RTM Productions based in TN  knows automotive and motorsports and proves it with a strong crew of experts, one of the most beautiful female hosts on television, and a PowerBlock of automotive shows on Spike TV.

In January I was invited to join the PowerBlock crew to be a special guest, co-host with Courtney Hansen. As the EBC Brakes spokesperson, I featured the EBC Breaks sport rotors and pads, talked a little shop, discussed specs and install techniques, and chatted with Courtney about my 2010 EBC Brakes campaign & Pep Boys tour schedule.

As you know, I’ve worked in and around the automotive industry for a long time. Yet, this was my first time working with RTM Productions, Courtney Hansen, and Spike TV and I’ll admit, I was a tiny bit nervous. However, weeks leading up to our shoot, the RTM producers and writers were sooo extremely professional, thorough, and friendly, my jitters were calmed as  I felt as though I had known them forever (their great sense of humor and funny jokes helped as well – lol.)

When I pulled into the parking lot, I was impressed with the size of the property and building. Upon walking in I see a welcome sign that lists the names of all the featured special guests that will be shooting on the PowerBlock that day (thought that was a sweet gesture) the front office woman greets me with a warm smile “welcome to RTM, we are so happy to have you here today.”   Then out walks Justin Swanson one of the producers and I get a BIG welcome squeeze!

Justin walks me down the hall to introduce me to the man himself Joe St. Lawrence who couldn’t have been any more hospitable. We had a nice chat  a few a laughs, and Justin offers to give me a tour of the entire facilities (including each studio, where I was able to get a sneak peak at the rebuilds and plans for each vehicle) pretty neato huh?!

In the waiting room, there is a large monitor where featured guests, waiting for their turn to shoot, can watch the PowerBlock being shot and familiarize themselves with the flow of production. I was the last guest to shoot and it had been a long day for the production crew. Yet, you would have never known it by the energy and attitude they all displayed. 

Now, I already know what you are going to ask me…because since this shoot, I’ve been asked this a bunch of times. Is Courtney really as nice as she is on TV? No, she is not! She is even nicer than she is on TV. Hahaha I got yha- lol! Courtney and I hit it off from the start and within minutes we were sharing fashion and health tips, talking about her wedding, family life, and oh yes, of course about cars, engines and our favorite automotive products. The production crew (all guys) were cracking up listening to us.

Working as a model for over 12 years, I’ve worked with many beautiful woman…but I’m going to tell you, Courtney Hansen is one of the most beautiful, friendly, funny, and down to eath women I’ve ever worked with. Oh yea…and to top it off, she also extremely intelligent. Sorry guys, you’ll have to keep dreaming, because she is engaged and head over heels with her fiance – lucky man right?!

My feature on PowerBlock will air in March, I’ll keep you posted on the dates. In the meantime, check out the line of EBC Brakes – the best sport rotors and brake pads in the world! Sign up for the EBC blog, and keep stoping by my site as well for new updates, photos, and videos.

Click here for a sneak peak of one of the billboards we shot

As you all know, SEMA is the “Super Bowl of Automotive” it’s the largest automotive display, party, business function and network’s paradise.

Normally, I’m there shooting an episode or two for a TV series, however, this year, I was there as the “official female spokesperson / TV personality” representing EBC Brakes.

When I arrived at the airport in Orange County, Ca I ran into my friend Bill O’Roake who is a long time employee of Mickey Thompson, to my surprise he was on my flight. The trip was off to a great start and I hadn’t even arrived in Las Vegas yet!

I landed and hitched a ride to my hotel with team Mickey Thompson. Before even reaching the hotel I started receiving text messages, tweets, IMs, emails, facebook notes, etc all regarding SEMA updates, unveiling’s, party invites and inquiries regarding whether or not I thought this years event was going to be a success or a ghost town (many individuals were extremely concerned about attendance, etc due to the economy.)

The EBC booth was exhibiting at the Las Vegas Convention Center and was located in the far right-hand corner of the south hall. Due to the location, none of us thought that we would see much foot traffic, till close to noon. However, that wasn’t the case at all! We were literally crazy busy from the time we reached the booth till closing every day! Personally, I feel that this is a nice sign for the automotive industry in 2010.

The other thing I really enjoyed about SEMA 09, was finally getting the chance to catch up with all of my long time friends. After all, SEMA is similar to a giant automotive family reunion – lol!

Special thanks to:

Team EB Brakes – I love working with you guys!

Dennis Gage (My Classic Car Host) and his crew for inviting me to join them at the SEMA banquet.

Steve Russo and Jon Van Buren (two of my newest team members) for all the SEMA still images.

Enjoy more images from SEMA here:

Gallery one

Gallery two

Behind the scenes videos on Qik shot with my N95.

You know him as Lugg Nutzz a multi talented TV Host, Emcee, Radio personality, etc, etc with a crazy knowledge of motorsports and automotive. I know him as a caring, wonderful, person and friend who helps in assisting kid’s battling cancer.

Gordon “Lug Nutzz” Stewart, Vice Chairman of America’s Baby Cancer Foundation, hosted a party and fund raiser at Celebrity Car designer Rich Evans shop in Huntington Beach, Ca on Sat Dec 19, 2009.

I felt honored to be among one of the celebrity guests to promote, attend and join Gordon “Lugg Nutzz” for this terrific event. 

Some of other featured guests that stopped by to sign autographs and spend time with the children were; former NFL player Kirk Dodge of the Denver Broncos, Newport Beach Patron’ Porsche and NASCAR Racer Brian Wong, NASCAR Team Cass Racing’s Auggie Vidovich, GoLiveStream.TV/Realfast.tv, sponsored Racer’s Brad Pounds, Hurricane Heidi Tresler, and Brandon Thompson.

The ABCF hosted patients from Miller Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Orange County, UCLA.

If you are interested in donating and/or assisitng the America’s Baby Cancer Foundation, please check out the website here http://www.babycancer.org Your help will go a long way in assisting these children and their families to get the proper medical treatments and support!

We would also like to invite you to join us at an upcoming event, click here to check the schedule http://www.horsepowerheros.com We look forward to seeing you soon.

To view the gallery of images from the event click here.

It just gets better each and every year!

John Force, his family and race team sure know how to throw a party and lemme tell you…this is no secret! People come from all over the country to support the annual John Force Holiday Car Show.

Every year I meet the nicest people, see the sweetest cars, and talk shop with some of motorsports most notable individuals.

Of course, every good party/event has a wonderful host and coordinator behind it. Who’s the man behind the curtain? None other than (drum-roll please) Craig Hoelzel!

As you know I attended many, many, many automotive events during the year. Yet, there is something about the John Force Holiday Show that takes the cake! Would you like a little taste? Check out the gallery of images below.

See gallery of images by clicking here.

I hope to see you all there next year!

In closing, I’d like to thank photographers Steve Russo and Jon Van Buren, two of my new team members.

GC

Join Gordon “Lug Nutzz” Stewart

As we welcome all to join us for the 6th Annual

“America’s Baby Cancer Foundation” Holiday Party

SATURDAY December 19^th, noon to 4:00pm in Huntington Beach!  

FOR IMMEDIATE Re-RELEASE: December 11, 2009

SUNSET BEACH Ca.  For the sixth consecutive year Huntington Beach California based America’s Baby Cancer Foundation has loaded Santa’s sleigh with toy’s for our Holiday Party December 19th. The ABCF annual Christmas party for kid’s battling cancer and life threatening illnesses is one of the highlight’s of our year said Gordon “Lug Nutzz” Stewart, Vice Chairman of America’s Baby Cancer Foundation. We had almost 200 children attending the event the past few years, and the kid’s really look forward to a day away from treatments and hospital life. ABCF will be hosting patients from Miller Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Orange County, UCLA, UCI and Fountain Valley Hospital. Over the years with ESPN2 ,SPEED, Sirius and of Course Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. I have been impressed with the kindness and generosity of race fan’s, and people I have met all over the country. We have had SO many fan’s, friends and companies donate gifts, services, raffle items and most importantly there time to visit with our kid’s on this annual event! So Cal Bandolero Racing’s Triple A racing will be bringing car’s and a crew challenge area for kid’s to participate in! 

Former NFL player Kirk Dodge of the Denver Broncos, Newport Beach Patron’ Porsche and NASCAR Racer Brian Wong, NASCAR Team Cass Racing’s Auggie Vidovich, GoLiveStream.TV/Realfast.tv sponsored Racer’s Brad Pounds, Hurricane Heidi Tresler ,and Brandon Thompson, and Special guest Genevieve Chappell “The Queen Of Car’s” will ALL be stopping by to sign autographs and visit the kid’s!

And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, Jo Coddington, widow and partner of legendary Car and Hot Rod Designer “Boyd Coddington”, and architect of Boyd’s Marketing and Branding efforts has partnered with ABCF on behalf of the Coddington Foundation on both events this year and will be on hand to visit all our kid’s. Jo is an amazing lady that is only beginning to make her mark in motorsports marketing and licensing said “Lug Nutzz”. Jo is a brilliant marketing talent, and is so successful at branding, the America’s Baby Cancer Foundation is fortunate to have her assistance as we bring awareness of childhood cancer to the public. Also crashing the party is, legendary Trans Am Champion and SPEED TV Personality Tommy Kendall! You KNOW it’s a party when TK shows up in his world class yellow Chicken sled! Our kid’s are going to LOVE it!

Celebrity Car designer Rich Evans will have his “Hardcore Knight” Mustang on display that will be featured in the new Movie Kick Ass Comic with Nicholas Cage say’s: Having 3 healthy kids of my own, I really feel blessed to be a part of making kid’s smile for a day and hopefully inspiring some of the little one’s to become the next generation of custom builder’s when they are cured said Evans. There will be several other celebrity guests stopping by the event December 20^th from noon to 3:30pm at Rich Evans H.B. Bodyworks shop, 18108 Redondo Circle, Huntington Beach Ca. For more Information on how you can help or donate gifts, please log onto www.horsepowerheroes.com , www.babycancer.org , www.richevansdesigns.com , www.golivestream.tv , www.boydcoddington.com , www.thequeenofcars.com

One of my favorite car show events is just days away – The John Force Holiday Show. This year we are celebrating 12 years of success!

As most of you know, this event grows by leaps and bounds every year. Which makes me very excited to see how many more cars and enthusiasts will show up this year!

Along with the hundreds of awesome rides, many of the big names in the automotive world come out to support John’s event. Which means you will have the opportunity to get up-close and personal with your favorite pro drivers, customizers, TV hosts and artists.

I’ll be there early cruisin’ around checkin’ out the cars and for photo opportunities with all in attendance. Later in the afternoon I’ll be with the John Force Racing Team signing autographs, and then off to award trophies to the winners.

I look forward to seeing you there!

For more info regarding the event click here:

To view the photo gallery from last years event click here:

To view the video and event footage from last year click here:

Genevieve Chappell “The Queen of Cars”

I was rolling over to the Pep Boys Speed Shop LA Grand Opening when the Eagles’ Deperado was ringing in my ears: “…Don’t you draw the queen of diamonds, boy She’ll beat you if she’s able. You know the queen of hearts is always your best bet.”
I don’t know about Henley and the boys but I’ll bet on “The Queen of Cars” Genevieve Chappell anytime. She’s not just a pretty face in front of a camera, but a savvy businesswoman too. But wait, there’s more. She knows her way around a garage as well.

I first heard of Genevieve Chappell about a year ago from her work with the short-lived Velocity TV – an online version of Velocity Magazine featuring the Orange County, CA car-culture. You can view the videos on Vimeo here: www.vimeo.com/velocitymag.

I had an opportunity to meet with Genevieve and found her as genuine as she is on the videos. I asked her about how she found her passion in cars and what is her earliest memory of cars:
“I truly believe, that people learn about, talk about and surround themselves with things they are interested in and love. I have always loved classic cars (first memory of this was age 4) as well as watching something old and rusty be transformed into something beautiful. I have always been extremely attracted to everything automotive (both exterior, interior and under the hood), it’s in my blood – so talking about anything and everything automotive related comes naturally to me and it makes me happy.”

She continues: “I don’t attribute my passion for automotive to anyone except myself. From a young age I was drawn to and inspired by design (fashion, interior, automotive) art and colors combinations, etc. Because of where I lived in Whittier Ca (from age 10-16 yrs) and observing my neighbors and guys I went to school with customizing their cars, I got to experience first hand the art and culture of automotive. From the mechanics to the engineering to the sound systems all the way to the custom design – it was absolutely amazing to me! It still is amazing to me!”

As she tells this story I can picture her hanging out with the guys doing a bit of wrenching, but most importantly enjoying the rides around the Southern California landscape. 1987, Before text messaging, when the summer days had a blue-green hue contrasting the bright sunsets. Her blonde hair flowing in the barren freeway breeze and cooling off with a cruise up Whittier Blvd., or up to Van Nuys.

I can understand how she found her passion in all things automotive, and I wonder how difficult it is for her in this male-dominated industry.

Difficult or not, she has made quite a mark.

For the past 10 years she has worked, operated and progressed to “expert status” in a man’s world – extremely difficult to attain to that status in this business/automotive industry.

She is considered and highlighted as a “Social Media Personality” in both the automotive world and techy world.

Her dedicated fans follow her almost exclusively via new media. That’s unique for this very old-school industry. She currently has 6000 readers a month on her website that read her daily blog updates. Make that 6001, I just signed up at: http://www.thequeenofcars.com

Enjoy the pics and keep a lookout for this bombshell exploding in the Car Scene of Southern California and Beyond.

To view photo gallery and Blacktop Magazine’s home page, click here

T-Bone

Thank you to all who came out to be apart of and support the 2009 Crusin’ For A Cure at the OC Fair Grounds in Costa Mesa, CA. As you know, this is the largest one day charity car show, that benefits prostate cancer – in the world!

I was honored when I received the call from “The Woman Herself” Debbie Baker asking me to host this years special edition video. Why? Well, for many reasons, but especially, because this year’s event was extra special – as we celebrated the Crusin’ For A Cure 10 year anniversary, the success of saving hundreds of lives, and the woman who has made all of this happen – Debbie Baker!

Prostate Cancer is the 2nd leading cause of death for men in this country andsadly to say after a 12 year battle – this deadly disease took the life of Debbie Baker’s beloved husband, Jim Poetker (Baker) earlier this year.

Yet, it’s because of this disease that Debbie Baker has been so determined to assist in saving as many men’s lives as possible! What has been the result of Debbie’s drive & sincere love for people? Well, some of your loved ones have been proactive by taking a PSA screening and they are still with us here today!

Personally – I think that is pretty remarkable!

This year alone, nearly 200,000 men will be diagnosed with Prostate Cancer and it will end up taking the lives of more than 27,000 men. When Cruisin’ for a Cure first started, the goal was to raise the awareness of the deadly disease. From humble beginnings in 2000 with 650 cars at the first show, Cruisin’ for a Cure has grown to more than 3,500 cars, 200 volunteers and thousands (20K to be exact) of active supporters, including some very influential individuals in the automotive industry. Guys like Hollywood’s best – George Barris. The guy with the smile, who adds extra shine to Orange County – Barry Meguire. He’s Nutz about NASCAR and raising money for children’s cancer - Gordon Stewart, AKA, Lugg Nutz. Plus we also had an exclusive interview with City Of Hope’s Urologist, Dr. Josephson, who gave us an up-close and behind the scenes look at the amazing technology and robot they use during surgeries.

Oh yea…and I also was persuaded by Tom West to sit in the Firestone Dragster during the demonstration – boy was that an experience! Take a look for yourself (click here to view video)

I would also like to give a special thank you to Steve Russo and Jon Van Buren who joined our production crew and took some amazing shots (see link) along with Randy Dubb, Jason Dubb, and Mark Richards from Still Motion Productions. Janel Hahn my assistant and “host in training” and of course Debbie Baker and Ross Kroenert – the two who make the magic happen!

See still images and gallery here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/genevievechappell/sets/72157622378447105/

In memory of Debbie’s wonderful husband June 16, 1936 – March 27, 2009. Rest In Peace!

With less than two weeks remaining before the event the excitement is building. The areas best show and collection of world class cars, trucks and motorcycles is just around the corner. Yep you guess it – it’s the 10th Annual Crusin For A Cure Show. It’ll be held on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009 at the OC Fair & Events Center, Costa Mesa CA (AKA The Orange County Fair Grounds)

Last year I covered this event for Velocity TV an online series (see video below) which I created, produced and hosted. This particular event topped my list, not only because there are nearly 4000 beautiful classic cars on site (which will always get my blood pumpin’ double time) but more importantly, the money that is raised goes for a very, very important cause – supporting CITY of HOPE’s Prostate Cancer Program.

This year I will be hosting it for the commemorative DVD which will highlight special features from the past 10 years of this annual “life saving event”.

Now men…listen up! Please take the free PSA test at the show!!!
It’s why this show exists. The testing area will be located near the bandstand. NO appointment is needed. Come over to the “Drive Against Prostate Cancer Van” near the red and white tents near the bandstand.

Here’s the line up:

Opening ceremonies start promptly at 9 am.

This year, the USMC Color Guard will lead down to the stage where Casey Simpson will sing the National Anthem. The Fire Truck will also raise the 60 foot flag and then we will officially start Cruisin’ all day.

1. Over 2500 classic & custom cars and trucks are pre-registered!

2. All day live music (The Answer, Casey Simpson),for those Country Western Fans of Casey Simpson, she will sing at the stage at Noon until 1:30.

3. Over 200 vendors of items of interest to the whole family!

4. See and hear the nostalgia dragsters fire up near the swap meet entrance.

5. Stop by the prize tent to enter to win from the dozens of opportunity drawings.

6. NOTE: The OC Fair is now charging $5.00 per car to park.

Check out pics from last years event during our shoot here

Velocity TV – Episode 2 from Velocity Magazine on Vimeo.