satisfies it’s mission and leaves you entertained and amused.
There are two showings left, Wednesday, June 26th at 7:30 pm and Sunday June 30th at 5:00 pm. Tickets and information can be found here, via the Hollywood Fringe’s web site.
Jun 19th
Comedian Pete Holmes new show will follow Conan on TBS
Pete Holmes is a very funny comedian and he is being rewarded for that fact as he will have a show on TBS right after the Conan O’Brien show. The show will launch in the Fall of this year. The new show will be produced by Conan O’Brien’s Conaco production company. It will follow Conan’s schedule with shows airing Mondays through Thursdays. If you can’t wait until the Fall, well Holmes has an outstanding podcast called “You Made It Weird” on the Nerdist Podcast Network.
Pete has studied and performed at Chicago’s Improv Olympic and Playground theaters, as well as Boston’s Improv Asylum Theater and New York City’s Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.
He is also known for his voice of the e*trade baby. One of my personal favorites from him is his Batman parodies on the website CollegeHumor. Pete was named one of Variety’s Top Ten Comics to Watch in 2011. If that is not enough Pete also draws cartoons for “The New Yorker”, and has written for shows such as NBC’s “Outsourced” and FOX’s “I Hate My Teenage Daughter.”
Last month he released his DVD “Nice Try, The Devil.” In his first hour-long special on Comedy Central, Pete does a phenomenal job as he displays his signature brand of comedy. His skits on Pierce and Juan, Good Time McDonald’s, Atlanta, Dropped a Dog, and Gay for Gosling are superb.
Me and my boys from the Masters of None Podcast show had the pleasure to talk to Pete. We talked about his new show, drinking wine on stage, and why his show is perfect to follow after Conan. He even helped us out with our show topic on the worst fictional dads of all time. To listen to the show click here.
Jun 14th
Last Minute Father’s Day Gift – Samsung Galaxy Note 8 (Review)
All guys love gadgets, especially dads. So if you haven’t sorted out your Father’s Day gift yet, don’t worry. There’s still time. Sure, you could buy some socks or some golf accessories or some other lame excuse for a gift, but don’t you think it’s about time you showed your pops a bit more appreciation on his special day?
Enter the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, the device that looks like a tablet and feels like a smartphone. That’s really the first thing you notice about it. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is not as heavy or clunky as an iPad and it’s not as tiny as a smartphone. It’s comparable to an iPad Mini, but it offers a few things that the iPad can’t.
The first thing you’ll notice about this little tablet is that it comes with a 5.5 mm S Pen. This little stylus lets you jot down notes, personalize emails, crop and save just about anything and doodle for days. It slides right into the device itself (with a handy little storage slot at the bottom), so you don’t have to worry about losing it. You can also set the S Pen to hover mode and move it around like a mouse on a desktop. If you like a bit of notepad love with your digital tablet, the S Pen is a huge addition.
The multi-window mode is another feature that sets the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 apart from the iPad Mini. In multi-view mode, you can have two apps running simultaneously. Wanna browse the web and take some notes? Not a problem. Shuffle through tunes while you doodle? Keep em both active. This really takes the second screen experience to another level. You can literally be doing two things at once while you watch whatever TV programs are cluttering your DVR. It’s a great mutli-tasking tool for a new, attention-deficit-driven generation. If you’re looking for a tablet with an integrated HDMI output for sharing photos and videos on a TV or computer monitor, we have a roundup of top picks.
Group Play is another sweet feature that lets you integrate your Galaxy Note 8 with other devices. You can listen to music on multiple devices, collaborate on photos, slideshows, documents and more. It works well for quickly marking up docs and sharing PDFs.
And man, this thing weighs less than one pound and it’s got an 8-inch WXGA display. You can lay it on a table and type, write, game, browse the web, etc., but you can also one-hand this bad boy and watch a video with a steady palm grip. It fits in the pocket of your track jacket, but not in the front pocket of your Levi’s. If you don’t want to schlep around a laptop or full-size tablet, but you want to extend your entertainment outside your phone, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is a solid middle-of-the-road option.
Although photography likely isn’t your main purpose for picking up on of these devices, there’s a 5MP AF + 1.3MP VT camera in the mix if you need it. You also have full HD playback (1080P) and HD recording capabilities as well.
But the thing that your pops will love the most is that the Galaxy Note 8 can also function as a universal remote control! That’s right, man. Your dad can sit on the couch and pretend to be working on business stuff while also overriding your channel selections. What dad wouldn’t be into that?
There are a couple things about the Galaxy Note 8 that’ll take some time to get used to. The keyboard function on this thing is less than ideal for sausage-finger folks. So if your dad’s got a case on the man-hands, he’ll likely need a Bluetooth enabled keyboard to get any real typing done. The sausage finger factor can also get annoying when you accidently thumb the bottom right button. The back button comes in handy, yes, but not when you got an inadvertent finger shift while watching a YouTube clip. The Galaxy Note 8 is also as slippery as a recently mopped floor of a Burger King bathroom, so you’ll need to invest in some sort of case or something, especially if this thing is going to be held with one hand on the regular.
The Androidy-ness of the Galaxy Note 8 is really where it’s at. Apple’s great and all but Google Play is way better than iTunes. Having a MicroSD slot is just awesome. The intuitive nature of the auto-correct suggestions is also super helpful. Again, this isn’t anything new for Android users, but it’s better than the crazy auto-correct settings that come standard on an iPhone/iPad.
Bottom line, I like this little guy and your pops will, too. It’s just big enough to give you the right balance between phone and tablet. The screen is gorgeous, the dimensions are ideal for one-handing and the thing weighs next to nothing. Yes, it will set you back nearly four bills, but so what? Isn’t your dad worth it?
Jun 13th
NASCAR driver Trevor Bayne chats about racing and The Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Competition
Trevor Bayne had a really outstanding week this past week. He got married and then come Saturday he headed straight to Iowa where he landed in Victory Lane. This weekend he will be driving at the Michigan International Speedway.
While he is in Michigan he took part in the 2013 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Competition National Finals. Students compete to win scholarships and prizes. Plus the winning team will also have a weeklong job shadowing Bayne and Wood Brothers Racing leading up to and during the Coke Zero 400 this July in Daytona.
I was able to talk with Trevor on the phone about racing, his wedding, and the 2013 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Competition. Plus I also got to ask him what his car of choice is when he is not on the track.
Art Eddy: I have to say congratulations twice to you. One for getting married this past week and then winning the Nationwide at Iowa on Saturday. Tell me how you plan to top last weekend with this weekend?
Trevor Bayne: (Laughs) Well that was a big weekend for us. It was a big week getting married and it was a huge deal and bigger than anything I could ever do on the racetrack. I topped it off by winning at Iowa last weekend. Pretty incredible weekend for us. Ashton told me all along that as soon as we got married I had to win the next race. So I guess I should have married her a long time ago. That’s when we knew we lived up to the pressure she put on me. So we will have to keep that going.
AE: How hard was it to transition from wedding day to racing day?
TB: It was okay. I have been doing this since I was five years old. This is pretty much all I have ever known. Ashton is obviously a trooper because we got married on Tuesday. We ended up going to Iowa for our honeymoon. If she can handle that she is a big support factor.
For me as far as flipping the switch it seems like we do that every week. We have crazy stuff going on just like I am up in Michigan today. Flying back to Charlotte. Then flying back to Michigan on Thursday morning to get ready for the race. It is always a busy lifestyle, but once you get to the racetrack you can turn it all off, hop in the car and try and get the most out of it.
AE: People joked about having your honeymoon at the Iowa Speedway. I take it that the honeymoon will happen after this season is over.
TB: Yea I am hoping so. I am hoping that this offseason we will get together somewhere whether it’s somewhere warm like a beach. Get to go on vacation for a little bit and call it a honeymoon. So that will be a good excuse for it.
AE: Your first win was in 2011 with coming in first place at the Daytona 500. What a place to get your first win right?
TB: Winning the Daytona 500 in 2011 was beyond anything I could ever imagine. Being my first time at that race driving for the Wood Brothers. Seeing them back at Victory Lane was worth it. I have been waiting on that moment ever since I started racing. I wanted to make it to the Sprint Cup level in NASCAR and be a contender to win.
I never really pictured it to happen that soon in the first attempt there. I just have great people around me that gave me that opportunity and a great racecar that day. Everything worked out perfect. It was pretty much a miracle. There was no way I should have won that race. I was praying all day and saying God I want to experience you and see your power. I didn’t know that that meant a win, but I guess that is how it happened that day.
AE: You are now in Michigan for the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition. Tell me a bit about this great program.
TB: Yea it is an awesome program. I have been a part of it for the last three years. For that last two years I have come up to Michigan for the grand finale. Ford and AAA have put it on for the last 64 years. Ford actually has been with it for 19 years, but 64 years is how long the competition has been going on.
It starts out with 13,000 students. They narrow it down to 100 students. Two from each state along with an instructor from that state. They come here to Michigan for the finals. They had Ford Explorers here today. They were all bugged. I think that they had 14 bugs on the car. They didn’t tell what the students what was wrong. Then the students have to go in and try and figure out what is wrong, why the thing won’t run. Why the windshield wipers don’t work, or the blinkers or whatever. Try to fix the car and put it through the line for inspection.
The quickest team with the least flaws obviously, there was a perfect car today and pass a written test. The people that win that are rewarded with scholarships. They get to come to Charlotte, North Carolina for a week and hang out with our race team and then go to the Daytona Speedway with us in July.
AE: How psyched are you to be part of this program?
TB: Just getting people interested in the automotive industry whether it is working at a Ford dealership or being part of a NASCAR team. It is awesome to see these kids who are 17, 18 years old with as much knowledge as they have can perform under pressure like they did today.
AE: Where is your favorite track to compete at?
TB: I would say one of my favorite tracks is the Atlanta Motorsport Speedway or Bristol. Bristol being the home track. Atlanta just being a cool place, kind of worn out and old school and I enjoy racing there. So I would say those are my favorites.
AE: What do you do in the off-season when you are not racing?
TB: The off-season is normally kind of time for me to reload. We go 10 months straight without any off weekend from pretty much Valentine’s Day to November. It is a lot of work and a lot of time. It is a full time job. So my wife and I would go on some trips with some friends. I try to gain some perspective because you can caught up in racing and think you have a bad day since you came in fifth. Whereas some people in the world don’t have anything.
AE: Out the cars you own which is your favorite to drive?
TB: My Ford Raptor. That thing is fun to drive. I got it in 2011 after winning the 500. I never want to give it back.
To listen to the entire interview click here!
Jun 12th
